CEAM pledges to support families in unaccredited districts in face of Nixon veto

May 23, 2014, St. Louis, MO – The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) pledges to support families living in unaccredited school districts as Governor Nixon announced today that he will veto SB493.

“Governor Nixon vetoing the transfer fix, tells me that it is business as usual. The CEAMteam will again host town hall meetings to inform parents about their right to transfer to an accredited school. All children deserve access to high quality education now, and we will continue to fight for that by knocking on as many doors as we can in Normandy, Riverview and Kansas City telling families about their rights.” Says Lorna Kurdi, the Director of Advocacy and Outreach.

Last year after the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the right of families in unaccredited districts to transfer out, the education establishment did little to assist families that wanted to transfer. Information was difficult to obtain, school districts refused parents requests for help and deadlines were a moving target.

CEAM has hosted 12 community meetings in Normandy and Riverview Gardens since the court ruling to provide paperwork and guidance for parents to navigate the process. As a result, CEAM directly helped 891 families exercise their right to transfer their children to higher performing schools.

CEAM also worked with EducationPlus (formerly Cooperating School Districts) to track all paperwork and make sure that everyone that needed transportation received it and was placed.

While the focus was on Normandy and Riverview Gardens last year, CEAM plans to ensure that the families in the Kansas City Public School District also have all the information and paperwork they need to transfer their children to an accredited school district this year.

The student transfer deadlines were simply guidelines and they do not adhere to the original transfer law and CEAM encourages families to contact us at 314-454-6544 or visit www.ceamteam.org/resources to help them understand the transfer application process and to begin preparations if they think they may be interested in transferring their child.