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 School District would be dissolved and adjoining school districts would be required to annex and operate the city’s schools. In St. Louis, 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.  A hearing on this bill is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31 at 3pm.

CECM enthusiastically supports this legislation.

The St. Louis Public Schools have been unaccredited since 2007. Tim Belz, attorney for the plaintiffs, explained that the St. Louis firefighters’ residency requirements limit their families’ educational options. “Firefighters must live in the City of St. Louis for the duration of their careers,” Belz said. “These men and women provide the highest level of service and selflessness. They deserve our gratitude, but what they get are sleepless nights and financial strain trying to provide a quality education for their children. The Outstanding Schools Act is a crystal-clear law, yet suburban school districts refuse to comply.”

Plaintiff Shawn Ryan worries about educational stability for his eleven-year-old daughter. “We want the certainty that a clear educational path provides,” Ryan said. “We don’t want the future to be unpredictable when it comes to our daughter’s education.”

Captain Mike Fitzgerald, a member of Local 73, agrees. “My wife and I have two young daughters and are expecting our third child any day now. We’re trying to figure out what to do about school, and we’re worried the cost will be more than we can afford. We’ve already made sacrifices, and I’ve seen the men and women in my crew make sacrifices, too. This is tough on everyone.”

The lawsuit has been filed in St. Louis City and a trial date will be announced shortly.

CECM strongly supports efforts to end teacher tenure, including the ballot initiative. Excellent teachers are the key to the academic success of students, and ending teacher tenure would ensure that districts keep teachers based on how well they perform, not how long they’ve been on the job. This is one step to ensuring that an excellent teacher is in every classroom, as districts would be held more accountable for the performance of their instructional staff.

In addition to the initiative petition, legislation tackling teacher tenure is expected to be filed this week. Follow CECM on Twitter, @cecmissouri, for the latest.

CECM does not have a position on these particular bills, however, we will continue to track this legislation and will watch for important amendments.

Projected FY 12 Hold Harmless Districts: Adair Co. R-1, Adair Co. R-2, Appleton City R-II, Ballard R-II, Bell City R-II, Belton 124, Belton Federal Lands, Boncl R-X, Bosworth R-V, Breckenridge R-I, Brentwood, Brookfield R-III, Brunswick R-II, Buchanan Co. R-IV, Bucklin R-II, Bunker R-III, Cainsville R-I, Calhoun R-VIII, Camdenton R-III, Center 58, Centerville R-I, Clayton, Climax Springs R-IV, Clinton Co. R-III, Community R-VI, Cooper Co. R-IV, Couch R-I, Cowgill R-VI, Craig, R-III, Dadeville R-II, Davis R-XII, Delta C-7, Drexel R-IV, East Buchanan Co. C-1, Everton R-III, Excelsior Springs 40, Fayette R-III, Fort Osage R-I, Gilliam C-4, Gilman City R-IV, Gorin R-III, Grandview C-4, Green City R-I, Grundy Co. R-V, Hancock Place, Hardeman R-X, Hardin-Central C-2, Hayti R-II, Hermitage R-IV, Hickman Mills C-1, Higbee R-VIII, Howell Valley R-I, Hume R-VIII, Hurley R-I, Jamestown C-1, Jasper Co. R-V, Jefferson C-123, Jennings, Junction Hill C-12, Kansas City 33, Keytesville R-III, King City R-I, Kingston 42, Kirkwood R-VII, Knob Noster Federal Lands, La Plata R-II, Ladue, Laredo R-VII, Lathrop R-II, Leesville R-IX, Leeton R-X, Lindbergh R-VIII, Livingston Co., R-III, Lonedell R-XIV, Luray 33, Macon Co. R-IV, Malta Bend R-V, Manes R-V, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Marion Co. R-II, Marquand-Zion R-VI, Meadville R-IV, Miami R-I, Middle Grove C-1, Midway R-I, Miller Co. R-III, Mirabile C-1, Missouri City 56, Monroe City R-1, Montrose R-XIV, Mound City R-II, New Madrid Co., R-I, New York R-IV, Newtown-Harris R-III, Nodaway-Holt R-VII, Norborne R-VIII, Normandy, North Andrew Co. R-VI, North Daviess R-III, North Harrison R-III, North Mercer Co. R-III, North Nodaway Co. R-VI, North Pemiscot Co. R-I, North Shelby, Northeast Nodaway Co. R-V, Northwest R-I, Northwestern R-I, Oak Ridge R-VI, Orearville R-IV, Orrick R-XI, Osage Co. R-I, Osborn R-O, Otterville R-VI, Paris R-II, Parkway C-2, Pattonsburg R-II, Pattonville R-III, Pemiscot Co. R-III, Pettis Co. R-XII, Pleasant View R-VI, Prairie Home R-V, Renick R-V, Revere C-3, Richland R-I, Ridgeway R-V, Risco R-II, Riverview Gardens, School of the Osage R-II, Shawnee R-III, Shell Knob 78, Slater, South Callaway Co. R-II, South Holt Co. R-I, South Iron Co. R-I, South Nodaway Co R-IV, Southwest Livingston Co. R-I, Special School District of St. Louis County, St. Charles R-VI, St. Elizabeth R-IV, St. Louis City, Stanberry R-II, Stet R-XV, Stewartsville C-2, Sturgeon R-V, Swedeborg R-III, Tarkio R-I, Tina-Avalon R-II, Tri-County R-VII, Union Star R-II, University City, Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation, Waynesville Federal Lands, Wellington-Napoleon R-IX, West Nodaway Co. R-I, West Platte Co. R-II, Westran R-I, Winston R-VI.

The two issues Speaker Tilley mentioned that CECM will focus on this legislative session are:

1. Student Transfers
Missouri Revised Statute 167.131 allows for students who live in an unaccredited school district to transfer to a neighboring accredited district at the expense of the unaccredited district.  While this law was passed in 1993, signed by Mel Carnahan and ruled clear and unambiguous by the Missouri Supreme Court, school district officials are refusing to adhere to this law.

The Children’s Education Council of Missouri expects that there will be many attempts during the 2012 legislative session to “fix” this law. CECM believes that this law should not be altered unless it is for real reform such as statewide open enrollment and scholarship tax credits.

CECM cannot support any legislation that would lessen a family’s right to choose a better school for their child. For example, there is already a bill filed by Senator David Pearce (R-Warrensburg) and Representative Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) that would strip students in these failed districts of their right to transfer.

CECM will continue to work hard this session to ensure that no child is stripped of his or her rights to leave a failed district.

2. Missouri Quality Teacher Act
The Missouri Quality Teacher Act will reform teacher tenure so that good teachers are allowed to stay in classrooms where they can do the most good and bad teachers can be dismissed.

It is still unclear who will introduce this legislation, but rest assured it will move quickly and hopefully with the full backing of the majority of the House and Senate.

To stay updated on these issues and other issues that CECM is tracking, please subscribe to our weekly Missouri Education Reform Legislative Update.

Governor Jay Nixon signed legislation on Friday that would repeal a controversial measure that limited online communication between students and teachers. 

The measure, which came to be known as the Facebook Law, came under fire late last summer when education advocates realized it would ban most online communication between students and teachers. The law became so controversial that the legislature passed a repeal of the law during Special Session in September which Governor Nixon signed today.

You can read more about the repeal and the origional law here.

The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) has had a busy two days. Its members have been engrossed in a lively debate over Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA and Michael Enzi, R-WY’s bill to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, or as NCLB is more formally called, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Nearly everyone in the education field will agree that NCLB isn’t perfect. However, reformers around the country are concerned that the level of accountability and transparency that parents have come to expect from schools is being jeopardized in this bill to make the goals of the legislation more attainable than what currently exists under NCLB (100% proficiency in math and science by 2014).

This debate is far from over. It is still unclear what the final bill that the HELP Committee will send to the Senate floor will contain. It is even more unclear what the House of Representatives will do.  However, it is important that education reformers around the country are paying attention and that when the bill gets to a vote of the full senate, you let Missouri’s Senators hear your voice.

You can keep up with the Committee’s mark-up here and Education Sector had provided an excellent “quick look” at the good and bad in the Harkin-Enzi bill here.