Weekly Update

March 24, 2023

Missouri lawmaker wants to grade schools

Citizens fund public education so it’s understandable that elected officials strive to ensure schools are accountable to government education agencies, parents, students and the general public. In Missouri, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) uses the performance standards from Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) and testing results from the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) to evaluate proficiency and progress. That’s the easy part.

Standards and assessments tell us whether students are gaining the knowledge they need and at the right pace to be successful. Accountability systems identify which schools are succeeding and which ones need to implement steps to improve. Some stakeholders would prefer accountability activity to occur at the local level while others want a unified statewide system to comparatively evaluate all schools.

This year, Representative Mike Haffner (R-Pleasant Hill) filed HB 558 to address school accountability, specifically to create an accountability system that would emphasize academic achievement, academic growth, and college and career readiness. The annual school report card generated by that system would assign letter grades to schools, districts, and charter schools (LEAs). Proponents say this provides a meaningful and relatable way to measure outcomes and improve quality. Opponents argue that it perpetuates a “test, blame and punish” mindset.

Aligned agreed to support this legislation because we want to provide a framework that enables the evaluation of schools in meaningful ways and to direct resources to the lowest performing to raise student achievement.

Here are the parts of the bill we believe will drive improvement:

Metrics specific to school level

In HB 558, metrics for K-8 schools emphasize year-over-year growth and achievement; for high schools, college and career readiness indicators are the primary focus.

Emphasis on growth

Numerous variables can affect student performance, and focusing on growth recognizes the extent to which students, schools, school districts, and charter schools are progressing. In HB 558, year-over-year progress of students toward a set standard will be included, as well as the measurement of the “value add” of the school or LEA.

Supports for school turnaround

DESE is required to include funds to improve persistently underachieving schools and LEAs in their annual budget requests.

The House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education heard HB 558 in committee this week and we will continue to monitor and advocate for its passage.

Missouri Update

Sleepless in the Senate

This week, the Missouri Senate pulled an all-nighter as members engaged in a filibuster related to transgender hormonal and surgical care for minors. Passing this controversial bill represented the first real test of the new Senate leadership's ability to pass a version of a bill that met Republican priorities while not having to resort to the use of the "previous question," a cloture rule that halts debate and demands an immediate vote.

After approximately 14 hours of debate, the two sides compromised by inserting language permitting minors who had already begun hormonal or surgical procedures to continue receiving treatments and by mandating a three-year sunset clause relating to the bill's provisions. The bill also contains provisions prohibiting transgender people from competing in women's sports. After navigating those issues, the Senate worked steadily to Perfect and Third Read several bills.

As is its custom, the House operated almost mechanically this week to Third Read and Pass 22 bills that are now on their way to the Senate. House members also gave first-round approval to 8 additional pieces of legislation.

House Activity this Week

Adult High Schools - On Tuesday, the House passed HB447, sponsored by Rep. Bishop Davidson (R-Republic), which adds a fifth state-authorized adult high school license to be operated by a qualified nonprofit in Jackson County and provides funding from the Foundation Formula for educational expenses for children in the custody of the state outside of their residential school district.
Personally Identifiable Information of Children - The House also passed HB1010, sponsored by Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R-St. Peters), which prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable information of children in childcare facilities receiving state funding by a 150-0 vote.
Medical Loan Program Expansion - On Wednesday the House passed HB1162, sponsored by Rep. Kent Haden (R-Mexico), which requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to expand the number of eligible institutions qualifying for the graduate student loan grant program subject to appropriation (which was approved Thursday by the House Budget Committee).
Driver's Ed - On Wednesday the House Government Efficiency and Downsizing Committee heard HB603, sponsored by Rep. Rodger Reedy (R-Windsor), which requires public schools in the state to offer a course on drivers education instruction and requires the course for high school graduation.
Foundation Formula - On Wednesday the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee heard HB529, sponsored by Rep. John Black (R-Marshfield), which increases the existing 5% foundation formula growth cap set in 2004 gradually to 9% by 2033, caps the salaries of superintendents and administrators to no more than 3.5 times the average teacher salary of the district, and increases the funding proportion for teacher salaries from 75% of aid received to 85%.
Charter School Accreditation - The House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee also heard HB558, sponsored by Rep. Mike Haffner (R-Pleasant Hill) on Wednesday. The legislation creates certain metrics of accreditation for charter school sponsors and requires the sponsor to report the accreditation status of each sponsored school on an annual basis.

Senate Activity this Week

"Save Women's Sports" - On Monday evening, the Senate debated SB39, sponsored by Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-Scott Co), which establishes the "Save Women's Sports Act" and prohibits any biological male from participating in a competitive athletic competition sponsored by a school or entity receiving state funding. Initially a substitute was offered which included prohibition on gender affirming medical care for minors, however this was later stripped in a compromise substitute and passed separately. On Thursday the bill was Third Read and passed by a vote of 24-8.

Anti Gender Affirming Medical for Minors - After more than 14 hours of continuous debate Monday evening and Tuesday morning (in addition to 10+ hours of debate the week before spring break), the Senate passed a compromise SB49, which prohibits gender affirming medical care for minors beginning August 28, 2023. Additionally, the legislation creates a grievance process for individuals who claim harm for receiving gender affirming care and prohibits the payment of Medicaid funds for any gender affirming treatment. The legislation includes a sunset date of August 28, 2027. On Thursday the bill was Third Read and passed by a vote of 24-8.

Tax Relief for Child Related Expense - On Monday afternoon the Senate Governmental Accountability Committee passed SB184, sponsored by Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Clay Co), which exempts the sale of diapers for infants and toddlers from taxation. During discussion a substitute was offered adding SB509, which establishes the "Childcare Tax Credit Contribution" program. The bill was then passed 6-1.

Tax Incentives - On Tuesday the Senate perfected SB143, sponsored by Sen. Doug Beck (D-St. Louis Co), which establishes a 50% tax credit for the establishment of a full service grocery or market in an area designated as a food desert. Amendments were offered which increase the cap on credits for donations to food pantries to $2.75 million, expands the Urban Farm Tax Credit program to include expenses incurred for the development of urban farms in food deserts, and exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from taxation.

Ammunition and Firearms Sales Tax Exemption - The Senate also Perfected SB131, sponsored by Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Cass Co), which exempts the sale of firearms or ammunition made in the United States from taxation

Budget Update

The House will take up its version of the budget bills next week. We anticipate a vigorous debate centered on the budget chair's cuts to Governor Mike Parson's proposed budget relating to child care, pre-K school programs, and public school foundation formula. During the initial phase of the mark-up process, Rep. Cody Smith, who chairs the House Budget Committee, eliminated the increases to the child care subsidy program ($77 million) and the additional funding for the expansion of Pre-K in the state's foundation formula ($56 million). However, he offered an amendment that restored some of the subsidy cuts.

Download our House Mark-Up Tracking Report

Missouri Budget Project updated its guide to the budget process.

Tidbits

The American Medical Association (AMA) says Pediatric Internal Medicine among the highest rates of specialty programs medical students pursued in the 2023 Match
"Customer friendly" adult use recreational cannabis market in Missouri cutting into Illinois' sales
The Missouri Department of Labor saw a 45% increase in work certifications for individuals between 2021 and 2022
A recent study shows 85% of today's college seniors are seeking stability as their #1 priority entering the workforce
A recent study says St. Louis traffic is the worst in Missouri
The Missouri Community Service Commission is seeking nominations of Missourians who exemplify community service for the 2023 "Show Me Service" Award

Upcoming Hearings / Action

On Tuesday the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee will hear SB410 (Koenig), establishing the "Do No Harm" Act relating to DEI standards in medical school training programs

On Wednesday the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee will hear:

HB883 (Cupps), which requires DESE to update state standards and curriculum for health and family education beginning the 2024-25 school year
HB633 (Kelley), which modifies provisions governing school employee training requirements.
HB350 (Christofanelli), which expands Missouri empowerment scholarship amounts for students with special needs.

Read our full legislative report for the week of March 20th.

Status Report - Aligned Priorities

Teacher recruitment and retention bill sails out of rules committee

We are at that point in session when certain bills are fast-tracked and many die. Often lawmakers will amend language from "dead" bills onto other moving bills, or as we like to say, "vehicles." With that, we updated our priority bill status report and have included it below as an attachment, rather than post information on bills that are not progressing.

Current action

Early Childhood

The childcare tax credits are moving, and we expect the House to debate HB 870 (Shields) next week on the floor. The Senate referred SB 495 (Eslinger) - the Pre-K expansion bill to committee - which will provide an opportunity for a hearing, and potentially there could be an opportunity to amend this language to an appropriate vehicle in the coming weeks.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Aligned strongly supports the language to allow for differentiated pay, which Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly) amended to HB 497 - that bill passed out of the Rules committee this week by a 9-0.

Read the update for all Aligned Missouri priorities

Kansas Update

Committee chairs run fast and furious

Today is the last day for non-exempt committees to meet for the 2023 Kansas Legislative Session. It was a frenzied week as committee chairs churned through bills and worked quickly to wrap up their business for the year.

Next week, the House and Senate will be on the floor Monday through Wednesday, followed by a four-day weekend, then another few days of conference committees leading up to first adjournment currently scheduled for April 6.

Childcare Reform

On Thursday, the Senate passed Senate substitute for HB 2344 by a vote of 21-17. This bill originally dealt with membership of the state tourism council, but was gutted by the Senate Commerce committee for a vehicle to add the childcare reform measures including updating licensing numbers, staff to child ratios and educational and professional development requirements for daycare staff.

Proponents of the measure argue these changes will help expand childcare capacity in Kansas and address the statewide shortage of available and affordable childcare. Opponents of the measure express concerns the measures are being rushed and need more study before being implemented and are asking the legislature wait for recommendations from the Governor’s Taskforce on Childcare.

The House Health committee on Wednesday passed an identical measure House Substitute for SB 96. It is uncertain if the full house will debate their bill or work HB 2344 in conference committee.

School Finance Bill

The House passed its school finance bill yesterday by a vote of 75-48. The K-12 budget bill appropriates $6.4 billion to public schools over the next three years. House Substitute for Senate Bill 113 also does the following:

Establishes the mental health intervention team program.
Authorizes certain students to participate in sports regulated by the Kansas State High School Activities Association.
Requires school districts to post certain enrollment and academic information on their website.
Authorizes local school board members to receive compensation from their district.
Continues the 20-mill statewide tax levy.
Allows schools to use current-year enrollment for determination of state foundation aid.
Amends the school districts that qualify for and the amount able to levy according to the cost-of-living weighting.

During House debate, Democrats introduced amendments dealing with special education funding and grants for fentanyl prevention that all failed. The Senate is expected to consider the bill next week.

House Tax Cut Package

The House Tax Committee passed a comprehensive tax cut bill, House Sub for SB 169, on Thursday that is estimated to cost the state roughly $500 million next year and $1.37 billion over three years. It contains several provisions that were considered separately this session:

Moves to a single income tax bracket of 5.25%, exempting the first $6,150 for individuals and $12,300 for married couples.
Increases the standard deduction for individuals in tax year 2023 from $3,500 to $4,000 and adds an annual cost of living adjustment to the standard deduction starting in tax year 2024.
Fully eliminates the state sales tax on food by July 1 of this year. It does not impact local sales taxes. It would also repeal the current non-refundable food sales tax credit after tax year 2022.
Increases the property tax exemption from $40,000 to $65,000 from the state’s 20-mill levy for public schools starting in tax year 2023.
Removes the current tax cliff on Social Security income and phases it out by increasing the $75,000 threshold gradually over four years.
Reduces the privilege tax rate for banks from 2.25% to 1.625% starting in tax year 2023. For trust companies and savings and loans associations, it would be cut to 1.61%.
Cuts the corporate tax rate from 4% to 3% in the Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion (APEX) program after each project begins construction.

The Senate passed a different tax cut package last month. Albeit with roughly the same price tag, committee leaders will have to negotiate the differences in conference committee. The full House is expected to debate their plan next week.

Budget Review

Both the House and Senate finished their main budget bills this week. The Senate passed Substitute for Senate Bill 155 by a vote of 23-12 on Tuesday, and the House will debate their bill House Substitute for SB 42 on the floor next week. The stage will then be set for the first round of budget negotiations in conference committee.

On Thursday, the House did amend their budget with bi-partisan support for $1 million to assist sheltered based workshops (those who employee persons with disabilities) to transition from the federal authorized 14(c) certification that currently allows them to pay some workers a sub-minimum wage. The fund is aimed at assisting these employers with paying competitive ages.

Also on Thursday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee did pass out Senate Bill 309, the Local Extraordinary Needs Fund bill that Senate President Ty Masterson (R-Andover) offered as a fix to set aside $220 million from the State General Fund to assist local governments affected by local food sales tax cut resulting in revenue cuts. Local government advocates have expressed concern about whether the fund would be funded year after year. However, the Senate President and Majority leader both sit on the budget committee and support the proposal.

In budget terms, it is relatively early with many moving parts still in play as the budget bill moves through the final stages of the legislative process.

See all education bills we are tracking.

March Madness generating gladness for K-State fans

Cheers to the Kansas State Wildcats for making it to the Elite Eight - we always wish for a Kansas or Missouri team to shine. Let's hope they stay hot and that these cool temps warm up as well.

We all could use a little sunshine!