Charter Schools

The school was still calling for new students to enroll on social media as recently as last week.

The document cost more than $600,000 to develop, $225,000 of which was paid by St. Louis Public Schools.

The charters are pooling resources to try to streamline special education services and cut contractor costs.

The court said charter schools do not have to spend the money on desegregation programs.

La Salle Charter Schools, a middle school in St. Louis' Carr Square neighborhood that serves a predominantly Black student population, will close at the end of the year. Leaders said low test scores caused the school to lose the confidence of its academic sponsors.

The Leadership School’s opening was delayed by multiple years, but on Monday students will begin class for the first time

The elections bill was just one piece of legislation Parson signed into law on Wednesday. Others included funding charter schools, bills related to utilities and another barring homeless people from sleeping on state-owned land.

An original version of the bill would have taken funding from St. Louis Public Schools, but lawmakers found a compromise that pleased education leaders in St. Louis.

A previous version of the legislation would have taken money away from public school districts to make up for a disparity in funding for public charter schools. Now, the state would handle that responsibility.

Unlike the House version, the Senate substitute uses state money to fund charter schools. The bill now goes back to the House, where it would need to pass to reach the governor.