House open enrollment bill gets Senate hearing

JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee heard familiar testimony Tuesday on an open enrollment bill that has already earned approval in the House. House Bill 253, known as the Public School Open Enrollment Act, would establish a voluntary open enrollment program for public schools. Schools that want to accept transfers would opt into the program by Dec. 1. Choosing not to opt into the program does not keep students from leaving a district, but districts could restrict the number of students who transfer out each year to 3% of the previous year’s enrollment. A number of…