COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Cole County judge ruled in favor of the state in a battle over a Boone County charter school on Thursday, determining that a law that allows charter schools in Boone County is constitutional. The suit was filed in December 2025, with Columbia Public Schools claiming Senate Bill 727, which was passed
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Public School District’s Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee is looking into voter-approved bonds to fund $420 million in its long-range facility plan for the next 10 years. The district’s last $300 million bond plan included new schools like Beulah Ralph Elementary School, John Warner Middle School and more. The Columbia Area
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education’s Policy Committee on Monday discussed how to best honor students at graduations who died before getting a chance to receive their diploma. The policy introduced outlines the process schools and administrators need to take leading up to graduation, on the day of and after. Under the guidelines,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education this week approved changes to its bullying and hazing policies during Wednesday morning work session, expanding who can report bullying and how students are supported throughout the response process. Board member Paul Harper said the changes have been under discussion since August 2025. “We changed the notifications that
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) EDITOR’S NOTE: The number of school resource officers has been corrected, and a video reporting an erroneous number has been deleted. Columbia’s Youth Advisory Council heard from two school resource officers Tuesday about their roles in schools and how students can help improve campus safety. The presentation from Columbia Police Department officers
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education on Monday decided to push the vote on its new policy to address bullying within the school district to Oct. 21. The policy was up for discussion for a fourth time and was expected to be voted on Monday before the board opted to push it back
Continue Reading The Columbia Public School Board will consider a change to the bullying policy at Monday night’s meeting, according to the school board agenda. The proposed policy has been under consideration since April and would expand who can report bullying and allow intervention.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Since its announcement Tuesday, 172 high school seniors across Missouri have opted into the University of Missouri’s guaranteed admissions program. Eligible students are high school students with a 3.0 GPA who have completed at least 12 credits of college-level courses through their school district’s early college program. School districts partnering with MU
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A survey conducted by the City of Columbia about road safety on Business Loop 70 showed pedestrians feel unsafe on the road. In fact, no one in the survey wrote that they felt safe on the business loop as a pedestrian or cyclist. The city in 2025 approved a $2.1 million study
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools is among the five school districts in the state that is partnering with the University of Missouri for early college direct admission, MU announced in a Tuesday press release. The program “guarantees admission to qualifying students” before their senior year of high school, the release says. Partner school districts
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia man was accused of having a gun on Hickman High School’s property on Sept. 4. Sanji Ellis, born in 2007, was charged on Friday with carrying a loaded weapon onto school premises. He was detained that day and posted a $1,500 bond on Sept. 8. An initial court appearance is
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools leadership said Tuesday that “appropriate consequences will be administered” to students who were caught with guns at two district high schools this month. However, more details about the students and their motivations are unlikely to be made public, the district says, citing student privacy laws. CPS is investigating after
Continue Reading JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools argues in a new lawsuit that the Missouri State Board of Education violated state law in its approval of a Frontier Schools charter school in April. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, CPS asks the court to throw out the vote and Frontier’s license to operate in Boone County.
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A student at Hickman High School is in custody after they were allegedly found with a gun in their backpack on Monday afternoon, according to a letter sent to parents by Columbia Public Schools. The letter states that the school’s weapons detection system detected the gun in the student’s backpack. The gun
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education held a work session Thursday morning to discuss lottery school updates and the potential addition of a “health science high school.” According to the meeting agenda, lottery schools are specialized schools that admit students through a random drawing. CPS lottery schools feature specialized instruction areas such as
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools is asking the community to help determine which facility improvements should take priority as the district prepares its long-range facilities plan. Tuesday marked the first of three community town hall meetings designed to gather feedback before the district decides where to invest its limited funding. District officials and representatives
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A gun was found inside a student’s vehicle on Wednesday morning at Rock Bridge High School, according to a letter to parents sent by CPS Superintendent Jeff Klein. The letter says, “A concern was reported to school administrators involving a firearm inside a student’s vehicle in the school’s parking lot.” Klein wrote
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education unanimously picked Paul Wagner to become its newest member during its Thursday meeting. Five people filed to hold the seat formerly held by Jeanne Snodgrass, who stepped down in July because she is moving. The other finalist was Erica Perry. Wagner will be sworn in on Monday, Sept.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Sports programs in Columbia continue to push heat safety protocols during the latest Mid-Missouri heatwave. This comes after a 20-year-old football player at William Jewell College died after scoring a touchdown on Saturday. MicahJo Barnett’s was on the sidelines when he had a medical emergency, and the cause of his death is
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ). The Columbia Public Schools Policy Committee will continue its discussions around changes to the district’s bullying policy, with new revisions giving employees a more hands-on role. The policy would give school employees a more active role in prevention methods when it comes to bullying. Not only are they required to report it,
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