2023 Missouri Legislative Session Preview

New Faces In Education, Many Recurring Proposals In Legislation

By: Stacey Preis, Ph.D.

Missouri’s 2023 legislative session kicks off in just a few short weeks and the landscape will be shifting. Several new members will be sworn into the General Assembly, and the Senate Education Committee and House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee will both get new chairs. Senator Cindy O’Laughlin was elected Majority Floor Leader in November, and Representative Chuck Basye reached the end of his term limit. Which bills are heard in committee and voted out will be at the discretion of their successors. Pre-filing of legislation began on December 1st with an introduction of education bills covering a wide range of issues.

Earlier this year, the State Board of Education’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Teacher Recruitment and Retention hosted a series of meetings culminating in a final set of recommendations. As many schools continue to struggle to fill positions—full-time and substitutes--teacher recruitment and retention is an issue that is relatable to nearly every legislator.

Two bills—HB 189 and SB 19—would establish minimum starting salaries for teachers. Last session, the legislature supported a minimum salary increase to $38,000 as part of the current budget, but it was not codified in statute. HB 189 begins at $34,000 as the minimum salary for teachers with a bachelor’s degree and increases incrementally over five years. Future increases in starting salaries would be adjusted for inflation following the final year of the phase in. SB 19 begins with $38,000 as the starting point for teachers with a bachelor’s degree.

Other bills filed to support teacher recruitment and retention include differentiated salaries (HB 190), income tax deductions (HB 191), student loan forgiveness (SB 107), and changes to teacher retirement that would give them flexibility to continue limited teaching (HB 257).

Several pre-filed bills propose ways of expanding school choice. Modifications to the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship parameters are outlined in HB 242, HB 243, HB 245, HB 332, and HB 350. Charter school expansion is proposed in HB 158, and open enrollment is reintroduced in HB 253. SB 255 establishes education saving accounts, and SB 81 and SB 226 offer tax credits to parents to cover education costs.

Ideas for expansion of early childhood education opportunities include statewide and local solutions. HB 118 and SB 18 would modify the current calculation for early childhood education within the funding formula. HB 373 allows Greene County to seek voter approval for a sales tax increase to support early childhood education.

Several bills either mandate or prohibit certain subjects within K-12 curriculum. New curricular requirements would include Native American and African American history (HB 66 and SB 273) and observation of Black History Month (HB 112). Required instruction in cursive writing (HB 232) has been filed again this year. Other pre-filed legislation would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish developmental milestones for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (HB 106 and SB 340) and to develop a patriotic and civics training program for teachers (SB 137).

Proposed prohibitive legislation would limit certain classroom instruction on topics of sexual and gender identity (HB 75 and HB 165) and the 1619 Project (SB 42) or allow parents to opt out of classroom content that addresses gender identity and sexual orientation (HB 137).

The state budget will be central to much of the activity in the legislature as the state continues spending of federal ARPA funds. In addition, the State consensus revenue estimate for general revenue is $13.2 billion for fiscal year 2024, a 0.7 percent estimated increase over the current fiscal year. A robust projected revenue will likely mean the proposing of new budget line items, increases to existing programs, or both.

Throughout the session, follow House bills and Senate bills on their respective websites.

*This information is current as of December 9, 2022.