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Missouri literacy legislation update
Last week, we highlighted two pieces of legislation reforming Missouri’s early literacy policies in each chamber.
Those bills are making their way through the legislative process, with the House proposal further along than the Senate proposal.
On Thursday, HB 2872 was passed out of the Missouri House 131-10.
The bill is comprehensive: it still aligns teacher preparation coursework with evidence-based literacy instruction, prohibits the use of the tree-cueing system as a primary instructional method, and requires intensive reading instruction during regular school hours for students with reading deficiencies.
The House bill now includes two amendments:
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One that explicitly allows the state literacy fund to support tutoring inside or outside regular school hours.
- Another revises language around promotion/retention of third grade students. Students would be retained unless they score “approaching expectations” or better on a post-summer retest or qualify for a good-cause exemption.
In the Senate, SB 1442 was voted out of the Senate Education Committee on March 10.
The Senate proposal mirrors much of the House.
- It would strengthen teacher preparation requirements.
- Prohibit educator prep programs from teaching or endorsing three-cueing.
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Require K-3 students to be assessed during three annual windows using state-approved reading assessments.
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Create a $500 incentive tied to reading proficiency for students previously identified with substantial reading deficiencies or dyslexia.
These two bills differ in terms of design. The House bill strengthens Missouri’s existing literacy framework by tightening requirements around instruction, intervention, and promotion decisions, whereas the Senate bill moves toward greater statewide standardization through a universal screener, improvement incentives, and clearer promotion rules.
Stepping back and looking at the bills together, both are aimed at a common, larger goal: move Missouri further toward structured literacy instruction, earlier intervention, and stronger accountability around getting students to read proficiently.
A property tax bill with major school funding implications
A property tax bill moving through the Missouri legislature would change how much revenue local school districts are expected to raise before they receive state funding.
Under HB 2780, some districts would be allowed to lower their local school property tax rates further than what they can today without losing access to state aid. Missouri’s longstanding school funding model has been built on the assumption that school districts contribute a minimum amount of local funding before the state fills in the rest.
Although the proposal does not rewrite the foundation formula, it does adjust one aspect of the calculation.
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Current law stipulates that school districts must levy $2.75 per $100 of assessed value of properties to receive more than their old 2005-06 funding amount.
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This bill would lower that minimum to $2.20 beginning next school year, giving some districts more room to reduce property taxes over time without losing state funding.
While Missouri law ties part of state funding eligibility to a minimum levy of $2.75, the foundation formula separately assumes districts are raising local revenue at a higher rate of $3.43 per $100 of assessed value — known as the “performance levy.”
If more districts lower their levies, but the formula continues to assume a higher local contribution, the gap between assumed local funding and actual local funding could grow. In plain terms, districts could bring in less local revenue than the formula assumes is available.
The bill does not change what the state assumes districts are raising from local revenue. It does, however, require districts levying below the performance levy to notify the state that they are still providing an adequate education.
The bill’s changes to school levy thresholds would not require statewide voter approval; any future effort to raise individual districts’ tax rate ceilings above its voter-approved level would require voter approval.
The timing of this bill is notable. The proposal is moving through the legislature at the same time as Missouri’s School Funding Modernization Task Force is preparing to reconvene and tackle property taxes. This bill can be viewed in the wider context of widespread property tax relief nationally; it also raises questions about what share of school funding should come from local taxpayers and how that works under a new formula.
The state-local split is especially important. Missouri can change the formula, increase funding for certain students, or increase the base amount of funding per student, but districts still decide how much local revenue they actually raise through their school levies. If the formula assumes more local funding than districts ultimately generate, then some districts may not fully fund the levels the new formula is meant to provide.
Priority bill update
Our Missouri tracker has also been updated with the latest committee and floor movement as key education bills continue advancing through both chambers.
In other news
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