We are tracking 11 bills related to early care and education.

Aligned has prioritized HB 2264 (Swan) and SB 973 (Wallingford), legislation that reforms the Coordinating Board for Early Childhood and renames it the "Missouri Early Childhood Cabinet". We are convening stakeholders and expect these bills to undergo a few revisions through the process. The goal is to clarify the board's purpose, strengthen  the appointment process, provide prominent gubernatorial leadership, and ensure valuable input from across state government. 

Bill status:  HB 2264 - Read Second Time;  SB 973 - Read First Time 

We are tracking 181 bills related to schools, teachers and students.* 

*This is a long list and therefore we've listed only titles. You can access the full text for both House and Senate bills online at house.mo.gov by entering the bill number in the "Bill Search" window.

This week the Senate Ways and Means Committee advanced SB 581 ( Cierpiot), a bill that creates a tax credit scholarship program to benefit students from low-income families. The " Show Me a Brighter Future Scholarship Program" would allow taxpayers to claim a tax credit equal to 100% of their total contribution. The fund is capped at $25 million but will increase to $50 million if the amount claimed in the program's first year exceeds 90% of the available tax credits. The State Treasurer would allocate credits on a first come, first served basis. SB 581 was voted out of committee by a vote of 6-1. 

The committee also approved SB 583 (Arthur) by a vote of 7-0. This bill allows teachers to receive a 100% tax deduction for unreimbursed educator expenses not to exceed $500.

The Senate-General Laws committee passed SB 649 ( Eigel) by a vote of 4-2. This bill expands charter school authority into charter counties or cities with only one school district and a population greater than 30,000. The bill does not include charter expansion  in a district that is accredited by the State Board of Education with fewer than 3,000 students. 

Testifying in support	Testifying in opposition
Missouri Charter Public School Association, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Excellence in Education in Action, Missouri Education Reform Council and two private citizens.	School Administrators Coalition, Missouri NEA, American Federal of Teachers, Missouri State Teachers Association, and one private citizen.

The Senate-Government Reform committee passed a substitute for SB 603 (O'Laughlin), another charter expansion bill, by a vote of 5-1. This bill is similar to SB 649 with regards to expansion but has a less restrictive charter renewal policy and does not prioritize admission for students who qualify for free- and reduced-lunch. 

Testifying in support	Testifying in opposition
Missouri Charter Public School Association, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, Excellence in Education in Action, Missouri Education Reform Council, American Federation of Children, The Opportunity Trust, and three private citizens.	School Administrators Coalition, Missouri NEA, American Federal of Teachers, Missouri State Teachers Association, Coordinating School Districts of Greater Kansas City, KC Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel and two private citizens.