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MSTA Region Capitol Visits    

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of school schedules, MSTA will not be holding in-person MSTA Region Capitol Visits. MSTA Regions are setting dates to hold virtual briefings, and the specific details will be included in future MSTA Actions. MSTA is working on innovative ways to connect members to their legislators and ensure that the relationships between education professionals and legislators remain strong during this session.  

Senate Education Committee votes harmful omnibus education bill out of committee 

The Senate Education Committee held its first hearing this week. On the agenda were three priority bills for Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin. The committee met during its normally scheduled meeting time on Tuesday taking public testimony on the bills. Sen. O’Laughlin then called a special meeting on Thursday to hold an executive session to vote the legislation out of committee.

SCS/SB55 (O’Laughlin) was voted do pass out of the Senate Education Committee by a vote of 5-4. Senators voting in favor of the bill: Senators O’Laughlin, Brattin, Cierpiot, Koenig, Onder. Senators voting in opposition to the bill: Senators Arthur, Gannon, Razer, Schupp. The bill combines SB55 (O’Laughlin), SB23 (Koenig) and SB25 (Eigel), as well as sections that were added in the committee substitute that were in other bills.

MSTA is opposed to the sweeping changes in this substitute based on the MSTA Adopted Resolutions. Education professionals believe that all students deserve equal access to a free public education. We believe that the continuation of our free nation and its strength and well-being depend on our free public schools and that public dollars should remain in public schools. The track record of Missouri charter schools show how expanded government programs without proper oversight can harm students and further stretch limited resources. Between 1999 and the 2017-2018 school year, 65 charter schools were established in Missouri. Twenty-five of those charter schools have closed due to academic performance or financial issues. Over $785 million taxpayer dollars have gone to Missouri charter schools that closed their doors. While the State Board of Education and public education advocates look for solutions to address the current teacher recruitment and retention problems, this legislation is a costly expansion of a system that further strains taxpayers’ ability to maintain quality schools, without the oversight of publicly elected and accountable school boards.   

Missouri has excellent schools and support for public education, with locally elected school boards providing accountability to students, parents and taxpayers. Charter school board members are not required to live in the areas where charter schools operate and are not even required to be residents of Missouri. These schools are not governed by elected leaders and are allowed to oversee and handle millions of taxpayer dollars. This legislation expands a current system that is not aligned with the local control of public education that allows all stakeholders to have a voice.  

SCS/SB55 (O’Laughlin) creates the Missouri empowerment scholarship program, an expansion of charter schools to an additional 61 districts, turning the MOCAP program into virtual charter schools and creating law for school board member recalls.  

The creation of the tax credit voucher program called empowerment scholarships could cost the state $100 million in the first year. Missouri taxpayers would contribute to an education assistance organization and claim a tax credit equal to the contribution that is made. The amount of the tax credit claimed could not exceed 50 percent of the taxpayer’s state tax liability for the tax year in which it is claimed. The taxpayer may carry the credit forward to any of the next four tax years. Tax credits authorized under the program may not be transferred, sold, or assigned, and are not refundable. If the amount of tax credits claimed in the $100 million program exceeds 90 percent of the total amount available in any year, the cumulative amount will increase by 10 percent. 

The bill creates education assistance organizations that are required to be 501 (c)(3) organizations that would run the program. They would be allowed to keep a portion of the state funding to process the vouchers. The education assistance organizations would be required to administer either state achievement tests or nationally norm-referenced tests and provide the results to the parents of participating students and the State Treasurer. They must also conduct an annual parental satisfaction survey. These reports are not provided to the State Board of Education or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The State Treasurer or State Auditor are allowed, but not required to investigate any educational assistance organization if it has evidence of fraud. The State Treasurer may bar an educational assistance organization from participating if the organization has failed to comply with the requirements of the program. After five years, the State Treasurer must issue a report on the state of the program, including information on the finances of the educational assistance organization, and educational outcomes of qualified students.  

For students to qualify for the voucher program, they must have either attended public school full time for at least one semester in the last year; previously participated in the program; are eligible to begin kindergarten; are attending school for the first time; or are the child of active-duty military members. The funds from the voucher program may only be used for textbooks, educational therapies, tutoring services, curriculum, tuition for a private virtual school, computer hardware or other technological devices or tuition in a school in which the student is not a resident, as well as fees for summer school or after school programs and fees for the management of the empowerment scholarship accounts. The only things that families would not be able to spend the funds, as outlined in the bill, include consumable education supplies and tuition at a private school outside of Missouri.  

SCS/SB55 would allow charter schools to be operated in any school district within a charter county and any city in Missouri with a population greater than 30,000. This expansion would allow charter schools to open in 61 new school districts.

The legislation would also place term limits on the State Board of Education, allowing no member to serve more than one eight-year term. 

There are several changes to the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program in the new substitute. 

The MOCAP providers would receive a windfall from a new calculation for payment that would be equal to the average daily attendance rate for the student’s district of residence. These online providers would be considered their own attendance centers.  

Currently students receive approval from their resident district or charter school to enroll in the program. The bill eliminates that provision and replaces it with a requirement that DESE adopt a policy that outlines the process in which a student may enroll in the program.  

SCS/SB55 establishes a recall procedure for local school board members. 

A recall election for local school board members would be held upon the submission of a petition signed by at least 25 percent of the number of registered voters who voted in the most recent school board election. If a majority of voters are in favor of recall, the resulting vacancy would be filled as provided in existing law for premature vacancies in the district, unless the recall question was submitted in an April election for new school board members, in which case the vacancy shall be filled by the first runner-up in the election for new members. 

SCS/SB55 would not allow school districts to receive funding under the foundation formula if the district is a member of any statewide activities association that prohibits a home school student from participating in any event or activity offered by the school district or requires a home school student to attend the public school for any portion of a school day in order to participate in any event or activity. 

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is required to withhold payments to districts in violation of the bill until the district proves to the State Board of Education that the school district is no longer a member of the organization. 

The bill states that a statewide activities association shall not prohibit or restrict any school district that is a member of the association from participating in any events authorized or regulated by the association with any school that is not a member of the association.

State Board of Education hears teacher workforce report

Last week, DESE Assistant Commissioner Paul Katnik delivered what has become an annual report to the State Board of Education on teacher workforce.   

Katnik again reviewed enrollment in higher education teacher preparation programs, certificates issued by the department, district hiring trends, teacher retention, teacher shortages, and teacher recruitment.   

The Missouri starting teacher salary as well as the average teacher salary, some of the lowest in the country, were again brought up to the State Board of Education as major hurdles for teacher recruitment and retention. Katnik stated that the department is committed to working with the legislature and public education stakeholders to address these issues. 

For more information about teacher salaries across the state, visit the MSTA Salary and Research page and book.

Bill Summaries 

Senate Education Committee 

SB23 (Koenig) would create the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account Program, a form of tax credit vouchers. The bill would allow for $50 million to be spent in the first year of the program. A taxpayer could make a qualifying contribution to an educational assistance organization and claim a tax credit equal to 85 percent of the amount of the contribution. The amount of the tax credit claimed could not exceed 50 percent of the taxpayer’s state tax liability for the tax year for which the credit is claimed. The tax credit may be carried forward to any of the next four tax years. Tax credits authorized under the program may not be transferred, sold, or assigned, and are not refundable.

The bill would create educational assistance organizations, 501 (c)(3) organizations that would become the clearing house for the voucher program. They would provide applicants with tax credits, ensure the funds are legally spent and distribute the voucher funds four times per year.  Eligible students would be limited in the amount they could receive, capped at the state adequacy target. The State Treasurer would be responsible for the minimum oversight proposed in the legislation. Currently the requirements would be to administer a state achievement or nationally norm-referenced test with the results provided to the students and the State Treasurer. A parental satisfaction survey must also be completed, and the education assistance organizations would be required to show their financial accountability and viability. These organizations would also be able to keep state tax dollars for administering the program. The State Treasurer or State Auditor may investigate these organizations if there is evidence of fraud in the program, but the proposed legislation does not require it. After five years, a report would be required to be produced from the Treasurer’s office on the finances and educational outcomes of the students in the program.

A student would be eligible to receive funds in a Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account if they are identified as having a disability, is a child of a parent in active military service, is a ward of the state, or can certify that he or she has been bullied. A high school student may be eligible to receive funds if he or she is enrolled in a vocational education program at his or her high school or at an area vocational school, or in any job training or educational program offered by a labor organization. To be eligible for the program, a student must have attended a public school for at least one semester in the last year, previously participated in the Missouri empowerment scholarship accounts program, or is eligible to begin kindergarten. 

The funds from the voucher program may only be used for textbooks, educational therapies, tutoring services, curriculum, tuition for a private virtual school, computer hardware or other technological devices or tuition in a school in which the student is not a resident, as well as fees for summer school or after-school programs and fees for the management of the empowerment scholarship accounts. The only things that families would not be able to spend the funds as outlined in the bill include consumable education supplies and tuition at a private school outside of Missouri. MSTA testified in opposition.

SB25 (Eigel) has many of the same provisions relating to empowerment scholarship accounts that are in both SCS/SB55 and SB23. It further contains the charter school expansion that exists in SCS/SB55. See story for additional information. MSTA testified in opposition. 

SB55 (O’Laughlin) would not allow school districts to receive funding under the foundation formula if the district is a member of any statewide activities association that prohibits a home school student from participating in any event or activity offered by the school district or requires a home school student to attend the public school for any portion of a school day in order to participate in any event or activity. 

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is required to withhold payments to districts in violation of the bill until the district proves to the State Board of Education that the school district is no longer a member of the organization. 

The bill states that a statewide activities association shall not prohibit or restrict any school district that is a member of the association from participating in any events authorized or regulated by the association with any school that is not a member of the association.