Mo. Senate backs quick takeover of failed schools

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Senate has endorsed a measure that could speed up state intervention in failing school districts.

The bill given initial approval Tuesday night is aimed mainly at the Kansas City School District, which lost its accreditation in January 2012.

Under current law, Missouri officials must wait until at least June 30, 2014, before intervening in the Kansas City district.

The Senate legislation would let the state intervene immediately after a district loses its accreditation. The state Board of Education could prescribe conditions under which the existing local school board could continue to oversee the school, or it could set up an alternative governing structure.

Those alternatives could include creating a special administrative board, merging the district with neighboring ones or splitting the district into several new ones.