General Assembly Eases Back Into 2nd Half
The Missouri Legislature returned to the halls of the Capitol in Jefferson City last week following a week-long "spring break". This break essentially marked the midway of the 2025 session.
Lawmakers spent much of their time working through various bills that lingered from the first half of session. The Senate worked through legislation regarding health insurance while the House worked on various bills from their floor calendar.
We are quickly approaching the point where the chances of ultimate passage of bills that have yet to pass one chamber gets quite slim. In the coming weeks, each chamber will begin to turn their attention to bills that have passed the opposite chamber.
With this slow start to the second half of session, there were still developments that should be relevant to members of our organizations.
Voucher Amendment Filibustered
On Wednesday, the Senate spent a few hours debating SB 190, sponsored by Sen. Justin Brown (R - Rolla). The originally filed bill created a new tax credit for employers that financially assist employees to gain an engineering degree or certificate. During the committee process, the bill was changed and several new tax credits were added to the bill.
When the bill was brought up for debate an amendment was offered by Sen. Rick Brattin (R - Harrisonville) sought to create a massive voucher tax credit program identical to SB 195, which was also sponsored by Sen. Brattin.
Beginning in 2026, this proposal allows taxpayers to claim a refundable tax credit covering up to 100% of qualified expenses for educating a student in a nonpublic school, as long as the credit does not exceed the state adequacy target. The credit is estimated to cost as much as $1.2 billion annually, reflecting significant fiscal impact.
Senators opposed to vouchers were quick to begin a filibuster against the amendment and the bill was eventually laid over.
While the amendment was stopped this time, members of our organizations should expect to see this amendment come back up throughout the last few weeks of the legislative session. Universal voucher proposals like this are largely viewed as the panacea of the school choice movement been adopted in several states around the, including in our neighboring states of Arkansas and Iowa, in recent years.
House Budget Committee Moves 2025-26 Budget to Floor
Last Monday, the House Budget Committee concluded its process of offering amendments to the 2025-26 state budget. The budget has now been voted out of committee with very few changes and is eligible to be debated on the floor of the House as early as today.
Many of the items we detailed last week were left unchanged. This included the State Adequacy Target (SAT). As expected, the committee maintained the Governor’s recommended SAT of $6,760.
One item that did see some changes were that of the career and technical enhancement grant program. The Governor had proposed a $20 million increase to provide grants for technological and other upgrades to career and technical programs. The House Budget Committee had submitted a draft of their proposal last week which reduced this funding to a mere $5 million.
During the amendment process, the chair of the committee, Dirk Deaton (R - Noel), restored $6 million of the funding that had been proposed to be cut. As it sits, the budget now includes $10 million for one-time projects and $1 million for ongoing enhancement grants This represents a net reduction of $9 million from the Governor’s recommendation but an improvement over the initially proposed $15 million cut.
With the budget now passed out of the House Budget Committee, it moves to the House floor for the possibility of additional tweaks, then to the Senate where Senators are expected to make significant changes as they craft their own version of the budget. Differences between the two chambers will be reconciled in a conference committee, with a constitutional deadline for passage by May 9, 2025.
House Sends School Safety Omnibus to Senate
Last week, the House debated, amended, and eventually passed HB 416, sponsored by Rep. Brenda Shields (R - St. Joseph). The bill, which already contained numerous provisions, collected additional provisions during floor debate. Below are some of the provisions that are now included in the bill as it moves to the Senate.
SCHOOL SAFETY (Section 160.663)
Schools must equip interior doors with anti-intruder locks and exterior doors with bullet-resistant film, subject to appropriations or donations, with all doors compliant by July 1, 2029. Policies must address classroom access and lockdowns, including window coverings that conceal occupants while allowing limited visibility for first responders.
ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING FOR SCHOOLS PROGRAM (Section 170.315)
From the 2026-27 school year, annual active shooter and intruder response training—eight hours initially, four hours ongoing—is required for teachers and staff. Schools must also conduct yearly active shooter drills with student participation and promote the Courage2ReportMO system with age-appropriate info.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN (Section 160.480)
School districts and charter schools must adopt a comprehensive emergency operations plan addressing safety, crises, and emergencies, sharing it with local law enforcement, fire services, and emergency management. Schools are required to conduct an annual physical security site assessment, while DESE will set standards for these plans.
MISSOURI SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (Section 160.660)
From July 1, 2026, the State Board of Education will update school safety criteria, requiring primary and secondary school safety coordinators to complete FEMA’s Incident Command System training or a Missouri School Boards’ Association equivalent within their first year.
STUDENT ELECTRONIC DEVICE USAGE (Section 162.207)
Starting in the 2026-27 school year, districts and charter schools must enact policies restricting electronic device use during instructional time to promote education and safety. These policies, published online, must include disciplinary measures, exceptions, and liability protections for enforcement.
CARDIAC EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN (Section 160.482)
Starting in the 2026-27 school year, public schools must implement a cardiac emergency response plan for sudden cardiac arrests, including specific protocols for athletic events. The plan must integrate evidence-based elements like those from the American Heart Association, establish a response team, place AEDs strategically, and train staff such as coaches and nurses in CPR and AED use.
STOP THE BLEED ACT (Section 160.485)
The "Stop the Bleed Act" mandates DESE to develop a traumatic blood loss protocol by January 1, 2026, requiring bleeding control kits in high-traffic or high-risk school areas. Each district must designate a trained staff member, ideally a nurse, to handle these kits, with protocol details posted online alongside Stop the Bleed campaign info.
BEHAVIOR RISK ASSESSMENTS (Sections 167.020 and 167.022)
Behavioral risk assessments must be included in student enrollment records requested by school officials to enhance safety monitoring and response.
JUVENILE COURT (Section 167.115)
Schools must be notified within 24 hours of juvenile court petitions, charges, or indictments, with prosecutors added as notifiers and case summaries due within two business days of disposition. Districts can seek injunctions to exclude dangerous students and provide alternative education settings.
AGREEMENTS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT (Section 167.117)
Districts and charter schools may establish written agreements with law enforcement to report specified offenses, with options to report certain crimes by students under 11 to the Children’s Division.
CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (Section 167.624)
CPR training becomes mandatory for all school district and charter school employees to enhance emergency preparedness.
HB 416 now heads to the Senate for their consideration, members should review the provisions of this bill to ensure districts are capable of carrying out the provisions of the bill. Members with concerns should begin discussing those concerns with Senators in the coming days.
Summary HB 416
Fiscal Note HB 416
Open Enrollment Referred to Senate Education Committee
HB 711 was referred to the Senate Education Committee last week. As of this morning, the bill has yet to be scheduled for a committee hearing. However, given the prioritization the bill has received from lawmakers and Governor Kehoe, we should expect this to be one the issues that lawmakers debate in the second half of session.
We are urging our members to begin engaging with their State Senators regarding this legislation.
Summary of HB 711
Text of HB 711
Open Enrollment Talking Points
Districts Opposed to Open Enrollment
DRAFT Board Resolution Opposing Open Enrollment
HB 711 House Vote Roll Call
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