School board members, superintendents across Missouri to meet for MSBA legislative forum

The Missouri School Board Association will hold their annual legislative forum at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

According to the agenda, attendees will be able to meet education leaders in the House and Senate, including representatives Shawn Rhoads and Kathryn Swan, and Sen. Gary Romine.

The agenda also includes a presentation from an Arizona School Boards’ Association member about Education Savings Accounts, also known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, and how they have impacted education in their state.

Missouri does not have a law that creates an ESA, but legislators have been trying to push one in the past couple of legislative sessions. For the 2018 legislative session, Senate Bill 612 would create an ESA.

Essentially, according to SB 612, a taxpayer may make a donation to an educational assistance organization, such as tutoring or private school, and that donation goes into a scholarship fund under the organization. The organization would then award scholarships to eligible students, which according to the bill includes students with disabilities, children of a parent in the military or a ward of the state.

Brent Ghan, deputy executive director of MSBA, said the association believes ESAs are basically voucher plans that allow public money to subsidize private schools.

ABC 17 News plans to have crews at the forum and will update this story with more information.