JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The state Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments this week in cases involving school transfers and survivor’s benefits for the gay partner of a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.

Both cases are to be argued before the high court Wednesday.

Cpl. Dennis Engelhard was killed in 2009 while investigating a Christmas Day accident on Interstate 44 southwest of St. Louis. His partner sued for survivor’s benefits, but their 15-year relationship is not recognized by the state.

The school transfer case focuses on a law requiring unaccredited school districts to pay for sending students to nearby districts. It was filed by families who were paying to send their children to public schools in suburban Clayton when St. Louis lost accreditation in 2007. St. Louis became provisionally accredited last year.

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