Governor Jay Nixon (D) will veto legislation that proposed changes regarding Missouri’s 1993 student transfer law.
Governor Jay Nixon (D)
In a statement Nixon announced that he would reject the legislation over concerns that it would allow the diversion of tax money to private schools without accountability to voters, and says it would not address issues resulting from the existing transfer law. He also criticizes the bill for eliminating the requirement that unaccredited school districts pay for the transportation of their students who transfer.
Nixon calls the “private option” in the bill a “dangerous voucher scheme that would undermine the core principles and protections enshrined in Missouri’s constitution.
“Throughout the legislative session I repeatedly made it clear that any effort to send public dollars to private schools through a voucher program would be met by my veto pen,” Gov. Nixon said. “The General Assembly ignored my warnings, and this veto will be the result.”
The statement does not address whether a special session will be called for the legislature to address the transfer situation. Critics of the bill have urged Nixon to call one and express optimism that different results could be reached, despite having the same lawmakers work on the proposal.
