By Otto Fajen
MNEA Legislative Director
CAPITOL ACTION DAYS
Due to inclement weather, Missouri NEA canceled the Capitol Action Day for Wednesday, February 19th. The Association is sorry for any inconvenience and would love to have members join us at any of the scheduled CAD dates that remain. Missouri NEA has four additional dates scheduled for this session: https://www.mobilize.us/mnea/
ACCREDITATION AND ASSESSMENT REFORMS
The Senate Education Committee will hear SB 360 (Jill Carter) on February 25. The bill would support local control and reduce the state's heavy emphasis on standardized testing. The Association supports the bill.
The bill would require the State Board of Education to recognize at least two national school accreditation organizations and allow districts to choose to gain accreditation by approval of such a group. The bill also directs the State Board to revise the MAP assessment and restrict the use of the MAP to only the purposes required under federal law. The bill requires school districts to develop or adopt local assessments and allows local assessment results to be part of a district's school report card.
OMNIBUS SENATE SUNSET-RELATED BILL
The Senate perfected SS#2/SB 10 (Lincoln Hough) on February 17. The SS#2 version extends or removes sunsets on a wide range of state laws. Included among these are: 1) a five year extension of the option for PSRS retirees to work as a substitute teacher while receiving their PSRS pension and 2) permanent extension of the moratorium on transgender athletic participation in competitive girl's or women's events in public and private middle schools and high schools and public and private colleges.
SCHOOL CHAPLAINS
The Senate passed SS/SCS/SB 49 and 118 (Rusty Black) on February 20. The bill would allow school districts and charter schools to employ a school chaplain or accept a chaplain as a screened volunteer. The Senate adopted amendments to clarify that no school district or charter school is required to adopt a policy regarding school chaplains, any such chaplain must a member of a religious-endorsing organization recognized by the Armed Forces Chaplains Board, and any school chaplain also employed for an instructional purpose shall also be an appropriately certified educator.
TARGETING "DEI" IN STATE AGENCIES
The House passed HB 742 (Ben Baker) on February 20 on a party line vote of 108-50. The bill would ban state agencies from spending funds on diversity, equity, or inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The bill defines DEI using politically charged language that differs from the normal concept of "DEI" initiatives. This wording raises uncertainty about how the bill will affect the work of state agencies.
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The committee heard the following bills on February 18:
SB 53 (Nick Schroer) and SB 195 (Rick Brattin) would each create an individual tax credit voucher for private or home school expenses. The Association opposes both bills. SB 195 is expected to reduce state general revenues by $1 billion within three years. SB 53 would reduce state general revenue by a similar amount but would also reduce local school revenues from Prop C sales taxes by a like amount for all participating students residing in the district. This could leave most or all of the Prop C funds left in the fund and not used to support local public schools, since the funds can be used for no other purpose. The Association believes that state mandated parental option plans compromise free, equitable, universal, and quality public education for every student.
SB 69 (Mike Henderson) to expand higher education core curriculum transfer provisions from forty-two credit hours to sixty credit hours.
SB 155 (Tracy McCreery) and SB 166 (Kurtis Gregory) would each require public schools to develop cardiac emergency response plans. The House Health and Mental Health Committee will also hear HB 232 (Sherri Gallick), a similar bill. The Association supports the bills.
SB 212 (Travis Fitzwater) would require all public school shower rooms, locker rooms, and restrooms to be designated for and used by male or female students only. The Association is concerned that this bill would override local control in handling this issue.
SJR 6 (Rick Brattin) would amend the Constitution to assert the right of parents to participate in and direct the education of their children free from government interference.
The committee also approved the following bills on February 18:
SB 42 (Angela Mosley) to require DESE to make sure that safety assessments are conducted on all public schools located in St. Louis City or St. Louis County.
SB 63 (Ben Brown) to allow home school students to participate in activities sanctioned by statewide activity organizations, such as MSHSAA.
SCS/SB 68 (Mike Henderson) to require local educational agencies to report school safety incidents to DESE. The SCS adds the provisions of SB 640 (Mike Henderson) to require school districts to adopt policies restricting student use of cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices during instructional time. The Association supports the SCS version of the bill.
SCS/SB 71 (David Gregory) to create a program to provide free college tuition for first responders and their legal dependents. The SCS specifies that the free college tuition will be available if funds are appropriated for reimbursing the costs of the institutions.
SCS/SB 80 (Kurtis Gregory) regarding compensation for high school athletes.
SB 115 (Rick Brattin) pertaining to both honesty in education and parent access to school information. The Association has concerns that the bill would adversely affect the freedom of teachers to provide the honest education our students deserve and could interfere with existing policies respecting student and school privacy. The Association opposes the bill.
SB 160 (Brad Hudson) to prevent a public college from denying official recognition to belief-based student associations that require leaders to adhere to their beliefs, practice requirements or standards of conduct.
HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The committee heard the following bills on February 19:
HB 220 (Ed Lewis) to create standards for virtual schools or programs to administer statewide assessments.
HB 267 (Brenda Shields) to repeal the sunset on provisions governing teacher externships. The Association supports the bill.
HB 368 (Brad Banderman) to clarify that school districts will still qualify for the 1% increase in state aid for a school calendar of at least 169 school days, even if the school is in session fewer days due to inclement weather or another allowed reduction.
HB 941 (Ed Lewis) to prohibit school districts from using a "three-cueing system" model of reading instruction.
HB 1153 (Cecilie Williams) to require the state Board of Education to issue certificates of license to teach upon certification by Teachers for Tomorrow. The Association is concerned that Teachers of Tomorrow has created problems for participating educators in other states with this program and opposes this requirement.
HB 744 (Ben Baker) pertaining to honesty in education and parent access to school information. HB 744 also raises concern regarding existing policies on student and school privacy.
The committee also approved HB 116 (Jim Murphy) on February 19. The bill requires DESE to establish a pilot program on media literacy and critical thinking. The program will develop strategies for student learning in classroom curricula and demonstrate various literacy strategies used. The Association supports the bill.
HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
The committee heard the following bills on February 20:
HB 183 (Cameron Parker) to expand higher education core curriculum transfer provisions from forty-two credit hours to sixty credit hours.
HB 268 (Brenda Shields) to revise the accreditation provisions for master's degree programs in social work.
HB 291 (Kemp Strickler) and HB 1017 (Chris Brown) are similar bills to require public educational institutions to grant undergraduate course credit for students who score four or higher on international baccalaureate examinations.
HB 33 (Bishop Davidson) to require DESE to establish the STEM Career Awareness Activity Program for high school grades.
HONESTY IN EDUCATION/ACCESS TO SCHOOL INFORMATION
The Senate Government Efficiency Committee approved SB 223 (Mary Elizabeth Coleman) on February 17. SB 223 provides a cause of action against schools and staff for violations of notice and consent regarding student surveys as required under federal law. The Association is concerned that creating this cause of action against school staff could be disruptive and cause hardship for educators.
LIMITING LOCAL PROPERTY REVENUES
The House Ways and Means Committee heard HB 517 (Mark Matthiesen) on February 17. The bill would lower the cap on inflationary growth of local property revenues from five percent to three percent. This measure would reduce the amount of increase of residential property assessments during high inflationary years.