Turner v. Sch. Dist. Of Clayton

Decision Date24 August 2010
Docket NumberNo. SC 90236.,SC 90236.
Citation318 S.W.3d 660
PartiesJane TURNER, et al., Appellants,v.SCHOOL DISTRICT OF CLAYTON, et al., Respondents.
CourtMissouri Supreme Court

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Elkin L. Kistner and Sean M. Elam, Jones, Bick, Kistner & Jones PC, St. Louis, for the parents.

Mark J. Bremer and D. Leo Human, Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianouliakis & Giljum LLP, St. Louis, for the Clayton school district.

Richard B. Walsh Jr. and Evan Z. Reid, Lewis, Rice & Fingersh LC, St. Louis, for the transitional school district.

PER CURIAM.

The dispositive issue in this case is the declaration that the straightforward and unambiguous language of § 167.131, RSMo 2000,1 applies as written. Plaintiffs are parents and children who reside in the City of St. Louis transitional school district 2 but attend schools in the Clayton school district pursuant to tuition agreements. After the transitional school district lost its state accreditation, the parents and children sued the Clayton school district, the board of education of the City of St. Louis and the transitional district of the City of St. Louis claiming the transitional school district was required to pay their tuition pursuant to § 167.131. The parents and children claim the plain language of § 167.131 requires unaccredited school districts to pay the tuition costs of its students who choose to attend an accredited school in an adjoining district.

The parents and the school districts both moved for summary judgment. The circuit court granted the school districts' motion for summary judgment finding that § 167.131 was inapplicable to the transitional school district of the City of St. Louis. The court of appeals issued an opinion, but because of the general interest and importance of the issues in this case, it transferred the case to this Court pursuant to Rule 83.02.

On appeal, the parents and children argue that § 167.131 requires the transitional school district to pay the children's tuition costs for attending schools in the Clayton school district. This Court holds that § 167.131's unambiguous mandatory language requires unaccredited school districts to pay the tuition of its students who choose to attend an accredited school in an adjoining district.3

Facts

Jane Turner, Susan Bruker, Gina Breitenfeld and William Drendel and their children live within the boundaries of the transitional school district of the City of St. Louis. The parents' children currently attend schools in the Clayton school district pursuant to personal tuition agreements between the parents and Clayton.

In June 2007, after the parents had entered into tuition agreements for the 2007-2008 school year, the transitional school district lost its accreditation. In response, one of the parents sent a letter to the Clayton school board asking it to charge the transitional school district for her children's tuition pursuant to § 167.131 rather than charge her pursuant to the tuition agreement. The Clayton school district declined to seek payment from the transitional district.

The parents filed suit against the transitional school district, the Clayton school district and the board of education for the City of St. Louis, seeking a declaratory judgment that because the transitional school district lost accreditation, it was required to pay the children's tuition for attending schools in the Clayton district. The parents' amended petition also asserted a claim for restitution for tuition already paid.

The Clayton school district and the transitional school district filed separate motions to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The transitional school district argued § 167.131 does not apply to the City of St. Louis transitional school district, claiming that SB 781, passed in 1998, exclusively governs student transfers in the district. Clayton's motion essentially restated the transitional school district's motion. Clayton's motion further argued that the “Safe Schools Act gives school districts discretion to admit non-resident students from unaccredited districts under § 167.131 and that because Clayton refused to accept the children pursuant to that statute, their claims were foreclosed. Thereafter, the parents filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on the claims in their petition. The circuit court, without stating a specific basis granted the school districts' motions for summary judgment.

Standard of Review

Whether summary judgment was proper is a question of law. ITT Commercial Fin. Corp. v. Mid-Am. Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. banc 1993). This Court's review of a grant of summary judgment is essentially de novo; therefore, the trial court's order may be affirmed in this Court on an entirely different basis than that posited at trial, and this Court will affirm the grant of summary judgment under any appropriate theory. Id. at 376, 387-88; Comp & Soft, Inc. v. AT & T, 252 S.W.3d 189, 194 (Mo.App.2008). The Court views the record in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered and affords that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences. ITT Commercial Fin., 854 S.W.2d at 376. For summary judgment to be entered in its favor, the movant has the burden of proving that no genuine issues of material fact exist and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 381.

Analysis

Section 167.131, a straightforward and unambiguous statute, was specifically written to apply to the factual scenario of this case. Section 167.131 plainly states that the boards of unaccredited schools “shall pay the tuition of and provide transportation ... for each pupil resident therein who attends an accredited school in another district of the same or an adjoining county” and, furthermore, that “each pupil shall be free to attend the public school of his or her choice.” Section 167.131.1, .2. It is clear that § 167.131 applies to the transitional school district, that it requires the Clayton school district to admit the students and that it mandates the transitional school district pay the students' tuition. Once admitted, a student must comply with all disciplinary and academic standards in order to remain enrolled.

Section 167.131 is Applicable to the Transitional School District

The parents first claim that the circuit court erred in granting the transitional school district's motion for summary judgment because a plain reading of § 167.131 demonstrates that it applies to the transitional school district. They further assert that the plain and unambiguous language of § 167.131 mandates payment of their children's tuition under the circumstances presented in this case. This Court agrees.

Section 167.131 provides that a school district that loses accreditation with the state board of education must pay tuition for any resident pupil who attends an accredited school in another district in the same or an adjoining county and sets the amount of tuition to be paid by the sending school. Section 167.131 states:

1. The board of education of each district in this state that does not maintain an accredited school pursuant to the authority of the state board of education to classify schools as established in section 161.092, RSMo, shall pay the tuition of ... each pupil resident therein who attends an accredited school in another district of the same or an adjoining county.
2. The rate of tuition to be charged by the district attended and paid by the sending district is the per pupil cost of maintaining the district's grade level grouping which includes the school attended. The cost of maintaining a grade level grouping shall be determined by the board of education of the district ... Per pupil cost of the grade level grouping shall be determined by dividing the cost of maintaining the grade level grouping by the average daily pupil attendance.... Subject to the limitations of this section, each pupil shall be free to attend the public school of his or her choice.

(emphasis added).

In the present case, it is uncontested that the St. Louis public school district lost its accreditation with the state board of education. Additionally, it is uncontested that the parents and their children reside in the City of St. Louis, but the children attend accredited schools in a school district in an adjoining county. Considering only the plain and ordinary language of § 167.131.1, the uncontested facts show that § 167.131 applies to the transitional school district under the circumstances present in this case.

The transitional school district challenges this plain reading of § 167.131 by arguing that § 167.131 was intended to apply only to situations in which an individual school in a district loses accreditation-not to deal with a district-wide loss of accreditation. The transitional school district argues that the legislative history of § 167.131 supports its position and that this Court should examine that history to divine the legislature's true intent.

The seminal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain the intent of the legislature from the language used and to consider the words used in their plain and ordinary meaning. State ex rel. Unnerstall v. Berkemeyer, 298 S.W.3d 513, 519 (Mo. banc 2009). There is nothing in the language of § 167.131 indicating that the statute was not intended to apply to situations like the present, where a school district suffers a district-wide loss of accreditation. Under § 167.131, a school district is obligated to pay the tuition of its students who attend an accredited school if the district “does not maintain an accredited school.” The fact that the entire St. Louis public school district lost its accreditation in 2007 necessarily means that it no longer maintains any accredited schools. Therefore, the plain language of § 167.131 encompasses the present situation. Because the plain and ordinary language of § 167.131 does not limit its application as urged by the...

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