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Push for tax hikes to fund public libraries face mixed results this year in Missouri
Ballot measures seeking to fund local libraries had mixed results Tuesday, with Cole County voters striking down a 15-cent tax increase and Taney County residents narrowly approving an 18-cent levy to create a public library. The votes come at a precarious time for Missouri’s libraries, as they have increasingly been pulled into the political scrum […]
Missouri colleges say their undergraduate admissions never used affirmative action
Missouri’s public universities told state lawmakers Thursday that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action won’t affect their undergraduate admissions. The June 29 ruling decreed that colleges can’t consider race when deciding if to admit a student. Missouri’s Joint Committee on Education, led by last year’s chair Rep. Doug Richey, held a discussion […]
Missouri takes steps to address school safety largely through its budget
The top priority of many Missouri parents and educators is school safety, according to a survey presented at the latest State Board of Education meeting. But statewide safety improvements for schools didn’t garner much traction during the legislative session that ended in May, with most proposals dying without ever making it to the full House […]
ACLU sues Missouri school district for transgender bathroom policy
The ACLU of Missouri is suing the Platte County School District for banning transgender students from using restrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identity. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Platte County Circuit Court, says the district’s policy discriminates on the basis of sex, transgender status and disability — violating the Missouri Human Rights […]
Branson places ‘adult performance’ restrictions on drag shows
Municipalities in Missouri are attempting to restrict drag performances as obscenity or a planning-and-development concern, with Branson among the first after advancing an ordinance Tuesday night limiting drag to a small area of town. Rolla recently tried to limit drag, but an ordinance defining it as obscene, failed during a city council meeting last week. […]
Lawsuit seeks to block Missouri ban on transgender care for minors
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cole County is attempting to block the implementation of Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors. Attorneys at the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal argue the ban could have “extremely serious negative health consequences.” “On its face, the law enshrines discriminatory practices in our health care system by […]
New student-loan forgiveness plan could impact 18,800 Missourians
Missourians who have been making income-based student loan payments for at least 20 years may see their debt cleared within 30 days. The change comes as the U.S. Department of Education and the White House moves to fix “past administrative failures” that inaccurately tracked borrowers’ progress, the Biden administration announced last week. Borrowers with income-driven […]
Time runs out for Missouri AG to appeal ruling in school mask mandate lawsuit
Time has run out for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to appeal a judge’s decision limiting his authority over school districts and clarifying that school boards can establish disease mitigation methods, such as mask mandates. Bailey had 40 days from Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Marco Roldan’s May 27 ruling to ask for a new […]
New law tackles Missouri teacher shortage by encouraging retirees to return to classroom
Missouri’s school districts are struggling not just with a teacher shortage but a scarcity of bus drivers, custodians and other essential personnel. In the 2022-2023 school year, teachers with inadequate teaching certification taught over 8% of Missouri public school classes, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The crisis has led larger […]
Missouri Supreme Court to decide if counties can appeal ruling striking down COVID orders
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday focused on how former Attorney General Eric Schmitt handled a case that pronounced local health authorities’ efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 “null and void” in 2021. Attorney Neal Perryman represented two counties and three health centers who argued Wednesday that they should have been able to […]
Missouri set to establish developmental standards for deaf children
Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary education will for the first time create developmental standards for deaf and hard-of-hearing children under legislation signed by Gov. Mike Parson Thursday. It’s a change deaf advocates have been working on since 2016. Nicknamed LEAD-K, or language equality and acquisition for deaf kids, it has been established in over […]
Nonprofit near Kansas City seeks to become ‘epicenter of the school-choice movement’
The headquarters of the Herzog Foundation sits on the edge of Smithville, in an 18,000-square-foot stone and glass building on a corner lot across the street from a cornfield on a gravel-lined highway. Few Missouians have likely heard of the Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation, or the organization’s namesake. But the unassuming locale masks what […]