Legislative Update - 2026, Week 4

By Otto Fajen, Director of Legislative Policy

CAPITOL ACTION DAYS BEGIN!

Capitol Action Days are part of the Association's plan to promote positive policy for public education. MNEA's Capitol Action Days occur regularly on Wednesdays during legislative session and begin next week on February 4th! For more information and to register for your Capitol Action Day, please visit https://www.mnea.org/CAD

LEGISLATURE TAKES A SNOW DAY

The House and Senate cancelled hearings and floor action for January 26th, due to snow, ice, and cold temperatures. Session will resume on January 27th, though some hearings were cancelled for that day also.

CUTTING STATE REVENUES IN HALF

The House Commerce Committee heard HJR 174 (Jon Patterson) and HJR 173 (Bishop Davidson) on January 28. Based on the Governor's proposal, these resolutions would ask voters to allow expansion of the tax base for state and local sales taxes if the legislature eliminates the individual income tax. This proposal, if implemented, could cut state general revenues by at least $5 billion. This change would devastate public investment in all sectors and damage the state's economy. The Association opposes the HJRs and elimination of the state income tax.

The legislature already faces budgetary disaster in the coming years. The Governor's budget recommends GR expenditures of $16.2 billion for next year. This far exceeds next year's estimated net general revenues of about $13.7 billion. The legislature has been spending large fund balances for several years. These balances were primarily due to various one-time federal funds. Term-limited legislators who have never faced budget decline must now make $2.5 billion in cuts to correct this imbalance within the next two budget years. For a sense of scale, the state's entire appropriation for higher education is roughly $1 billion.

STATE OF THE JUDICIARY ADDRESS CANCELLED

The House and Senate were unable to meet in joint session on January 28 to receive the annual State of the Judiciary address. The event was cancelled due to a boycott of the event by several Republican Senators. These Senators are upset about recent court rulings, including the overturning of SB 22 (Rick Brattin) from 2025. The court voided the measure based on the bill containing multiple subjects, in violation of the Missouri Constitution. The bill revised the process for changes to ballot issue summary statements. The bill was amended to grant the Attorney General the right to appeal a preliminary injunction where the state or state official is enjoined from implementing a provision of the Missouri Constitution or of Missouri law.

HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The committee heard two bills on January 28:

HB 2710 (Dane Diehl) to create an A-F school report card for public schools based primarily on state-mandated, standardized tests. The Association believes this measure would undermine local control and opposes the bill.

HB 2872 (Cathy Jo Loy) to revise the law regarding reading instruction. While the Association supports regular oversight of literacy instruction in educator preparation programs, the bill contains other concerning provisions, including a restoration of mandatory retention in third grade for students with low scores on a new statewide reading assessment mandated for all students.

The committee will hear three bills on February 4:

HB 1698 (Mazzie Christensen) and HB 2120 (John Black) would revise antibullying requirements for school districts.

HB 2230 (Tricia Byrnes) would limit the use of technology for student learning practices in elementary schools. While the original bill contains specific and immediate requirements, the Association appreciates the concern and recognition of the impact of screen use on learning and child development and encourages best practices in use of traditional materials and technology in elementary schools.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Due to inclement weather, the committee meeting was delayed until January 29th, and the committee voted to approve the following bills heard in prior hearings this session:

SB 863 (Jason Bean) would require the Governor to appoint a board of directors to oversee any statewide activities association that facilitates interscholastic activities for secondary school students. The bill does not specify what this new board's oversight would include. The Association believes that educators should continue to establish the policies and procedures that govern the activities of the thousands of Missouri students who participate in school activities.

SCS/SB 905 (David Gregory) would establish a training program for Missouri Rangers. The Rangers would receive various law enforcement training and could be employed by public or private schools with limited school-related law enforcement powers. The SCS adds more training requirements for school protection officers and establishes that they have an affirmative duty to act.

SCS/SB 909 (Brad Hudson) would expand current law pertaining to student religious liberties to also apply to all student political and ideological expression. The Association is concerned that the inclusion of authority to file private lawsuits over political and ideological expression will divert school resources to costly and time-consuming lawsuits and make it harder to attract and retain educators. The Association opposes the bill.

SB 948 (Rick Brattin) would enact new law regarding parental rights in the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their children. The bill includes new authority to file private lawsuits over any alleged violation of these new provisions, thereby raising the same concerns as SB 909. The Association opposes the bill.

SCS/SB 998 (Brad Hudson) would revise the state's ESA school voucher program. The bill expands student eligibility to include students with a diagnosed disability or a diagnosis of dyslexia, removes the requirement to have previously attended a public school, authorizes organizations of parents of eligible students to participate in certain lawsuits regarding the program, and exempts participating schools from any requirement to seek state or third-party accreditation or be subject to any rule or other requirement not specified in state law. Participating private schools are not currently subject to any accreditation requirement from the state.

The committee plans to hear five bills:

SB 892 (Jill Carter) requires the State Board of Education to publish its annual report on the DESE website.

SB 906 (David Gregory) and SB 971 (Curtis Trent) both create public school open enrollment. The Association believes that public school choice plans with state funding may harm students and our public schools unless essential criteria are in place for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating their effectiveness. The Association opposes both bills based on this concern.

SB 978 (Nick Schroer) requires school districts and charter schools to provide instruction on human growth and development beginning no later than grade three. The bill includes detailed mandates on the required instruction about human biology related to pregnancy and human development inside the womb. The Association opposes this intrusion of state mandates on local control of curriculum and instruction.

SB 1002 (Adam Schnelting) would move school board elections to the November general election and change all school board terms to four years. Electing school board members at municipal election allows voters to focus on these local candidates and local school issues outside of the November election cycle when the time and attention of voters is taken up by partisan election campaigns and statewide issues. The Association opposes the bill.

HONESTY IN EDUCATION

The Senate Government Efficiency Committee will hear SB 1315 (Mary Elizabeth Coleman) on February 2. The bill provides a cause of action for the Attorney General, local prosecutors, and parents to file lawsuits against board members, schools, and staff for violations of notice and consent requirements regarding certain student surveys.

Federal law requires prior parental notice and the ability to opt a student out of required student surveys that ask about certain sensitive topics, such as political affiliation, mental and psychological problems, sex behavior and attitudes, and several other related topics. While these federal requirements do not pertain to surveys that are directly related to academic instruction, SB 1315 has a more expansive definition of "survey" that could include instructional activities. The Association is concerned that the bill would adversely affect the freedom of teachers to provide the honest education our students deserve and could conflict and interfere with existing policies respecting student privacy.

CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES

The House Emerging Issues Committee heard two similar bills regarding restrictions on property use for charter schools on January 27. HB 2172 (Marlene Terry) and HB 2404 (George Hruza) would each specify that a municipality may not allow deed restrictions that prohibit a property's use as a charter school.