Open enrollment bill gets public hearing after winning praise from Missouri governor

A Republican lawmaker from Sedalia has once again begun his push to allow some students to enroll in schools outside the district where they live.

For the fifth year in a row on Wednesday, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee debated an open enrollment bill sponsored by state Rep. Brad Pollitt.

As he introduced the legislation, Pollitt called it the “only school-choice bill that allows students to make a choice and stay in the public school system.”

In the previous four years that Pollitt filed the bill, state lawmakers have prioritized programs allowing families to use state funds for homeschooling and to attend private schools. The state’s K-12 tax credit program, dubbed MOScholars, passed in 2021, and it was expanded last year in a sweeping education package.

Pollitt’s bill has cleared committee and made it out of the House four times. But it has never been debated by the Senate.

He addressed his bill’s four-year purgatory in Wednesday’s committee hearing, saying good legislation doesn’t completely please anyone.

“All four years I’ve passed this bill, neither side was happy. It didn’t go far enough or it went too far,” he said. “Sometimes Missouri does a disservice by looking for perfection and bypassing what is better.”

Pollitt’s legislation has evolved through the years of deliberation. The current version has a cap of 3% on the portion of students allowed to leave a district annually.

He also added language suggested by the Missouri High School Activities Association, which oversees competitive athletics in Missouri schools, that would restrict students who transfer into a new district from competing in sports for one year.

The bill does not require school districts to accept students living outside the area but, instead, has an opt-in structure. Receiving districts would get state funding for the students coming in, but local funds would remain with the district of residence.

Some testified Wednesday that they are concerned the legislation would become mandatory for school districts in the future.

“Our worry is in the future. A lot of (laws) tend to start as voluntary and become mandatory,” said Tammy Henderson, who represents the North Kansas City School District. “We are concerned about losing some of the local control.”

Steve Carroll, a former lawmaker who now lobbies for school districts, cited his experience in the Missouri House in critiquing the bill.

“If this bill passes, within two or three legislative sessions, there is going to be a bill that is going to mandate this,” he said. “Mark my word.”

A majority of public comments were against the bill, and 220 school districts sent in a letter opposed to the legislation.

However, Pollitt’s proposal is not without its supporters — including Gov. Mike Kehoe, who included the bill in his State of the State speech Tuesday.

“To expand school choice, I urge the General Assembly to pass voluntary open enrollment in public schools,” he said.

Jordan Zachary, representing a national education nonprofit started by Jeb Bush called ExcelinEd, said Missouri’s neighbors already have open enrollment.

“We believe open enrollment to be one of those student-centered policies,”’ he said. “We do believe in giving students an opportunity to attend a school that best fits their needs.”

The bill would not require school districts to add accommodations for incoming students, and some worry the program would exclude students in special education.

Pollitt said he would work with Rep. Matthew Overcast, a Republican from Ava who serves on the education committee, to revise the bill to help students requiring accommodations. Overcast is an attorney with experience assisting students in special education.

The updated version would be presented to the committee before a vote.