2023 RSD Legislative Platform

 

2023 Legislative Priorities

As the bedrock of strong local communities, public schools continue to serve our students’ educational and emotional well-being. Through a strong partnership between our legislature and locally elected officials, our school communities meet the challenge of student needs through accountability and innovation to ensure the future success of our state through the next generation.

Funding NOW for Missouri's Future

Sufficient funding is required to meet the continued unfunded mandates and diverse needs of our students. It is critical that Missouri public schools are fully and adequately funded to serve and invest in the future of more than 890,000 Missouri public school children. We support:

• Dedicated funding for community safeguards to ensure the safety of our schools.
• Continued full funding of Missouri public schools and transportation.
• Adjustment of State Adequacy Target to recognize the increased cost faced by schools in a high inflation competitive workforce environment.
• Funding the necessary services to address the mental health needs of our students and community to benefit their academic, life and future-ready skills.

Dedicated State Programs to Meet the Needs of our Students and Communities

Our success depends greatly on public schools’ ability to meet the social and emotional needs of all children. Ensuring that our kids feel connected and supported is important to our school and community safety. We support:

• Combatting the anticipated teacher shortage by implementing all options including those outlined by the Blue-Ribbon Commission.
• Providing access to early childhood education programming and opportunities for all Missouri children.
• Continuing the use of a variety of funding sources including personal property, real property, general revenue, Proposition C and considering other sources such as tax revenues from recreational marijuana.

Ensuring Accountability and Innovation

The current assessment system needs an overhaul and the implementation of a student-centered assessment model that provides timely, accurate data to drive instruction that aids student growth is long overdue. We support:

• Utilizing school districts’ best practices around assessment and the work of the Success Ready Student Network to develop instructional models and assessment practices that meet the needs of a 21st-century learner.
• Innovative practices that will improve and enhance student learning and employability skills.

Supporting Local Control

Local communities are best suited to make decisions about their public schools. We support:

• Keeping local dollars and school policy decisions under the direction of locally elected school boards.
• School districts’ ability to recognize and respond to the unique characteristics of their community stakeholders when making educational decisions.
• The continued use of current residency requirements of enrollment to avoid the redistribution of local school district resources to other Missouri communities.

The 2023 Legislative Priorities are developed in partnership with Education Plus and regional school districts as we share similar challenges and needs for our students. It is supported by the Parkway, Pattonville, Rockwood and Special School District superintendent leadership team and the respective boards of education.