Missouri Senate passes sweeping education funding bill

By SUMMER BALLENTINE
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri students across the state could get scholarships for private school if state lawmakers are successful in expanding the current tax credit program. Currently, only low-income families in the state’s largest cities can get the grants. A bill passed by the Republican-led Senate on a 19-10 vote Thursday would expand the program statewide. The measure represents weeks of bipartisan compromise. Other provisions in the sweeping education bill would pump hundreds of millions of dollars more into traditional public schools and allow charter schools in Boone County. The measure also would require a local vote for school districts to go to four-day weeks.