In this brief, we utilize statewide school-level data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) from 2016-2020 to examine free and reduced-price school meal programs.

In this brief, I describe the take-up of early childhood education funding from Missouri House Bill 1689. While public pre-K enrollment expanded in Missouri prior to the pandemic, many school districts have not leveraged this newly available state funding to support pre-K growth

In this brief, we discuss the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic recession, as well as how federal fiscal aid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped mitigate similar budget cuts following the Great Recession. We note that districts with varying local wealth experienced heterogeneous school funding recoveries and discuss other policy implications in education.

In this policy brief, we describe the results of the recent SLU/YouGov Poll and respondents’ opinions on school finance and teacher salaries in light of the COVID-induced recession.

(REVISED 8/29/2019) In this policy brief, we examine how the state of Missouri funds charter schools in St. Louis city and Kansas City