The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that a Missouri trial court correctly concluded that the Missouri State Board of Education had not acted improperly in declaring the St. Louis Public Schools unaccredited and transferring power to govern the school district to an unelected school board appointed by the State Board of Education. The court cited a state law providing that the school board’s powers are to be vested in a “transitional school district” in the event a school district is stripped of its accreditation. In addition, the court rejected the elected board members’ claims that their due process rights were violated, concluding that the members did not have a constitutionally protected property interest in their public office. You can access the full text of this decision here: Board of Educ. of the City of St. Louis v. Missouri State Bd. of Educ., No. 89139 (Mo. Dec. 16, 2008). This is but one high profile case of a state intervening in chronically underperforming school districts in the wake of the standards-based accountability movement and increased federal oversight regarding student achievement.

Both the Connecticut State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education have the authority to intervene (in different ways) in Connecticut schools and districts that chronically underperform, pursuant to section 10-223e of the Connecticut General Statutes.