School Choice Options

If you had a the option to attend another school in your school district would you? A representative in the Missouri House has proposed a law that would allow students to enroll in any accredited school within 30 miles of their home district.

"What we are doing is giving parents the right to chose a school district that meets their child's needs," said bill sponsor Rep. Jane Cunnigham.  "It would increase the quality [of education] because it would better meet the needs of children because the schools are trying to attract parents to chose them, every product in America that you have some degree of competition the product gets better and the price gets more reasonable."

The bill, allows open enrollment to start in in the 2008-2009 school year. Under the bill, school districts will have to create a policy to establish a class size, and a process that ensures equal chances of admissions. Students who already have a sibling at a particular school would get preference over other students.

Cunningham said the bill will also make it easier for parents to participate in their child's education. "Educators will all tell you it is important to have parental involvement so for them to deny the right to be able to do that seems sad," Cunnigham said.

The idea of open enrollment is not new, and more than 20 states have open enrollment policies. "Iowa has had open enrollment for something like 18 years with no problems what so over, everybody is pleased with it," Cunnigham said.

If a student chooses to attend a school outside their district the parent or guardian is responsible for finding transportation for the student.  

Opponents of the bill argue that the bill could potentially effect student funding, test scores and athletic participation.

Small schools in rural areas would also be hurt by an open admissions process, according to Gary Sharpe, executive director for the Missouri Council of School Administrators. "This isn't something that would be possible for them, they also talk about a concern over forced consolidation, forced by the fact that if a  small school lose a few students their financial resources are hurt."  

The fear that the bigger schools in districts will become overwhelmed with students is not valid, Cunnigham said. "People misjudge the situation when they expect kids from a small school to chose a large school, you will find that just as many parents would like that smaller situation."

Sharpe said the correct policy to help improve schools in the state is to focus on improving programs in school districts for 100 percent of the children, rather than encouraging percentage of families to move to another district. "The history of open enrollment has shown that not a great percentage of families are going to take advantage of this, the percentage is very low," Sharpe said.

How to make the story local

• Often their are already students in a school that is not their designated home school, talk to them on why they chose to go to a different school. What hardships have the faced? What is the long commute like?
•  What schools would be available [within 30 miles of your school] to students? Try making a graphic or some sort of image showing all the open schools
• Talk to students and get reaction: what is their view on the advantages or disadvantages of open enrollment? Does your principal have any comment on this issue?