Turner v. Clayton/ Breitenfeld vs. Clayton

Turner v. Clayton/ Breitenfeld vs. Clayton

In 2010, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that if the a student in a certain district is failing to be adequately educated, then they may transfer to an adjoining school district. Jane Turner brought up the issue when she realized her children should be going to an accredited school. Once her children transferred, she sued Clayton schools to get back all the money she had previously paid for tuition. "the state's highest court turned the educational establishment upside down by ruling that a state law requires an adjoining district to accept children from an unaccredited district, and that the district where the child resides must pay for the student's education." The school districts have argued that the law violates Hancock Amendment;s "unfunded mandate" provision which says the public can not be forced to take on obligations that are not paid for. "Their failure is all of our failure, both from a purely moral standpoint, and also because as long as the school district in the core of our city can't make the sort of gains that attract young families and businesses, then our entire region suffers economically." Missouri Legislature is working on reform measures.

I do not think either side is right or wrong. I agree that if children are not getting adequate education they should be able to transfer to an accredited school. However, if one student is not getting a good education that means all of his classmates at his school aren't either and if one student transfers than many more will follow. The best thing to do would be to start with the teachers and the curriculum to make sure the school gets accredited. If the school's education is adequate, then the students would have no need to transfer to other schools.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-supreme-court-needs-to-put-children-first-in-school/article_6417f97c-2c05-5e34-ac0c-0b6f895e6e5c.html