Each year as a Board, we adopt our Legislative Platform as a district before the state legislative session begins in January. To keep our district patrons informed, we have developed this nonpartisan overview of the legislative session. Here are the votes of Representatives and Senators on specific bills during the 2026 spring legislative session as they relate to our Board-approved legislative priorities.
For context:
- A bill requiring a simple majority must receive at least 18 votes in the Senate and 82 votes in the House to pass.
- To override a Governor veto, that requires a 2/3 vote, as does an emergency clause in the Senate.
Rockwood Legislative Priority #1: Funding Now for Missouri’s Future
Sufficient funding is required to meet continued unfunded mandates and the 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 860,000 Missouri public school children. We support:
- Full funding of all legislative mandates.
- Protecting the use of local property tax for public schools.
- Continued full funding of the Foundation Formula and transportation.
- Continued funding sources of general revenue, Proposition C and tax revenues from gaming.
- Dedicated funding for community safeguards to ensure the safety of our schools.
- Funding the necessary services to address the mental health needs of our students and community to benefit their academic, life and future-ready skills.
The clearest vote is on HB 2002 (or HB 2), which did not fully fund the formula and transportation funding.
Here is how our senators and representatives individually voted on HB 2:
Senators: 21 YES / 11 NO
- Sen. David Gregory, District 15 - YES
- Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, District 22 - YES
- Sen. Tracy McCreery, District 24 - NO
- Sen. Ben Brown, District 26 - YES
(NOTE: A full funding amendment was voted on in the Senate on April 22, 2026. Sen. McCreery voted yes on that amendment, while senators Gregory, Coleman and Brown voted no.)
Representatives: 83 YES / 68 NO / 2 PRESENT
- Rep. Holly Jones, District 88 - YES
- Rep. Brad Christ, District 96 - YES
- Rep. David Casteel, District 97 - YES
- Rep. Jacklyn Zimmermann, District 98 - NO
- Rep. Phillip Oehlerking, District 100 - YES
- Rep. Ben Keathley, District 101 - YES
- Rep. Cecelie Williams, District 111 - YES
MOScholars is the program that funds vouchers for private schools, which are not held to the same accountability standards as public schools. We believe that public funds require public accountability. Last year, the state budgeted $50 million out of general revenue for the MOScholars program and this year, that amount was increased by $10 million. This was included in HB 2012. Here is how each legislator voted:
Senators: 23 YES / 11 NO
- Sen. David Gregory, District 15 - YES
- Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, District 22 - YES
- Sen. Tracy McCreery, District 24 - NO
- Sen. Ben Brown, District 26 - YES
Representatives: 90 YES / 54 NO / 7 PRESENT
- Rep. Holly Jones, District 88 - YES
- Rep. Brad Christ, District 96 - YES
- Rep. David Casteel, District 97 - YES
- Rep. Jacklyn Zimmermann, District 98 - NO
- Rep. Phillip Oehlerking, District 100 - YES
- Rep. Ben Keathley, District 101 - YES
- Rep. Cecelie Williams, District 111 - YES
Rockwood Legislative Priority #2: Dedicated State Programs to Meet the Needs of our Students and Communities
Our success depends greatly on public schools’ ability to meet the academic, 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:
- Combating teacher shortage by implementing the recommendations outlined by the Blue Ribbon Commission.
- Removing barriers to provide access to early childhood education programming by lowering the compulsory age from 7 to 4 years and increasing opportunities for all Missouri children.
HB 2776 was related to teacher certification to assist with the teacher shortage. It did not make it to the Senate. A number of other related bills were introduced but did not make it out of committee.
Rockwood Legislative Priority #3: 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 Students 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.
Governor Kehoe issued an executive order in the spring for DESE to establish an A-F grading system for districts and schools. This would be in addition to the already established MSIP 6 evaluation. HB 2710 passed the House but did not get a vote in the Senate. The bill outlined a framework for an accountability system that limited the number of districts and schools eligible for an A to the top 10 percent of all districts and schools in the state. Here is how our elected officials voted on HB 2710:
Representatives: 101 YES / 44 NO
- Rep. Holly Jones, District 88 - YES
- Rep. Brad Christ, District 96 - YES
- Rep. David Casteel, District 97 - YES
- Rep. Jacklyn Zimmermann, District 98 - NO
- Rep. Phillip Oehlerking, District 100 - YES
- Rep. Ben Keathley, District 101 - YES
- Rep. Cecelie Williams, District 111 - YES
Rockwood Legislative Priority #4: 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.
- Continued use of current residency requirements of enrollment to avoid the redistribution of local school district resources to other Missouri communities.
The primary statewide open enrollment bill was SB 971 sponsored by Curtis Trent. It was voted out of committee and put on the informal calendar, but it did not receive final passage. HB 2604 was introduced but not passed.
HB 2872 was a literacy bill that would have taken out of district and parents’ hands whether a student is retained or promoted at the end of third grade based on a one-time literacy test. This passed the House but did not get a vote in the Senate. This would have also been an unfunded mandate as those retained would be placed in a new course that currently does not exist. Here is how the House voted:
Representatives: 131 YES / 10 NO
- Rep. Holly Jones, District 88 - YES
- Rep. Brad Christ, District 96 - YES
- Rep. David Casteel, District 97 - YES
- Rep. Jacklyn Zimmermann, District 98 - ABSENT WITH LEAVE
- Rep. Phillip Oehlerking, District 100 - YES
- Rep. Ben Keathley, District 101 - YES
- Rep. Cecelie Williams, District 111 - YES
Also in line with local control, although it did not impact districts in St. Louis County, SB 1002 moved St. Charles County school board elections to the November general election. Terms will be four years and elections only in even-number years. The bill allows optional party affiliation designation for candidates and requires certain school tax/bond measures in these districts to be placed on November ballots. There were other bills (SB 839 and SB 1185) that were statewide and did not pass. Here is how each legislator voted on SB 1002:
Senators: 23 YES / 8 NO
- Sen. David Gregory, District 15 - YES
- Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, District 22 - ABSENT WITH LEAVE
- Sen. Tracy McCreery, District 24 - NO
- Sen. Ben Brown, District 26 - YES
Representatives: 83 YES / 64 NO
- Rep. Holly Jones, District 88 - YES
- Rep. Brad Christ, District 96 - YES
- Rep. David Casteel, District 97 - YES
- Rep. Jacklyn Zimmermann, District 98 - ABSENT WITH LEAVE
- Rep. Phillip Oehlerking, District 100 - YES
- Rep. Ben Keathley, District 101 - YES
- Rep. Cecelie Williams, District 111 - YES
