2021 Legislative Session: Wrap-up
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Missouri Private School Choice Only preK-12 Bill to Pass in 2021 Session
By: Stacey Preis, Ph.D.
Going into the 2021 legislative session, House Speaker Rob Vescovo and Senate Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden both listed education reform as a priority but soon found that a challenging hill to climb. “Education reform” proposals struggled to gain enough support to pass both chambers. Of the numerous bills that included tax credit scholarship programs, it was HB 349 (Christofanelli) that crossed the finish line in the final days of the legislative session after a very close vote in the House and a surprisingly brief 15-minute debate in the Senate.
School choice supporters celebrated the passage of HB 349, the “Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program” funded by donations which could be used to pay private school tuition. While that is the most talked about use for the scholarship, it can be used for many other educational expenses. Homeschooled students may also use the scholarship for eligible expenses. Currently, 19 other states have tax credit scholarship programs.
Traditional public school advocates fought hard against HB 349. While opponents were not successful in stopping the legislation, the bill includes several provisions that would help it gain broader support.
Only students who live in charter counties or cities of greater than 30,000 are eligible.
Students with individualized education plans or who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch receive priority.
School districts and charter schools receive a five-year financial cushion to account for the loss in revenue when students utilize the Empowerment Scholarship. This provision terminates five years from the effective date of the program.
Transportation aid to public schools must be appropriated at a minimum of 40 percent of the calculated full funding level. DESE responded to the fiscal note for HB 349 that it would take $278 million to fully fund transportation for FY22. The $113.9 million appropriated for FY22 is over the 40 percent threshold.
Questions of constitutionality in certain parts of HB 349 began to arise after the bill had passed both chambers. Specifically, HB 349 gave responsibilities to the State Treasurer’s Office for administering the scholarship program that appear to fall outside of the responsibilities given to the State Treasurer’s Office by the state constitution. To address these concerns, Representative Christofanelli offered an amendment to a different bill, SB 86, that would create a Missouri Empowerment Scholarships Accounts Board. In addition, the amendment lowered the cumulative amount of tax credits and limited the number of educational assistance organizations that could administer the scholarship program. The final amended version of SB 86 passed the House within the final few hours of the session.
Table c/o Kristi Donaldson, Ph.D.
Higher Education
HB 297 was the only higher education legislation to pass this year. The original bill allows Southeast Missouri State University to develop a statewide mission. Key amendments to the bill also
change to the Missouri Education Savings program to drop the word “savings” and broaden Missouri’s definition of 529 plans under federal tax code,
remove the tuition cap for public institutions, and
allow student athletes to be compensated for the use of the “student’s name, image, likeness rights, or athletic reputation.”
Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Budget Highlights
The FY22 DESE budget includes
nearly $270 million for the Office of Childhood, a newly created division of DESE
$597 million for DESE in supplementary federal COVID relief funds for FY21,
$689 million for DESE in federal COVID relief funds for FY22,
$3.56 billion for the K-12 foundation formula, an increase $8.5 million over last year, and
$113.9 million for school transportation, $20 million more than last year.
The FY22 Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) budget includes
$27 million in COVID relief funds,
a 3.7 percent increase for each of the public, four-year higher education institutions, and
a 9.25 percent increase for community colleges.
Close but Not Quite
Several education bills came very close to passing but did not quite reach the final step. Charter school funding equity, recording of IEP or Section 504 meetings, and alternative graduation pathways for high school students are a few of the bills that had strong momentum moving throughout the session and will likely be refiled next year.
Given that bills related to charter funding equity and expansion have emerged on a nearly annual basis, these will likely come up again in the future. The bills that did make it now await the Governor’s signature or veto.
