Missouri – ��

Missouri Schools Could Hire Armed ‘Rangers’ Under Bill Sent to Governor

Annelise Hanshaw — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

A bill to create a new faction of school protection officers with “physical fitness superior to a U.S. Marine” got final approval from Missouri lawmakers in the final days of the legislative session.

The legislation seeks to allow schools to hire volunteer or paid guards called “Missouri Rangers” who could carry a gun on school grounds.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. David Gregory of Chesterfield, told senators he wanted to give schools “a choice to have a higher trained armed guard.”

He compared current protection-officer requirements to that of a “Walmart guard with a gun.” Currently, schools can appoint teachers and administrators as school protection officers, allowing them to carry a gun or “self-defense spray device” with training and a concealed carry permit.

School protection officers must undergo a minimum of 112 hours of training, according to a . The state also has school resource officers, which are law enforcement officers with an additional 40+ hours of training related to school safety.

Gregory’s legislation proposes a maximum of 160 hours of training, specifying that the program must include lessons on “close quarter combat,” bomb and arson training, de-escalation among others.

Prior to training, rangers must pass a physical fitness test. For those 35 and younger, they must “complete a minimum of 40 pushups in less than one minute” and be able to run one and a half miles in less than 12 and a half minutes. The legislation asks the state’s Peace Office Standards and Training Commission to identify lower standards for older applicants.

The bill’s first pass through the Senate brought little opposition, garnering the support of groups like the St. Louis County Police Association in its first committee hearing. In early April, just two senators voted against the proposal, but Senate Democrats unanimously voted against it when it returned to the chamber last week with less than a day before session adjourned for the year.

House Democrats unanimously rejected the proposal, uncomfortable with the proposition of having more firearms in schools.

“The answer to guns in schools is not more guns in schools,” said state Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, a St. Louis Democrat, advocating instead for mental health support for students.

Their arguments did not sway House Republicans, who unanimously voted in support of the bill.

State Rep. Burt Whaley, a Republican from Clever, has experience training school staff on what to do in case of a shooting. The key benefit of having a ranger, he said, was being able to quickly respond to threats.

In one school he trained, the local law enforcement estimated that it could take up to 45 minutes for them to arrive.

“It is typically another person with a gun that knows how to use it, that’s trained how to use it… they’re usually the ones that are able to subdue (a threat),” he said.

The bill follows other addressing security concerns, like laws directing schools to share emergency operations plans with local law enforcement and report school safety incidents to the state’s education department.

Some of the provisions passed in last year’s legislation have yet to be implemented because of a lack of funding, such as a requirement to equip schools with bleeding control kits and train staff on how to apply a tourniquet.

Gov. Mike Kehoe has until mid-July to sign or veto bills before they become law.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

Missouri Childcare Centers to Weigh Their Options Amid State Funding Uncertainty

Emma Jones — Sun, 03 May 2026 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Nicci Rexroat, owner of A Place To Grow pre-kindergarten center, has worked in child care for 19 years, and she’s beginning to believe most of Missouri has become a child care desert.

“You know, I have families calling me every day looking for spots, and we’re full in Jefferson City until August of 2027,” Rexroat said.

Rexroat opened A Place To Grow in Holts Summit in 2015 before adding two locations in New Bloomfield and Jefferson City in 2023. Since her initial opening she’s received subsidies from the state that help families pay their tuition expenses.

Over time, she said she has seen the number of families in need of extra help increase exponentially.

“I think one of the big problems is that the economy is a little tighter,” Rexroat said. “Everything is more expensive.”

Last month, the Missouri House proposed a $51.5 million cut to the child care subsidy program that would have specifically targeted enhancement services that help low-income children, including those in foster care, receive quality care. The cut also would have made it harder for accredited day cares to pay staff who meet higher education requirements.

But the Missouri Senate restored that funding in its version of the budget bills passed on Wednesday. That could still be changed by the House or vetoed by Gov. Mike Kehoe before the budget is signed into law.

The child care subsidy program families, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In order , families must have children under the age of 13, be below 150% of the federal poverty line and need child care to work. Once a family is deemed eligible by the Office of Childhood, they are connected with an approved subsidy provider. Subsidy funds are later distributed to that provider by the state based on a set rate.

“It is kind of like a voucher for families to have child care,” said Casey Hanson, deputy director of Kids Win Missouri.

The number of families that qualify for the program has increased by 19% since January of 2025, , which led the Office of Childhood to begin implementing a program waitlist in March.

Hanson said the increase is most likely due to current economic conditions and possibly a surge in the number of children enrolled in child care since the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said she hopes when people look at the number of families on the waitlist they remember why the program exists.

“Subsidy is a program for working families, for families that are in school, for families that are in job training, and for our foster and adoptive families,” Hanson said. “These are families that need childcare to be able to care for their children, to be able to thrive on their own as a family.”

If the cut would have gone into effect, Rexroat feared she would have had to limit the number of services she provides.

“We will have to lower the amount of foster care children that we can provide services to, which is not great for anyone and is not why we’re in the business of early childhood,” Rexroat said.

Rexroat has been in the process of gaining accreditation at all three of her centers over the past couple years. She promised her staff a bump in pay if they were to meet accreditation requirements.

The uncertainty surrounding the potential budget cuts have made her doubt her ability to follow through.

“I am worried about staff retention if I can’t deliver on that promise,” Rexroat said.

Seeds of Faith Preschool in Clinton has been accredited for three years. Owner Amber Hansen did not expect her center to not be as heavily impacted by the cuts, but was concerned about how other providers would be impacted further down the line.

“We may not see it in the next three months, but I mean, a lot of child care centers are hurting across the state right now,” Hansen said. “You got to think about food cost, you got to think about keeping the lights on. We have bills too.”

Hanson of Kids Win Missouri said even with funding being restored by the state Senate, there is still a long road ahead. However, she feels there’s more understanding of the issue at hand.

“We still have a child care crisis happening, we still have a waitlist, I think everyone understands there’s got to be further discussions around how we can try to balance maximizing access for families, getting that wait list reduced but also ensuring that we’re sustaining our providers,” Hanson said.

This story originally appeared in , a digital newsroom covering businessand the economy in Missouri.

Opinion: Some States Are Banning Much More Than Phones in Schools. That’s a Huge Mistake

Richard Culatta — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Correction appended April 30

When it comes to tech and kids, America has made serious mistakes. For years, children have been allowed unsupervised access to social media apps in school and at home that were not designed with their safety in mind. This has contributed to an in adolescent anxiety, depression, cyberbullying and suicide. Americans have every reason to be concerned — and every reason to act.

Responsible legislation could limit the dangers by requiring age verification before kids can sign up for social media accounts, making learning content easier to access and demanding that cellphone providers provide safety tools for families. Instead, a huge wave of poorly constructed bills is working its way through state legislatures that could cause unintended consequences and set young people back even further.

For example, in Missouri, a recently passed the statehouse that will require 70% of elementary school assignments to be completed with pencil and paper and prohibit schools from assigning any homework that uses technology. In Tennessee, lawmakers initially advanced that would have broadly banned classroom technology in grades K-5, though later amendments shifted the policy toward limiting and regulating its use. A proposed Kansas would mandate that all K-5 instructional materials be “print-based.” Virginia’s Senate has legislation directing the state to cap instructional screen time by grade level. And in Utah, a package of signed by the governor will sharply curtail the use of technology to support learning.

There are two consistent problems in the current wave of bills. First, they treat distracting entertainment media and research-based educational technology as if they are the same. But not all screen time is created equal, and these bills completely ignore that distinction. Lumping TikTok together with a math tutoring app, or Instagram with a text-to-speech tool for a student with dyslexia, is a practice that has been repeatedly .

Second, they assume that the best way to limit tech use is with a timer. But the issue is quality, not quantity. Many of these bills set a daily time limit (e.g., one hour of digital instruction), though any amount of time would be too much for a student who is not using the technology effectively. On the flip side, technology used thoughtfully to increase student engagement and creativity should not be constrained by an arbitrary time limit, especially when supporting evidence-based pedagogical practices. What’s worse, not one of the bills requiring paper-based worksheets to be used in place of technology imposes any quality standards on the types of activities assigned. According to these bills, a teacher could replace a highly effective math app with a dot-to-dot worksheet, and it would be totally fine. That’s an “out of the frying pan into the fire” situation.

As a parent and former educator, I understand the desire for . Personal devices and non-learning apps that don’t support educational goals can hijack students’ attention and try any teacher’s patience. But when learning is not engaging, literally anything will become a distraction. Limiting instruction to filling out paper-based worksheets would be mind-numbing for any student.

In contrast, the key to get kids to love learning is to make it meaningful, and this is where ed tech can be a game-changer. Recently, I visited a school in Los Angeles that was transforming math instruction by having students play a research-based math game, which informed the teacher exactly who needed extra help with specific concepts. Other technologies adapt learning activities based on students’ interests or skill levels, let teachers know which kids need help before they fall behind and enable educators to meet each student’s needs in ways that would otherwise be impossible. The effectiveness of these tools is backed by decades of . A bill like Missouri’s would make this kind of data-informed teaching nearly impossible.

For children with disabilities, assistive technology — screen readers, text-to-speech software, adaptive learning systems and language translation tools — is not just a nice-to-have; it whose needs might otherwise go unmet. Today, in the U.S. receive special education services, many of which include technology as part of their individualized education plans. For students with dyslexia using a text-to-speech app, for example, technology isn’t a distraction — it’s how they access learning. Tennessee’s original proposal would have barred teachers from even using digital devices for instruction, meaning the very tools these students depend on could have been eliminated.

In today’s economy, there is no college or career path that doesn’t require the effective use of technology. Students who develop digital literacy skills early than those who don’t. Essentially all jobs — — now require applicants to have digital proficiency. Preventing K-12 students from learning to use technology for writing, research and collaboration would undermine their future employability and the nation’s economic competitiveness.

This is even more striking in a global context. While America’s state legislatures debate whether to let elementary students touch a keyboard, other countries are on teaching students how to use technology — including artificial intelligence —to solve complex problems. They recognize that technology can enhance curiosity, critical thinking and other essential skills, ensuring their graduates can thrive in the workplace and beyond.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence, the world is at the . If the nation’s goal is to prepare kids to thrive in a complex and modern economy, it cannot retreat to the tools of the last century.

There is no disputing the need for guidelines and guardrails for children using consumer technology. But by treating math software the same as Netflix, and assistive technology the same as TikTok, the ed tech bans gaining momentum in statehouses around the country guarantee that the students who can least afford to fall behind will be the ones hurt most. If these bills become law, America won’t have protected its children — it will have forced them to learn for a paper-based world that no longer exists.

Banning technology for learning doesn’t make us principled — it makes us negligent.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Tennessee had passed a law banning all technology in grades K-5. The legislation that was passed had been amended to impose limits and regulations on the use of technology in the classroom.

Missouri Child Care Subsidy Cuts Could Hit Foster Kids, Low-Income Families Hardest

Annelise Hanshaw and Steph Quinn — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Every child who starts at Lemay Child and Family Center in St. Louis County receives a developmental screening during their first month of attendance.

Based on these screenings, kids can receive speech or occupational therapy at the center, and staff can connect families with community support like help sourcing healthy food.

“The economy right now is just really challenging,” said Denise Wiese, the center’s executive director. “So we feel that those extra supports we give parents and children are really critical.”

More than 60% of the children the center serves qualify for a state subsidy program that helps cover the cost of day care for low-income and foster children.

But if lawmakers approve a proposed $51.5 million cut to that program, Wiese told The Independent, the center could be forced to roll back services or reduce scholarships that make child care more affordable.

The cuts are part of a laid out by Republican state Rep. Dirk Deaton of Seneca, chairman of the House Budget Committee, that would eliminate incentives the state currently pays on top of the basic child care subsidy rate.

Deaton told the committee the enhancements were created before the state started paying market-rate costs for child care.

“When those were put in place, the rates weren’t, in some cases,100% of market rate,” he said. “In a lot of cases, we’re already paying the market rate. So why would we be paying more than the market rate?”

For child care providers, Wiese said, losing these payments will be “devastating.”

“That increase for us over the standard daily rate is critical because we welcome any child, regardless of the family’s income level or the child’s developmental level,” Wiese said. “…If those enhancements get cut, we will have no choice but to reduce some of the services that we provide for these children.”

Casey Hanson, deputy director at Kids Win Missouri, told The Independent the proposed cuts would have an outsized effect on the state’s most vulnerable children.

The funding enables providers to cover losses if foster families need short-term or irregular child care. It also helps train staff to work with kids who have experienced trauma.

“Some people think, ‘Okay, that funding just gets cut, and so they still get paid the market rate. They don’t get this extra bit,’” Hanson said. “But it’s not an extra bit to be able to provide that additional therapy or additional support.”

With the cut to their bottom line, child care providers may have to turn families away.

“What decisions do they have to make?” Hanson asked. “Do they have to lay off staff? Do they have to close?… Do they just quit taking foster families?”

Some facilities already hesitate to take on those families, Hanson said, and the proposed cuts would “de-incentivize that even more.”

The cuts come during a period of instability for the program. At the end of 2023, the state changed software providers to manage the subsidy payments, and technical difficulties led to a backlog of missed payments that .

Some day care providers closed under the pressure, and the stress continues today.

Demand for child care subsidies has , exceeding the amount of money appropriated to the program this fiscal year.

With available funds shrinking, the state’s education department launched a waitlist for the program at the beginning of March. Children under state care, like foster children, are exempted from the waitlist. Those who qualify based on their income, though, will have to wait until funds are available.

“Our system is already at or over capacity,” Hanson said. “We don’t have enough resources to serve the children and families that are qualified with this current [funding] structure.”

Despite mounting pressure, providers are expected to see a long-awaited change in the way subsidies are paid that state officials promise will be initiated by this summer.

Currently, child care providers submit attendance logs and are reimbursed based on the number of days subsidy children are in their care. In May, the department plans to pay subsidies at the beginning of the month based on enrollment, not attendance.

Gov. Mike Kehoe championed the switch in his inaugural State of the State address last year.

“We will not allow late payments, or technology issues to put these small businesses at risk of not being able to provide for families in need of child care,” he said.

The governor is still supportive of paying providers based on enrollment, but Deaton’s proposed budget could prevent this change.

Deaton’s budget plan includes instructions to pay “solely on a child’s actual attendance and shall not be made prospectively, on authorization, enrollment, contracted slots or any other non-attendance-based methodology.”

State Budget Director Dan Haug told the House Budget Committee Monday that the state would hold off on paying by enrollment in May if Deaton’s suggestion is signed into law for next fiscal year, which begins in July.

“I don’t think it would make sense to make a change in May and then go back on July 1,” he said. “That would not be good for the providers, moving them around with how they’re being paid.”

Paying on enrollment gives flexibility to providers, Wiese said. A family may need to miss 10 days in a month, but the center can only get paid for five absences.

“If a family wants to spend their day with their child, that’s the best thing for the child,” she said. “If [the state is] paying us based on authorization, that slot is paid for whether that child is here or not.”

With budget amendments forthcoming, Hanson hopes to see edits to benefit child care providers.

“We know that (lawmakers) care about children and families,” she said. “But sometimes these decisions don’t reflect that these [cuts] are going to be really painful for children and families in our state.”

The Independent’s Rudi Keller contributed to this report.

Missouri Doula Program Shows Early Success as Lawmakers Look to Expansion

Anna Spoerre — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

In the past year, Christian King, a doula based in Kansas City, has supported more than 40 mothers enrolled in Medicaid through their pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

In that role, she helps educate and support families about birth and babies, but her work also takes on a more nontraditional approach.

When one mother’s water was shut off at four weeks postpartum, King helped her find reconciliation services to turn the utilities back on. When another mom couldn’t afford car repairs, King found an organization in Raytown that provided financial assistance. She helped one client secure a car seat from the local health department and another fill her closet with baby clothes.

King, 35, hopes that soon, “just like going to the dentist and going to the eye doctor, obtaining a doula and having a doula present is also one of those things that you just have to have on your team as part of services for maternity.”

Doulas do not deliver babies. They advocate for the physical and mental wellbeing of mothers and their families.

For the past 15 months in Missouri, anyone enrolled in Medicaid while pregnant and postpartum can have a doula by their side for free. Now, a group of bipartisan lawmakers are hoping to expand the program in an effort to continue combating the state’s poor infant and maternal outcomes.

“The statistics tell a devastating story of the lives lost that could’ve been saved if we put in the proper measures,” said state Sen. Barbara Washington, a Democrat from Kansas City who proposed one iteration of the . “There are third-world countries that have better maternal mortality rates than we do.”

The bill is estimated to cost around $300,000. While substantial amid a predicted state budget shortfall, state Rep. also filed legislation to expand the program, said she believes the long-term savings of having fewer Missourians who require medical attention will make up for the cost.

On average, 70 women die each year in Missouri during childbirth or in the first year postpartum. Of those deaths,

In Missouri, than women on private insurance, according to a 2024 report published by the state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review that looked at women who gave birth between 2017 and 2021. A 2023 and also pointed to doulas as a solution.

In fall 2024, the Missouri Department of Social Services issued an , citing “an immediate danger to the public health, safety or welfare of pregnant women in Missouri.”

Since the program’s inception, there have been about 625 participants insured through Medicaid who accessed doulas during their pregnancy and postpartum, said Baylee Watts, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services. As of this month, 108 doulas were enrolled in the program.

“The department is encouraged by the level of engagement so far,” Watts said in a statement. “And views the doula benefit as an important component of broader efforts to improve maternal health outcomes across Missouri.”

Legislation filed by state Rep. Tara Peters, a Rolla Republican, has moved the farthest this year, clearing committee in February as part of a Her bill seeks to increase the number of covered doula visits from six to 16.

The average out-of-pocket cost for a doula in Missouri is about $1,500, according to the Missouri Doula Association.

“I’ve just noticed how much extra care a doula can provide, especially for women in high need situations,” said “Doulas can provide some great education and support for people who maybe don’t have the extra support.”

This support can also look like serving as an interpreter between medical professionals and pregnant people, navigating insurance, ensuring access to nutritious food or coordinating transportation to medical appointments.

, who previously served as executive director of Monarch Family Resource Center in Farmington, said expanding the number of covered visits can be particularly helpful for women who experience postpartum depression in the year after giving birth.

Her legislation, like Peters’, expands the number of reimbursable visits from six to sixteen, and includes access to doulas for prenatal, birth, postpartum and lactation support.

She said the legislation also hopes to correct some issues doulas have had getting full reimbursement after being in the room for a scheduled c-section, listed as a scheduled surgeries, a classification she said muddled the reimbursement process.

The Department of Social Services previously said the reimbursements could lead to savings for the state in the coming years, including by potentially reducing the Cesarean rate. Watts said it’s too early to get an accurate look at this result.

said doulas can be a lifesaving set of eyes and ears in homes where women experience domestic violence, a leading cause of pregnancy-associated deaths in Missouri.

“The doula birth worker can also have a voice in those situations and see what’s going on outside of that medical office,” she said. “And maybe be able to provide some rescuing relief from dangerous situations for mom.”

To be eligible, and certified through a national or Missouri-based doula training organization. From there, they will be added to a list of eligible doulas overseen by .

Sandra Thornhill, a social justice doula who has advocated in Jefferson City for better legislation for doulas, said it was beautiful to see this policy issue reach across the aisle. And she was happy to see some of the proposals pushing for increased visits, especially in postpartum.

She said it’s not a question of if doulas should be reimbursed, but of how the state honors the traditional practices and values of doulas in that process. She is wary of any policies that place community health workers under medical or state authority. Instead she hopes to see more collaborative models.

”My concern is not with recognizing doulas in the Medicaid policy, but with how the bill structures authority and governance over that work,” said Thornill, who describes herself as a womb warrior and policy griot. “The question is whether the policy structure strengthens community birth workers or will it place unnecessary burden or medical authority that doesn’t reflect the roots of the work.”

But she said the progress made in acknowledging and supporting doula’s work in the past few years is striking, especially as many doulas live “birth to birth” as they struggle to pay the bills.

Prior to the state’s Medicaid reimbursement plan, to help families in need for free as they navigated growing their families.

“They do it because they love their people and their community so much that they’re willing to make this great sacrifice,” Thornhill said. “ However, it is not healthy. And it is not fair for the community to have to suffer like that when there are resources available to change that. But again, those resources cannot come with a slap on the wrist. They cannot come with a backlash of ‘now you’re under our thumb.’”

A representative with America’s Health Insurance Plans voiced opposition to Washington’s bill in a committee hearing last month.

“We are very concerned about issues with education, standardization and making sure doulas are all on the same page and we know exactly how they’ve been trained,” he said. “There seems to be some resistance out there and a lot of independence within the organizations.”

Washington’s legislation also seeks to ensure health benefit plans offer coverage for midwifery services. She said this is especially crucial in rural parts of the state, where families don’t have access to nearby hospitals with maternity wards.

“Currently, our law does not explicitly require private health plans to cover midwifery. This would close that loophole,” Washington said, adding that this change would shift power back to patients to choose their own provider, especially in rural communities “where the hospitals are closing at alarming rates.”

A-F Rating System For Public Schools Clears Missouri House Despite Bipartisan Concerns

Annelise Hanshaw — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s to grade public schools on an “A” through “F” scale is pushing House lawmakers to approve legislation some think isn’t quite ready.

With approval and dissent on both sides of the aisle, the House voted a to create a new school accountability system through to the Senate 96-53 Thursday despite concerns the letter grades could be a “scarlet letter” for underperforming schools.

“Will this labeling system actually improve schools or will it mostly brand communities, destabilize staffing and incentivize gaming rather than learning?” asked state Rep. Kem Smith, a Democrat from Florissant, during House debate Tuesday morning.

She said the key metrics that determine the grade, performance and growth, are volatile.

“The label itself can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” she said. “The bill doubles down on high stakes metrics that are known to be unstable.”

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Dane Diehl, a Republican from Butler, told lawmakers that a performance-based school report card with “A” through “F” grades is inevitable. The details, though, are negotiable.

“The governor’s executive order, it is going to happen either way,” he said. “I think we tried to make that process a little better for school districts.”

Kehoe’s order directs the state’s education department to draw up a plan for the report cards and present it to the State Board of Education. The board could reject the idea, but with a board with primarily new members appointed by Kehoe, lawmakers have accepted the system as fate.

State Rep. Ed Lewis, a Republican from Moberly and chair of the House’s education committee, that he prioritized the bill as a way to give lawmakers influence over the final outcome. He is happy with the , which gives the education department more leeway to determine grade thresholds and removes a provision that would raise expectations once 65% of schools achieve “A” or “B” grades.

The House also approved an amendment Tuesday that would grade schools’ environment. This would be based on the rates of student suspension, seclusion and restraint incident rates and satisfaction surveys given to students, parents and teachers.

The Senate’s version, which passed out of its education committee last week, does not include those changes.

“I think (the House bill) is the best product we have in the Capitol right now,” Lewis said. “I am not saying it’s complete, but it is the best we have right now.”

The changes have softened some skeptics of the legislation, like state Rep. Brad Pollitt.

Pollitt, a Sedalia Republican, said he didn’t support the legislation “for a number of years.” But with the edits, he sees potential for the legislation to usher in changes to the way the state accredits public schools.

The current process, he said, “nobody seems to like,” pointing to widespread concerns with the state’s standardized test.

Some of these changes are already happening quietly. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education received a grant from the federal government to develop a state assessment based on through-year testing, which would measure student growth throughout the school year, instead of a single summative assessment.

The department is poised to pilot the new test in 14 classrooms this spring, hoping to eventually offer it statewide within a few years. But the estimated startup cost of $2 million is one of many department requests cut from the governor’s proposed budget as the .

Creating the “A” through “F” report cards is estimated to cost a similar amount, if not more, according to the state’s . The expense is largely frontloaded, going to the programming and technology support required to create the grade cards’ interface.

When The Independent asked Kehoe’s office about the fiscal note, the governor’s communications director Gabby Picard said he would work with “associated agencies” to determine appropriate funding “while remaining mindful of the current budget constraints and maintaining fiscal responsibility.”

The House’s version of the legislation includes an incentive program for high-performing schools, giving bonuses to go toward teacher recruitment and retention, if the legislature appropriates funding for the program.

The bill originally proposed incentives of $50-100 per student to subsidize teacher pay. This had large fiscal implications, and Lewis surmised that it would violate a section of the State Constitution prohibiting bonuses for public employees.

Making the funding optional and directing it to the school’s teacher recruitment and retention fund remedied those concerns. The Senate Education Committee removed the incentive program in its version of the legislation.

The House’s approval Thursday does not stop discussion and possible amendments. Next, the bill will go to the Senate for consideration, and if any changes are made, it will return to the House for more discussion.

Missouri ‘School Choice’ Bills to Watch in 2026

Maria Benevento — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Elementary and secondary education is among the most popular subjects of legislation filed in the Missouri legislature this year. The Missouri House lists more than 150 bills in that category in 2026, while the smaller Missouri Senate lists nearly 75.

Among those bills, more than two dozen affect what proponents often call “school choice,” programs that make it easier for families to educate their children outside of the traditional public school system.

That includes making it easier for families to afford private school, letting students attend public school districts they don’t live in or expanding the availability of charter schools — which are funded by tax dollars and free to attend but not attached to the local public school district.

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Many proponents say those programs give families more options, make it easier for them to find the best fit and put pressure on traditional public schools to improve. Opponents say they make the education system less efficient and drain money from traditional public schools in favor of less regulated options.

In Missouri, positions on school choice have not always fallen along party lines, but Republicans have generally been more supportive. In recent years, the Republican-controlled legislature has created and then expanded a program that redirects tax dollars to private school scholarships and voted to allow charter schools in Boone County as well as St. Louis and Kansas City.

This year, some lawmakers want to see those programs grow. Others want to rein them in or give them more oversight.

Some of the proposals have started to make their way through the legislative process, but they all face a series of hurdles before they are potentially approved by both houses and reach the governor’s desk. They may be amended at several stages in the process.

Since Democrats are a minority in the legislature, their bills in particular need bipartisan support to succeed.

If you want to weigh in on which of these bills should advance or how they should change, contact your representatives .

Here’s a look at key school choice legislation that has been proposed in Missouri.

Expanding private school scholarships

In 2022, Missouri launched a tax credit scholarship program for private schools, known as the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Program or .

Instead of the state funding scholarships directly, it offers donors tax credits to contribute to state-approved organizations, which in turn distribute private school scholarships to students who met state eligibility requirements. Last year, the state also directly contributed millions of dollars to the program, helping it expand.

State Treasurer Vivek Malek that the program awarded 6,418 scholarships, totaling more than $43 million, for the current school year.

So far, MOScholars has mainly been geared toward two groups: students with disabilities and students who meet income requirements and don’t already attend private school. Some lawmakers want to expand which students and schools qualify.

, sponsored by Republican Rep. John Voss of Cape Girardeau, keeps the requirement that students must meet income or disability requirements. But it removes other restrictions, opening the program to existing private school students. A similar proposal is sponsored by Republican Rep. Mark Matthiesen of O’Fallon.

, sponsored by Republican Sen. Brad Hudson of Cape Fair, is similar. It includes some additional changes, such as forbidding rules and regulations for schools involved in the program beyond those included in state law.

, sponsored by Rep. Michael Davis of Belton, goes even further in expanding eligibility. It only requires that participating students are lawfully present state residents.

Lawmakers from both parties have proposed adding early childhood students to the program. One such proposal is from Rep. Ian Mackey, a Democrat from St. Louis County.

Another is , filed by Sen. David Gregory, a Republican from St. Louis County. Gregory’s bill also expands eligibility, similarly to Davis’, and restricts further regulations on participating schools, similarly to Hudson’s.

Regulating private school scholarships

In contrast, some lawmakers want to add regulations or restrictions to the MOScholars program.

, sponsored by Rep. Mark Boyko, a Democrat from Kirkwood, would require schools participating in the program to meet certain minimum standards. They include health and safety items, the length and start date of the school term, dyslexia screening, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and allowing military recruiters into the school.

Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Democrat from Springfield, is sponsoring . It requires that schools participating in the program don’t discriminate on the basis of religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression in their “creed, practices, admissions policy, or curriculum.”

, sponsored by Rep. Melissa Douglas, a Democrat from Kansas City, is similar to Fogle’s legislation.

Current law says participating schools can’t discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin but won’t be required to change their “creed, practices, admissions policy, or curriculum.”

Beacon reporting has found that some schools that participate in the program do of students or their family members.

Rep. Stephanie Hein, a Democrat from Springfield, filed to require families who are eligible based on income to prove they still meet the requirements each year.

, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Doug Beck from St. Louis County, would require more information on scholarship recipients to be posted online, including parents’ names, the amount of money their students received and the amount each school received.

Expanding charter schools

Currently, charter schools are only allowed within Kansas City Public Schools, St. Louis Public Schools and Boone County with some limited exceptions, such as in unaccredited districts.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Michael Davis, , would also allow them in Cass County.

, sponsored by Republican Rep. Ben Keathly of Chesterfield, would expand charter schools to counties with a charter form of government — which includes Jackson, Clay and several counties in the St. Louis area — and cities with more than 30,000 residents.

, sponsored by Republican Rep. Cathy Jo Loy of Carthage, would expand charter schools statewide.

Both Keathly’s proposal and , sponsored by Republican Rep. George Hruza of St. Louis County, would forbid local regulations that don’t allow charter schools to purchase property from the school district or local political subdivision. Keathly’s bill specifically applies to St. Louis, while Hruza’s is more broad.

Regulating charter schools

Other lawmakers want to further regulate or restrict charter schools.

Boyko filed , similar to his legislation about the MOScholars program, which would require charter schools to follow certain regulations that traditional school districts have to follow. Those include having a minimum school term, observing Veterans Day and youth brain injury prevention.

Three Boone County Democrats filed bills that would reverse the decision to allow charter schools in Boone County. They include:

from Rep. Kathy Steinhoff.
from Rep. David Tyson Smith.
from Sen. Stephen Webber.

, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, who represents part of the Kansas City area in Clay County, would add requirements for new charter schools to open. The State Board of Education would have to issue a certificate of need based on information from the local school board or city or county government.

The certificate of need application would say that there is enough consumer demand and availability of high-quality teachers for the charter school to operate without harming the local school district. It would also affirm that the charter school is likely to reduce inequality, improve achievement, create a more efficient education system and address family priorities.

, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Karla May of St. Louis, would prohibit new charter schools in St. Louis. It wouldn’t affect existing charter schools.

Transferring to a different school district

Several lawmakers filed bills that would allow students to transfer outside of the school district in which they live.

, filed by Republican Rep. Brad Pollitt of Sedalia, allows school districts to decide whether they would like to accept transfer students and how many spots they have open. Districts can also limit how many students leave to no more than 5% of their enrollment.

Transfer students can’t be selected based on academic or athletic ability or past discipline records unless they’ve been suspended multiple times or expelled.

Reasons families might want their students to transfer could include proximity to a parent’s workplace — allowing them to be more involved during the school day — special programs offered or a curriculum that better matches their beliefs, the bill says.

, filed by Republican Sen. Curtis Trent from southwest Missouri, is similar to

filed by Gregory. Both proposals modify a section of existing state law that allows students to transfer from unaccredited districts.

Under both bills, students would be allowed to transfer from any district. Schools would report their capacity to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and DESE would assign students who wished to transfer to a nearby district or charter school with room for them.

Each district would have to provide transportation to at least one other school district or charter school, designated by DESE.

Education tax credits

Three proposals from Republicans would reimburse parents who educate their children outside of a public school system.

Parents could receive a refundable tax credit for things like tuition, fees, supplies and tutoring. The amount of the tax credit cannot exceed the state adequacy target — the amount the state determines is necessary to educate a public school student.

The proposals are:

, sponsored by Davis.
, sponsored by Republican Sen. Nick Schroer of St. Charles County.
, sponsored by Republican Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville.

Davis’ bill is worded differently than the other two and goes into more detail about what types of nonpublic schools are eligible, including home schools, private schools, private virtual schools and parish schools.

Giving parents control over state education spending for their children

, sponsored by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, a Republican who represents part of Jefferson County, would allow parents to direct the funding that would have gone to educate their child at a local public school to another school of their choice.

That could be a private school, charter school or virtual school. Parents could also choose to send their child to a traditional public school other than the one the school district assigns them.

The amount of funding available would either be the state adequacy target or tuition at the school that parents choose, whichever is less.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

Proposals to Expand Missouri Private School Voucher Program Meet Tight Budget

Annelise Hanshaw — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 17:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Missouri lawmakers are considering expanding the state’s private school voucher program with proposals to open eligibility and remove demands on private schools who accept voucher funds.

But the program, which has spent a majority of the $50 million it received in state funding this fiscal year, may lack room to grow with Gov. Mike Kehoe proposing only a small bump for MOScholars alongside a .

MOScholars uses state money, funded directly in the state budget and indirectly through tax-credit donations, to subsidize K-12 education outside a student’s local public school. The program is . But some homeschool families use the funds to buy supplies, and a couple students have used the funds to enroll in neighboring public schools.

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The program is in its fourth year and provides scholarships to over 6,000 students, thanks in large part to .

State Treasurer Vivek Malek, whose office oversees MOScholars, wants to keep the momentum going this upcoming fiscal year. His in its budget request for the program, seeking to provide funding for 13,000 students next school year.

Kehoe, who lauded the program’s success in his State of the State speech Tuesday, budgeted $60 million in state funds to MOScholars.

“This program is working,” he said, “and Missouri families are counting on it.”

Malek’s office has already spent nearly $40 million on scholarships this fiscal year, according to the Missouri Accountability Portal. Most students with MOScholars funding return the next year, so without funding above and beyond last year’s appropriation, the program will not be able to offer scholarships to many new students.

Despite this funding challenge, the Senate Education Committee appears poised to prioritize MOScholars expansion.

State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville, chairs the committee and has spoken in strong support of MOScholars. His children attend Summit Christian Academy, a school that in its first three years.

Among the first bills Brattin selected for a hearing Tuesday was a , a Republican from Cape Fair, to open eligibility to students already enrolled in private schools.

In the bill’s fiscal note, the treasurer’s office warns the legislation would “significantly increase the amount of funding needed for the program.”

Currently, eligibility for MOScholars is multi-pronged.

Students with an individualized education plan, which public schools administer to students with disabilities requiring accommodations, can apply without restrictions on family income. Students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch are eligible as long as they have attended public school for at least one semester in the past year or are entering kindergarten or first grade. Siblings of MOScholars recipients are also eligible.

Heather Smith, a mother from Cass County, told the committee the expansion would help families like hers. She told them about her son, who struggled in the local public school but “thrived” with the smaller classroom size at Summit Christian Academy.

“The financial strain has been absolutely crushing to our family,” she said.

This school year, her family couldn’t afford the private school tuition. But since her son has been out of public school for over a year, he doesn’t qualify for MOScholars.

“(School) should absolutely be a parent’s choice,” Smith said. “And that choice should not bring a family so far underwater financially that there is little to no way out.”

The bill also seeks to expand eligibility to students with disabilities diagnosed by a medical provider, but it does not define disability nor specify what types of conditions would be covered.

In addition to expanding program eligibility, Hudson’s bill would require judges to allow organizations representing parents to intervene in cases challenging the MOScholars statute. Currently, EdChoice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for school vouchers and similar programs, in a to fund MOScholars.

Hudson’s bill also seeks to bar administrative rules that would place requirements on schools accepting MOScholars students.

The Missouri House is not set to move MOScholars bills early in the legislative session, with its education committee concentrating on matters affecting public schools.

Moberly Republican state Rep. Ed Lewis, the committee chairman and a former public school teacher, said in the committee’s first meeting Wednesday that he is focusing on teacher certification and retention, literacy and transparency and accountability in public education.

The committee will consider bills outside of these topics, he said, adding: “We want to make sure that we focus on those things this session to try to move education in Missouri forward.”

Some bills seek to reign in MOScholars, adding requirements for private schools to be eligible to receive program funds.

A filed by state Sen. Barbara Washington, a Democrat from Kansas City, would require charter schools and private schools accepting MOScholars funds to follow accreditation and accountability measures set by the state, among other requirements.

Similarly, a by state Rep. Mark Boyko, a Democrat from Kirkwood, private schools with MOScholars students would be required to follow safety requirements, like teaching CPR in high schools and screening for dyslexia.

“If a school is being supported with state dollars, then I think it’s important that the state takes responsibility for the safety of those students, just like they would a public school student,” Boyko told The Independent.

He filed the bill last year, but it did not get a hearing. If MOScholars legislation makes it to the full House, Boyko said, he is open to adding his legislation as an amendment.

Missouri Education Board Lowers St. Louis Public Schools to Provisionally Accredited Status

Annelise Hanshaw — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

The Missouri State Board of Education stripped St. Louis Public Schools of its status as fully accredited onTuesday a move the only opposing board member called a “messaging device.”

The school district has been downgraded to provisionally accredited.

“Lowering accreditation is a broad signal and by itself does not fix audits, stabilize transportation or strengthen governance,” said Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, a board member from Pasadena Hills.

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The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education planned only to raise accreditation during the state board meeting Tuesday, boosting the Osborn School District from provisional to full accreditation following its hiring of a superintendent in order to meet certification requirements.

The department has been looking at factors like superintendent certification and financial security to determine whether a school district is fully accredited since the launch of the Missouri School Improvement 6 in 2022. Any changes to accreditation based on MSIP6 scores are not supposed to be implemented until next year, which has who want low-performing schools penalized sooner rather than later.

State board member Kerry Casey, of Chesterfield, asked the board to lower St. Louis Public Schools to provisional accreditation based on factors outside of MSIP6. She cited leadership instability, transportation issues, a poor rating from the State Auditor and the district’s late submission of its annual financial report to the state.

“(My recommendation) is strictly based on the fact that they have experienced significant change in the scope of effectiveness of their programs and their financial integrity upon which their original designation was based, and they have failed to comply with the statutory requirement,” Casey said. “If we do not make this lower classification change, we are not doing our job.”

Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said she was “very dissatisfied” that the district turned in its financial report late and thought about recommending to lower its accreditation. But she didn’t think the move would solve any problems.

Charter schools can open in areas where a school district has been provisionally accredited for three or more consecutive years. But state law already allows charter schools in St. Louis.

“The provisional tag on the school district is not going to make that big of a difference,” Eslinger said. “Why I did not make that recommendation is I’d rather have them at the table with me and working with me.”

A spokesperson for St. Louis Public Schools could not be immediately reached for comment on the board’s decision.

State education officials have been working with the district, Eslinger said, and the department has convened a group of school leaders and local stakeholders to brainstorm solutions for St. Louis Public Schools and other underperforming districts.

“Putting those plans together, I see good things ahead for St Louis,” Eslinger told the board.

When she took office as commissioner in 2024, St. Louis Public Schools’ leadership did not return calls or emails, she said.

“We do now have a relationship, and we’re being very honest and upfront about the issues that they have,” Eslinger said.

Westbrooks-Hodge, whose district includes St. Louis, was the only board member to speak against Casey’s motion. She pointed out that the district had incremental growth in its annual performance reports, and she worried it was being singled out.

“Using reclassification primarily to send a message risks blurring the distinction MSIP6 intentionally draws between academic performance and governance or financial stress and risks, weakening the consistency and credibility of classification systems statewide,” she said.

Casey and the other five board members voted by voice in favor of the motion.

Last January, Casey but did not receive a second supporter to spur a vote. In reaction, the from the board. Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin , saying: “This has long been needing to happen but for some reason hasn’t.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, Casey also requested that the department provide a report on underperforming schools statewide by the board’s April meeting. This motion received unanimous support from board members.

Missouri Schools Show Improvement in Annual Performance Reports

Annelise Hanshaw — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 17:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Missouri public schools showed continued improvement in annual performance reports released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Thursday, with 56% of districts and charter schools raising their scores.

The state is in its fourth year of the Missouri School Improvement Program 6, which education officials deem “more rigorous” than the previous iteration of the program. In 2022, the system’s pilot year, 112 school districts and charters scored lower than 70% — the score required to be fully accredited by the education department.

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Accreditation decisions based on the MSIP6 scores are a year away, but the number of districts at risk for a lower classification has decreased dramatically in four years.

Based on districts’ three-year composite scores, which the department will use to determine accreditation, 29 school districts are in range to be provisionally accredited. None scored below 50%, which would put them at risk for being unaccredited.

Three charter schools scored below 50% and 29 scored below 70%, but these scores will not be part of next year’s classification decisions. Despite MSIP6 being used to score charters, they have separate methods of accreditation.

“I am so proud of our educators and students,” Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said in a press conference Thursday afternoon. “You must take some time to celebrate the good, but we also know there is room for improvement.”

The scores include a variety of factors, like standardized test scores, student growth and career readiness. Student performance comprises 70% of the score. The other 30% is based on continuous improvement measures.

Of the 553 districts and charter schools in the state, 152 raised their score by at least 5% this year. Some showed dramatic improvement.

Neosho School District boosted its score from 61.5% in 2024 to 85.5% this year. Superintendent Jim Davis, who took the role in August 2024, told The Independent that the improvement is largely because of a district-wide focus on proficiency and literacy.

“There was a lot of work that was put into it to get us to take that jump,” he said, “but we’re proud of that, and we’re expecting to continue moving up with the systems that we built here.”

Classroom instruction in Neosho is expected to meet grade-level standards, he said, which pushes struggling students to catch up.

“Students expedite their academic growth when they are given grade-level content,” Davis said. “So the more time that we spend in grade-level content, the faster they’re going to move.”

The district is one of 32 districts and charter schools in , a grant program which provides literacy resources and professional development among other assets.

The district received top scores for student growth in reading, math and science and received 50% of the points possible for social studies growth among the full student population. It got a quarter of the points possible for social studies growth in student groups , such as low-income students and English-language learners.

“We want to create success,” Davis said. “But also we have got to continue developing our team so that, moving forward, all students can be successful.”

The Southern Boone School District in Ashland also showed dramatic improvement, going from 78.9% in 2024 to 95.9% this year. It is one of 22 school districts with a score of at least 90%.

“You can contribute our growth to continued work with our teams of teachers and administrators on our curriculum development and making sure that we’ve got the right resources for kids and teachers to use, along with making sure that our teachers are well-prepared,” Superintendent Tim Roth told The Independent.

The district has invested in new textbooks and software to bolster curriculum. At the middle school level, the district has instituted an assessment system that gives continuous checks on student achievement. Teachers review the results regularly and brainstorm ways to improve in small-group settings, Roth said.

The district received 100% for student growth on standardized tests across subject areas. It also earned top scores in attendance.

“Something that stands out for us is just the value that our parents and community put on education,” Roth said. “With our students being here on a regular basis, we’re very happy that we have that support and that learning is a priority.”

Eslinger told reporters that attendance and literacy are a focus for the department.

“We are on the right track,” she said. “Our data points are showing improvement, but we still have work to do.”

Missouri Voters Approve Four-Day School Week in Two Districts, Showing Rising Support

Annelise Hanshaw — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 13:01:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

When the Independence School District announced it was switching to a four-day week during the 2023-24 school year, it drew questions from local families and statewide officials.

Parents wondered what kind of child care they would have on days without classroom instruction. And whether the state needed to intervene.

Ultimately, Missouri’s General Assembly passed a law requiring a vote for non–rural school districts to authorize a four-day week.

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On Tuesday, the Independence and Hallsville school districts became the first large districts to receive the approval of voters to continue with four-day weeks.

“I knew that the majority of our community supported it,” Hallsville Superintendent Tyler Walker told The Independent. “I was a little bit surprised to see how much support it was.”

In Hallsville, residents had two questions on the ballot related to the school district. One asked about the four-day week and the other was a bond measure previously passed in April .

The election drew 25% of registered voters, , and 75% of those voted in favor of the four-day school week. The vote authorizes the schedule for the next 10 years, when then the district will have to hold another special election.

Walker didn’t think the margin would be that wide. Earlier surveys from the district’s 2022 adoption of the schedule put approval at around 60%.

He believes that the district’s growing success on standardized tests and other publicly available metrics have given families confidence that the four-day week isn’t such a bad thing.

“Our community has grown to appreciate the four day week more after experiencing it for a few years,” he said.

Todd Fuller, director of communications for the Missouri State Teachers Association, told The Independent that voters in districts who have already been operating in a four-day week like Independence and Hallsville have an idea of how it works for their students. The state law, passed in 2024, will require a vote prior to the schedule’s adoption for those who do not already adopt the abbreviated week.

“Anyone who’s a constituent of the district has had time to digest this process, and they’ve been able to decide over a two-year period whether it’s been beneficial or not beneficial for their kids,” Fuller said. “So if they are expressing that feeling with their vote, then we’re going to have a pretty good understanding of what they really want.”

The association doesn’t have an official stance on the four-day week. But Fuller said the teachers it represents have been pleased with the schedule.

Jorjana Pohlman, president of Independence’s branch of the Missouri National Education Association, told The Independent that the overall sentiment is positive from the district’s educators.

Mondays out of the classroom have become a good time for teachers to have doctor’s appointments, spend time with their families and plan for the week ahead, she said.

“In the beginning, it was fear of the unknown for families as well as teachers,” she said. “A lot of teachers had the attitude of, ‘Let’s try it.’ They, I think overall, felt it was a positive thing.”

A looked at recent applicants to teaching positions in Independence, finding that the four-day week was a key part of the district’s recruitment.

In particular, 63% of applicants rated the four-day schedule as a top-three reason for applying, and 27% said it was their top priority.

The study also looked at the value of the four-day week for applicants, asking how much they would sacrifice in salary to work at a district with the schedule. On average, applicants were willing to sacrifice $2267 annually for the four-day week.

Walker said the schedule has also improved recruitment in Hallsville, with a dramatic uptick in veteran teachers applying to positions.

With teachers coming to Independence schools particularly for their schedule, some worried that returning to a five-day week would have large consequences for staffing. But Pohlman said a survey showed that the loss of educators is less than many would think.

“The educators, they care deeply about their students, and they want what’s best for students and for the community, whether it’s four day week or five day week,” she said. “They are still going to be committed.”

Almost , with around 91% of those districts in rural settings. Only districts in cities with at least 30,000 residents, or those located in Jackson, Clay, St. Louis, Jefferson and St. Charles counties, must call for a vote before moving to a four-day week.

Nearly All State Funding for Missouri School Vouchers Used for Religious Schools

Annelise Hanshaw — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

State funding of private-school vouchers is primarily being used for students attending religious institutions, with nearly 98% of funding going toward Catholic, Christian, Jewish and Islamic schools.

This year, state lawmakers passed a budget that included a request from Gov. Mike Kehoe to supply the state-run K-12 scholarship program, MOScholars, with $50 million of general revenue. Previously, the impact to the state’s bottom line was indirect, with 100% tax-deductible donations fueling the program.

Donations are still part of MOScholars’ funding, but the state appropriation has more than doubled the number of scholarships available.

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During the 2024-25 school year, MOScholars awarded $15.2 million in scholarships.

In August alone, the State Treasurer’s Office received invoices for scholarships totaling $15.6 million, according to documents obtained by The Independent under Missouri’s open records laws.

The invoice process is unique to the direct state funding of the program. The nonprofits that administer scholarships, called educational assistance organizations, were the sole keepers of scholarship funds. But now, the State Treasurer’s Office holds scholarship money derived from general revenue in an account previously only used for program marketing and administration.

The invoices contained data on which schools MOScholars students are attending and the scholarship amount.

Of the 2,329 scholarships awarded in August, only 59 went to students in nonreligious schools.

This number did not surprise Democratic lawmakers, who for years have warned that state revenue was going to be siphoned into religious schools.

“We are simply subsidizing, with tax dollars, parents who would already choose to send their kids to a private school,” state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, told The Independent. “And now we are using public dollars to pay for schools that are not transparent whatsoever in choosing who to educate and who not.”

Some schools have been criticized for admission requirements that push a moral standard.

Christian Fellowship School in Columbia, which received scholarships for 63 MOScholars students in August, requires “at least one parent of enrolled students professes faith in Christ and agrees with the admission policies and the philosophy and doctrinal statements of the school,” according to its .

These statements include disapproval of homosexuality.

“The school reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse admission of an applicant or to discontinue enrollment of a student,” the handbook continues.

With around 430 K-12 students enrolled at Christian Fellowship School, according to , MOScholars makes up a sizable portion of its funding. But it is not the only school with a large number of scholarship recipients.

Torah Prep School in St. Louis had 229 K-12 students during the 2023-24 school year. And in August, 197 MOScholars students received funding to attend the school. Torah Prep did not respond to a request for comment.

The high number of students attending religious schools with MOScholars funding is somewhat incidental, somewhat by design.

The MOScholars program allows its six educational assistance organizations to choose what scholarships they are willing to support.

Religious organizations stepped into the role to help connect congregants with affiliated schools. Only two of the six educational assistance organizations partner with schools unaffiliated with religion.

The Catholic dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Springfield-Cape Girardeau run the educational assistance organization Bright Futures Fund, which administered nearly half of the scholarships awarded in August.

The educational assistance organization Agudath Israel of Missouri focuses on Jewish education, partnering with four Jewish day schools.

The organization’s director Hillel Anton told The Independent that students are attracted to the program for more than just religious reasons.

“(Parents’) first and foremost concern is where their child is going to be able to be in the best learning environment,” Anton said. “And you may have a faith-based school that is fantastic and is able to provide that.”

The demand for the program has long . Going into August, organizations had waitlists of students eligible for a scholarship but without funding secured.

Agudath Israel of Missouri couldn’t guarantee scholarships for all of the returning students, Anton said, until the state funding was official.

“Because a lot of the funding is done towards the end of the year… we had everyone on a wait list,” he said. “Because we didn’t know necessarily how much funding we were going to have, we weren’t awarding anyone (the funding).”

Because the program was previously powered by 100% tax-deductible donations, the majority of funds poured in around December. But families need the money months sooner, with tuition due at the start of the school year.

Some educational assistance organizations prefunded scholarships, dipping into their savings to front expenses in the fall. Others had schools that would accept students and wait for payment.

The funding from the state, though, has resolved the backlog and allowed organizations to give scholarships to everyone on their wait list.

“Everyone who qualified for a scholarship this year received one,” Ashlie Hand, Bright Futures Fund’s director of communications, told The Independent.

Bright Futures Fund nearly doubled the number of students it serves, from 1,050 to 1,909.

Agudath Israel of Missouri is growing, too. The new funding helped the organization expand from 175 scholarships last year to 277 this year.

Some expect the state funding to continue next year to support this year’s windfall of scholarships. State Treasurer Vivek Malek that if donations fall short, he will request state funds to support the new students through graduation.

Opinion: Women Dropping Out of Missouri Workforce Is An Economic Red Alert. How to Fix It

Wendy Doyle — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

For nearly a decade, women have in overall prime-age labor force participation – strengthening local economies and contributing billions to GDP. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that continuing to advance women’s equality could add trillions to global GDP, boosting incomes and living standards worldwide – for men and women alike.

Yet right now this progress is threatened by a multigenerational caregiving crisis—spanning both child care and elder care.

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Since January, over 200,000 women have . Experts attribute this largely to reduced workplace flexibility and persistently limited child care access. Misty Heggeness of the University of Kansas reports labor force participation for women ages 25–44 with children under five dropped from 69.7% to 66.9%.

At United WE, our research confirms the toll: women are than men to leave the workforce due to child care challenges. Sixty percent of women entrepreneurs say this barrier makes running their businesses harder, and millions live in child care deserts.

But the caregiving squeeze doesn’t stop there. The recent AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving “” report finds that 63 million Americans—nearly one in four adults—now provide ongoing care for an adult or a child with a complex medical condition or disability, a staggering 45% increase since 2015.

Many juggle both roles: one in three caregivers, and almost half of those under 50 are part of the “sandwich generation,” caring for both kids and aging relatives.

This crisis disproportionately affects women, but its consequences are felt in every corner of our economy. A by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found states lose an average of $1 billion in economic activity each and every year due to breakdowns in child care access.

One expert put it : “The economy’s basically telling half its talent to stay home.”

The good news is that solutions are within reach, and even in deeply divided times, Republicans and Democrats are making common cause to make child care more affordable and accessible.

In Kansas, bipartisan action under Gov. Laura Kelly’s leadership is poised to create more child care slots in the next two years than the state did in the last 15 – giving thousands of parents the ability to return to work or expand their businesses.

In Missouri, where more than 41% of counties do not have an accredited child care facility, legislation to help businesses offset the cost of child care won support from both parties. And a bipartisan commission appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe is working on recommendations to streamline regulations so providers can open and operate more easily while protecting the health and safety of kids.

And at the federal level, despite a polarized Congress, progress has quietly continued. The recent tax bill tripled the employer-provided child care credit, offering new incentives for businesses to support working parents.

Now, parallel action is emerging for elder care—still slow, but gaining traction. Promising policy proposals include caregiver tax credits and support services, though much more is needed to meet the escalating demand.

At United WE, we believe the path forward lies in research, solutions and results. That’s our model for change—and it works.

Today, as we approach the 105th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to participate in our democracy, the time is now to break down this barrier to women’s full participation in our economy.

Suffragist J. Ellen Foster told delegates at the 1892 Republican National Convention: “We are here to help you – and we are here to stay.”

Women have more than delivered on that promise. Today, for the sake of our economy and our communities, it’s time policymakers and employers to do their part as well.

Teachers Union Lawsuits in 5 States Challenge Private School Vouchers

Lauren Wagner — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Across the country, teachers unions have been challenging the constitutionality of their states’ private school voucher programs in court. And in at least two cases, they’ve won.

Since 2022, when the Supreme Court allowed Maine private schools to receive public funds, at least five lawsuits have been filed by teachers unions, in Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Missouri and South Carolina. Additional legal challenges have been mounted by advocacy groups and parent organizations.

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The Supreme Court’s Carson v. Makin ruling, combined with growing interest among parents in post-COVID, has fueled the rise of voucher programs and led to a tug-of-war in state courts between public educators and school choice advocates.

Heading into the 2025 legislative session, at least 33 states had some form of private school choice, according to the Georgetown University think tank . Most union lawsuits have focused on , in which public dollars pay for children to attend private schools — including religious schools — and cover other education-related expenses such as homeschooling.

In Wyoming and Utah, judges ruled in favor of the unions — at least for now. In South Carolina, the program was retooled after a court declared its previous version unconstitutional.

The Wyoming Education Association, which represents roughly 6,000 public school teachers, landed a win in July after District Court Judge Peter Froelicher granted against the state’s universal voucher program. The union and nine parents had sued the state in June on grounds that the is unconstitutional because it violates a state regulation that it must provide a “uniform system of public instruction.”

The union decided to sue after lawmakers made the voucher program universal this spring. It was originally created with a family income cap of 250% of the federal poverty level.

“No income guidelines, in essence, means that you could be someone in Jackson who owns an $18 million property, and the state’s giving you money,” said union President Kim Amen. “Our constitution clearly says that we cannot give public money to private entities, so that’s why we challenged that.”

The injunction temporarily stops the distribution of — which are funded from a state appropriation of $30 million — until the court determines the program’s constitutionality. The state has since filed an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

“I am disheartened at the court’s written order granting the WEA’s injunction. As one of nearly 4,000 Wyoming families, you have had your lives unnecessarily upended through no fault of your own,” Megan Degenfelder, state superintendent of public instruction, wrote in to parents.

The case is similar to the one in Utah, where a judge ruled a $100 million voucher program unconstitutional in April, following a lawsuit by the state teachers union.

The Utah Education Association last year, arguing the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program violates the state constitution by diverting tax money to private schools that aren’t free, open to all students and supervised by the state board of education. The Utah Supreme Court is set to later this year.

Lawsuits in other states are still working their way through the courts.

In July, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which represents the state’s public school teachers, challenging the constitutionality of the statewide voucher program that funds private education expenses for special education students.

“Even voucher programs like [this one] that are targeted to students with disabilities deprive them of crucial legal protections and educational resources,” the plaintiffs said in a .

In Missouri, the state teachers union is over the , which started as a tax credit scholarship in 2021. It currently relies on nonprofits to collect donations that are turned into scholarships. Donors can receive a tax credit amounting to 100% of their contribution, but it can’t exceed more than half of their state tax liability.

This year, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe dedicated $50 million in taxpayer dollars for the scholarships and $1 million for program marketing, according to the suit. The Missouri National Education Association, which has 28,000 members, sued in June in an effort to block the appropriation.

“The General Assembly has far overstepped its authority and violated five provisions of the Missouri Constitution by using an appropriations bill to construct out of whole cloth a scheme to divert general revenues to what are essentially vouchers for the payment of private school tuition for elementary and secondary school students,” wrote Loretta Haggard, the union’s attorney, in the suit.

On July 30, — part of a national nonprofit that advocates for school choice — filed a motion to join the suit as defendants. Thomas Fisher, litigation director, said in a that the program helps Missouri families afford an education that fits their children’s needs.

“The recent expansion of the program is constitutional and will expand education freedom for low-income families and students with learning differences,” he said.

In South Carolina, the ruled in 2024 that its Education Trust Fund Scholarship Program was unconstitutional following a lawsuit from the state teachers union, parents and the NAACP. The program resumed this year after to funnel money from the lottery system instead of the general fund.

Unions have also been involved in school choice lawsuits in and . In 2023, National Education Association Alaska over a state system that sent cash payments to the parents of homeschool students. That same year, Wisconsin’s largest teachers union asked the state Supreme Court to hear its case challenging the constitutionality of the statewide voucher program, but the .

Missouri Lawmakers Ban Controversial Reading Instruction Model as Primary Method

Annelise Hanshaw — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 10:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Missouri lawmakers have banned educators from leaning on a model of reading instruction called the “three-cueing” method as part of a bipartisan education package signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday.

The law mandates that three cueing, which teaches students to , can be used to supplement lessons, but phonics should be the majority of instruction.

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State Rep. Ed Lewis, a Moberly Republican and sponsor of the legislation, told The Independent that the law builds on prior legislative efforts and work from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“We’ve come to the realization that phonics is crucial,” Lewis said. “The three cueing system, when used as the primary source, evidence shows a decrease in the amount of learning that occurs, and for that reason, we want to use it less.”

Three cueing is widely criticized for encouraging kids to make guesses when reading and doesn’t show how to sound out words, which is important for understanding complicated texts.

Missouri isn’t the only state to ban three cueing. By the end of 2024, had explicitly banned the method.

The problem with three cueing, which once was lauded as an alternative to phonics, came to public attention when American Public Media reporter Emily Hanford and later launched the podcast series “.”

The series between phonics instruction and context-clue-based models and state laws followed — including a passed in Missouri in 2022.

The 2022 legislation required state education officials to create a teacher preparatory course on literacy. DESE, in turn, launched its , including instruction for educators.

As of this spring, 429 school districts and over 8,600 educators have had training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, or LETRS.

“It is pretty intense training,” Missouri Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger told The Independent. “It creates an opportunity for the teachers to use that science of reading, that evidence-based best practices on how you teach reading.”

The training and other science-backed materials provided by the department are not mandatory but participation has been encouraging, Eslinger said.

She expects elementary literacy rates to rise as a result of the training and other efforts since 2022, like literacy coaches the department hired.

With a charge to ban three cueing as the primary form of reading instruction, Eslinger said the department will continue to push best practices.

“We are not going to police this,” she said. “We are going to show good practice and give support to good practice, so it just bolsters what we’re doing.”

As part of a checklist school districts provide annually to the department, they will be required to confirm that they are not using three cueing as a primary instructional model.

“The work that our literacy teams are doing in the state is all being very well received. (Educators) are wanting more and more,” Eslinger said. “It is not because it is mandated, it is because it works.”

Missouri Lawmakers Create Pathway for Free Career-Tech Education

Annelise Hanshaw — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 14:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Missouri high school graduates may soon be able to attend career-certificate programs for free after state lawmakers passed a bill creating a reimbursement process for career and technical education.

The legislation now awaits Gov. Mike Kehoe’s signature or veto.

“This will increase (the workforce) astronomically,” said state Rep. Ann Kelley, a Republican from Lamar. “And it’s great for the kids who are in those career tech programs. It gives them another avenue to make themselves better.”

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Kelley, who filed the bill in the House, told The Independent that she got the idea for the legislation after talking to a student. He was eligible for the state’s , which pays for two years of public community college, and he wanted to use the funds to train for his commercial driver’s license.

But his goal of operating a dump truck business was derailed when he realized that the state’s program wouldn’t cover the type of education he needed.

So Kelley proposed a new program — one with eligibility requirements mirroring the A+ Program but to fund career-certificate programs.

To qualify, students will need to graduate high school with at least a 2.5 GPA, at least 95% attendance rate, 50 hours of unpaid tutoring and achieve proficiency in the Algebra I end-of-course exam. The Missouri Senate added another path to eligibility, opening the door to students with .

“Currently a student who wants to obtain a certificate or license right out of high school… must pay for these out of pocket because the courses are too short to qualify for the A+ reimbursement program and are not Pell eligible,” Kelley said in a committee hearing in February. “These students are typically ones who are not interested in going to a two-year or four-year school.”

Some students use the state’s to pay for training and licensing, but the program requires participants to be at least 25 years old. Some students take jobs outside their career path to pass the time and avoid shelling out thousands for their certificate, Kelley said, but this legislation seeks to “fill the gap.”

To pay for the grants, the bill sets up a fund managed by the State Treasurer’s Office. Funding would have to be appropriated annually by the state’s general assembly, though the fund would also be open for donations.

The state estimates a cost of , according to a fiscal note.

Kelley is “positive” that Kehoe will sign the bill given his vocal support for career-tech initiatives.

In his inaugural in January, Kehoe placed an emphasis on career and technical education and .

The legislation has also generated support from advocacy groups. In committee, lobbyists from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Missouri National Education Association spoke in favor of the idea.

“Skilled technical talent is a major asset to Missouri employers across all industries,” the chamber of commerce’s lobbyist Cade Tremain said in a hearing in February.

The legislation received wide support, drawing just two “no” votes in the House and one in the Senate. It ultimately passed as part of a with bipartisan support.

Beloved by K-12 Leaders, The Four-Day School Week Fails to Deliver, Study Finds

Kevin Mahnken — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:30:00 +0000

In recent years, hundreds of school districts across the United States have responded to labor issues and straitened budgets by switching to a four-day weekly schedule. But new research from Missouri suggests that cutting out a day of instruction doesn’t yield the benefits proponents hope to achieve.

Circulated as a working paper on Monday, offers a statistical analysis of the effects of shifting to a shorter week alongside extensive reflections from educators themselves. Most of those teachers, principals, and superintendents spoke favorably about the change, saying they believed it had helped their schools attract and retain teachers in the midst of a tight job market.

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The numbers tell a different story, however: On average, the 178 Missouri districts that adopted a four-day week since 2010 did not improve at either recruiting new teachers or retaining their veterans. Andrew Camp, a scholar at Brown University’s and one of the paper’s authors, said district leaders’ enthusiasm for four-day weeks was likely grounded in the sincere belief that they could be the answer to persistent staffing challenges.

“These things spread through word of mouth, they grab hold of people’s imaginations, and we end up with this rapid adoption of four-day school weeks,” Camp said. “But the fact that it was such a small effect — for a lot of these districts, it’s one teacher being retained every three years — was really striking.”

The almost negligible results, and officials’ apparent misapprehension about their true magnitude, are particularly salient given both the scale of the four-day phenomenon and the speed with which it has been embraced.

Mirroring national trends, the number of districts throughout Missouri operating on a shortened schedule has skyrocketed over the last decade and a half, accounting for one-third of the statewide total last year. Twelve percent of all students, and 13 percent of all teachers, now experience a four-day week (smaller figures proportionally, because they live almost exclusively in rural areas with smaller headcounts).

The initial wave of transitions, beginning in the early 2010s, is to states’ need to contain education costs in the aftermath of the Great Recession. But in the study’s 36 interviews with leaders of Missouri schools and districts, along with several teachers, respondents generally agreed the main effect of the scheduling change was to slow turnover and make schools more attractive places to work.

This is something that's a potentially risky gamble, and there don't seem to be any benefits as far as teacher retention or recruitment.
Andrew Camp, Brown University

At least one superintendent credited the four-day week — which requires teachers to work longer days when school is in session, effectively holding instructional hours constant — with a surge in job applications and a sizable drop in workforce churn. Several others claimed that a longer weekend was a vital feature in drawing teachers to far-flung communities that cannot afford to offer top salaries.

But after examining state administrative data between the 2008–09 and 2023–24 school years, including figures on teachers’ school and district assignments, education levels, and experience, Camp and his co-authors found that four-day districts won only meager advantages. Switching to a truncated schedule resulted in just 0.6 job exits per 100 teachers, an effect that falls below the bar for statistical significance.

Camp said the findings were broadly in line with those of prior work on the four-day schedule. While the transition might prove appealing, especially to new teachers, it likely would not address about salary and working conditions.

“We don’t rule out the possibility that there is a short-term, very small bump in teacher retention and recruitment,” he said. “But what our results from Missouri show is that, over this lengthy period, there’s no lasting effect.”

Echoes past findings

It remains to be seen what effect, if any, the new paper will have on the ongoing debate around the often controversial policy.

On one hand, it can only be said to be representative of one state’s approach. Around the country, different legislatures and districts have permitted distinct versions of the four-day week. Unlike in Missouri, some states do not specify that overall instructional hours stay the same even in a shortened schedule, resulting in less instruction being delivered to students over the course of the school year.

In Oregon, where more than 150 districts adopted a four-day week in the years leading up to the pandemic, one found that students missed out on 3–4 hours of teaching each week, even with the remaining days of instruction lengthened. Math and English scores fell in those classrooms (particularly among middle schoolers, whose sleep schedules could be disrupted by the earlier start times on days when classes were in session).

A echoed those results, revealing significant declines in standardized test scores in six states where large numbers of districts adopted a four-day week. Another paper, , found no detectable impact on student achievement — though it observed that school expenditures did fall slightly in four-day districts.

It doesn't save a lot of money, it doesn't seem to do good things for students, and we don't have evidence showing that it improves student attendance.
Emily Morton, NWEA

Notably, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicating that implementation of four-day weeks was associated with only minor drops in test performance during the 2019–20 school year, though they disappeared in later years.

Negative findings do not appear to have dimmed the public’s enthusiasm for the idea. In 2023, from the education advocacy group EdChoice showed that 60 percent of parents supported the possibility of their children’s school moving to a four-day schedule; just 27 percent of respondents were opposed.

Emily Morton, a researcher at the assessment group NWEA who has conducted several studies of the effects of the four-day week, said the Missouri paper was yet more evidence that the policy, whatever its attractiveness to parents and schools, did not offer much measurable upside.

“Whether or not the four-day week is a good thing, it doesn’t seem to meet this particular need,” Morton said. “It doesn’t save a lot of money, it doesn’t seem to do good things for students, and we don’t have evidence showing that it improves student attendance. My sense, after studying this for a few years, is that communities just really like it.”

‘This should make everyone very cautious’

Still, with the continuing spread of shortened weeks, more and more states and districts will have to at least give careful thought to their possible impact.

Jon Turner is a former district superintendent in Missouri and a professor at Missouri State University. While not an avowed advocate of the four-day schedule, he has traveled to multiple states to advise school districts considering making a switch. Lately his peregrinations have brought him to Indiana and Pennsylvania, where — as in most states east of the Mississippi River — the practice is still comparatively rare.

No school district makes this decision lightly, and no one sees the four-day week as a solution.
Jon Turner, Missouri State University

Turner said that local K–12 leaders he had met with took the question seriously, often weighing the evidence of achievement losses against their falling student enrollments and challenges in hiring new staff. Many feel the lifestyle flexibility offered by the change is one of the few perks they can offer to teachers who can easily move across district or state lines for better pay.

Particularly in regions where neighboring communities have already shifted from five- to four-day weeks, he added, holdout districts may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.

“No school district makes this decision lightly, and no one sees the four-day week as a solution,” Turner said. “It’s a symptom of challenges that schools are facing.”

The rapid spread of the trend has nevertheless met some resistance — including in Missouri, where the state legislature recently requiring larger communities to gain the consent of voters before implementing a shorter school week. In neighboring Arkansas, lawmakers are considering legislation that would establish of 178 days of in-person instruction.

Camp said the results of his study offer forewarning to the education community. In light of the existing evidence around diminished instruction, he concluded, state and local authorities shouldn’t make cavalier decisions with their instructional time.

“This is something that’s a potentially risky gamble, and there don’t seem to be any benefits as far as teacher retention or recruitment. So I do think this should make everyone very cautious about adopting the four-day school week.”

Kansas City Parents Push for Dyslexia to be Taken Seriously

Maria Benevento — Sat, 24 May 2025 16:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Tuesday Willaredt knew her older daughter, Vivienne, struggled to read.

She tentatively accepted teachers’ reassurances and the obvious explanations: Remote learning during the COVID pandemic was disruptive. Returning to school was chaotic. All students were behind.

Annie Watson was concerned about her son Henry’s performance in kindergarten and first grade.

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But his teachers weren’t. There was a pandemic, they said. He was a boy. Henry wasn’t really lagging behind his classmates.

So Willaredt and Watson kept asking questions. So did Tricia McGhee, Abbey and Aaron Dunbar, Lisa Salazar Tingey, Kelly Reardon and T.C. — all parents who spoke to The Beacon about getting support for their kids’ reading struggles. (The Beacon is identifying T.C. by her initials because she works for a school district.)

After schools gave reassurances or rationalizations or denied services, the parents kept raising concerns, seeking advice from teachers and fellow parents and pursuing formal evaluations.

Eventually, they all reached the same conclusion. Their children had dyslexia, a disability that makes it more difficult to learn to read and write well.

They also realized something else. Schools — whether private, public, charter or homeschool — aren’t always equipped to immediately catch the problem and provide enough support, even though some estimates suggest .

Instead, the parents took matters into their own hands, seeking diagnoses, advocating for extra help and accommodations, moving to another district or paying for tutoring or private school.

“You get a diagnosis from a medical professional,” Salazar Tingey said. “Then you go to the school and you’re like, ‘This is what they say is best practice for this diagnosis.’ And they’re like, ‘That’s not our policy.’”

Recognizing dyslexia

It wasn’t until Vivienne, now 12, was in sixth grade and struggling to keep up at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy Middle School that a teacher said the word “dyslexic” to Willaredt.

After the Kansas City Public Schools teacher mentioned dyslexia, Willaredt made an appointment at Children’s Mercy Hospital, waited months for an opening and ultimately confirmed that Vivienne had dyslexia. Her younger daughter Harlow, age 9, was diagnosed even more recently.

Willaredt now wonders if any of Vivienne’s other teachers suspected the truth. A reading specialist at Vivienne’s former charter school had said her primary problem was focus.

“There’s this whole bureaucracy within the school,” she said. “They don’t want to call it what it is, necessarily, because then the school’s on the hook” to provide services.

Missouri law requires that students in grades K-3 be , said Shain Bergan, public relations coordinator for Kansas City Public Schools. If they’re flagged, the school notifies their parents and makes a reading success plan.

Schools don’t formally diagnose students, though. That’s something families can pursue — and pay for — on their own by consulting a health professional.

“Missouri teachers, by and large, aren’t specially trained to identify or address dyslexia in particular,” Bergan wrote in an email. “They identify and address specific reading issues students are having, whether it’s because the student has a specific condition or not.”

Bergan later added that KCPS early elementary and reading-specific teachers complete state-mandated dyslexia training through LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), an intensive teacher education program that emphasizes scientific research about how students learn to read.

Missouri is in LETRS.

In an emailed statement, the North Kansas City School District said staff members “receive training on dyslexia and classroom strategies,” and the district uses a screening “to help identify students who may need additional reading support.”

Kansas has also worked to update teacher training. But the state recently and to its Blueprint for Literacy.

Public school students with dyslexia or another disability , or IEP, a formal plan for providing special education services which comes with federal civil rights protections.

But a diagnosis isn’t enough to prove eligibility, and developing an IEP can be a lengthy process that requires . Students who don’t qualify might be eligible for accommodations through a .

A spokesperson for Olathe Public Schools said in an email that the district’s teachers participate in state-mandated dyslexia training but don’t diagnose dyslexia.

The district takes outside diagnoses into consideration, but “if a student is making progress in the general education curriculum and able to access it, then the diagnosis alone would not necessarily demonstrate the need for support and services.”

Why dyslexia gets missed

Some families find that teachers dismiss valid concerns, delaying diagnoses that parents see as key to getting proper support.

Salazar Tingey alerted teachers that her son, Cal, was struggling with reading compared to his older siblings. Each year, starting in an Iowa preschool and continuing after the family moved to the North Kansas City School District, she heard his issues were common and unconcerning.

She felt validated when a Sunday school teacher suggested dyslexia and recommended talking to a pediatrician.

After Cal was diagnosed, Salazar Tingey asked his second grade teacher about the methods she used to teach dyslexic kids. She didn’t expect to hear, “That’s not really my specialty.”

“I guess I thought that if you’re a K-3 teacher, that would be pretty standard,” she said. “I don’t think (dyslexia is) that uncommon.”

Louise Spear-Swerling, a professor emerita in the Department of Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University, said estimates of the prevalence of dyslexia range from as high as 20% to as low as 3 to 5%. She thinks 5 to 10% is reasonable.

“That means that the typical general education teacher, if you have a class of, say, 20 students, will see at least one child with dyslexia every year — year after year after year,” she said.

Early intervention is key, Spear-Swerling said, but it doesn’t always happen.

To receive services for dyslexia under federal special education guidelines, students must have difficulty reading that isn’t primarily caused by something like poor instruction, another disability, economic disadvantage or being an English language learner, she said. And schools sometimes misidentify the primary cause.

Tricia McGhee, director of communications at Revolucion Educativa, a nonprofit that offers advocacy and support for Latinx families, has had that experience.

She said her daughter’s charter school flagged her issues with reading but said it was “typical that all bilingual or bicultural children were behind,” McGhee said. That didn’t sound right because her older child was grade levels ahead in reading.

“The first thing they told me is, ‘You just need to make sure to be reading to her every night,’” McGhee said. “I was like, ‘Thanks. I’ve done that every day since she was born.’”

McGhee is now a member of the KCPS school board. But she spoke to The Beacon before being elected, in her capacity as a parent and RevEd staff member.

Dyslexia also may not stand out among classmates who are struggling for various reasons.

Annie Watson, whose professional expertise is in early childhood education planning, strategy and advocacy, said some of Henry’s peers lacked access to high-quality early education and weren’t prepared for kindergarten.

“His handwriting is so poor,” she remembers telling his teacher.

The teacher assured her that Henry’s handwriting was among the best in the class.

“Let’s not compare against his peers,” Watson said. “Let’s compare against grade level standards.”

Receiving services for dyslexia

Watson cried during a Park Hill parent teacher conference when a reading interventionist said she was certified in Orton-Gillingham, an instruction method designed for students with dyslexia.

In an ideal world, Watson said, the mere mention of a teaching approach wouldn’t be so fraught.

Annie Watson with her son Henry, 11, before track practice. Henry went through intensive tutoring to help him learn to read well after his original school didn’t provide the services he needed. (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon)

“I would love to know less about this,” she said. “My goal is to read books with my kids every night, right? I would love for that to just be my role, and that hasn’t been it.”

By that point, Watson’s family had spent tens of thousands of dollars on Orton-Gillingham tutoring for Henry through Horizon Academy, a private school focused on students with dyslexia and similar disabilities.

They had ultimately moved to the Park Hill district, not convinced that charter schools or KCPS had enough resources to provide support.

“I felt so guilty in his charter school,” Watson said. “There were so many kids who needed so many things, and so it was hard to advocate for my kid who was writing better than a lot of the kids.”

So the idea that Henry’s little sister — who doesn’t have dyslexia — could get a bit of expert attention seamlessly, during the school day and without any special advocacy, made Watson emotional.

“Henry will never get that,” she said.

While Watson wonders if public schools in Park Hill could have been enough for Henry had he started there earlier, some families sought help outside of the public school system entirely.

The Reardon and Dunbar families, who eventually received some services from their respective schools, each enrolled a child full-time in Horizon Academy after deciding the services weren’t enough.

Kelly Reardon said her daughter originally went to a private Catholic school.

“With one teacher and 26 kids, there’s just no way that she would have gotten the individualized intervention that she needed,” she said.

The Dunbars’ son, Henry, had been homeschooled and attended an Olathe public school part-time.

Abbey Dunbar said Henry didn’t qualify for services from the Olathe district in kindergarten, but did when the family asked again in second grade. Henry has a diagnosed severe auditory processing disorder, and his family considers him to have dyslexia based on testing at school.

She said the school accommodated the family’s part-time schedule and the special education services they gave to Henry genuinely helped.

“I never want to undercut what they gave and what they did for him, because we did see progress,” Dunbar said. “But we need eight hours a day (of support), and I don’t think that’s something they could even begin to give in public school. There’s so many kids.”

T.C., whose daughters attended KCPS when they were diagnosed, also decided she couldn’t rely on services provided by the school alone. One daughter didn’t qualify for an IEP because the school said she was already achieving as expected for her IQ level.

In the end, T.C. said, her daughters did get the support they needed “because I paid for it.”

She found a tutor who was relatively inexpensive because she was finishing her degree. But at $55 per child, per session once or twice a week, tutoring still ate into the family’s budget and her children’s free time.

“If they were learning what they needed to learn at school… we wouldn’t have had that financial burden,” she said. Tutoring also meant “our kids couldn’t participate in other activities outside of school.”

Support and accommodations

Tuesday Willaredt is still figuring out exactly what support Vivienne needs.

Options include a KCPS neighborhood school, a charter school that extends through eighth grade or moving to another district. Outside tutoring will likely be part of the picture regardless.

Willaredt is worried that her kids aren’t being set up to love learning.

Vivienne, 12 (left), and Harlow, 9, were both diagnosed with dyslexia earlier this year. (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon)

“That’s where I get frustrated,” she said. “If interventions were put in earlier — meaning the tutoring that I would have had to seek — these frustrations and sadness that is their experience around learning wouldn’t have happened.”

When Lisa Salazar Tingey brought Cal’s dyslexia diagnosis to his school, he didn’t qualify for an IEP. But his classroom teacher offered extra support that seemed to catch him up.

In following years, though, Salazar Tingey has worried about Cal’s performance stagnating and considered formalizing his accommodations through a 504 plan.

She wants Cal, now 10, to be able to use things like voice to text or audiobooks if his dyslexia is limiting his intellectual exploration.

Before his diagnosis, she and her husband noticed that every school writing assignment Cal brought home was about volcanoes, even though “it wasn’t like he was a kid who was always talking about volcanoes.”

When he was diagnosed, they learned that sticking to familiar topics can be a side effect of dyslexia.

“He knows how to spell magma and lava and volcano, and so that’s all he ever wrote about,” Salazar Tingey said. “That’s sad to me. I want him to feel that the world is wide open, that he can read about anything.”

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

After Elections, New Leaders Confront Old Problems in St. Louis

Kevin Mahnken — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 10:30:00 +0000

At her inauguration last Tuesday, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer pledged to build a better future for all of the city’s children. Somewhat curiously, though, she made no reference to local schools.

Addressing a crowd at City Hall just one week after , Spencer opted not to mention a district that was shaken last year by scandal and a wave of staff terminations. The omission reflects the political reality that, unlike their counterparts in cities like New York and Washington, St. Louis mayors are given no control over public education. With little official influence, Spencer will instead have to appeal to the seven-member school board, which itself on the day she was elected.

Former board member Dorothy Rohde-Collins said she believed the turnover on the school board, which included the defeat of its president, could yield huge benefits for students and families. Still, she called it “endlessly frustrating” that the city’s leaders haven’t devoted more time and care to the problems of the district in recent decades.

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“The inability of mayors to engage with the education system is the number-one thing that’s holding the city back,” said Rohde-Collins, who served from 2017 to 2021 and . “They don’t have statutory authority — they can’t do the budget, they don’t appoint members to the board — but they should be able to pay attention and understand the issues.”

Those issues include not just the controversial hiring of former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett, who was terminated in October amid an investigation into . They also extend to in student enrollment at St. Louis Public Schools, now reduced by nearly 90 percent since its peak in the 1960s. With aging, under-utilized facilities sprinkled throughout the city, local authorities will have to make agonizing decisions about how to manage a decline in numbers while attempting to boost academic results.

John Wright, Sr., who attended public schools in St. Louis before embarking on a career in education that culminated in appointments as both a superintendent and board member, said the newly elected board members needed to quickly develop a plan of action. Simply following the example of less crisis-plagued districts, he added, would be an important first step.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you,” Wright observed. “There are models out there of functioning school systems, and it’s a matter of exploring those: What do they have that we don’t have? What are good board members doing across the country that we aren’t doing?”

Keisha Scarlett scandal

Some of the biggest governance challenges facing the new board arose during the tumultuous tenure of the previous superintendent.

Announced in 2023 after a nationwide search, Scarlett listed school improvement and academic achievement . But after just a year in the job, she was placed on as questions grew about her personnel choices and spending practices.

Scarlett was accused of after giving jobs to a group of personal friends and former colleagues. Board members they had been deceived about the salaries of top staffers, which sometimes exceeded $200,000. Scarlett herself on perks like flowers and meals during her time in office, a later audit would reveal. Most of Scarlett’s aides, including her chief of staff and chief financial officer, were let go precipitously, leaving the district without a leadership team.

In a striking twist, however, Scarlett’s hand-picked deputy was after no search process. Most board members defended the decision as necessary for the sake of stability, but by that point, dissension had already exploded into public view; in the middle of a January board meeting, member Sadie Weiss , lamenting the body’s previous failures in oversight.

Rohde-Collins said she was dismayed by the organizational chaos enshrouding local schools, with board members even as basic services like bus transportation , stranding thousands of students at the beginning of this school year.

“It feels like we’re all trapped in this ridiculous movie here in St. Louis, and no one would believe that it’s real life,” Rohde-Collins said. “It doesn’t feel like anyone is sorry that these things happened and that we’re having so much turmoil.”

Three seats were contested in this month’s elections, including who declined to run for another term. Board President Antionette Cousins, the target of substantial criticism for the district’s dysfunction, sought reelection, but out of 12 candidates.

Byron Clemens, a longtime organizer with the American Federation of Teachers’ local affiliate, said he was heartened by voters’ attention to the school board elections, which typically receive much less coverage than the mayor’s race. The top two vote getters in the field, he added, each tallied more votes than Mayor Jones received in her failed reelection bid.

“Despite the low turnout, the public is engaged with education,” Clemens said. “That’s important, that people believe in an elected board and support public schools.”

‘Everybody is in trouble’

But any post-inaugural honeymoon will likely be brief.

The three new board members did not run as a unified slate; just one, Brian Marston, of Clemens’s union, which also backed Cousins’s unsuccessful bid. Another, veteran school administrator Karen Collins-Adams, is the wife of Dr. Kelvin Adams, the long-serving superintendent who preceded Scarlett. Reaching a consensus on the district’s leadership, including the future of Superintendent Millicent Borishade, will likely absorb much of their attention in the coming months.

Beyond the day-to-day necessity of rebuilding trust with families and district staff, St. Louis must soon confront the structural problem of plummeting headcounts. State data indicate that the district since the pandemic, with enrollment falling to around 16,000 from a peak of roughly 115,000 a half-century ago. has seen the total number of public schools stay the same from beginning to end, with 85 opening and 104 closing since 1991.

Further closures and consolidations are regarded by most observers as inevitable. Wright, who remembers school days spent in overflowing classrooms, said that abandoned and dilapidated facilities now blight neighborhoods, often causing residents to move. Many of the oldest schools in the city, including some that educated African American children in the era of segregation, are likely destined for demolition, he added.

“You can see the windows broken out from blocks away,” he said. “I went to four different elementary schools, and they’re all closed.”

Any plans to shrink St. Louis’s K–12 footprint will require tough political compromises with families and educators, who usually dread school consolidations. Mayor Spencer has not yet stated a position on the future of the district’s facilities or finances; reached for comment, her deputy communications director said that schools would be included on the agenda of one of her half-dozen advisory committees. But Rohde-Collins said that her input could be critical given both the disputatious nature of building closures and the recent acrimony on the school board.

“That’s where a mayor could come in, by bringing people together, starting conversations, and making it a real priority for the next four years to say, ‘We have to figure this out because everybody is in trouble.’ A mayor could change the trajectory of the city by focusing on it.”

Amid National Voucher Push, Missouri Once Again Turns to Open Enrollment

Kevin Mahnken — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Lawmakers in Missouri are debating a move that could significantly expand families’ educational options. Within the K–12 politics of 2025, however, the proposal has an almost retro feel.

In March, the state House of Representatives that would allow students to transfer to public school districts outside their community of residence, a policy known as “open enrollment.” If it became law, districts would have the option to decline student transfers from other areas, but could not prevent their own students from leaving. Per-pupil funding from the state, totalling roughly $6,700, would follow each child to his or her new destination.

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It’s a somewhat familiar idea. According to the nonprofit Education Commission of the States, some form of interdistrict transfer, whether through voluntary agreements between communities or via statewide mandate. In Missouri itself, the House has passed statewide legislation for the last five consecutive years, only to have it stall in the state Senate.

In troubled districts like St. Louis, too, it has become common for families to select among schools in nearby suburbs, mostly through effort. Advocacy groups like the have also attempted to draw attention to parents prosecuted for falsifying their addresses to send their kids to better-performing districts.

Yet open enrollment — and the occasionally fierce debates it triggers — has also been somewhat overshadowed in recent years as calls have grown for private offerings like education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships. With Republicans at the state and national level supporting the channeling of public funds to non-public institutions, “school choice” has increasingly come to imply “private school choice.”

Republican Rep. Brad Pollitt, the bill’s sponsor, said his aim was to allow parents to exercise more autonomy without having to leave the traditional school system. With birth rates falling and of students to homeschooling, he continued, public schools needed “a seat at the table” during discussions of choice.

“Whatever the percentage of people that want to see a different option — maybe a better fit for their family, depending on work or other factors — I just want them to have another choice in the public school system instead of going to ESAs, a charter school, or even a virtual school,” Pollitt told ��.

But critics of the proposal say it will introduce still more instability into school finance and governance, ultimately leading to districts battling among themselves for families who operate as free agents. Todd Fuller, the communications director of the Missouri State Teachers Association, said he worried that a “downward spiral” of competition would benefit a few districts and gradually strip the rest of badly needed resources.

“It’s not going to happen all at once,” he said. “Over the course of time, there will be less services,” he said. “I’ve seen districts already that tell their students, ‘Sorry, we don’t have foreign languages,’ or, ‘Sorry, we don’t have a science class that you should take.’”

‘Families are leaving in droves’

Inter-district transfers are one of the oldest and most common forms of school choice across the United States. Indeed, Missouri already provides , allowing parents to take the necessary step of switching districts if their own does not include a high school.

More controversially, students attending schools that have lost accreditation — usually for persistently low academic performance — of leaving for a higher-achieving school elsewhere. That scenario was most vividly illustrated in the case of the Normandy school district, which by the state in 2013.

The resulting exodus was far greater than anticipated, with about 1,000 students (roughly 25 percent of all enrolled) that fall. Neighboring districts spent years fighting to reject their transfers, arguing that they could not provide space or meet the learning needs of so many new pupils, before ultimately yielding and a .

Peter Franzen is the associate director of the , an organization that supports parent empowerment and school choice. Having worked for decades in and around communities severely impacted by poverty and poor services, he said he believed the Normandy experience illustrated the existing appetite for open enrollment among families who are otherwise told to wait for solutions that may never come.

“If a quarter of your school drains out because nobody wants to be there, who the hell wants to put their taxes into that? I don’t care how proud you are of your school — if families are leaving in droves, what could you possibly say to that?”

Education leaders in the state have long had to work with troubled or under-resourced districts, most famously St. Louis and Kansas City, where of the overwhelmingly disadvantaged student population can read or do math at grade level. Both cities feature a wide array of choice options, including charter and magnet schools, and over the past few decades.

Students were also able to enroll in nearby suburbs under the terms of long-lasting desegregation orders. But St. Louis’s desegregation program has new students, leading some to worry that they will miss a chance to receive a better education outside the city.

But with the passage of statewide open enrollment, smaller districts could suddenly be placed in the same position as some of the largest communities in the state. Missouri is home to a large number of rural districts, including many high-quality teachers. According to , nearly half of all those districts are operating on a four-day school week, which has been generally shown to student achievement.

The bill passed in the state House partly addresses the concerns of districts that fear instability in headcounts by capping the number of student departures at 3 percent of total enrollment annually. But John Benyon, superintendent of Cape Girardeau Public Schools in southeast Missouri, said that restriction could nevertheless compound into unsustainable losses over time.

“Even a gradual loss of 3 percent each year can have a compounding effect, particularly for smaller districts,” Benyon wrote in an email. “Over time, this could lead to school closures and consolidations, which would not only disrupt students but also deeply impact the identity of small, rural Missouri communities.”

Rural GOP resistance

The legislation is now scheduled for a hearing in the state Senate, which has persistently declined to pass earlier versions over the last half-decade. Pollitt said his bill, which has been supported almost exclusively by Republicans each time he has offered it, aimed for a middle ground in the ongoing school choice debate.

“In the Senate, it’s never been drastic enough,” he reflected. “Those who are for total school choice think it doesn’t go far enough, and those who are against any school choice think it goes too far. That’s why I think it’s a good bill.”

Just last year, the state GOP struck a bargain to the size of Missouri’s tax credit scholarship system, which facilitates student enrollment in private schools. They have yet to advance legislation that would allow for universal access to ESAs or other voucher-like programs, which have been rapidly adopted in a rash of Republican-led states since the pandemic.

Pollitt, who is currently campaigning for a seat in the state Senate, observed that resistance in the upper chamber is largely concentrated among rural Republicans concerned about the fate of their local public schools if students begin to leave in large numbers. That same dynamic has colored intra-partisan clashes in states like Texas, where resistant legislators have been met with primary challenges for opposing the spread of ESAs.

In Missouri, he acknowledged, changes to enrollments would likely create “winners and losers.” Still, his proposal found new momentum after being endorsed by newly elected Republican Gov. Michael Kehoe in his .

Benyon, meanwhile, has recently traveled to Jefferson City with members of his school board to lobby against the measure. Though he said students in his district enjoyed access to a range of coveted offerings, including extracurricular opportunities and advanced coursework, he added that already-struggling communities would likely lose students if open enrollment becomes a reality. Instead of opening new avenues for flight, he concluded, the state should work with those schools to make them more attractive places to learn.

“In cases where other districts are underperforming, shouldn’t we be asking why and working to fix those root issues?”

Trump’s ‘School Choice’ Push Adds to Momentum in Statehouses

Robbie Sequeira — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 18:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

More than a dozen states in the past two years have launched or expanded programs that allow families to use taxpayer dollars to send their students to private schools. Now, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress want to supercharge those efforts.

Trump in January issued directing several federal agencies to allow states, tribes and military families to tap into federal money for so-called school choice opportunities. Those can come in the form of education savings accounts, voucher programs, tax credits or scholarships. Trump’s order also aims to expand access to public charter schools, which are free from some of the rules that apply to traditional public schools.

Meanwhile in Congress, have signed on to that would provide $10 billion in annual tax credits to individuals and corporations who make charitable contributions to organizations that provide private-school scholarships. A Nebraska Republican introduced a companion measure in the House.

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Already this year, , and have approved school choice programs, and bills are advancing in , , and . A bill in Mississippi died before advancing. Most of the measures still in play would open programs to all families regardless of income, though some states would cap the total amount of money available.

Supporters of school choice say it gives parents control of their kids’ education — and an escape hatch if they are dissatisfied with their local public school. Many conservatives, religious institutions and private schools are in favor of school choice, along with some people of color who live in districts with underperforming public schools.

“Every child is different. They learn in different environments. There are just so many factors, that I believe that parents should be the ones that make the decision on where their child is going to do the best and have the most success,” said Indiana Republican state Sen. Linda Rogers. A former educator, Rogers has sponsored a in her state that would provide additional money to charter schools, which are considered to be a form of school choice.

Opponents, including teachers unions, public school professionals and many rural lawmakers of both parties, say such measures undermine traditional public schools by shifting money away from them.

“When we start to take from public schools, we’re hurting our kids, our lower-income kids. They will not prosper from this legislation,” Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Ronnie Glynn on a far-reaching voucher bill in his state.

Joshua Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, said vouchers are a budget-buster for states.

“Vouchers don’t shift costs — they add costs,” Cowen said in a phone interview. “Most voucher recipients were already in private schools, meaning states are paying for education they previously didn’t have to fund.”

The switch to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave parents a front-row seat to watch what their children were — or were not — learning in their classes, contributed to the recent school choice momentum. So did parent frustration over prolonged public school closures.

“Parents got a good look into sort of what was happening in schools,” said Bella DiMarco, a senior K-12 education policy analyst at FutureEd, an independent think tank at Georgetown University. “There was a lot of talk during the pandemic around school choice … of what public schools aren’t doing for their kids.”

The first modern school voucher program, , was a bipartisan effort to help lower-income families afford private schools. In recent years, more states have moved from school choice programs focused on certain groups, such as low-income students or students with disabilities, to universal programs open to students of all backgrounds.

“Historically, the programs were always sort of targeted to students in need,” DiMarco said. “But in the last couple of years, the new push has been for these universal programs.”

Currently, more than 30 states and Washington, D.C., have at least one school choice program. More than a dozen states now offer universal or near-universal access, allowing K–12 students to participate in school choice regardless of income.

EdChoice, a nonprofit that advocates for school choice, estimates that are attending private schools this school year with the help of public tax credits, scholarships or vouchers.

Different strategies

States that enacted school choice programs this year have pursued different strategies.

The Idaho , for example, will provide an annual tax credit of $5,000 per child ($7,500 for students with disabilities) to help cover private education expenses.

will provide 20,000 scholarships of roughly $7,000 each. During its first year, half of the Tennessee scholarships earning less than $173,000 for a family of four, but that restriction will be removed in subsequent years.

About 65% of the Tennessee vouchers are expected to be awarded to students who already attend private schools, .

the cost of the program will grow quickly, creating a hole in the state’s budget. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who pushed hard for the proposal, suggested that Trump’s executive order might provide additional resources. Lee told reporters he hasn’t yet analyzed the order, “but I think there’s opportunity there.”

“The president wants to support states like ours who are advocating for school choice,” in a news conference after lawmakers approved the measure. Lee was at the White House on Thursday when Trump signed an order calling for the U.S. Department of Education to be dismantled.

Texas lawmakers also are actively debating a voucher program, a longtime priority for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who worked to in last year’s state legislative elections and who also attended the White House event. The Senate($11,500 for students with disabilities) annually through education savings accounts. A similar House proposal is under review.

is considering a universal refundable tax credit — $8,000 per child for accredited private school tuition and $4,000 for non-accredited private schools. The program starts with a $125 million cap, increasing annually if participation hits certain thresholds.

Ballot box defeats

School choice opponents question the wisdom of sending taxpayer dollars to schools that may , follow nonstandardized curricula or . Many private schools have testing standards, maintain religious requirements or exclude LGBTQ+ students or those with certain disabilities, for example.

In some Republican-led states that have expanded school choice, Democrats have filed bills to increase oversight and place restrictions on these programs. would require background checks for teachers at private schools that receive voucher money. And anwould require that property tax statements include information on how much money education savings accounts subtracted from local public schools.

As voucher programs have grown, they have attracted greater scrutiny.

, an investigative journalism outlet, last year found that Arizona’s universal voucher program has mostly benefited wealthier families. Some Arizona parents have tried to use voucher money to pay for and expensive , according to press reports.

Critics also note that despite recent legislative successes, school ballot initiatives at the ballot box last fall.

Voters in Colorado that sought to enshrine school choice rights in the state constitution.

In Nebraska, voters a state-funded private school scholarship program.

And in , voters overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the use of public money to support private schools, with 65% of voters — and a — opposed.

“There’s a handful of these billionaires that have been pushing vouchers for 30 years,” said Cowen, the Michigan State University professor. “The school choice movement is not necessarily driven by public demand, but rather by wealthy donors and political maneuvering.”

In St. Louis, Empowering Missouri Students to Learn the System – And Then Beat It

Lauren Camera — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:30:00 +0000

Updated

When 17-year-old Mackayla James sat down this month with three of the 11 candidates vying for open seats on the St. Louis School Board, she wanted to know one thing: How will they take student concerns more seriously and give them more input into the decisions made about their education?

“This is about building a better educational system,” says James, a junior at KIPP High School in St. Louis. “I’m about to graduate next year, but my sister has yet to enter high school, and I don’t want her to be dealing with the same things that I’m dealing with. Adults always say they can make things better for the next generation. Yet the school system is getting worse. It’s not improving. It’s worsening.”

The contentious election, now just three weeks away, comes as the district faces teacher and bus driver shortages, dwindling student enrollment expected to result in school closures, an audit over alleged misuse of district funds by the prior superintendent and chronically low rates of academic achievement.

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In many ways, St. Louis is similar to other urban school districts attempting to claw their way back from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In other ways, it’s very different: Child poverty is high – higher, in fact, than 95% of communities nationwide – and crime, though on a downward trajectory, is still high enough that the state may strip the city’s control of its own police force.

James, meanwhile, is one of the St. Louis area high school students selected after a competitive application process to be part of a small cohort that gathers weekly to learn the nuts and bolts of advocacy and how to effectively inject their voices into the political process. The program, Youth Activators, encompasses a handful of semester-long cohorts and summer fellowships operated by Activate Missouri, all of which focus on boosting civic engagement among young people, with the goal of lifting up student voices in under-resourced communities across the state.

Among other things, the program educates students about the ways schools and districts are funded, the reasons funding can be so disparate, the state of education in their communities and how it got to be that way. With help from the organization’s own grassroots leaders, students identify the people in positions of power in their community and build their own advocacy campaigns to advance an issue that’s important to them.

Vera Pantazis, a 17-year-old junior at Maplewood Richmond High School who is also part of the St. Louis cohort, had questions of her own for the school board candidates. Tutoring to improve math and reading scores is well and fine, she said, but show me the fine print.

“So you say that you’re going to provide free tutoring for all kids. What’s that going to look like? How are we funding this? Who’s going to be doing the tutoring, you know? Is that going to be for all schools? All grades? I wanted more details on the biggest education proposals.”

The youth engagement effort marks a change in strategy for the education advocacy group, which had been focusing resources on trying to engage, educate and organize parents on the issues.

“We were asking the people most impacted by the systemic inequalities to fix the issue,” says Tiara Jordan-Sutton, founder and executive director of Activate STL, an offshoot of the statewide organization. “But they have so many things on their plate, and if they have to choose between working another job to put food on the table or attending a curriculum night at their kids school or coming to an organizing meeting, they’re gonna choose to put the food on the table. At the end of the day, there’s multiple competing factors that are keeping parents from being able to jump in this fight. So we needed to think about this from another lens.”

That lens is now trained on students, or as Jordan-Sutton likes to remind folks, “the very people who are closest to the issue.” The issue being, of course, the significant academic and fiscal challenges of the K-12 system. According to the most recent NAEP results, just 27% of fourth-grade students in Missouri and 26% of eighth graders are proficient in reading. In math, 36% of fourth graders and 23% of eighth graders are proficient. No grade-score combination reached pre-pandemic level, and the performance gap between white students and Black students hasn’t budged for more than two decades.

Out of all the districts in Missouri, St. Louis Public Schools posted the third lowest scores on the state’s last year, with just 21% of students passing the English Language arts assessment and 17% passing the math assessment. The chronic disinvestment of the system has pushed families out of the city in droves, reducing total enrollment by roughly 20% over the past decade.

“A lot of people in St. Louis think that what’s happening here is the norm,” Jordan-Sutton says. “We have an opportunity to get to them [students] earlier, so that by the time they become parents, they have a very different understanding of why education is the way that it is, who’s allowing it to stay this way, and what the factors or levers are that can be pulled for it to actually improve.”

Activate ATL and the youth advocacy programs she oversees are funded by The Opportunity Trust, a nonprofit organization working to strengthen public education for St. Louis students.

The youth advocacy programs include a paid summer fellowship for high school juniors, seniors and recent graduates, which operates weekdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., like a real job, and provides young people with a deep understanding about the myriad issues impacting St. Louis – especially education, but also housing and crime – and the tools needed to effectively organize. Among other things, they’re responsible for drafting get-out-the-vote campaigns focused on education equity.

The semester-long cohorts for high school students run during the school year. Students meet twice a week to learn about how the K-12 system operates and is funded, who controls the purse strings, how the school board operates and who the biggest decision-makers are in the system. They canvas to register students old enough to vote, travel to Jefferson City to meet with legislators at the state capital and draft their own advocacy campaigns related to something they’d like to change at their school. The experience culminates with a pitch contest for a chance to have an advocacy campaign funded and brought to life.

Those pitches include everything from establishing a mental health buddy system among students to increasing the availability of tutoring to becoming more environmentally friendly. For James, who’s biggest concern is lack of communication and understanding of the issues that students face in school, she is considering proposing a plan that would allow a student representative from each high school to sit on the school board.

“We want students to imagine what school could be like,” says Jordan-Sutton, who began her career as a special education teacher and then principal in Chicago. “What are the things that they love about their school, and what do they wish that they had that’s missing? We tell them, ‘You can do something about that. Let me show you how.’”

“We teach them how to organize for change in a very structured way,” she says. “It’s not about just staging a protest, or walking out of school, or going to the principal and saying, ‘I want this,’ and expecting the principal to do it. It’s how to fine tune an idea, research it, think through how it should be implemented and whether anyone has ever tried it before. It’s thinking through how to build coalitions of support for it because there’s strength in numbers and how to survey peers to better understand the nuances of it. And finally, it’s about figuring out who in the power dynamics has the ability to implement the change you’re asking for.”

The pivot to focus on youth advocacy is perhaps the next iteration of the national movement that’s taken shape in the wake of the pandemic, with groups like and the helping parents become smarter public education consumers and savvier advocates for change. Yet research shows that young people are eager to be involved in the process, but often feel overlooked by the political process and unprepared or unqualified to take action.

According to the , young people (18-29) believe that their generation can and should engage in civic life and effect change: 74% said that there are things they can do to make the world a better place, 76% believe that their age group has the power to change things, and 83% recognize the potential of young people working with other generations to create change. However, many don’t feel informed or qualified enough to participate in politics. Only half of youth say they feel they’re “as well-informed as most people,” and even fewer (40%) say that they feel well-qualified to participate in politics.

Moreover, young people from groups that have historically held less political power were even less likely to feel qualified, with 34% of youth of color saying they feel qualified to participate in politics, compared to 44% of white youth.

In addition, a growing body of shows that when students regard their school leadership as responsive to their expressed input and criticism, students themselves have better grades, attendance and reduced rates of chronic absenteeism. Students who believe they have a voice in school are seven times more likely to be academically motivated than students who do not believe they have a voice, and student voice is also linked to an increased likelihood that students will experience self-worth, engagement, and purpose in school.

“In this moment, with all of these different elections coming up, how do we ensure that the student voice is elevated?” asks Rachel Powers, a senior vice president at The Opportunity Trust. “How do we support students in the same way that we support parents to advocate for what they are looking for, what they need, what they see in their own spaces, in their schools, in their communities?

“We’re trying to get students in that ethos and to understand the power of their collective voice,” she adds. “We know that people who go to the polls don’t always look like people who are served in our schools. And that’s something we point out and ask them, who’s making the real decisions about what happens to you, and do you want to be involved in making decisions that impact you and your community?”

Disclosure: The Opportunity Trust provides financial support to ��.

Report: Missouri Attendance Boundaries Discriminate Against Low-Income Students

Lauren Wagner — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 11:30:00 +0000

As Missouri lawmakers debate open enrollment for a fifth consecutive year, is shedding light on how public school residency restrictions can discriminate against low-income students.

The report, published Wednesday by the nonprofit watchdog group , finds that Missouri has some of the strictest school residential assignment policies in the nation. District attendance boundaries mirror historic racist housing redlining maps and are limiting student access to high-performing schools, said Tim DeRoche, the organization’s founder.

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“Whenever the government assigns children to public schools, then the government also takes on the role of excluding those children from other public schools — that’s where the split starts to get problematic,” DeRoche said. “In Missouri, there’s just very strict assignment-based policies in districts. It’s very hard to cross district lines in Missouri as opposed to other states.”

Available to All’s report estimated that 94% to 96% of Missouri public school students attend their assigned school, based on their home address. State law has , such as if a student is homeless, parents pay property taxes at another location or a school loses accreditation.

The lack of ability for students to easily transfer schools inside or outside their district encourages wealthy families to buy houses next to high-quality schools, DeRoche said.

“It creates this very strict system where kids, especially low-income kids and low-income kids of color, get locked into struggling or failing schools, and the families have very few options to find another home for them,” he said.

DeRoche said the boundaries on redlining maps that were drawn a century ago to determine who got access to government-insured home mortgages largely correspond to the state’s school attendance lines.

“Parts of towns that have high concentrations of people of color or immigrants or working-class folks are excluded” from receiving that sort of housing assistance, DeRoche said. “We found three examples where the school zone in Missouri overlaps or mirrors the pattern on redlining maps from 80 to 90 years ago.”

One school attendance boundary cited by the report runs north to south through St. Louis. Children living east of the line are assigned to the St. Louis City School District, where roughly 20% of students score proficient or better on state reading and math tests. Children located west of the line are assigned to Clayton School District, where nearly 75% of students are proficient or better on the same exams. The boundary, according to the report, “mirrors the pattern of the racist redlining map created by the federal government in 1937.”

In the St. Joseph School District, Field Elementary School — located near an area described as a “choice part of the city” in redlining maps — has significantly higher math and reading proficiency rates than Lindbergh Elementary School, located 2 miles away. The Lindbergh neighborhood was described in redlining maps as “a poor area and one which lenders avoid,” according to the report.

A 2024 analysis by New America, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C., found this line is among the 100 most segregating district borders in the nation in terms of poverty rate disparity among school-aged children.

Because of the steep inequality across district boundaries, DeRoche said, it’s not uncommon for parents to lie about where they live to give their child an education at a higher-performing school. Schools in Missouri — and across the nation, he said — often investigate students’ residences to find families that aren’t living within district boundaries.

These inspections are conducted by school officials, teachers or even private investigators hired by the district, according to the Available to All report.

A by St. Louis Public Radio and Midwest Newsroom found the Hazelwood School District, which enrolls roughly 16,000 students in suburban St. Louis, performed 2,051 residency investigations during the 2022-23 school year. In 2018-19, the district conducted just 148.

Parents can be charged with a misdemeanor for falsifying their children’s enrollment records, according to

State Rep. Brad Pollitt has been trying to expand school choice in Missouri with open enrollment bills for the last five years. He reintroduced his proposal again this year in hopes it will finally make it to the state Senate floor.

, the Public School Open Enrollment Act, would allow any K-12 student to attend a school in a nonresident district, depending on factors including disciplinary and attendance records, the school’s student-to-teacher ratio, class sizes and building capacity. Only 3% of a district’s students would be allowed to leave each year.

According to , the bill doesn’t require school districts to accept students living outside the area, but districts that do would receive extra funding.

DeRoche said Available to All recommends that Missouri require districts to enroll children from outside their boundaries when schools have space available.

“School finance policies should ensure that education dollars can flow across district lines, enabling Missouri families to access the public schools that they feel are the right fit for their children,” the report says.

It also recommends that schools reserve a specific percentage of seats for students who live outside the district.

“There’s an opportunity for reform,” DeRoche said. “We don’t take a stand on individual bills, but there is a chance [to create] best practices in protecting equal access to public schools.”

Republican Lawmakers Seek Further Expansion of Missouri Charter Schools

Annelise Hanshaw — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 19:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Republican legislators are set to push for further expansion of charter schools around Missouri when the General Assembly reconvenes next month.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing for more local control in counties where charters already operate, along with rolling back an expansion into Boone County that passed earlier this year.

Identical bills filed , a Washington Republican, and , a Republican from St. Louis, seek to authorize charter schools in the state’s five charter counties and in municipalities with at least 30,000 residents.

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Iterations of the bill have been filed since 2022. O’Donnell prefiled the legislation last legislative session but did not receive a hearing.

With some exceptions, charter schools are only allowed to operate in Kansas City, St. Louis and Boone County.

Bills authorizing specific counties to establish charter schools had more traction. Rep. Brad Christ, a St. Louis Republican, got seeking to authorize charter schools in St. Louis County through committee early in the 2024 legislative session and has refiled the bill this year.

He believes legislation providing alternatives to traditional public schools will gain more traction under the leadership of Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe, who has for charter schools and K-12 tax-credit scholarships.

“There will be much more coordination between the governor’s office and both bodies than in the past,” Christ told The Independent.

Residents in his district have asked for more publicly-funded schooling options for various reasons. The schools in his district have a good reputation, so Christ doesn’t anticipate a large exodus from the public districts.

“I don’t think charter schools will be popping up overnight all over St Louis County if this passes,” he said. “But in areas where there’s a need and where there’s a demand, I think it will provide options for families, whether that be academic, personal, social, religious or whatever it might be.”

He’s open to his bill amending a larger education package. Last year, his bill was tacked onto proposals to expand charters into St. Charles and Boone County.

Ultimately, only the Boone County legislation survived a tumultuous 2024 legislative session, with former Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden of Columbia pushing for his county to be a new home for charter schools.

Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia, is hoping to reverse the decision with a that would remove the authorization from state law and, secondly, call for a vote in Boone County to let voters decide if charters are welcome.

“Ultimately, it would be good to just completely have a repealed charter school provision,” he told The Independent. “But also, if we can take it to the voters and let them decide, I think that would be appropriate.”

Smith said Boone County residents “never wanted” charter schools expanded to their county, calling the legislation “Rowden’s baby.” Rowden is leaving office because of term limits and has accepted a job as director of strategic advocacy at the lobbying firm Strategic Capitol Consulting.

“I don’t know that now that he’s gone, you’re gonna have anyone who’s just adamant about keeping charter schools in Boone County,” Smith said.

He said he didn’t know of anyone in the House pushing for charter schools in Boone County. Last year, Republican Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch from Hallsville filed the legislation. In November, she narrowly and is term limited from continuing her work in the Missouri House.

Other bills seek to change the way charter schools operate in Missouri.

A , a Democrat from Kansas City, would require charter schools to obtain a certificate of need from their local school districts to operate. The State Board of Education would review and approve the certificates of need.

Rep. Doug Clemens, a St. Louis Democrat, also filed legislation that would require local oversight.

, which he filed last year as well, would require local school districts to sponsor charter schools. Most of the state’s charter schools are currently sponsored by the Missouri Charter Public School Commission, a state board that oversees charters. Clemens’s bill would remove the need for the commission.

“The idea that local school boards don’t have control over charter schools operating within their district is just not okay,” Clemens told The Independent. “I think that it is worth talking about local control when it comes to the education of our children.”

Having local governance of charter schools would allow residents to have more input on the way their tax dollars are spent on education, he said.

His bill did not get a hearing last legislative session, along with bills filed by other lawmakers that would modify charter sponsorship.

Rudi Keller contributed to this report.

This article has been updated to reflect the presence of exceptions to Missouri charter school law.

Missouri Education Officials Lower GPA Threshold for Teacher Certification

Annelise Hanshaw — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 19:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published in

Missouri educators will no longer need a 3.0 grade-point average in their subject area to teach in public schools beginning in July, unanimously voted Tuesday.

The threshold to be qualified to teach in the state is now a 2.5 grade-point average in the teacher’s content area. The only exception will be special-education teachers, who will still be required to meet the 3.0 mark.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations say the change is intended to increase the number of certificated teachers coming into public schools. Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger said in a statement that the change would remove “unnecessary barriers to the teaching profession.”

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“There is no evidence tying a particular GPA in the content area to more effective teaching,” Daryl Fridley, the department’s education preparation coordinator, told the board on Tuesday. “Most of the non-teaching professional options in sciences, math and history do not require such a high GPA.”

A 3.0 GPA requirement most impacts teachers in STEM subjects, he said. When the department looked at teacher candidates who met other requirements but didn’t meet the GPA standard, nearly a quarter of those disqualified were in STEM.

Teacher candidates still must pass a performance assessment, with a test of subject knowledge, to be certified. Of those who didn’t meet the GPA requirements, 90% passed the performance assessment, Fridley said.

The department hopes the new requirements will bring more teachers into the profession. Currently, almost 44% of first-year teachers are certified in Missouri. Over a quarter are serving as a substitute teacher, 6% have no certification and the rest have alternative certifications.

“Discussions about this issue often include the question, ‘Isn’t this a case of lowering standards?’” Fridley said. “We maintain that with a third of the state’s first year teachers having no more than a substitute teacher certificate and some with even less, any action that leads to a higher proportion of first-year teachers completing the preparation program is actually a net gain for the overall quality of teachers.”

In the midst of low teacher retention rates and poor recruitment, the change is welcome, the department reiterated.

“Both quantity and quality of teachers are really important to the learning of students,” Paul Katnik, assistant commissioner of educator quality, said during Tuesday’s meeting.

The department reiterated that it doesn’t believe the lower GPA threshold will affect teacher quality.

A showed that there was no improvement in achievement outcomes between a 2.5 GPA and 2.75 GPA requirement. Increasing the threshold to 3.0 excluded 44% of education students and brought a small increase on teachers’ evaluations. The study concludes a “higher GPA criteria would also have minimal impact on the quality of our nation’s teachers.”

Carol Hallquist, vice president of the State Board of Education, said she was initially wary of lowering the GPA standard but is now “totally supportive.”

“When I reached out to principals and people who are in teacher preparation programs, they said there was no correlation and were very supportive,” she said. “They also said that you have to pass licensing tests, and that is really what we want to look at.”

Doug Hayter, executive director of the Missouri Association of School Administrators, told The Independent he has been speaking to the department about the GPA requirements and is optimistic.

“There is a balance where we need to have requirements that mean something, but the research that they have seems to indicate that this change would not have a substantial impact on teacher effectiveness,” he said. “As long as that’s the case, we want to give educators as many options as possible in a world where there’s still a lot of open positions in regard to public education.”

Further helping open doors for new teachers is the reinstatement of a general science certification for high school educators. The department has required science teachers to specialize in an area, like chemistry or biology, but now will bring back a certification for generalists with a broader knowledge base.

“The reinstatement of this general science certificate will create opportunities for more students to choose to be science teachers, not by lowering standards, but instead by creating a path in which the standards are more aligned with the needs of schools,” Fridley said.

Hayter expects the change to impact districts statewide, saying that “every little bit helps” to recruit teachers.

“This is one small part of a bigger picture of making sure that we have very effective educators in our classrooms moving forward,” he said.

The “bigger picture,” Hayter said, includes boosting teacher pay and making schools welcoming for educators.

Missouri – ��������

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Missouri – ��