Opinion handed down
June 11, 2013
Parents of students enrolled in
the unaccredited St. Louis Public School (SLPS) District brought action against
the district, and the transitional school district, for declaratory judgment
claiming the transitional school district was required to pay for students’
tuition and transportation to attend an accredited school in Clayton, Missouri
(Clayton) under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 167.131 and 167.241, also known as the
“Unaccredited District Tuition Statute.[2] Both SLPS and Clayton objected by filing for
summary judgment, which the St. Louis County Circuit Court granted.[3] The
parents appealed to the Supreme Court of Missouri, which reversed and remanded
back to the circuit court for further proceedings.[4] Before the consolidated trial on remand
commenced, the trial court allowed taxpayers from Clayton and a taxpayer from
SLPS to intervene as defendants to raise arguments that § 167.131 violated the
Hancock Amendment of the Missouri Constitution. Clayton also brought a counterclaim against a
plaintiff parent, Gina Breitenfeld, for tuition owed.[5] After the trial court entered judgment in
favor of the school districts, Breitenfeld and the State of Missouri appealed,
and the Supreme Court of Missouri transferred the case from the Court of
Appeals on its own motion.[6] The
Supreme Court of Missouri again reversed the trial court’s decision that §
167.131 violated the Hancock Amendment; thus declaring the statute
constitutional.[7]
