One of the biggest criticisms of public schools is that parents and students lack options regarding where to send their kids to school. A recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a disheartening story about a family with two teenage daughters who want to get their kids out of a failing inner-city school, but state law that seemingly gives them that choice also stands in their way. An excerpt:
Reggie and Francello McCoy, like a lot of parents, have been trying to get their children out of failing schools.
Their district, Riverview Gardens, has been in academic and financial shambles. The former superintendent faces felony charges for stealing and tax evasion.In June, the McCoys thought they had found a way out when the state declared Riverview Gardens unaccredited. But they soon found doors closing instead of opening.
...Under Missouri law, students in unaccredited school districts such as Riverview Gardens and St. Louis can transfer to a better district in an adjoining county. And the districts they leave have to pay tuition at their new school.
The problem: Other districts don't have to admit them.