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 student who made a threat about the Morgan County R-1 School District last week is no longer enrolled, according to a Monday social media post from the school district. The statement says the student made a post that included a weapon on the social media application SnapChat around 11 p.m. Thursday.
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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.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A gun was found on the campus of another Mid-Missouri school on Monday. Blair Oaks Superintendent Ben Meldrum wrote in a statement to parents a gun was found in a student’s vehicle on campus. Meldrum told ABC 17 News that the gun was “never in any school building.” “Blair Oaks families: This
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Association of Librarians asked the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday to uphold a lower court’s ruling that deems a law on sexually explicit materials in schools unconstitutional. The law in question is Senate Bill 775. The bill went into effect in August 2022 and addressed sexual assault and school materials.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri State Board of Education approved a new A-F school and district grading framework Tuesday, with one board member voting against it. The vote approves the formula the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will use to calculate letter grades for public schools, charter schools and districts. In January,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri school districts could get their first look at 2025 performance data connected with the state’s proposed A-F grading framework by the end of this month, a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education official said Thursday. Jocelyn Strand, DESE assistant commissioner for the Office of Quality Schools, led the department’s final
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is reporting a new low in measles vaccination rates as the common childhood illness resurges in other parts of the country. The department reports that Missouri kindergartners from the 2025-2026 school year had an 89.5% measles vaccination rate, ranking Missouri 15th lowest in the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Two new Missouri laws taking effect Friday will give school districts more options for placing armed personnel inside schools. One law creates a training program known as the “Missouri Rangers.” The other expands who may serve as a “school protection officer.” Participation in both programs is optional for school districts. The Missouri
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The new roundabout at Sinclair Road and Southampton Drive was open to traffic on Monday. A portion of Sinclair Road had recently closed for about a month between Nifong Boulebard and Muirfield Drive to complete a roundabout. A Columbia Public Works spokesman told ABC 17 News in an email that a concrete
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia lawmaker is warning that Missouri’s schools could face an increasingly difficult financial future, arguing that new revenue from legalized sports betting is not providing the boost to education voters were promised. The state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says the sports wagering money is being used to fund existing
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Data from the 2024-25 school year will be used to give school districts a “first look” at a new A-F grading system for districts this fall. The Missouri State Board of Education reviewed an updated proposal Tuesday that would assign A-F grades to public schools and school districts. The board also learned
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri residents could face up to seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine due to a new school bus safety law. Missouri’s new school bus safety law — SB 1421 — takes effect Aug. 28 and significantly increases fines and license penalties for drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses with
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) When Missouri voters approved legal sportsbetting in November 2024, Winning for Missouri Education, backed by millions of dollars from DraftKings and FanDuel, touted millions in new revenue for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Missouri Gaming Commission initially estimated the state would collect more than $6 million in its first
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As Columbia Public Schools begin class on August 25, the Missouri Highway Patrol is warning motorists and parents to prepare their students for road safety as student drivers return to morning commutes. According to a press release from MSHP, the state had 834 traffic crashes involving a school bus in 2024. Of those crashes, seven
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Families filled the MU Pavilion on Friday for free backpacks, school supplies and other essentials as the cost of getting children ready to return to the classroom adds up. Unity in the Community and Powerhouse Community Development Corporation hosted the Community Back to School Bash from noon-6 p.m. The event offered free
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COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ). Missouri’s annual back-to-school sales tax holiday is underway, waiving state and local sales taxes on qualifying clothing, school supplies and technology through Sunday at midnight. The three-day holiday weekend begins annually on the first Friday in August at 12:01 a.m. To qualify for the tax exception, purchases must be for personal use;
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Education on Monday discussed possible changes to its policy on addressing bullying. Do you think a new policy will be effective at addressing bullying in the school district? Let us know in the poll and in the comments.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) June 28 of each year will be recognized in the state of Missouri as Eliot and Muriel Battle Day. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 1544 on Monday, which modifies state designations. Among those designations is a day to honor Eliot Battle, the first Black faculty member at Hickman High School,
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Budget time is here again for schools, whose fiscal year begins July 1. That means administrators and school boards are facing some thorny outlooks, some worse than others, when it comes to funding. The Missouri General Assembly didn’t provide the funding increase that educators had sought last session, and school districts say that puts them
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