Five St. Louis area senators tag team student transfer law

Intro:	Students in failing districts may be forced into staying in school for extra hours under a new transfer law proposal.
RunTime:	0:38
OutCue:	SOC

Wrap: Five St. Louis area senators unveiled identical proposals which for one, give schools the option to extend their school day and year.

Sponsor St. Louis County Senator Eric Schmitt says national studies show longer school days in at-risk communities like the ones unaccredited school districts are in brought positive results.

Schmitt says this plan would not necessarily work for everyone, however.

Actuality:	SCHMITT4.WAV
Run Time:	00:8
Description: "I think we've got to break out of this mold that one size fits all for a school district in Nixa and a school district in North St. Louis County."

St. Louis County Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal says she worries how already financially troubled districts would pay for extended hours.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I’m Taylor Beck. Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	Receiving school districts could block some transfers from unaccredited schools under a new proposal.
RunTime:	0:38
OutCue:	SOC

Wrap: It would give school boards in accredited school districts authority to decide how many transfers they take in.

Boards would have to establish this criteria by August.

Sponsor St. Louis County Senator Eric Schmitt says this criteria is needed to address classroom size issues.

Actuality:	SCHMITT5.WAV
Run Time:	00:17
Description: "It's not realistic, nor does it benefit the kids that are residing in that district or kids that are seeking to attend that district to have 30 students in a classroom, if the best way to deal with this has been decided as a certain 20-1 student teacher ratio.

Actuality: SCHMITT5.WAV

Run Time: 00:17
Description: "It's not realistic, nor does it benefit the kids that are residing in that district or kids that are seeking to attend that district to have 30 students in a classroom, if the best way to deal with this has been decided as a certain 20-1 student teacher ratio.

He says criteria would be based on things like population trends.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Taylor Beck. Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	A student transfer law that could leave Normandy and Riverview Gardens School Districts bankrupt by the end of this year gets another look from five St. Louis area senators.
RunTime:	0:39
OutCue:	SOC

Wrap: The five St. Louis area lawmakers...both republicans and democrats... each have come to a complicated compromise to change the state's current transfer law.

Their identical proposals allows some schools in unaccredited districts to count seperately as accredited schools among many other things.

Sponsor St. Louis County Senator Gina Walsh says the bill has a lot of parts and not all of the sponsors agree on it yet.

Actuality:	WALSCH2.WAV
Run Time:	00:8
Description: "that is why it's a beginning. This is a starting point. We can work together, we can work across the aisle. Education is not a partisan issue."

The five were met with heavy questioning from St. Louis County Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who has also filed legislation on the topic.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Taylor Beck. Newsradio 1120 KMOX.

Intro:	A push to change the school transfer laws could put more of a financial strain on already struggling unaccredited school districts
RunTime:	0:37
OutCue:	SOC

Wrap: The proposal is aimed at fixing the transfer school problem which could soon leave Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts bankrupt.

One part of the measure allows failing districts to force their kids to stay in school longer each day or even year.

St. Louis County Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal says she worries about who would pay for the extended hours.

Actuality:	NADAL3.WAV
Run Time:	00:11
Description: "when you're at zero, you're at zero, there's nothing left in the bank senator. How many checks are we writing out that's leaving a Normandy school district or Riverview school district?"

Senator Eric Schmitt says these extended hours could improve the quality of failing schools.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I’m Taylor Beck. Newsradio 1120 KMOX.