Missouri

The Normandy school district is one of the poorest and most segregated in Missouri, and ranks last in overall academic performance. In February of 2015, the St. Louis County judge ruled that Normandy schools would be unaccredited, and that students would have the right to attend schools in other districts. Circuit Judge Michael Burton claimed that the state of Missouri was denying students the education they were entitled to, and was responding to the concerns of the families that had filed a suit after being unable to enroll their children in other accredited school districts. In the past few years, much debate has centered on the idea of transfer programs and their role in integrating schools.

Ferguson, MO – School Segregation, the Continuing Tragedy of Ferguson (ProPublica, December 19, 2014)
Louis County, MO – Judge Rules Normandy Schools Unaccredited (St. Louis Public Radio, February 12, 2015)
Jefferson City, MO – Transfer law debate heats up in MO. Legislature (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 19, 2015)
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri lawmaker calls school transfer bill a ‘dirty Band-Aid’ fix to problem (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 25, 2015)
Jackson County, MO – Missouri Senate joins House in approving student transfer bill that would boost charter schools in Jackson County (The Kansas City Star, May 5, 2015)
Louis County, MO – St. Louis desegregation program headed for phase out (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 10, 2016)

Louis County, MO – Angry Normandy parents vent to state officials about schools’ troubles (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 23, 2015)
Louis County, MO – 22 school districts offer help to Normandy and Riverview Gardens schools (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 23, 2015)
Louis County, MO – Missouri Transfer Law and Racial Integration (studentsfirst.org, August 13, 2015)
Louis County, MO – Missouri school transfer law victory highlights need for school choice (MissouriWatchdog.org, June 10, 2016)