The Missouri House approved a proposal last week that will allow parents to transfer their children to a public school in a district in which they do not reside.
But even if the Senate approves the open-enrollment measure and it is eventually enacted by Gov. Mike Parson, Kristin Grubbs doesn’t plan on re-enrolling her four children in Missouri’s public school system.
“In one sense, it gives parents a tidbit of choice,” said Grubbs who is homeschooling her kids. “Maybe, it's a temporary bandaid for those parents who are truly upset with their district but I don't know if it's actually addressing the core issues we're having.”
Sponsored by state Rep. Brad Pollitt (R-Sedalia), House Bill 235 establishes transfer procedures for nonresident districts for public school students but the new school district must be willing to accept the switch.
“There are too many variables,” Grubbs told the St. Louis Record. “They can choose to not allow other students from other districts in and what’s the process of how they choose students? It’s almost like college. Which ones do you accept or not?”
Once a district approves a transfer, the bill provides that federal funds will follow the student into his or her new school district.
“Each district keeps track of attendance,” Grubbs said in an interview. “The transfer student would not be counted into the district they reside in. They would be counted into obviously the district they go to school in, which changes how funds are shared.”
Grubbs began homeschooling her children because she did not agree with the way they were being educated in Lee’s Summit public schools.
"The focus has been on belonging and equity, which has completely taken the focus off of education," she said. "That's why we're having all these problems."
Lee's Summit is not expected to be a destination district among parents who do choose to transfer their students, according to Grubbs.
“If we were doing our job well enough, if students’ proficiency rates weren't dropping and, and if we could reduce the fights, and make sure discipline is applied properly, then we would still be a destination district,” she said. “We wouldn't be losing students.”
Grubbs is the author of a 225-page expose about Lee's Summit public schools called Deep End of Public Education, which is for sale on Amazon.com.
"If our public schools were doing well, if they were striving and students were excelling with grades and proficiency rates going up and we weren't dealing with all the chaos of the equity efforts that we've seen in recent years, then families wouldn't want to leave," she added.