1. The school board of any district, in its discretion, may admit to the school pupils not entitled to free instruction and prescribe the tuition fee to be paid by them, except as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this section and in sections 167.121, 167.131, 167.132, and 167.895.

2. Orphan children, children with only one parent living, and children whose parents do not contribute to their support-if the children are between the ages of six and twenty years and are unable to pay tuition-may attend the schools of any district in the state in which they have a permanent or temporary home without paying a tuition fee.

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 167.151

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Property: includes real and personal property. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020

3. (1) For all school years ending on or before June 30, 2023, any individual who pays a school tax in any other district than that in which such individual resides may send such individual’s children to any public school in the district in which the tax is paid and receive as a credit on the amount charged for tuition the amount of the school tax paid to the district; except that any individual who owns real estate of which eighty acres or more are used for agricultural purposes and upon which such individual’s residence is situated may send such individual’s children to public school in any school district in which a part of such real estate, contiguous to that upon which such individual’s residence is situated, lies and shall not be charged tuition therefor; so long as thirty-five percent of the real estate is located in the school district of choice. The school district of choice shall count the children in its average daily attendance for the purpose of distribution of state aid through the foundation formula.

(2) For all school years beginning on or after July 1, 2023, any current owner of residential real property or agricultural real property or a named beneficiary of a trust that currently owns residential real property or agricultural real property and that pays a school tax in a district or districts other than the district in which such current owner or current beneficiary resides may send up to four of such owner’s or beneficiary’s children to a public school, excluding a charter school, in any district in which such owner or trust pays such school tax. For purposes of this subdivision, “residential real property” shall not include any multifamily residential property which exceeds four units. An owner or a named beneficiary of a trust that currently owns residential real property shall not be permitted under this subdivision to send their child to a district outside of the county in which they currently reside. Such owner or beneficiary shall send thirty days’ written notice to all school districts involved specifying which school district each child will attend. Such owner or beneficiary shall also present proof of the owner’s or trust’s annual payment of at least two thousand dollars of school taxes levied on the real property specified in this subdivision within such school district and ownership of the specified real property for not less than the immediately preceding four consecutive years. Neither the resident nor nonresident districts shall be responsible for providing transportation services under this subdivision. The school district attended shall count a child attending under this subdivision in its average daily attendance for the purpose of distribution of state aid under chapter 163, except that such nonresident students shall not be counted in the district’s average daily attendance for the purposes of determining eligibility for aid payments under section 163.044.

4. For any school year ending on or before June 30, 2023, any owner of agricultural land who, pursuant to subsection 3 of this section, has the option of sending his children to the public schools of more than one district shall exercise such option as provided in this subsection. Such person shall send written notice to all school districts involved specifying to which school district his children will attend by June thirtieth in which such a school year begins. If notification is not received, such children shall attend the school in which the majority of his property lies. Such person shall not send any of his children to the public schools of any district other than the one to which he has sent notice pursuant to this subsection in that school year or in which the majority of his property lies without paying tuition to such school district.

5. If a pupil is attending school in a district other than the district of residence and the pupil’s parent is teaching in the school district or is a regular employee of the school district which the pupil is attending, then the district in which the pupil attends school shall allow the pupil to attend school upon payment of tuition in the same manner in which the district allows other pupils not entitled to free instruction to attend school in the district. The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to pupils attending school in a district which has an enrollment in excess of thirteen thousand pupils and not in excess of fifteen thousand pupils and which district is located in a county with a charter form of government which has a population in excess of six hundred thousand persons and not in excess of nine hundred thousand persons.