Gov. Nixon signs charter schools law, vetoes busing bill

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Charter schools will be allowed to operate in more areas of Missouri but with greater oversight under legislation Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the governor vetoed a separate education bill that would have made it easier for some students who face lengthy bus rides to switch districts and attend classes closer to home.

By far, the more closely watched of the bills was the charter legislation, particularly after a record number of the publicly funded but independently operated schools closed this year. The bulk of the approximately 5,000 displaced students -- about 3,500 in St. Louis and 1,100 in Kansas City -- attended academically struggling charters run by Virginia-based management company Imagine Schools Inc.

The task of overseeing charter schools is the responsibility of sponsors -- generally universities. But for years critics have complained that sponsors lacked the tools to ensure the schools were academically successfully and fiscally solvent. Nixon said this year's problems send "a clear signal" that it's crucial to keep a closer watch on charter schools and "helped grease the gears of actions."

To reduce the likelihood of problems, the law requires more disclosure about contracts with management companies. Sponsors also will do more to oversee schools' finances and will develop a performance framework to evaluate schools and intervene when necessary.

"Yes, we have charter schools in Missouri that are strong schools where children receive a top-notch education," Nixon said in advance of a formal signing ceremony for the charter school bill at the Missouri Girls State convention in Warrensburg. "But it is also quite clear that there are charter schools where students languish in classrooms that don't meet academic standards. Those students pay a price because of those failing charter schools."

School choice supporters had something to like as well because the new law allows charters in more school systems, including all unaccredited districts and those districts that have been designated as provisionally accredited for three straight academic years starting this fall. Charter schools also could be established in accredited school districts, but only if the local school board wants to sponsor them. Until now, charter schools have been permitted only in Kansas City and St. Louis.

The new law also allows new entities, including private vocational and technical schools, to serve as sponsors.

"This legislation will provide more families across the state access to quality charter schools held accountable to high standards of academic performance and operational management," said Douglas Thaman, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association.

The bill Nixon vetoed would have allowed parents in the St. Albans, St. Elizabeth and Gravois Mills areas in eastern and central Missouri to enroll their children in different districts if they live at least 17 miles from the school they are supposed to attend and a school building in the other district is at least seven miles closer.

Parents had said lengthy bus rides can take a toll on children, but opponents raised concerns about how changes in school transfer policies would affect districts' finances.

Nixon said one reason he vetoed the bill is that he doesn't believe certain districts should have different policies than the rest of the state for deciding transportation hardships.