Sen. Jane Cunningham of Chesterfield, Mo., is pushing a bill through the state legislature that would dissolve the Kansas City Public Schools District. The district’s schools would be separated among surrounding school districts.

“For decades we’ve watched as [the Kansas City] district has gone down and down and down,” Cunningham said in an interview with The Kansas City Star. “The district has not served its students or the community, so a dramatic change is needed.”

A public hearing to discuss the bill, one of several planned to talk about the school district, took place at 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30. According to The Kansas City Star, the bill’s critics feel it would do more harm than good.

Cunningham proposes that a school district that has lost accreditation, like the Kansas City district did on Sunday, Jan. 1, be annexed by other districts within six months after accreditation is revoked. The bill also proposes the creating of scholarship program funded by taxpayers to help students from unaccredited districts pay to attend private or parochial schools.

Cunningham’s bill is one of several focusing on education that are awaiting approval, suggesting changes to items such as tenure for teachers or expanding charter schools.