The Missouri Senate has chewed up four weeks of session without bringing even one bill to the floor for debate. Continuous GOP infighting, primarily instigated by the self-identified "conservative" wing of the caucus, has prevented the progress of any legislative activity on the floor of the upper chamber.

With this week cut short due to weather, Senator Mike Moon devoured the limited time to kill Don Kauerauf's nomination as Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services over his pro-vaccine stance. Governor Mike Parson did not mince words over his disappointment with fellow Republicans.

"The events that have transpired over the past few days surrounding Don's Senate confirmation hearing are nothing short of disgraceful, unquestionably wrong, and an embarrassment to this state and the people we serve," said Parson.

The Missouri House, on the other hand, is moving steadily to advance legislation and the priories of leadership, including IP reform, charter equity funding, and the state budget.

When lawmakers return to the Missouri Capitol next week, they face continued tensions over congressional redistricting and a looming March 24th deadline to approve nearly $2 billion in "use it or lose it" federal funds earmarked for local schools.

The outlook appears bleak for advocacy groups attempting to advance sound public policy amidst the acrimony.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly nixed the new congressional maps approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature, citing the dilution of "minority communities' voting strength." Read her statement here.



Politico reported today that courts in at least seven states will oversee redistricting amid blocking attempts to minimize minority representation.

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee convened Tuesday morning to discuss HB 1814 (Pollitt). This bill outlines the procedures and policies necessary to allow students to transfer between school districts.

Aligned testified that HB 1814 "will provide students with new opportunities to access high-quality education to meet their individual academic needs."

Read our analysis of HB 1814.

Those in favor argue that when parents are empowered to make choices regarding their children’s educations, education outcomes improve for students. Those opposed stressed that the bill sponsor should offer language to define outcomes, require anonymous parent surveys on their reasons for choosing different schools, and reimburse transportation costs to the receiving districts.

Those in support included Aligned, the Quality Schools Coalition, the American Federation of Children, Save Our Kids, and the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri.

Those opposed included the Missouri NEA, Missouri Association of School Administrators, and St. Clair Arthur II School District.

The Special School District of St. Louis County provided informational testimony.

In the House Workforce Development Committee this week, Aligned testified in support of HB 2171 (Francis), a bill that would require students to develop Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP), which are optional at present.

The legislation states that school personnel and student's parent or guardian must review the plans and declare a student's post-secondary plan. Additionally, the bill would require students in public and charter schools to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before being eligible for a certificate of graduation.

Mike Harris from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) testified that this bill is a department priority.

Others in support, in addition to Aligned, included: MO Association of School Administrators, University of Central MO, Council on Public Higher Education, MO Department of Higher Education, MO Chamber of Commerce and Industry, MO School Board Association, and MO Career and Technical Education. The committee received no opposing testimony.

The Senate Committee on Education canceled its meeting due to weather this week.

Click here for our full weekly report.

This week, DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven appeared before the House Budget Committee to present the Governor's education budget for FY23. She explained that the budget has four strategic priority areas:

• early childhood and early literacy
• ready students
• safe and healthy students
• educator workforce

In summarizing the highlights of the spending plan, Vandeven shared her favorite quote with the committee, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than in the way in which it treats its children."

Major line items of the FY23 budget include:

• $3.6 billion for the foundation formula
• $1.5 billion for the Office of Childhood ($1 billion earmarked for child care subsidy)
• $114 million for school transportation

The majority of funding for DESE ($8.6 billion) comes from a combination of state, federal, and federal stimulus dollars.

Vandeven also expressed urgency on the approval process of $1.9 billion in stimulus dollars. The state has seven weeks left to give DESE the appropriation authority to avoid having those funds returned to the federal government for reallocation.

Click here to see a summary breakdown of expenditures and fund sources.

Early Care and Education

💵 Pre-K funding

Legislation to increase the state aid calculation for Pre-K.

SB 816 (Arthur) - Modifies the calculation of average daily attendance for early childhood programs. Referred to the Senate Committee on Education on 1-20-22 NO CHANGE

HB 2341 (Shields) - Modifies the calculation of average daily attendance for early childhood programs. Referred to House Committee on Emerging Issues on 2-1-22.

✔️ Early childhood quality

The Quality Assurance Report (QAR), a voluntary pilot program to provide a framework for a statewide quality rating system for early care and education, will sunset this year.

Read Aligned's QAR explainer here.

HB 2365 (Shields) - Makes the early learning quality assurance report permanent. Referred to House Committee on Emerging Issues on 2-1-22.

SB 846 (Eslinger) - Repeals the expiration date on the early learning quality assurance report program. Referred to the Senate Committee on Education on 1-20-22. NO CHANGE

SB 800 (Hegeman) - Repeals the expiration date on the early learning quality assurance report program. Referred to the Senate Committee on Education on 1-20-22. NO CHANGE

🏛️ Early childhood governance

The legislation moves the Coordinating Board for Early Childhood (CBEC) away from DSS and places that board under DESE to align with the new Office of Childhood.

HB 2151 (Shields) - Referred to House Special Committee on Public Policy 1-27-22. NO CHANGE

SB 982 (Arthur) - Read First Time on 1-5-22. NO CHANGE

Teacher Shortages

🧑🏻‍🏫Alternative certifications

The following bills include language to amend the current visiting scholars' provisions.

HB 1928 (Pollitt) - Modifies requirements for a visiting scholar's certificate of license to teach. Referred to the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education on 1/27/22. NO CHANGE

SB 999 (Gannon) - Modifies provisions regarding employment of retired education personnel by school districts. Read first time on 1-5-22. NO CHANGE

Read our Visiting Scholars issue brief.

💸 Pay flexibility  

Differentiated pay will give school superintendents and local school boards greater flexibility to address teacher shortages.

The following bill permits an alternative pay structure.

HB 1770 (Lewis) allows school districts to create differentiated teacher salary schedules. Read second time on 1-6-22. NO CHANGE

SB 1098 (Burlison) Authorizes school districts to have differentiated teacher pay schedules. Introduced and read first time on 1-27-22. NO CHANGE

Read our Differentiated Pay Issue Brief.

Personalized Learning

📝Competency-based education

A competency-based approach awards students credits within a more individualized time frame and demonstration of mastery. 

HB 1956 (Richey) - Establishes the Competency-based Education Grant Program and Competency-based Education Task Force. Referred to the House Committee on Workforce Development on 1/27/22. NO CHANGE

SB 660 (Arthur) - Establishes the Show Me Success diploma Program, The Competency-Based Education Grant Program, The Competency-Based Education Task Force, and a competency-based credit system for high school students. Referred to Senate Committee on Education on 1-10-22. NO CHANGE

Reports

Click here to see the current status of all Aligned Priority legislation.

Click here to see all the bills we are tracking.

Click here to see all upcoming hearings on education-related bills.

The House Commerce Committee met on Thursday to consider the $4 billion new development incentive to attract an undisclosed manufacturing facility to Kansas. A handful of lawmakers who signed nondisclosure agreements know the company that is considering the move.

House members were very critical of SB 347, particularly a $50 million/year provision ratcheting down the corporate income rate that Senators added to the economic development package. Lawmakers received a new proposal that provides a one-time 0.5% corporate income tax rate cut each time a project comes to Kansas under the new incentive program. 

Other changes include: 

• Restoring the refundability of an investment tax credit up to 15% of the business’ investment over ten years. The Governor’s original proposal had it for only three years, and the Senate’s bill eliminated the refundability measure. 

• Reducing the tax credit for suppliers of the primary business from 15% to 10% and refundability of the tax credit on their first $50 million in capital investment. The original bill did not have a minimum investment. 

• Allowing local governments to decide how much of a property tax abatement the project would receive up to 10 years. The original bill called for a 50% property tax abatement if the company is located within a federal trade zone. 

• A sunset of two years as opposed to the Senate’s one-year sunset. The Governor originally proposed five years. 

The House Commerce Committee, chaired by Sean Tarwater, Overland Park-R, is expected to work the bill on Monday with floor action as early as Tuesday. 

The Senate Education Committee passed SB 340 on Monday, making several changes to the Kansas Promise Scholarship Act that went into law last year. Lawmakers designed the scholarship program to assist Kansas resident students pursuing associate degrees and technical education certificates in high-wage, high-demand industries.

Eligible students must live and work in Kansas for at least two years after graduation. SB 340 would further clarify the responsibilities of the State Board of Regents (Board), the responsibilities of postsecondary institutions, and authorize the designation of additional eligible programs and fields of study.

The committee took no action on a funding cap or sunset but agreed to consider them further next year. The bill now awaits consideration by the full Senate. 

Click here to read the full report from our Kansas team.

Click here to view next week's session calendar.

Status of Kansas Priorities

HB2525 - Removes non-cooperation with child support from requirements for food and child care assistance eligibility and exempts adults enrolled in school from the 20-hour-per-week work requirement for child care assistance eligibility for a limited time. Bill heard on 1/31/22. Committee on Children and Seniors recommends bill be passed as amended.

Aligned testified in support of this bill. Click here to read our statement.

HB2466 - This bill would require computer science for graduation for all Kansas students starting in 2026. While we like the idea of offering computer science for all students, we believe the graduation requirement should be left to the SBOE.

The hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, but not heard. Aligned will not submit testimony in support of this bill.

HB2414 - Eliminating the reduction of child daycare assistance tax credit in subsequent years and limitations on eligible corporations and providing credit for employer payments to organizations for child daycare services access. Right now, due to a change in tax policy in 2013, only large corporations and financial institutions are eligible for the credit. HB 2414 would allow any business – large or small – to offset the cost of providing child care for their employees. NO CHANGE.

Old Man Winter treated many Missouri and Kansas children to a good old-fashioned snow day this week. In a refreshing change from COVID-related closures, canceled classes created free time for sledding, building snowmen, and sipping hot cocoa.

Local districts call the shots on whether or not to go virtual or cancel, but the state sets the number of hours that schools don't have to make up due to inclement weather. In Missouri, DESE will forgive 36 hours. Kansas will forgive five or six days, depending on which hour requirement policy a district follows.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Virtual school on a snowy day is not popular with students or teachers, according to anecdotes on social media. One teacher at Gateway STEM High School in SLPS reported student attendance was well below 50%. Some parents said their children would cite "internet issues" as an excuse not to log on."

The Aligned team stuck to its typical workweek but took time off intermittently to enjoy the beautiful blanket of snowy powder that covered the Midwest.

We hope you did too!

Have a happy winter weekend! ☃️

Torree Pederson

President

Aligned

Torree@WeAreAligned.org

(913) 484-4202

Linda Rallo

Vice President

Aligned

Linda@WeAreAligned.org

(314) 330-8442