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Weekly Update



January 10, 2025

State releases playbook to curb shortages

Inclement weather forced the Missouri State Board of Education (SBOE) to meet online this week. Nevertheless, members were able to plow through many topics, including a couple of deep dives into teacher recruitment and retention and educator quality.

 

Dr. Paul Katnik, Assistant Commissioner at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), presented the state’s first-ever “Teacher Recruitment and Retention Playbook,” which contains a set of guidelines for school leaders to help further curb teacher shortages in their district. The playbook is a 16-page document featuring eight cornerstones for a successful state system and a primer of do’s and don’ts for public schools to follow.

 

For example, “Don’t lower the standards for teacher certification…which could communicate the message that anyone could do the job with relatively little training and preparation.”

 

And speaking of well-prepared teachers…

 

Dr. Daryl Fridley, Educator Preparation Coordinator, Office of Educator Quality at DESE, presented Strengthening Missouri’s Teacher Pipeline, which was a study commissioned by Education First and funded by the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group that investigated Missouri’s teacher shortage and unveiled key insights that help explain the state’s high vacancies and turnover rates.


One takeaway is that rural districts face particular challenges due to the lack of access to Educator Prep Programs (EPP), making hiring qualified teachers difficult.

 

This is an area we hadn’t thought about before,” said Fridley. “But Education First noted that being close to an institution that has an EPP is an advantage when it comes to hiring, in part because important relationships are often developed during field and clinical experiences that typically take place in schools that are close to EPPs.

 

69% of Missouri EPPs are concentrated in cities and suburbs, leading to stronger teacher pipelines in non-rural areas.

 

According to DESE, the report's key conclusions are:

 

  • Negative perceptions of teaching impede recruitment
  • Percentages of vacancies and inappropriately certified teachers are highest in remote rural and large city LEAs
  • Access to educator preparation programs is not equitably distributed geographically
  • Financial barriers constrain the supply of teachers during preparation
  • Preparation curriculum is sometimes an unnecessary obstacle
  • A large percentage of program completers never enter the Missouri public school workforce

 

Over the past two years, the legislature has taken steps to address recruitment and retention challenges, which include increasing starting teacher pay to $40,000, funding a teacher baseline salary grant, and reinstating the Career Ladder Program.


However, as this report suggests, much work remains. Aligned will be monitoring policies this session to address teacher recruitment and retention.

Speaker of the House Jon Patterson and President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin to lead the Missouri General Assembly.

Missouri News

Newly installed legislative leaders prioritize children


Lawmakers gaveled in on Wednesday and kicked off the 2025 legislative session in Missouri with historic new leadership. Speaker Jon Patterson, the first Asian American Speaker in state history and the first from Jackson County in over 160 years, and Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin, the first woman elected to the position, will help shape the agenda.


Education remains a key focus, with over 185 pre-filed bills covering school safety, accreditation, childcare access, and school choice.


In his first address, Speaker Patterson highlighted a commitment to increasing access to accessible and affordable childcare and early childhood learning to lay a strong foundation for future generations.


Pro-tem O'Laughlin mentioned children 20 times in her address and focused on improving literacy for all students.


"Every child can learn, and every child must be taught to read. Without this skill, their futures are stolen before they even begin. This failure is not the fault of one group alone—it is a collective failure. From the state to school boards, from educators to parents, every stakeholder must do better," said O'Laughlin. "


Key legislation already filed that Aligned will closely monitor include open enrollment HB 711 (Pollitt) and SB 70 (Gregory) and child care tax credits HB 269 (Shields).


Read our legislative report here.


Meanwhile, the State Board of Education addressed St. Louis Public Schools' accreditation during its monthly meeting on Tuesday, when board member Kerry Casey of Chesterfield attempted to pass a motion downgrading the accreditation of St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) in opposition to existing DESE policy prohibiting a downgrade before January of 2027. However, she failed to secure an additional member supporting the motion.


Read more on the SLPS discussion here.

Budget and Revenue Update


State Budget Director Dan Haug announced that net general revenue collections for December 2024 increased 19.0% compared to December 2023, from $1.09 billion last year to $1.30 billion this year. Net general revenue collections for 2025 fiscal year-to-date increased 0.1% compared to December 2023, from $6.13 billion last year to $6.14 billion this year, including:


  • Individual Income Tax Collections increased 16.1% for the year from $3.36 billion last year to $3.90 billion this year (124.4% increase for the month)


  • Sales and Use Tax Collections decreased 1.5% for the year, from $1.65 billion last year to $1.63 billion this year (18.8% increase for the month)


  • Corporate Income and Corporate Franchise Tax Collections decreased 8.5% for the year, from $495.4 million last year to $453.0 million this year (6.9% decrease for the month).

In other news


  • New state data shows first increase in teacher retention post-pandemic
  • St. Charles bookstore helps students find a love for reading
  • Partnership between MU and state courts helps families navigate separation and divorce
  • The youngest Mizzou students help children and teachers learn new skills
  • Schools use small-town relationships to help homeless students 


Kansas News


Sights set for a swift session


As the Kansas Legislature officially kicks off on Monday, members have set their sights on a shorter session, intending to wrap up by April 12.


It’s an ambitious timeline, particularly after lawmakers needed a special session last year to finalize the state’s tax relief package and pass the budget. To streamline the process, the Legislature is debuting a new approach: the Special Committee on Legislative Budget has been reviewing agency budgets over the past two months rather than during the session.


While the goal is to avoid the drawn-out budget battles of years past, no procedural change can entirely bypass the brass tacks of politics that shape Kansas’s budget decisions.


Our last newsletter highlighted Republicans’ push for additional tax relief—specifically property and income tax cuts. Meanwhile, Governor Laura Kelly has urged caution, warning that further tax reductions, particularly on property taxes, could strain funding for essential services like K-12 education.


After December’s tax collections exceeded projections, $66.7 million, or 6.3%, above the estimate, Kelly reiterated her stance: “As I’ve highlighted before, even though our state’s revenues are healthy, we must practice fiscal responsibility.”


Whether this new process will speed up the legislative calendar remains to be seen. However, with tax policy as a key sticking point, even the best-laid plans may not be enough to avoid another special session later this year.

In other news



Despite the snow, the show goes on

With roads covered by last weekend's storm, Aligned quickly pivoted from an in-person event to a virtual roundtable discussion with educators, community leaders, and advocates across Kansas City, where we presented our policy priorities for 2025.


Our conversation also covered many important topics, including the need for stronger accountability in failing schools, the rising cost of college, and how to align workforce development with educational outcomes better. We also discussed the importance of leveraging Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) to track and improve student progress and the critical need for school finance reform to ensure equitable student funding.


See the slides here.


Thank you to everyone who joined us, and stay tuned for more updates as we turn today’s insights into action!

Upcoming Events at Aligned

Aligned and Georgetown University have partnered to bring the Edumonics Certificate in Education Finance course to the Kansas City area next June.


The course will cover:


  • Cost drivers in education
  • Allocation and accountability structures
  • Instruction delivery model implications
  • ESSA and state policy effects in a local context
  • Productivity analyses


Participants earn 3.0 CEUs, 36 CPEs, and/or 30 professional development credits upon successful program completion.


Register to attend the in-person event.


Download our brochure to learn about sponsorship opportunities.

2025 is off to a tremendous start. Bigger team, more action, and legislatures are getting back to work. Aligned will be back to regular updates each Friday through May.


Stay warm and engaged!

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Torree Pederson

President

Aligned

Torree@WeAreAligned.org

(913) 484-4202

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Linda Rallo

Vice President

Aligned

Linda@WeAreAligned.org

(314) 330-8442

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About Aligned


Aligned is the only state-wide non-profit, nonpartisan business group working in Kansas and Missouri on educational issues impacting the full development of our children, from supporting high-quality early learning to solid secondary programs that provide rigorous academic programs and real-world learning opportunities.


Our vision is that our public education systems in Kansas and Missouri have the resources and flexibility to prepare students to pursue the future of their choice.


We are currently focused on education policies that will strengthen early childhood education, teacher recruitment and retention, and school finance reform.


Learn more about our work.