Missouri Democrats seek changes to charter school laws
Missouri’s Democratic state lawmakers outlined the party’s agenda on elementary and secondary education Tuesday in a news conference at the Capitol.
The minority party announced a package of initiatives on subjects including charter schools, K-12 funding and school lunch policies:
House Bill 629 would require voter approval before a charter school is opened in a district. House Bill 424 would prohibit the sponsor of a substandard charter school from sponsoring another charter school as well as require voter approval to renew a school’s charter. House Joint Resolution 26 would raise the constitutional K-12 funding minimum from 25 percent to one-third of state revenue. HJR 26 would go on the November 2020 ballot if it is approved. House Bill 618 and House Bill 627 would require schools to provide a lunch to any student who requests one, regardless of whether the student can pay for it or owes a debt for previous lunches. The bills also would prohibit schools from publicly identifying a student who owes debt on meal or force a student to discard food due to inability to pay.
The democrat’s legislative agenda also includes a funding increase for the state’s K-12 transportation system, which Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, said is $188 million underfunded.
The full press conference can be viewed in the player below:
This announcement comes two weeks after a report was published by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that outlined a number of diversity, salary and retension issues with the state’s K-12 system.
That report can be viewed by following this link.
