School-Transfers Ruling Favors Clayton District

A judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of the School District of Clayton in a widely watched case that deals with the transfer of students from unaccredited schools to accredited ones, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

This ruling can affect many St. Louis area schools, including Parkway schools.

Quoting from the Post-Dispatch article:

"Under the ruling, students from unaccredited school districts would not have the right to transfer to better school districts for free."

The Post also states that "witnesses testified that more than 15,000 children in the city would transfer to county schools, financially wiping out the St. Louis district and flooding suburban schools."

Chief Communications Officer Chris Tennill of the  said the district is "thrilled" with the ruling.

"This is a statute that, in its current form, doesn't work the way it's intended to," said Tennill, describing how the ruling by Judge David Lee Vincent III aligns with the district's positions on student transfers.

He said it's unclear whether plaintiffs will appeal the case, so the district will take a wait-and-see approach for the immediate future. If it is appealed, he said, the district is prepared to continue facing the issue of transfers with the "same dedication and intensity" as it has for the last five years.

 spokesperson Paul Tandy sent the following response on the ruling in an email to Patch.

We are pleased with the court's decision. Missouri needs to continue looking for ways to help unaccredited schools improve, but clearly this was not the answer.

Elkin Kistner, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he has 40 days from Tuesday to file an appeal. He isn't sure when the filing will occur.

"That's the reason appeals exist," Kistner said.

As for the ruling, he said: "It's not good news."

Read more about the Turner v. Clayton decision and read reaction from an attorney for the plaintiffs in the complete Post-Dispatch report.

More about Turner v. Clayton on Patch: