“School choice,” the umbrella term for governmental support of education options outside traditional public schools, is once again a major topic in the Missouri General Assembly. 

Some Republican lawmakers want to see charter schools operating in more parts of the state, tax credits for families who turn to private school or home schooling, and the ability to transfer to a different public school district without changing your address. 

Advocates often say those options help families escape subpar school districts or offer an alternative that’s a better fit for their needs or values. 

Opponents generally worry they’ll drain money from public school districts and make them less efficient, to the benefit of education options with less government oversight — including religious schools. 

Ahead of this session’s launch Jan. 8, legislators filed more than 20 bills seeking to modify how the state handles “school choice.” Some want to roll it back or slow its growth while others want it to expand. 

Before the governor could sign them into law, the proposals would have to make it through a series of legislative approvals. There’s no guarantee that any of these bills will receive an initial hearing, much less be discussed and approved by the full House and Senate.

Legislation can also be amended, sometimes dramatically, at several stages in the process.

If you want to weigh in on which of these bills should advance or how they should change, contact your representatives or refer to this guide to navigating the General Assembly.

Charter schools

Missouri charter schools are publicly funded and free to attend, but they aren’t part of the local school district, aren’t accredited by the state and aren’t subject to all of the same regulations as traditional public schools. 

With a few exceptions, such as charters sponsored by the local district, Missouri has historically allowed them only within the boundaries of Kansas City Public Schools and St. Louis Public Schools. State law recently changed to also allow them in Boone County, home of Columbia. 

Some lawmakers want to see more restrictions on charter schools, while others want them to expand. 

On the side of restrictions, Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia, filed House Bills 297 and 298. The proposals would, respectively, require voter approval for each charter school seeking to open in Boone County or entirely reverse the law allowing them to operate there. 

The senator from Boone County, Democrat Stephen Webber, also filed a proposal to undo charter school expansion to Boone County — Senate Bill 88.

Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat from the Kansas City area, wants to raise the bar for opening new charter schools statewide. Her Senate Bill 177 would require the State Board of Education to issue a “certificate of need” before a school could open. 

The local school district, city or county would have to apply for a certificate of need, affirming that there is demand for more education options and that the charter school could succeed without harming the school district. 

The proposal wouldn’t prevent existing charter schools from renewing their contracts or changing to new sponsors. 

House Bill 405, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Doug Clemens of St. Ann, goes further, only allowing charter schools that are sponsored by local school districts. 

Charter schools sponsored by school districts are already allowed statewide, but haven’t cropped up outside of areas where charters can be sponsored by other entities. 

Traditionally, school districts have been reluctant to sponsor charter schools because they can compete with district schools for students and resources. That’s changed somewhat in Kansas City, where the district currently sponsors three charter schools that originally opened with different sponsors.

On the flip side, some Republican lawmakers are instead seeking to expand charter schools. 

House Bill 498 would allow them in St. Louis County. It’s sponsored by Republican Rep. Brad Christ, who’s from the county. 

Other proposals would allow them in a handful of counties in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas — including Jackson and Clay — and any cities with at least 30,000 residents. 

They include House Bill 447, sponsored by Republican Rep. Michael O’Donnell of St. Louis County, and Senate Bill 398, sponsored by Republican Sen. Ben Brown, who represents four counties in east-central Missouri and a sliver of St. Louis County.

Affording private school and home schooling 

A Missouri program called MOScholars uses tax credits to encourage people to donate to scholarship funds for private schools. The state sets some terms of the scholarship and determines who is eligible. 

This year, several bills seek to make that program more flexible while others would create tax credits that directly reimburse families for education expenses. 

Currently, MOScholars is available to kids who have special education needs or who meet income requirements and either recently attended public schools or are starting first grade or kindergarten. The rules meant that some children who were already attending private school couldn’t use the program. 

House Bill 519 would remove those stipulations, allowing any child to be eligible for a scholarship if they either have an individualized education program for special education needs or meet income requirements. It’s sponsored by Republican Rep. Mark Matthiesen of O’Fallon. 

Republican Rep. Josh Hurlbert of Smithville is sponsoring House Bill 568, which allows MOScholars donors to carry their tax credit back to their previous tax year. 

Hurlbert’s LinkedIn lists him as a part-time scholarship coordinator for the Herzog Tomorrow Foundation, one of the faith-based organizations the state authorized to collect tax-credit eligible donations and administer the scholarships. 

A House bill and two Senate bills would directly offer parents a tax credit that they can use for private school or home-schooling expenses such as tuition, fees, textbooks and materials. The tax credit would be refundable but couldn’t exceed the target the state sets to spend on each public school student. 

The proposals are:

• House Bill 77, sponsored by Republican Rep. Cathy Jo Loy of Carthage. 
• Senate Bill 53, sponsored by Republican Sen. Nick Schroer of St. Charles County. 
• Senate Bill 195, sponsored by Republican Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville. 

Public school open enrollment

Students are assigned to public school districts — and usually to specific schools — based on their address. But some lawmakers want to make it easier for students to transfer to other school districts without having to live there. 

Details of the proposals vary, but they all give districts some power to determine how many students they’re able to accept. Some also let districts restrict how many students leave each year. They also put limits on how quickly students can participate in sports after they transfer and when districts have to provide transportation. 

A similar program launched in Kansas this school year, but local districts didn’t see many students participate in the program. 

Rep. Brad Pollitt’s House Bill 711 says districts can decide whether they want to accept transfer students. Pollitt, a Republican from Sedalia, also included in his bill that districts can restrict the number of students who transfer out under the program each year to 3% of their total enrollment. 

Schools can reject students based on lack of space or a history of suspension or expulsion, but can’t turn them away based on academic or athletic ability, disabilities, English proficiency or protected characteristics like sex, race and religion. 

Senate Bill 70, sponsored by Sen. David Gregory, a Republican from St. Louis County, also allows districts to decide whether they’ll accept nonresident students. But it only allows schools to restrict outgoing students to 5% of their total enrollment during the first two years the program is in effect. 

Senate Bill 215, sponsored by Republican Sen. Curtis Trent from southwestern Missouri, allows districts to determine how many seats they have available. But it makes the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education responsible for assigning transfer students and deciding to which other districts each sending district is required to provide transportation. 

Home schooling

House Bill 31 would raise the bar for when the local prosecutor can check up on home-schooling families. The proposal filed by Republican Rep. Bishop Davidson of Republic doesn’t change the records those families are required to keep, but says the prosecutor needs probable cause to review them. 

It also deletes a paragraph that says families can report to the local school district or recorder of deeds that they’re home schooling to avoid unneeded truancy investigations. 

In the Senate, a proposal from Brown removes that reporting option as well. Senate Bill 63 also makes it easier for home-schooled and virtual school students to participate in public school activities without being required to enroll in a minimum number of classes. 

Schools can still require students to attend practice, rehearsals and instruction that is directly related to participation in the activity.