An education bill that is currently pending in the state Senate would allow Missouri cities with populations in excess of 30,000 to open charter schools. Currently, charter schools are limited to St. Louis and Kansas City, according to media reports.
Senate Bill 55 was introduced by Senator Cindy O’Laughlin (R-18th District).
“Both chambers are overwhelmingly Republican,” said Ross Lien of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce. “They support school choice and the opportunities for parents and students to have more options in terms of what schools their kids go to depending on the specific needs that they have.”
Critics, such as Missouri National Education Association President Phil Murray, have expressed concern that, if approved, SB 55 would take funds away from public schools.
“Democrats are the biggest opposition but there are some Republicans as well that have concerns about taking money away from public schools, especially in some of the rural areas that have good public schools,” Lien told the St. Louis Record. “Springfield is an area that comes to mind. They have really good schools and some of their folks are concerned about money leaving their schools for that reason.”
Although there is opposition, Lien said the bill could pass into law this year.
A companion bill in the House (HB 349) would allow educational savings accounts under the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program introduced by Representative Phil Christofanelli (R-St. Charles)
“It’s another school choice education bill that we think is probably going to be a vehicle in the Senate because it's already passed the House so I think that the Senate is going to take it up in the next couple of weeks to see if they can get something done,” Lien said.
If approved, taxpayers would be empowered to claim a 50% credit on their tax return if they contributed to such a program, according to media reports.
“It expands educational savings accounts so that if parents choose to homeschool their kids, send them to a charter school or a private school, they would have some control over that money and how that is spent instead of all the money going directly to the public schools for that student's education,” Lien said.