Missouri House passes changes to student transfer policy

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri House has passed a plan to change laws on students transferring from failing schools.

House members voted 138-6 Tuesday to send the bill to the Senate.

The measure would require schools to be accredited by individual building instead of just by district.

It would allow students at failing schools to transfer to better-performing schools within their districts. If those are full, they could transfer to nearby districts or charter schools.

Failing schools still would have to pay tuition for transfer students but not more than what they had been paying on their education.

St. Louis-area Normandy Schools is the only unaccredited district.

The bill also would require students to be in class at least 1,044 hours a year and eliminates a minimum 174-day requirement.