Weekly Update

April 7, 2023

Child advocate has solution to workforce crisis

This week the House Workforce Development Committee heard a presentation on the importance of early childhood care to the learning process and childcare issues post-COVID. Emily Van Schenkhof, the executive director of the Children's Trust Fund, kicked off her testimony with a focus on the state's workforce challenges.

She highlighted that we simply do not have enough workers to fill current job vacancies, and the workers we do have lack the soft- and critical-thinking, or as we call them, "durable skills" that employers need. Van Schenkhof also shared data that shows a steady decrease in male workforce participation and a steady increase in women in the workforce over the past 60 years. She also presented data on a rise in childhood mortality and a dip in life expectancy.

In addition, in Missouri alone, 1,500 childcare workers have left the industry, and 30% of childcare businesses closed during the pandemic.

According to Van Schenkhof, "The single greatest determining factor for the health & well-being of a human is what happens in the first five years of life."

Despite our state's dire situation, we have solutions that show promise. And with five weeks of session remaining, lawmakers can make strategic investments in early care and education and create incentive structures through legislation that is moving now that will support working families and businesses that rely on a strong labor market.

We appreciate the work Van Schenkhof does on behalf of Missouri and encourage our readers to look at her research and data from this week's hearing.

See the presentation slides.

Listen to the recording.

Missouri Update

Sports betting stalemate continues in Senate

The Missouri House logged another productive week as members debated 26 bills and sent 18 of those to the Senate. That lot includes measures that reform the initiative petition process, updates to TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and changes to the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. The House has passed and sent 115 bills and joint resolutions to the Senate to date.

The conundrum over how to pass language to legalize sports better continues to stymie progress in the Senate. We have no dog in this fight, but the stalemate between the casino operators, sports betting groups, and video lottery owners continues to grind up valuable time lawmakers could use to pass other priorities.

This week President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden referred another 72 Senate bills to committees and 29 House bills, and 14 House budget bills to Senate Committees. This activity indicates that the Senate may be shifting its focus to bills that have passed the House. With only five weeks left in the session, we will see a marked increase in amendments and substitute bills as legislators scramble to attach their issues to other legislation further ahead in the legislative process.

When the legislature returns Tuesday, April 11th, the focus will shift to the Senate Appropriations Committee as they begin the markup process to craft their version of the FY2024 budget. The General Assembly will not be in session on Monday following the Easter Holiday.

House Activity this Week

Childcare Tax Credits - On Monday the House Third Read and passed (133-20) HB 870, sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields (R-St. Joseph), which creates several new childcare tax incentive programs, including a childcare contribution tax credit, an employer-provided childcare tax credit, a childcare providers tax credit and a success tax credit.

Personal Finance - On Tuesday the House Third Read and passed HB 809, sponsored by Rep. Michael O'Donnell (R-St. Louis Co), an underlying bill requiring DESE to update the personal finance course requirements for high school students which became a financial institutions omnibus bill by a vote of 153-5.

Teacher Recruitment & Retention - On Tuesday the House Third Read and Passed HB 497, sponsored by Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly), a teacher recruitment & retention educational omnibus containing several provisions, including codifying the differentiated teacher pay program into the salary schedule and increasing the state minimum teacher salary to $38,000 each year, among other things, by a vote of 145-5.

Childcare Tax Credits - On Wednesday Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R-St. Peters) successfully amended HB350, his own bill relating to the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program, to include the language of HB870, during approval of the bill in the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee.

Media Literacy & Critical Thinking - On Wednesday, the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee heard HB 492, sponsored by rep. Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis Co) which requires DESE to develop a two-year pilot program in certain schools which includes instruction on media literacy critical analysis and appropriate online behavior.

Senate Activity this Week

Child-Related Expenses Tax Relief - On Tuesday the Senate debated SB 184, sponsored by Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Clay Co), which establishes several childcare and child-related tax relief programs. After a tense exchange with Sen. Bill Eigel (R-St. Charles Co), the bill was laid over.

Open Enrollment - On Tuesday the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee heard the House-approved HB 253, sponsored by Rep. Brad Pollitt (R-Sedalia), which establishes procedures for nonresident student transfers in public schools. The bill was also voted out by the Committee on Thursday.

Health and Family Education - On Tuesday the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee heard SB 381, sponsored by Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-Scott Co), which updates the required 1/2 credit high school health credit to include family and social health education. The bill was also voted out by the Committee on Thursday.

School Funding Formula Calculation - On Thursday the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee passed SB 17, sponsored by Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Clay Co), which increases the ceiling on annual recalculation from 5% to 10% for the state foundation formula, the chief calculation of public school funding.

Budget Update

The House Budget Committee met this week to allow committee members to ask further questions regarding HBs 17 (Deferred Maintenance Reappropriation), 18 (Maintenance and Repair), 19 (ARPA – mostly reappropriated funds) and 20 (Higher Education Transformation Projects – with a 50/50 match). Committee members wanted to know what projects have been completed and if ongoing funding was still required. The main conversation centered on where to place funding for I-70 and I-44 and how much would be appropriated for the two highway systems. At this time no hearing has been set to mark-up the bills and allow committee members to draft their own amendments.

The Senate Appropriations Committee did not meet this week but have been actively engaging in meetings with various stakeholders and Appropriation’s staff to craft their version of the FY2024 budget. Public statements have been released by various Senators announcing their intentions to restore funding for public libraries, return the $859 million to MoDOT for I-70 and I-44, increase the child care subsidies and expand pre-K programs, and the more conservative members indicated they would like to see some version of the controversial DEI language remain within the budget bills.

Also, this week, Budget Director Dan Haug released the general revenue report for March. Collections for March increased 3.5% compared to those in March 2022, from $926.9 million last year to $959.7 million this year. The net general revenue collection for the FY2023 to-date increased 11.9% compared to March 2022, from $8.29 billion last year to $9.27 billion this year. Although, the revenue report is positive Haug did caution the state is expecting a slow down towards the end of FY2023 and expects the increases in collections to stagnate.

Tidbits

A new study says 1 in 4 college applicants avoid applying to schools in certain states because of political reasons.
Inside one of the first recovery high school programs in the United States
The United States Air Force has announced new thresholds for maximum body fat percentage of recruits in an effort to reach more potential service members.
Jefferson City voters approve bond issue for construction of new early childhood learning center by more than 68%.
Former US Senator Roy Blunt tells Politico he plans to join Husch Blackwell Strategies in advisory role

Upcoming Hearings / Action

No Session Monday - Easter Holiday!
Parents Bill of Rights - On Wednesday the House Elementary & Secondary Education Committee will hear SB4, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Koenig (R-St. Louis Co), which establishes the "Parents Bill of Rights"

Read our full legislative report for the week of April 7th.

Status Report - Aligned Priorities

Public education omnibus heads to the Senate

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

House members Third Read and Passed HB 49 7 with a vote of 145-5, showing strong bi-partisan support. The bill now moves onto the Senate. This public education omnibus includes the differentiated pay provision as well as numerous other provisions including a bump in the minimum teacher baseline salary.

Early Childhood

House members also gave final final approval to HB 870 (Shields), a bill that creates several tax credit bills to benefit child care providers by a vote of 133-20. This legislation has been reported to the Senate and first read.

School Finance Reform

SB 17 (Arthur) increases the funding cap on the foundation formula and includes a provision that gives school districts an alternative option to measure poverty that is more precise and comprehensive. The week, the Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development narrowly approved the bill by a vote of 4-3.

Read the update for all Aligned Missouri priorities

Kansas Update

Kansas lawmakers adjourn

A marathon week in both chambers leads to first Adjournment at 4:30 a.m. on Friday. Members debated and voted on a host of conference committee reports this week. The legislature is now adjourned until April 26th when they return for veto session.

Bills moving this week include:

Childcare Regulatory Reform

A large coalition of both business and healthcare interests are advocating for the Kansas House to debate a bill that would significantly change the regulatory requirements for childcare facilities and care workers in Kansas. Senate Sub for House Bill 2344 passed the Senate by a vote of 21-17. After a motion to accede was adopted and conferees were appointed, the full House voted this week to concur with the amendments of the conference committee 77; 46.

Business Tax Credit for Apprenticeship Programs

House Bill 2292 passed the Senate by a vote of 30-7 last week. The conference committee report for the bill was approved by both chambers this week. The bill provides a tax credit to businesses that provide apprenticeship programs.

Expansion of Kansas Promise Scholarship Act

House Bill 2132 passed the House by a vote of 124-0. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Education this week. The bill expands the eligible fields of study for certain private postsecondary educational institutions in the Kansas promise scholarship act.

Education Savings Account Expansion

SB 83 – Joint Conference Committee work continued this week. The bill gained approval in the House 65-58, but hours later failed in the Senate 17-20. This bill would have provided additional student eligibility under the tax credit for low-income student’s scholarship program and increased the amount of the tax credit for contributions made pursuant to such program.

Parents Bill of Rights

HB 2236 – passed this week by full Senate; previously passed by full House; referred to joint conference committee– After a motion to accede was adopted and conferees were appointed, the full House voted this week to concur with the amendments of the conference committee 76; 46. This bill would establish parents' right to direct the education, upbringing and moral or religious training of their children including the right to object to harmful and inappropriate educational materials.

H Sub for SB 113 - Committee on K-12 Education Budget – conference committee results ended on Thursday, April 6th, with both chambers submitting a report to agree to disagree. This bill makes appropriations for the department of education for FY 23, FY 24 and FY 25; establishing the mental health intervention team program; authorizing certain students to participate in activities regulated by the Kansas state high school activities association; requiring school districts to post certain enrollment and academic information on school district websites; revising school district open-enrollment procedures; authorizing local school board members to receive compensation from their school district; authorizing current-year student enrollment for determinations of state foundation aid; continuing the 20 mill statewide tax levy for schools; amending the school districts that qualify for and the amount that school districts are able to levy pursuant to the cost-of-living weighting.

Tobacco Age 21

Last Tuesday, the Senate sent the Governor a bill that would amend the Kansas Cigarette and Tobacco Products Act to raise the minimum age to 21 to sell, purchase, and possess cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and tobacco products. House Bill 2269 passed by a vote of 28-11 and earlier passed the House 68-53. Several state agencies, health organizations, and business groups have supported the bill, discussing the healthcare costs and other issues associated with tobacco use.

Overnight Stay policies and school closing oversight

HB 2138 - This was approved 84-39 in the House and 28-10 in the Senate this week.

This bill contains two unrelated policies. The first part of the bill would require school districts establish policies that separate overnight accommodations for students of each biological sex. Opponents of that portion said it targets transgender students. The second part of the bill would provide for an administrative review by the State Board of Education of local school boards to close a school building.

See all education bills we are tracking.

Source: 2021 Missouri Educator Wellness Survey, BRC Issue Brief #2, prepared by the Hunt Institute

Phase two of teacher recruitment work begins

The Missouri State Board of Education announced last week that it will reconvene its Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission for the second phase of work which will address issues related to climate and culture in schools.

“Educators statewide have been clear — working conditions must be addressed alongside salary if we want to help create long-term, sustainable change for Missouri’s educator workforce,” said Board President Charlie Shields.

Read the Blue Ribbon Commission Issue Brief #2

Follow their work and recommendations here.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend.