Senate Bill 451, which has been offered by Sen. Jane Cunningham in exchange of enforcement of Revised Missouri Statute 167.131 (also known as the “Outstanding Schools Act”), was voted out of Committee on Tues., 2/14 with a 7-1 margin; Sen. Kiki Curls (D-Kansas City) was the sole opposition vote.

If passed, SB 451 would dramatically change urban education statewide. One of the most significant changes offered by the proposed legislation is the establishment of a “Passport Scholarship Program” which would provide grant scholarships to students in unaccredited districts, allowing them to attend a qualified public or private school. Contributors to the fund would receive a .60 cent tax credit for each donated dollar. A clearinghouse would also be established to assist Passport Scholarship Program recipients in transferring out of failed districts into an accredited district, charter, virtual, or private school.

Additional components of the bill include unique provisions for each of the state’s largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, both of which contain unaccredited school districts. In Kansas City, the Kansas City, Missouri School District would be dissolved and adjoining school districts would be required to annex and operate the city’s schools. In St. Louis, accredited districts in surrounding St. Louis County would be able to operate charter schools within the St. Louis Public School District, as city students would also simultaneously be allowed to transfer to county schools if space permits, based on a pre-determined number of students that the district is willing to accept.

Several amendments were offered and passed, including an amendment that ties student growth to teacher evaluations.   CECM enthusiastically supports the bill.

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