By Otto Fajen, MNEA Director of Legislative Policy
CAPITOL ACTION DAYS BEGIN!
Capitol Action Days are part of the Association's plan to promote positive policy for public education. MNEA's Capitol Action Days occur regularly on Wednesdays during legislative session and began on February 4th. Members from Governance Districts 3, 9, and 11 came to the Capitol to get a briefing and meet with their legislators. For more information and to register for your Capitol Action Day, please visit https://www.mnea.org/CAD.
SENATE RULES CHANGE
The Senate approved SR 640 (Cindy O'Laughlin) to amend the Senate rules. SR 640 modifies Senate Rule 52 to require Senate bills with House amendments and conference committee substitutes to lie on the table for one day before being acted upon by the Senate. The resolution also modifies Senate Rule 84 to provide that a motion for the previous question shall be admitted upon the written demand of eighteen, rather than ten, Senators.
HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE
The House Budget Committee heard testimony from Commissioner Eslinger and DESE staff regarding the Governor's budget proposal for HB 2 regarding K-12 education. The committee will continue to hear presentations from other agencies next week.
HOUSE PERFECTS GIFTED TESTING BILL
The House perfected HB 1757 (Brenda Shields) on February 3. The bill would establish procedures for school districts to evaluate for gifted students. The bill outlines screening requirements and requires review by trained staff members. The Association believes well-developed criteria and guidelines for identifying and teaching these students are essential. The Association supports the bill.
STATE TAKEOVER OF HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
The Senate debated SS/SB 863 (Jason Bean) on February 3rd, but the bill was laid over without being brought to a vote. The bill would require the Governor to appoint a board of directors to oversee any statewide activities association that facilitates interscholastic activities for secondary school students. The Senate Substitute version clarifies that the bill affects an organization that oversees athletics while excluding any similar organization that does not regulate athletics.
The bill allows the new board to hire an executive director to oversee operations of the association and requires the association to provide financial statements to the new board three times per year. The bill also requires public school dues to be filtered through the newly established board and authorizes the board to handle appeals of decisions or rulings made by the activities association. The Association believes that educators should continue to establish the policies and procedures that govern the activities of the thousands of Missouri students who participate in school activities.
HONESTY IN EDUCATION
The Senate debated SB 948 (Rick Brattin) on February 2, but the bill was laid over before being brought to a vote. The bill would enact new law regarding parental rights in the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their children. The bill includes new authority to file private lawsuits over any alleged violation of these new provisions, thereby raising the same concerns as SB 909. The Association opposes the bill.
HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The committee heard four bills on February 4:
HB 1698 (Mazzie Christensen) and HB 2120 (John Black) would revise antibullying requirements for school districts.
HB 2230 (Tricia Byrnes) and HB 2978 (Marlene Terry) would limit the use of technology for student learning practices in elementary schools. While the original bill contains specific and immediate requirements, the Association appreciates the concern and recognition of the impact of screen use on learning and child development and encourages best practices in use of traditional materials and technology in elementary schools.
The committee also approved two bills on February 4:
HCS/HBs 2112 and 1876 (Peggy McGaugh) requires school districts to provide instruction in cursive writing. The HCS requires districts to begin assessing the cursive skill of fifth grade students beginning in the 28-29 school year. Details of the instruction and assessment are left to the determination of school districts. The Association supports best practices in elementary education and notes the growing awareness of adverse impacts of excessive screen use on students and the learning environment.
HCS/HB 2776 (Willard Haley) revises the temporary authorization certificate. The bill would grant a temporary certificate for completing an associate’s degree in an applied science-level teacher preparation program and receiving an associate’s degree in a teaching field. Applicants must also achieve a qualifying score on the Missouri general education assessment and complete a background check. The HCS allows four-year institution to offer an intensive two-year program of a similar nature. The certificate is limited to elementary certification. The HCS creates a three-tiered certificate, requiring two consecutive years of teaching in the first four years and two more years of teaching in the next three years. Tier 3 is a permanent certificate, and those teachers would participate in PSRS, while Tier 1 and Tier 2 teachers participate in PEERS. The Association is concerned that a certificate placing beginning teachers in PEERS could adversely affect the funding status of the PSRS System.
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The committee heard four bills on February 3:
SB 906 (David Gregory) and SB 971 (Curtis Trent) both create public school open enrollment. The Association 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 both bills based on this concern.
SB 978 (Nick Schroer) requires school districts and charter schools to provide instruction on human growth and development beginning no later than grade three. The bill includes detailed mandates on the required instruction about human biology related to pregnancy and human development inside the womb. The Association objects to this intrusion of state mandates on local control of curriculum and instruction.
SB 1002 (Adam Schnelting) would move school board elections to the November general election and change all school board terms to four years. Electing school board members at municipal election allows voters to focus on these local candidates and local school issues outside of the November election cycle when the time and attention of voters is taken up by partisan election campaigns and statewide issues. The Association opposes the bill.
The committee was scheduled to hear SB 892 (Jill Carter), but the hearing was postponed. The bill requires the State Board of Education to publish its annual report on the DESE website.
PROPERTY TAXES GENERALLY
The House Special Committee on Property Tax Reform approved an HCS for HBs 2780 and HB 2668 (Tim Taylor). The bill is based upon the committee's work during the 2025 interim. One of the more significant changes would require separate tax rate rollbacks by property categories, such as residential, agricultural, commercial, and personal property. This change would allow the CPI limitation to constrain tax increases within each category, separate from the effects of lesser or greater increases in other categories.
The Association opposes two provisions in the bill. One provision would require new construction to be included in rollback calculations. The Hancock Amendment has always excluded new construction from rollbacks, recognizing that new developments, such as new subdivisions, bring additional residents and add to the services needed from their local governments and schools. This change would block this proportional new revenue from new taxpayers and require further tax rollbacks on all property. This change will make it harder for local governments in growing areas to meet the needs of all their residents.
The bill would also require all local levy elections to be held on November election dates. The municipal election allows voters to focus on these local issues outside of the November election cycle when the time and attention of voters is taken up by partisan election campaigns and statewide issues.
The committee also approved HB 2925 (Ron Fowler) on February 3. The bill would require all local levy elections, including all school levy elections, to be held at a November general election. Considering local levy elections at the municipal election allows voters to focus on these local school issues outside of the November election cycle when the time and attention of voters is taken up by partisan election campaigns and statewide issues. The Association opposes the bill.
KANSAS CITY SCHOOL TAXES AND DEBT SERVICE
The House Special Committee on Property Tax Reform also approved HCS/HJRs 148 and 117 (Tim Taylor) pertaining to Kansas City school levies on February 5. The state voted in 1998 to exempt the court-ordered tax rate for the Kansas City school district from reassessment rollbacks. This provision was referred to voters by the legislature as part of the resolution of the federal school desegregation litigation in Kansas City. The joint resolution would submit a question to voters to remove this exception and make the Kansas City school district operating levy subject to reassessment rollbacks. The joint resolution also attempts to impose reassessment rollbacks on debt services levies. The Association is concerned that this latter change will create uncertainty regarding the long-term availability of sufficient funds to pay principal and interest on school debt.