Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway released a report that examined funding trends in K-12 education in the state. The report found Missouri ranks near the bottom for the portion of classroom funding that comes from state sources and the formula calculating per-student funding has not kept up with inflation. “The state is not […]
The next state budget does not include funding to expand Medicaid healthcare coverage to another 275-thousand low-income Missouri adults. The Republican-controlled Missouri Legislature refused to fund the expansion – setting up an expected court battle. John Rizzo, the top Democrat in the Missouri Senate, says the GOP is more concerned about their next office. […]
Another session of the Missouri Legislature has come and gone. Of the 1,559 House bills and 689 Senate bills filed this time around, 69 bills will make it to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. Here are some key bills left up to the governor to sign or veto: Missouri lawmakers vote to pump up […]
Missouri is designating 50-million dollars in federal coronavirus aid to create K-12 teacher recruitment and retention grants. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will make 10,000-dollar grants available to all Missouri public school districts and charter schools to create or expand local teacher recruitment programs. Currently, 20 percent of Missouri school […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, Dr. Faisal Khan, and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health for the arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable application of COVID-19 restrictions in St. Louis County. Specifically, the suit takes issue with the restrictions on religious institutions, masking requirements for […]
The Missouri Legislature has passed a private schooling tax credit bill. The measure would let donors provide scholarships to students to attend a private Missouri K-12 school. In return, they would get state tax credits. Senator Andrew Koenig of eastern Missouri’s Manchester carried the House bill that would prioritize special needs students and those who […]
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today announced that MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, has reached more than $4 billion in assets under management, a major milestone for the state’s 529 plan. “As Treasurer, one of my most important jobs is helping Missourians prepare for their financial future,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “Reaching $4 billion in […]
A Missouri State University survey of eight-thousand K-12 public school teachers says 1 in 10 educators plan to leave the field this year. Doctor Jon Turner, an associate professor at the university, says about 62-percent of those likely to quit point to challenges caused by the coronavirus. He says rural teachers have weathered the pandemic […]
The U.S. Department of Education says Missouri’s K-12 schools will get nearly two billion total dollars in federal aid from the latest coronavirus plan. State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokeswoman Mallory McGowin says health experts suggest spending some of the virus funding on the basics instead of the pricey items and services. […]
The U.S. Department of Education says Missouri’s K-12 schools will get 1.95-billion total dollars in federal aid from the latest coronavirus plan. Linda Neumann, with the Missouri Association of School Nurses, hopes the state’s school districts will consider using some of the federal funding to hire school nurses. Neumann tells Missourinet a 2020 state Education […]
Missouri’s House Budget Committee learned details today (Tuesday) about a budget blueprint from Chairman Cody Smith to use dollars slated for Medicaid expansion for other programs instead. Funding includes 26-million dollars for adult daycare and home-delivered meals. Chairman Smith testifies the funding also includes 88-million dollars for nursing home care. This involves a […]
Missouri children attending daycares, K-12 public schools, or college might not be required to get vaccinated against certain illnesses – if they have a “conscientious belief” opposing the immunizations. Lebanon State Representative Suzie Pollock is proposing the change for vaccinations against polio, rubella, mumps, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, and others. Her bill would also […]
Missouri could soon wipe out the debt it owes to counties for housing inmates. State House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith says the House has passed a 34-point-one billion-dollar state operating budget that would get Missouri completely out of debt in county jail reimbursements. Missouri could be the only state in the nation that pays […]
The Missouri House has passed the next state operating budget – without funding voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The $34.1 billion budget plan is now in the hands of the Republican-controlled Senate. Missouri Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, gives his thoughts to Missourinet affiliate KTUI in Sullivan about whether he expects the upper chamber to fund the expansion. […]
The full Missouri House plans to get to work this week on the next state operating budget. Tensions could flare when lawmakers discuss a budget bill intended to defund a voter-approved Medicaid expansion effort. Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon tells Missourinet the fate of this effort has yet to play out. Governor […]
Roughly 44 states allow K-12 open enrollment and Missouri could become the next. The Missouri House has passed Sedalia State Representative Brad Pollitt’s open enrollment bill. He served in the public school system for about 34 years, including as a teacher and a former school superintendent in Sedalia. Representative Mark Sharp, a teacher […]
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) could be required to report annually about the number of K-12 students with limited or no access to high-speed internet at home. During a House committee hearing, Representative Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, said he is proposing to require the department to include the total number of students […]
Missouri could lower the requirements to become a K-12 substitute teacher. To help alleviate a substitute shortage, State Representative Ed Lewis is proposing to reduce the required college credit hours from 60 to 36. Lewis, of northern Missouri’s Moberly, has been a teacher for more than 30 years. During a House education committee hearing on […]
The state of Missouri, along with some local agencies, are organizing several mass coronavirus events this week around the state. The clinics are planned in Benton, Jackson, Chariton, Putnam, McDonald, Bollinger, Cole, Buchanan, Mercer, Pulaski, St. Charles, and St. Louis counties. A mega vaccination event is planned at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City this Friday […]
All but 25 of Missouri’s more than 550 public school districts and charter schools are learning at least partially in-person. During a board meeting this week, State Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says the American Enterprise for Institutes ranks Missouri as having one of the lowest numbers of K-12 students learning remotely. Of the […]
