Missouri could have the fourth best open enrollment policy nationwide

It’s high time to improve Missouri students’ K-12 public schooling options. Five of the Show-Me State’s neighbors–Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas–have already codified robust K-12 open enrollment proposals that let students attend schools with open seats regardless of where they live. 

However, Missouri policymakers are taking strides to catch up. Senate Bill 215 would let students attend any public school with extra open seats. 

National polling by Morning-Consult and EdChoice in December 2024 showed that 76% of parents with school-aged children support open enrollment. This support spans party lines. 

Data from Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, West Virginia, and Wisconsin–all states with strong open enrollment laws–showed that nearly 686,000 students used open enrollment. Moreover, the latest data from Kansas’ open enrollment program, launched last year, showed that about 1,500 have participated.

Open enrollment lets students escape bullying, shorten commutes, and access smaller class sizes or specialized courses, such as Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. Data from the 2021-22 school year showed that Florida and Arizona students tended to transfer to A or B-rated school districts per the state’s rankings. 

Plus, open enrollment can benefit school districts. Wisconsin and West Virginia data showed rural school districts received 31% and 49% of transfers, respectively. Notably, Wisconsin’s rural districts gained more students than they lost, adding 2,300 students to their enrollments on net. What’s more, small and rural California districts have used open enrollment to remain fiscally solvent when local student populations declined.

If signed into law, SB 215 would establish statewide cross- and within-district open enrollment laws. School districts would also be prohibited from discriminating against applicants based on their abilities or disabilities, ensuring that public schools are open to all students.

Another mark in its favor is that public schools would be free to all transfer students. Currently, 23 states, including Missouri, don’t stop districts from charging out-of-pocket tuition to non-resident students. For instance, Missouri’s District of Clayton charged $19,400 per transfer in grades 6-12 during the 2024-25 school year. This is nearly $6,000 more than the average cost of private high schools across the state. 

SB 215 would also implement good transparency provisions. For instance, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) would collect important district-level open enrollment data, such as the number of approved and denied applicants. It would also clarify that denied applicants can appeal their rejection to the Missouri DESE.

Nonetheless, SB 215 can be improved. DESE should also collect additional district-level data, such as the number of actual transfers and why applicants were rejected. All non-student identifying data should be published in an annual report available on the DESE website. Moreover, school districts should be required to inform rejected applicants in writing why they were denied.

The open enrollment process can also be more family-friendly by ensuring families can easily access open enrollment information. While SB 215 would require the DESE to publish districts’ capacity by grade level, a better policy would be to have districts’ grade-level capacity and all open enrollment policies and procedures posted on districts’ websites. At the very least, districts should be required to post links to this DESE’s website so families can easily find this information. 

Even without these improvements, SB 215 would significantly improve Missouri’s open enrollment options. If signed into law, Missouri’s grade on Reason Foundation’s open enrollment best practices scoresheet would be improved from an F to an A. Plus, Missouri’s national ranking would jump from 25th to fourth place, surpassing Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Iowa.

But most importantly, SB 215 would be a massive victory for Missouri students whose public education options would no longer be limited by where they live. 

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