As the frosty weather passed through the midwest, the Missouri General Assembly adjourned early to send members home safely. But before they gaveled out, fireworks once again flared in the Missouri Senate.

Here's what happened "overall"...

In a rare move, President Pro Tem Dave Schatz removed Senator Mike Moon from all but three of his committees. The punishment resulted from several reasons, but the capstone was that Senator Moon wore overalls with a sports coat on the Senate floor, violating the Senate dress code. More importantly, the Senator made the violation to irk the Pro Tem and instigate an argument. President Pro Tem Schatz says Moon must apologize to the Senate if he wishes to rejoin his former committees. At the time of this report, Senator Moon has yet to comply.

During Wednesday's session, Senator Moon responded by reading a book aloud for more than two hours on the Senate floor.

As the February full moon rose later in the evening, some civility returned to the Senate. The body gave first-round approval to a bill dealing with the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant Program. This bill was the first Senate bill brought up and Perfected by the Senate in 7 weeks.

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee tackled some of the more controversial pieces of education-related legislation this week. Unfortunately, none of the bills received unanimous votes.

Virtual Education

HB 1903 (Christofanelli) modifies the calculation and distribution of state aid that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) must pay for the state's virtual school program and removes the requirement that full-time students receive DESE permission to enroll. Virtual schools will only receive funding equivalent to the state adequacy target and NOT local funding sources. The committee voted "do pass" by a 13-5 vote.

Parents' Bill of Rights

HB 1995 (Richey) establishes "The Parents' Bill of Rights for Student Well-Being" and requires districts to have policies to promote parental involvement and procedures for objecting to material related to human sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases and ways to withdraw students from said instruction. More in our weekly report below. The committee voted "do pass" by a 12-8 vote.

HJR 110 (Christofanelli) would create a provision subject to voter approval that would: add the Parents' Bill of Rights to the Missouri Constitution:

• prohibit districts from compelling teachers to add curriculum which violates the federal Civil Rights Act
• adds letter grade system to base accreditation status
• adds financial penalty provisions for those districts receiving a "D" or "F" grade

The committee voted "do pass" by a 14-6 vote.

School Board Elections

HB 2306 (Christofanelli) requires certain school districts to hold elections during the November general election. The committee adopted language to modify board member terms to four years and clarified language regarding school board vacancies. The committee voted "do pass" by a 10-9 vote.

Student transfers

HB 1814 (Pollitt) outlines procedures and policies necessary to allow students to transfer between school districts. More details are below in our full report. The committee voted "do pass" by a 15-2 vote. 

Accountability Portal Information Requirements

HB 2359 (Basye) expands the information to be made accessible on the Missouri Accountability Portal to include all forms of compensation and benefits paid to or on behalf of employees and all bonds issued by any public school district and requires public school districts to supply all such information to be made accessible on the Portal to the Office of Administration. The committee voted "do pass" by a 14-5 vote.

Nondiscrimination in Public Schools

HB 2428 (Dogan) provides that no school or school employee shall compel teachers or students to discuss public policy issues without consent. During committee discussion, substitute language was adopted, narrowing the bill's scope and limiting the penalty provisions to complaints lodged with DESE or the Attorney General. The committee voted "do pass" by a vote of 13-4. 

Read the full Missouri Capitol weekly report.

Pre-K funding bill would bring Missouri in line with neighbor states

Aligned's early childhood priority bills passed out of committee this week. More details are in our status section below.

HB 2341 (Shields) would phase in additional Pre-K funding to serve free- and reduced lunch 3- and 4-year olds. Increasing the funding thresholds that districts and charters could access would bring Missouri more in line with investments that our surrounding states are making in our earliest learners.

Both bills will next go to the House Rules - Administrative Oversight committee. We anticipate the chairman will hear the legislation in the next couple of weeks. Rules committees must approve legislation before moving to the floor for a debate before the body.

PK-12 Education

Representative Cody Smith, who serves as the House Budget Chairman, introduced a dozen appropriation bills on Wednesday, and so begins the official start of the crafting of the FY23 state budget. HB 3002 contains $10.5 billion in funding for K-12 education and the Office of Childhood.

The larger sources of funding are as follows:

• $3.6 billion from general revenue
• $1.4 billion from federal funds
• $3.6 billion from federal stimulus funds

Some of bigger ticket items in HB 3002 include:

• Foundation Formula $3,561,737,794
• Student transportation $113,947,713
• Starting teacher pay increase $21,793,144
• Performance Based Assessment Program $21,083,467
• Parent education $23,317,175
• Child care subsidy $175,390,558*
• Child care services related to COVID-19 $721,272,944*

*paid for with federal funds

Read the entire PK-12 appropriation bill.

Supplemental Budget Update

The clock continues to tick with the deadline to approve the $2 billion "use it or lose it" federal pandemic relief earmarked for Missouri schools.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations completed their mark-up of HB 3014 (Smith). Chairman Dan Hegeman concurred with the House for many items within the supplemental budget. In addition, the committee agreed with the House recommendations in all Medicaid spending plans, including the increase for the physician, hospital, and nursing facilities reimbursements. 

However, the committee concurred with the Governor regarding the $15/hour pay increase for all state workers across the thirteen departments. In addition, the “Close the Gap” program that the House passed has been cut from the Senate version of the bill completely as Senators felt a brand-new program had no place in a supplemental budget and should be addressed in the FY2023 budget. 

The “Close the Gap” program would deliver voucher-like grants to reimburse families for educational enrichment expenses like tutoring and summer camps, up to $1,500 per child. Low-income families would receive priority. Hegeman considered reducing the program to $20 million, but the committee opted to remove the program altogether. So stay tuned on this line item.

Finally, the committee restored the requested $12 million in Victims of Crime Act funding, demanding that original federal funding currently in the fund be spent first. After final discussions and questions, the committee passed the bill with an 11-2 vote. Senators Bill Eigel and Denny Hoskins voted no. 

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. Voted Do Pass (13-1) from the Committee on Emerging Issues.

✔️ Early childhood quality

HB 2365 (Shields) - Makes the early learning quality assurance report permanent. Voted Do Pass (13-1) from the Committee on Emerging Issues.

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) - Public hearing completed on 2-16-22



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. Scheduled for a committee hearing on 2-22-22 in House Elementary and Secondary Education.

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 updated 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. Scheduled for hearing in Senate Education on 2/22/22.

👷Work-based learning

District-provided liability coverage ensures students are protected during work-based learning experiences.

HB 2190 (Henderson) creates provisions related to liability claims in educational settings. Heard in the House Committee on Workforce Development on 2-14-22. Scheduled for an executive session on 2-22-22.

Reports

See the current status of all Aligned Priority legislation.

See the status of all the bills we are tracking.

See all upcoming hearings on education-related bills.

See all the bills which we have testified "in support"

Turnaround Time!

Kansas lawmakers faced their last full week for non-exempt committees to complete their work for the first half of the legislative session. Monday marks the official last day for those committees to meet, so a few of them still have agendas on the calendar. Starting on Tuesday, Legislators are on the floor working toward Turnaround, the halfway point of session, on Thursday, February 24. All non-exempt bills that have not passed their House of Origin by Turnaround are dead for the year. Lawmakers will then have a four-day weekend and return to start the second half of the session on Tuesday, March 1.

Parent Bill of Rights bill moves forward

The House K-12 Education Budget Committee recommended passage with amendments to HB 2662, referred to as the Parents' Bill of Rights. This bill requires school districts to provide information on materials used in the classroom and outlines ways to challenge school materials. At a hearing this Thursday, members amended the bill to remove a section that would prosecute teachers for promoting harmful material to minors because of the instructional material provided by the school district.

Republican State Rep. Sean Tarwater of Stilwell amended the bill to eliminate a section removing the affirmative defense to the crime of promoting material harmful to minors and made the following statements:

• "If a school purchases the material and provides them to the teacher, this is a clause in our criminal code that protects the teacher from being prosecuted."

• "Changes that were made to that section could – the way I read it – accidentally cause a teacher to be arrested for something a school did, and I don't think that was the intent of the committee when this bill was written".

• "The affirmative defense here is that the school bought the book and the teacher had it, and she wouldn't be able to be prosecuted for that. We changed that."

• "This is not the teacher buying the book. This is a university or a school buying a book and providing the materials to the teacher. She shouldn't be liable for that."

Lawmakers offered yet another amendment, changing the requirement that all school districts review any library materials purchased after 2017 to determine whether they require parental review. Members cited materials promoting excessive violence, profanity, sexual acts, and other items. The amendment states that school districts need to review materials purchased after July 1, 2022. 

School districts would have to post information about the academic

social and emotional learning materials, activities, and curriculum used at each school. The published data must include the title, author, organization, website address, and any other information necessary to identify the material. The school districts also have to post information about professional development courses and training materials for teachers.

The bill's original intention was to offer parents more visibility to the educational material available to students. The bill requires school districts to provide information on their website about all educational material used and open to students, noting those "designated for parental review" by July 2023, with weekly and monthly updates after that.

KASB reports on legislative action in committee

"The House K-12 Education Budget Committee approved a voucher-like measure and a so-called parent's rights bills, bundling them with other policy bills, that the committee Chairwoman, Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, said will later be combined with school finance legislation.

Meanwhile, the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee recommended approval of the following:

• SB 432, providing a four-day back-to-school state sales tax holiday in August on school items, and  
• SB 431, raising the property tax exemption from the 20-mill statewide school levy for residential property from $20,000 to $65,000 of appraised valuation."

Read more here.

Status of Kansas Priorities

Aligned Priorities

HB 2596  - Allows school districts to contract with a transportation network company (TNC) to transport eight or fewer students to and from school functions. Under this bill, the same State Board of Education rules and regulations used to govern school buses would be changed to address single-passenger cars and vans.  

Heard in House Transportation Committee on 2-9-22. NO CHANGE.

HB2525 - Revising childcare subsidy access for custodial parents.  

After a hearing on January 31, the Committee Report recommended the bill be passed as amended by Committee on Children and Seniors. Aligned submitted written testimony in support of this bill. Proponents are urging House Majority Leader, Representative Hawkins, to run the bill on the floor.

HB2414 - Eliminating child daycare assistance tax credit reduction in subsequent years and limitations on eligible corporations and providing credit for employer payments to organizations for child daycare services access. 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 childcare for their employees. NO CHANGE.

Other education bills we are watching.

Read the report from our Kansas team.

Aligned is a state partner of America Succeeds, which encompasses like-minded, mission-driven not-for-profit organizations working at the state level to drive policies that will help prepare students to succeed in a competitive global economy. Other partners include Arkansas Learns, Best NC, Colorado Succeeds, Every Kid Counts Oklahoma, Idaho Business for Education, and Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education.

In 2021, America Succeeds (AS) developed an Equity in Education initiative, a policy agenda focused on expanding opportunities for all students, especially students of color and underserved populations. According to AS, "The cost of inequity is enormous; experts believe that the technology industry in the United States could generate $470-570 billion in new value if racial and gender diversity were fully represented."

The organization also launched its Durable Skills initiative using field-leading research to start discussions between business and education leaders on what it would take to graduate every student with competencies demanded by today's employers. AS learned that employers seek these skills 3.8 times more often than the top five "technical" or "hard skills".

This week, AS released its 2021 Annual Report, where you can learn more about the organization and highlights from the past year.

If these legislative loads seem to weigh heavily on you, please feel free to reach out to us to help walk you through the weeds.

But first, the weekend...enjoy!

Torree Pederson

President

Aligned

Torree@WeAreAligned.org

(913) 484-4202

Linda Rallo

Vice President

Aligned

Linda@WeAreAligned.org

(314) 330-8442

Download our 2021 Annual Report.