Greetings!
In the Senate we continue to track the same bills as we have discussed in the previous weeks; and in the House, the House Education Committee is hearing three bills that have a negative impact on what can be taught in the classroom.
In the Missouri Senate four bills are poised for floor debate. If you have not taken action yet, please see below. Action items are in yellow.
- The Senate Emerging Issues Committee combined and voted out three bills that impact children's ability to receive gender affirming care and will soon be heard by the entire Senate. The Senate is also poised to consider a trans-gender athlete ban.
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Contact your Senator and tell them to vote no on SB 49/236/164. Here is a link to JCRC testimony on gender affirming care if you need talking points.
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Contact your Senator and tell them to vote no on SB 39, a trans athlete ban. Here is a link to JCRC testimony on athletics if you need any talking points.
- The Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee passed SB 134, "Don't Say Gay" bill out of committee and made it even more restrictive. These bills impact teachers' and counselors' ability to discuss gender issues with their students.
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Contact your Senator and tell them to vote no on SB 134, which will come up for debate by the Senate. Review this email by MOEEP which provides further details and talking points.
- The Senate Elections Committee heard HRJ 43 and SJR 28 and many more bills that attack the citizen initiative petition process. These bills will have an executive session on Monday, Feb. 27 at 2:00 p.m. and we expect it to be approved and sent to the Senate Floor.
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Contact your Senator and tell them to vote no on HJR 43 & SJR 28, that change the citizen initiative petition process.
- Here is the video and the follow-up email from a recent education program on the Citizen Initiative Petition which provide more details.
And in the Missouri House:
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Forced Out Bill - HB 634 (Kelley, A) establishes protections of parental rights to direct the mental, emotional and physical health and well-being of children. This bill has provisions that will harm kids while purporting to protect them: forced outing, possible prohibitions against counselors talking to them, prohibitions against wellness questionnaires.
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Anti-Education Equity Bill - HB 482 (Baker) establishes provisions governing transparency in public education but it’s really just a basic boiler-plate parents bill of rights/anti-curriculum bill with minimal differences to other bills from last year or this one.
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Parents' Bill of Rights - HB 627 (Christofanelli) establishes the Parents’ Bill of Rights, challenging what can be taught in the classroom.
FOR ALL OF THE BILLS:
Our friends at the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition need election protection volunteers for the March 7 St. Louis City primaries. See below for more information.
And its not too late to sign up to attend NCJW's 3 days Advocacy in Action Conference, March 3-5. See the details below.
Join me in Jefferson City on March 8 in support of Clean Slate Expungement. More information is available below.
Thank you for your advocacy.
