Court Rules in Favor of Students in Turner Vs. Clayton

The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled in favor of parents who filed a lawsuit against the Clayton School District. 

The Supreme Court's ruling  said a lower court decision incorrectly determined that the statute would be impossible to enforce, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Today's unanimous decision by the Missouri Supreme Court sends the case back to a lower court. Read the full high court ruling here.
 
Quoting from the ruling:

The state and the mother of two children residing in the St. Louis school district appeal a trial court’s judgment that the statute governing transfers of and tuition for children from an unaccredited school district to attend school in a neighboring accredited district violated the state constitution and made it impossible for the school districts to comply. In a unanimous decision written by Judge Mary R. Russell, the Supreme Court of Missouri reverses the trial court’s judgment and remands (sends back) the case to the trial court. The statute does not violate the state constitution, the trial court erred in accepting the “impossibility” defense offered by the school districts and the trial court must assess the tuition issue in light of this opinion.
At the heart of the case is whether suburban St. Louis County school districts should be required to enroll students who request transfers from unaccredited schools. Officials representing Clayton schools argued that such a requirement would represent an unfunded mandate.

The case, known as Turner vs. Clayton was consolidated under the umbrella of the Gina Breitenfeld case. Breitenfeld, a St. Louis Public Schools parent who has children enrolled in Clayton schools, was the remaining plaintiff in the case. 

The trial court previously entered judgment in favor of Clayton on the district’s counterclaim against Breitenfeld, ordered Breitenfeld to pay Clayton more than $49,000 for tuition owed, and awarded attorney fees and costs to the school districts and the intervening taxpayers.

The state and Breitenfeld appealed, sending the case to the Supreme Court.

See our previous coverage:

• Turner v. Clayton Trial Over School Transfers Begins Monday
• No Magic Bullet' Will Solve Concerns Over Turner v. Clayton School District
• School Transfers Ruling Favors Clayton District
• Implications of Turner v. Clayton Remain in Question