By Otto Fajen
MNEA Director of Legislative Policy
CAPITOL ACTION DAYS
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 continued March 4th. Participating members come 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
SCHOOL LETTER GRADE
The House approved HCS/HB 2710 (Dane Diehl) on March 5 by a vote of 96-53. The bill would create an A-F school report card for public schools based primarily on state-mandated, standardized tests. The House adopted Rep. Mackey's amendment to include all underlying indicators for the performance rating on the school report card and add a school climate component to the report card. The Association believes the bill undermines local control and opposes the bill.
INCOME TAX REPEAL
The House Commerce Committee approved HCS/HJRs 173 & 174 (Bishop Davidson) on March 4. The measure is likely to be debated and voted on by the House next week. The original version only authorized sales tax expansion if the income tax was eliminated. The HCS creates a self-enforcing calculation to incrementally eliminate the income tax over an unknown number of years. This proposal could undermine public investment in all sectors and damage the state's economy. The Association opposes the joint resolution and elimination of the state income tax.
INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL BOARD
The Senate approved SB 1351 (Joe Nicola) on March 5 by a vote of 28-2. The bill changes the term of office for members of the Independence School District school board from six years to three years. The Senate adopted Sen. Washington's amendment to ensure that a student shall not be considered absent from school while the student accompanies his or her parent when the parent is voting in a scheduled election. The Association supports the bill.
PROPERTY TAXES
The House approved HCS#2/HB 2780 (Tim Taylor) on March 5 by a vote of 131-13. Key provisions in the bill include reassessment rollback by property class and lowering the minimum school levy from $2.75 to $2.20.
The House also perfected HB 1800 (Mark Matthiesen) on March 4. The bill reduces the inflation cap on property tax reassessment rollbacks from five percent to three percent. The Association is concerned that this measure will adversely affect local property tax revenues that sustain public schools.
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
The House approved HCS/HBs 2097 & 1905 (John Martin) on March 2. The bill would expand the current agricultural education pilot program to be a statewide program for all participating elementary schools. The Association supports the bill.
CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES
The House approved HCS/HBs HB 2404 & 2172 (George Hruza) on March 5 by a vote of 91-54. The bill would specify that a municipality may not allow deed restrictions that prohibit a property's use as a charter school. The bill also grants public entities the right of first refusal when a district is offering to sell or lease a school facility. The Association is concerned that the language regarding right of first refusal could disrupt efficient sale or lease of properties.
SCHOOL FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
The Senate debated SS/SCS/SB 1029 (Rick Brattin) on March 2, but the bill was laid over before being brought to a vote. The bill requires school districts to maintain an easily accessible online record of all money the district receives and spends. Sen. Brattin offered a floor substitute that also includes the language of SB 1662 (Karla May), a bill that revises the placement and control of revenues for any county sales tax for early childhood education. The Senate approved Sen. Nurrenbern's amendment to apply the financial transparency provisions to all charter schools before the bill was laid over.
PUBLIC SECTOR BARGAINING
The House Local Government Committee heard HB 3283 (Chris Brown) on March 4. The bill creates a basic structure for public sector collective bargaining, including timelines for bargaining to commence, an expectation of good faith bargaining, and requirements for mediation and arbitration to resolve impasse. The Association supports the bill.
POLICIES ON ANTISEMITISM
The Senate General Laws Committee heard HB 2061 (George Hruza) on March 4. The bill would require policies against discrimination and antisemitism in public schools and public colleges and universities.
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS FOR ELECTIONS
The House Elections Committee heard HB 1787 (Jamie Gragg) on March 3. The bill would require public schools to schedule school holidays on all general election days and all general municipal election days.
HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The committee heard HB 1767 (Ed Lewis) on March 4. The bill contains provisions regarding educator rights, parental rights, and student conduct and reflects significant input from various organizations in public education. The Association supports the bill.
The committee also approved three bills:
HCS/HB 2195 (Roger Reedy) would create a Missouri integrated safe driving program. Public schools may incorporate instruction from the program in course work in any related subject.
HCS/HB 2502 (Ann Kelley) would require that when a charter school closes, the student records for the school must be transferred to the school district in which the charter is located for archival purposes. DESE is also required to provide a process for nonpublic schools to file transcripts and other student records with a repository if the nonpublic school closes. The Association supports the bill.
HCS#2/HB 2776 (Willard Haley) revises the temporary authorization certificate. The bill would grant a temporary certificate for completing 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 bill creates a three-tiered certificate, requiring two years of teaching in the first four years and two more years of teaching in the next three years. The certificate is limited to elementary certification until the teacher reaches the third tier. Teachers employed with this certification will participate in PSRS.
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The committee heard four bills on March 3:
SB 1051 (Curtis Trent) would require policies against discrimination and antisemitism in public schools and public colleges and universities.
SB 1280 (Mary Elizabeth Coleman) regarding school library and public library policies for restriction or reconsideration of placement and access to library materials deemed to be pornographic for minors or to include explicit sexual content. The Association is concerned that the bill authorizes parental lawsuits against schools, libraries, and school personnel. The Association recommends the approach taken in HCS/HB 3005 (Doyle Justus). HB 3005 includes general provisions regarding requests for reconsideration, appeals, and options for removal or relocation. HB 3005 also includes employment protections for librarians who refuse to remove or relocate items before the items have been reviewed under the policy.
SB 1370 (Rick Brattin) would move the current state adult virtual high school program into the Missouri Course Access Program (MOCAP).
SB 1442 (Brad Hudson) would revise the law regarding reading instruction. While the Association supports regular oversight of literacy instruction in educator preparation programs, the bill contains other concerning provisions, including a restoration of mandatory retention in third grade for students with low scores on a new statewide reading assessment mandated for all students.
HOUSE PENSIONS COMMITTEE
The committee heard two bills relating to school retirement on March 4:
HB 2095 (Willard Haley) would provide a non-cumulative 2 percent annual increase to COLA-capped PSRS retirees in the year following each year when System earnings exceed the assumed rate of return (currently 7.3%) by 2% or more.
HB 2144 (Bob Bromley) would increase the current $5,000 PSRS death benefit to $10,000.
TARGETING "DEI" IN STATE AGENCIES
The Senate Government Efficiency Committee heard SB 1031 (Mike Moon) on March 2. 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.
View past issues of the Legislative Update at www.mnea.org/legupdate.