2021 Legislative Session: What to Watch For
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Preparing for the 2021 Missouri Legislative Session
By: Stacey Preis, Ph.D.
Every year in early December, pre-filing of bills for the coming legislative session begins. It is common to see bills not passed in previous sessions reemerge, and that is certainly the case this year with all that was left on the table when the pandemic hit in the spring. Coupled with the unfinished business, 11 senators and 55 representatives, making up 34 percent of the General Assembly, will be sworn in on January 6th.
Among the returning proposed legislation, HB 228 would allow parents or guardians to audio record any meeting held according to federal law under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) or Section 504. A similar bill was filed in the Senate (SB 134).
Also returning this year are bills modifying requirements for enrollment and oversight of virtual education (HB 243, SB 95), charter school funding addressing equity in local effort (HB 137, SB 218), expansion of Visiting Scholars alternative certification (included in HB 101), requirements for participation in activities sanctioned by high school activities associations (SB 54), tax credit scholarships (HB 349, SB 23, SB 30, SB 251), reading success plans (HB 312, HB 368, SB 54), seclusion and restraint policies (HB 119, HB 387) and capping of superintendent salaries at three and a half times the average teacher salary in a school district (HB 93, SB 260).
In addition, bills on competency-based education have been introduced in prior sessions, but the realities of schooling throughout the pandemic—in-person, virtual, and/or a hybrid model--have elevated the conversation calling for a different way of thinking about what is needed to demonstrate mastery of content. For the 2021 session, competency-based education is included in two pre-filed bills (SB 33, SB 35).
Legislation introduced for the first time this session addresses a shortage of qualified substitute teachers, an issue exacerbated by the pandemic. In October, the State Board of Education passed an emergency rule to relax requirements to qualify for a substitute teaching certificate. HB 237 would affirm in statute the revised requirements implemented by the State Board of Education and would expire in 2024. HB 106 modifies the current state requirements for a substitute teaching certificate to include demonstration of classroom competency and does not include a minimum number of postsecondary credit hours.
Four bills were pre-filed that would allow school districts to divide into subdistricts (HB 164, HB 207, HB 253, and HB 335). All four bills were sponsored by representatives from different parts of the state: central Missouri, Springfield, and two from St. Louis County. Similar legislation has been filed in 2019 and 2020, but no hearings were held.
Also included in pre-filed legislation are new or returning bills addressing health-related local policies for school districts and charter schools. The proposed legislation includes policies on accommodations for breastfeeding mothers (SB 76, HB 254), vaping (HB 62), suicide prevention (HB 304), bleeding control kits (HB 150), immunizations (HB 35, HB 37), health plans for students with epilepsy or seizure disorder (HB 187), and supplying feminine hygiene products (HB 225).
Finally, in 2014, legislation passed that allowed for school districts and charter schools with early childhood programs to count three- to five-year old children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL) toward the average daily attendance for state aid. State aid was capped at four percent of the district’s or charter school’s total number of students ages three to 18 who are eligible for FRL. SB 167 which has been pre-filed for the 2021 session incrementally increases the percentage of FRL-eligible three- to five-year old children from four percent to 10 percent by 2024-2025 academic year.
Hundreds of bills have already been filed for the 2021 session. While pandemic-related priorities still loom large, legislators have introduced numerous policy issues—some new, some returning—that will await an opportunity for consideration. See the complete list of 2021 pre-filed bills here:
