CECM State Director Earl Simms testified in the House Education Committee in support of a bill that would call for a vote to repeal what is known as the Blaine Amendment in the Missouri Constitution.  HJR 10 would remove the Constitutional prohibition on state funds supporting a religious school.

Many testifiers, and members of the committee, pointed out that state funds are already used to support religious affiliated universities through the Bright Flight and Access Missouri scholarships.  In addition, other religious charities and hospitals receive state funding and tax breaks that are not given a second thought.

Below is the text of our testimony on this bill:

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for hearing this bill today and receiving my testimony. My name is Earl Simms and I am the State Director for the Children’s Education Council of Missouri.  We are Missouri’s leading advocates for education reform.

If the true goal of Missouri’s education system is to best educate the children of the state, then why are any options off of the table, especially if they are proven to do well for children from disadvantaged, and any other, background?

The state prohibition against taxpayer funds going to schools with religious affiliations ties the hands of parents when trying to obtain the best possible education for their child.  Outside of Kansas City and St. Louis, little or no options for public education exist outside of the traditional district setting.

This is the case despite the fact that Missouri is home to one unaccredited district outside of St. Louis, Riverview Gardens, and ten other provisionally accredited districts. And the September APR reports show that the situation is getting worse with more schools sliding toward unaccreditation and provisional accreditation.  Why should children in these districts be forced to attend these schools that DESE tells us year after year are failing the students in their families?

Beginning the discussion to repeal the Blaine Amendment will free up options for these families to have a chance at a quality education.  If these school districts were stripped of their guaranteed supply of students, with the potential for real competition from another school, it would no doubt wake these failing school districts up and send a clear message that they must provide a quality education for the families in their district, or cease to exist.

At the first meeting of this committee, the Chairman stated that the tone of the committee would be to discuss, and hopefully pass, legislation that is focused on providing the best quality education for children in the state of Missouri.  This bill does just that!  I want to thank Representative Barnes for filing this legislation and I ask for each member of the committee’s support for the bill.  Thank you and I would be happy to take any questions.

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