House committee hears years-long open-enrollment proposal; sponsors, unions and districts split on special-education, funding and segregation risks

The House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education heard extended testimony on House Bill 711, a five-year effort by Representative Brad Pollitt to permit public school open enrollment across Missouri under an opt-in framework with a 3% cap on transfers out of any district.

Representative Brad Pollitt, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is intended to give families more options within the public system and to keep students in public schools rather than moving them to homeschooling or private alternatives. "The state money follows the student," Pollitt said, describing provisions that would let receiving districts set how many and which grades they accept and an April 1 deadline for applications. Pollitt said he removed a time-stamp application process in favor of a Department-run lottery and expects the lottery to include sibling protections.

Pollitt said the bill aims to preserve local control by making district participation voluntary, limit transfers out of districts to 3% annually, and leave decisions about program and staffing with receiving districts. He said the bill also creates a parent choice fund to reimburse receiving…