ST. LOUIS BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUESTS HEARING REGARDING UNACCREDITATION

St. Louis – The St. Louis Board of Education last Friday appealed to Commissioner D. Kent King for a hearing regarding the State’s decision to remove the District’s accreditation. Missouri law allows the Board to request a hearing within 30 days of the State Board’s decision. Last month, the State Board voted to strip the District of its accreditation, effective June 15, after removing two accreditation standards in connection with college placement and career education courses

In its appeal, the Board of Education explains how the St. Louis Public School District has met the requirements to remain provisionally accredited. The appeal offers:

Information explaining how the District increased the number of reported college placements after hiring an independent firm that specializes in locating, and verifying placement of, graduates.

Proof that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had previously indicated the St. Louis Public Schools had met the standard for career education courses.

In its request for a hearing, the Board of Education cites previous action by DESE to grant the Wellston School District “interim status.” According to DESE, Wellston was granted interim status to give that district a “chance to regroup and move forward,” and because the district could not survive the financial implications of paying tuition to accredited school districts. To not allow SLPS the same chance for regrouping and moving forward is arbitrary, the Board of Education maintains.

According to the hearing request, the move to alter the accreditation status of SLPS is “unconstitutional in many respects” and the “intended effect is also a breach of the agreement between the State Board, DESE and the Board of Education of the City of St. Louis.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of the appeal and cover letter are attached. DESE Request for Hearing and DESE Appeal