最新杏吧原创

The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri says they believe it is unconstitutional for the Kirkwood and Mehlville districts to refuse to accept students from unaccredited school districts based on class size policies.

The organization sent letters to superintendents in both districts -- where the number of students transfers has been limited to 175 and 218, respectively -- on Friday. They also say they want to hear from families who have been turned away.

鈥淭he ACLU understands the issues of education and funding of schools in Missouri are complex and often thorny, but the right to education is paramount,鈥� said Jeffrey Mittman, the ACLU-EM鈥檚 executive director. "The right to attend an accredited school rests with the students and their families and that right can't be arbitrarily limited. Placing an arbitrary deadline or using a lottery process, that's not the way the law reads."

Kirkwood, Mehlville and other school districts limiting student transfers under a recently upheld law by the state Supreme Court are following guidance from state education officials. But the ACLU contends that the guidance from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not have the force of law and is an error.

Mittman said parents from Riverview Gardens or Normandy school districts can contact the ACLU at 314-652-3111. The organization hopes to work with districts and address the mistake.

"Come the first day of school, our concern is there are families who were told they missed a deadline or weren't selected in a lottery," Mittman said. 鈥淚t is our hope that this can be a cooperative process so that the needs of the students are met."

Meanwhile, Cooperating School Districts of Greater 最新杏吧原创 updated numbers this morning indicating that 2,640 students will depart the troubled Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts for more than 20 other schools this fall.聽

Today at noon is the deadline for Riverview Gardens parents who were unable to get their children into either Mehlville or Kirkwood schools 鈥斅爐he school districts where busing will be provided 鈥斅爐o select an alternative enrollment choice.聽

The estimated cost of complying with the state's school transfer statute continues to climb. The estimate is now $35.4 million, according to Cooperating School Districts, the umbrella organization coordinating the transfers. By statute, those costs will be borne by the unaccredited Riverview Gardens and Normandy school systems.聽

Meanwhile, close to 8,000 students are projected to remain in the two north 最新杏吧原创 County school districts, or about 75 percent of their enrollment from last year. If either district falls behind on tuition payments to the receiving districts, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would use state payments owed to the failing districts to pay the bills. Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro has said she will ask the Legislature for funding when either of the two district approaches insolvency.聽

The numbers from Cooperating School Districts show that Riverview Gardens' announcement Tuesday that it would also send buses to Kirkwood was a game changer for some parents. Almost 100 who had selected Mehlville schools, where Riverview Gardens will also send buses 鈥斅爏witched to Kirkwood. And another 175 new applications for Kirkwood came from the Riverview District over the next two days.聽

"It appears that the selection of Kirkwood actually increased the number of applications," wrote Don Senti, exective director of the organization, in an email to superintendents.