By Otto Fajen, MNEA legislative director
SENATE LEADERSHIP PUNISHES FREEDOM CAUCUS MEMBERS
Senate Pro Tem Caleb Rowden removed several members of the self-identified Freedom Caucus from their committee chair and vice-chair positions, certain committee appointments and took away official parking spaces. Sen. Rowden removed Andrew Koenig as chair of Education and Workforce Development and Sen. Rick Brattin as vice-chair of that committee. Sen. Curtis Trent was selected to serve as chair of the committee, but no vice-chair was selected.
These changes will have further effects on the status and progress of many Senate bills.
SENATE REFERS EDUCATION BILLS TO NEW SELECT COMMITTEE
Sen. Rowden appointed a new Select Committee on Empowering Parents and Children. The Select Committee includes Senator Curtis Trent as chair, Mary Elizabeth Coleman as vice-chair, and Senators Lauren Arthur, Doug Beck, Jill Carter, Travis Fitzwater, and Caleb Rowden.
Sen. Rowden referred more than fifty education-related bills to the Select Committee Empowering Parents and Children on January 25, while no additional bills were referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce Development.
STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
Governor Mike Parson delivered his final State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate in the House Chamber on January 24. The State of the State address gives the Governor a chance to present his vision for the state and his budget priorities. Governor Parson announced that his K-12 budget proposal will fully fund the K-12 school funding formula with the $120 million increase required by the increase of the State Adequacy Target (SAT) due to changes in MSIP 6.
Last fall, DESE indicated that the changes in MSIP 6 will significantly change the set of "performance districts" identified under the formula law and used to calculate the SAT, the basic per pupil number used to calculate formula aid. The SAT will increase in equal steps over the next two years from $6,375 to $7,145. DESE estimates this change will increase the cost of the formula by about $120 million for next school year and by an additional $300 million for the following school year.
Parson also proposes continuing to fully fund pupil transportation for next school year. The budget will also continue state funding for teacher pay baseline grants for districts with starting salaries below $40K. The higher education budget includes a 3% core funding increase for Missouri public institutions plus $54 million for the MoExcels workforce training program.
TAX CREDIT VOUCHERS
The Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development has already voted to approve two tax credit-style school voucher bills, SB 727 and SB 729. SCS/SB 727 was reported to the floor and could be taken up for debate as soon as next week. The Association believes that tax credit tuition plans and voucher plans compromise free, equitable, universal, and quality public education for every student. The Association opposes SB 727 and SB 729.
OPEN ENROLLMENT
The House Rules - Regulatory Oversight Committee voted to approve an HCS/HB 1989 (Pollitt) on January 24. The bill is now on the House calendar and could be taken up by the House for consideration early next week. The bill would create a public school open enrollment program. The Missouri NEA believes that public school choice plans with state funding may harm students and our public schools unless essential criteria are in place for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating their effectiveness. The Association opposes the HCS version of the bill.
HB 1989 included some specific provisions to mitigate the potential for open enrollment to increase racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic segregation. However, the HCS removed the provisions to mitigate re-segregation.
The new Senate Committee on Empowering Parents and Children will hear SB 1051 (Curtis Trent) on January 30. The original version of the bill does contain a provision to limit transfers that could serve to adversely affect racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic balances in the public schools.
Both bills allow a receiving district to deny a transfer to a student with an IEP if that district does not have the existing capacity to fulfill the requirements of the IEP.
ACCREDITATION AND ASSESSMENT REFORMS
The Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development approved SB 814 (Jill Carter) on January 23. The House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education will hear HB 1851 (Paula Brown) on January 31. Both bills seek to reduce the negative effects of the misuse and overuse of standardized testing. The Association supports both bills. The bills limit the use of statewide assessments strictly to the uses required under the federal ESSA Act, including identifying schools for support and improvement. Public schools will create or adopt local assessments that will also be included in school report cards. The State Board of Education will select at least two national accreditation agencies from which public schools may seek accreditation.
TEST, BLAME AND PUNISH BILL
The House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education will also hear HB 2184 (Haffner) on January 31. This bill specifies a detailed methodology for calculating school building performance scores based primarily on student scores on standardized tests. The bill does not provide any structure to provide support to help schools improve. This bill hearkens back to the now-abandoned "test, blame and punish" mindset of the former, federal NCLB Act. The Association opposes the bill.
FULL-TIME VIRTUAL SCHOOLS
The House Special Committee on Education Reform heard HB 2287 (Phil Christofanelli) on January 23. The Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development heard SB 780 (Karla Eslinger), a similar bill, on the same day. The bills make minor revisions to clarify the new structure of accountability, enrollment, participation, and finance created and enacted for full-time virtual schools in 2022 by SS/HCS/HB 1552 (Richey). The Association supports the bills.
HONESTY IN EDUCATION/PARENT RIGHTS/DON'T SAY GAY BILL
The Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development approved an SCS version of SB 728 (Andrew Koenig) on January 23. The bill contains provisions relating to parental access to school information. The bill also creates state law prohibitions affecting teacher and student interactions and includes penalties on school staff that could include loss of certification and liability to parent lawsuits. The SCS also adds provisions to restrict local control regarding the use of bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms in public schools. The Association is concerned that the bill would adversely affect the freedom of teachers to provide the honest education our students deserve. The Association opposes the bill.
The committee also heard SB 902 (Nick Schroer) on January 24. This omnibus bill includes restrictions on instruction, requirements regarding curriculum and professional development documents, expansion of tax credit style vouchers, school building letter grades, and many other provisions. The Association opposes the bill.
INITIATIVE PETITION
The House Committee on Elections and Elected Officials met on January 23 to hear two joint resolutions to change the initiative petition process and the process of amending the Constitution. The committee will meet again on January 30 to hear two more joint resolutions on this topic.
The Senate Local Government and Elections Committee will meet on January 29 to hear thirteen joint resolutions on this topic. Like the four HJRs, eleven of these SJRs include a variation on raising the approval requirement for constitutional amendments to add a concurrent majority in a least a majority of: Missouri House districts, Missouri Senate districts, or Missouri's Congressional districts.
The Association is concerned that the resolutions will make it more difficult for Missouri citizens to bring forward and gain approval on measures of interest brought by the initiative petition process. The Association opposes the joint resolutions.
CORPORATE INCOME TAX REPEAL
The House Special Committee on Tax Reform heard HB 2274 (Travis Smith) on January 23. The bill would repeal Missouri's corporate income tax over a period of four years. When fully implemented, the bill is estimated to reduce state revenues by roughly $884 million. This corporate income tax cut would further limit the capacity of the legislature to invest in public education and other vital services. The Association opposes the bill.
RETIREMENT
The House-Pensions Committee heard HB 1937 (Owen) on January 23. The bill would enact additional provisions regarding the investments of all Missouri public pension systems, including PSRS and PEERS, regarding proxy voting and their fiduciary investment priority.
The PSRS Board of Trustees has a fiduciary duty to invest for the benefit of the members of the system. The bill would prevent pension systems from considering environmental, social, or governance factors in a manner that would override their fiduciary duties. The provisions of the bill as filed are consistent with the current practices of PSRS and PEERS and will not interfere with the operation of the Systems.
SUPERINTENDENT PAY LIMIT
The House Special Committee on Education Reform heard HB 2344 (Ben Keathley) on January 23. The bill would limit local control of superintendent pay by creating a state cap of five and one-half times a beginning teacher's salary in the district.
ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT INVOLVING PRIVATE SCHOOL EMPLOYEES
The Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development approved an SCS version of SB 766 (Holly Thompson Rehder) on January 23. The bill establishes consequences for a private school that fails to disclose allegations of sexual misconduct against a former employee when furnishing a job reference for the employee. The liability created is similar to existing law regarding the failure of a public school to disclose allegations against a former employee.
IB EXAM CREDIT
The House Committee on Higher Education heard three similar bills regarding college credit for AP exams. HB 1578 (Maggie Nurrenbern), HB 2051 (Kemp Strickler), and HB 2415 (Chris Brown) each would require Missouri public higher education institutions to adopt a policy for undergraduate course credit for any student that receives a score of 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate (IB) exam.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
The committee met on January 24 and heard the following bills:
HB 1486 (Brenda Shields) to revise funding for early childhood education programs through the school funding formula. The bill would increase funding for early learning programs around the state. The Association supports the establishment of fully funded early childhood education programs in public schools and supports the bill.
HB 1761 (Justin Hicks) to require every school district to comply with enhanced safety and security standards regarding school facilities and operations. The fiscal impact of the bill is not clearly estimated by the bill's fiscal note, but the Association is concerned that the original bill represents a significant and potentially unfunded mandate.
HB 2125 (Ian Mackey), HB 2177 (Bruce Sassman), and HB 2323 (Jeff Farnan) would lower the required age for school entry from the currently required age of seven years. HB 2125 lowers the age to five years, while the other two bills lower the age to six years.
The committee rescheduled the hearing on HB 1727 (Michael O'Donnell) for January 31. The bill requires DESE to create a workgroup to develop academic standards on personal finance. The bill requires high school students to pass a one-half unit of credit in personal finance as a requirement for graduation.
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