Legislative Update, February 14, 2025

“I will praise You in the great assembly.
    I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship You.
The poor will eat and be satisfied.
    All who seek the Lord will praise Him.
    Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to Him.
    All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
For royal power belongs to the Lord.
    He rules all the nations.” Psalm 22:25-28

*Members of the Missouri Homeschool Alliance Board of Directors are not lawyers. This update is for information purposes only.

These are the developments we are following this week in Jefferson City. 

Last week, we had a little bit of a reprieve, as all of the bills that we have been watching related to homeschool freedom made no significant progress through committee. We found ourselves with nothing new to report, however, this does not mean that work was not happening behind the scenes. Your MHA board members have been in contact with the sponsors of legislation that we are watching, as well as working with HSLDA in order to craft our position on upcoming bills. This coming week, we will be seeing some of these bills start to be heard in committee.

Hearings this coming week: 

The Senate Education Committee will be meeting on February 18, 2025 at 8 am in the Senate Lounge to hear the following bills of interest to Missouri homeschoolers:

SB53, sponsored by Senator Nick Schroer. This bill has some serious issues that cause us to be concerned, and as a result, MHA will testify OPPOSED to this bill. Firstly, SB53 defines FPE School as homeschool and lumps us together with state-funded FPE students.  SB53 gives a refundable tax credit for homeschoolers, FPE, and private schoolers for the following expenses: Tuition and fees, textbooks. Educational therapies, Tutoring, Curriculum, Fees for standardized tests, individual classes and extracurriculars at public school, computers, summer education programs and after school programs, transportation costs. This credit is “refundable”, meaning that it will give parents a tax credit for more than the amount that they have paid in State taxes. Parents who choose to take this tax credit would be required to submit a certification from the public school district where they reside that they did not enroll their student in public school. This is backdoor registration. As you know, Missouri does not require any registration or reporting related to homeschool students, but by taking this tax credit, parents would be  de-facto placing their child on a list of homeschoolers. Furthermore, this bill leaves the Department of Revenue in charge of setting the rules for how this is all implemented. MHA is OPPOSED to tax credits for homeschoolers.

SB195, sponsored by Senator Rick Brattin will also be heard on Tuesday. This bill is also problematic and MHA will testify as OPPOSED to this bill. SB195 is substatially similar to SB53 in that it proposes a refundable tax credit for educational expenses as listed above. The main difference between SB195 and SB53 is that SB195 does not specify that a parent must submit a certification from the school district. Even so, the dept of revenue will write the rules for implementation. This bill is also significantly similar to a bill we are watching in the House, HB77. MHA is OPPOSED to tax credits for homeschooling.

The third piece of legislation that will be heard on Tuesday is SJR6. SJR6 is a proposed Constitutional amendment carried by Senator Rick Brattin. MHA will be testifying FOR INFORMATION ONLY on SJR6. This amendment, if passed, would amend the State Constitution to assert the right of parents to participate in and direct the education of their children free from government interference.  While we are generally in favor of lower regulation for Missouri homeschool families, the language seeks to include an option for homeschool families to receive funding and/or tax credits related to their status as homeschoolers. We continue to be OPPOSED to any sort of government funding of homeschooling, and therefore cannot fully support this legislation. It is also unclear at this time how this would affect our current Missouri homeschool statute.

At this time, MHA is asking our members to take action related to SB53 and SB195.

If you agree with MHA’s stance against tax credits and funding for homeschooling, please consider taking the following actions:
1. Contact the members of the Senate Education Committee. You may contact via email or telephone. Please be concise , kind, and firm in expressing your opposition for any sort of government funding for homeschooling.

2. Written testimony may be submitted online by using the form found here. The Senate Witness Registration is the quick and simple way to register and submit testimony for an upcoming Senate Committee hearing.
You can then use your profile to register to testify for upcoming committee hearings. Please note that only individuals or organizations testifying in person will be entered into the committee minutes. Supporting information and/or documentation should be submitted directly to the committee members, ideally via email.

3. Consider attending the hearing to testify in person. Our Legislature actively seeks input from Missouri citizens on any pending legislation, and time is given in the hearing for you to address the committee members and make your opinion heard. Testimony may be given in support, in opposition or for information purposes only. Note that this hearing begins very early in the morning. You will need to plan to arrive in time to park, walk into the building, and find the Senate Lounge. Also be aware that there is some snow in the forecast for Monday into Tuesday, but at this time, the hearing is scheduled to continue as normal. We will do our best to communicate if we hear of any last minute changes or cancellations.

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee meets on Wednesday. As of this writing, there are no homeschool-related bills set to be heard in the House Education committee this coming week. We will update you if this should change.

Also In Committee:

SB63, sponsored by Senator Ben Brown has had its formal hearing, but as of this point, no committee vote has been taken. This bill seeks to establish provisions related to participation of certain students in non-traditional educational settings—in other words, it would allow homeschooled students and virtual public school students to participate in events and activities offered by the public school district in which they live without needing to enroll in public school. This bill seeks to make requirements for participation in public school activities fair across the state. Understand that if your student chooses to participate in sports or activities in the public school, you will be subject to whatever requirements the district places upon their enrolled students. This bill also seeks to remove from statute the optional declaration of enrollment for homeschoolers. MHA is NEUTRAL this bill. While we don’t see anything that is glaringly dangerous to homeschool freedom in this bill as it now stands, we are not willing to endorse or come out in favor of any bill as experience has shown us that even a small one or two page bill could easily blow up to 400+ pages of regulation by the time it reaches the Governor’s desk. In such a case, we have historically come out against such mammoth bills, but time will tell if this bill is passed out of committee and moves through the legislature.

HB1082, sponsored by Representative Ben Baker has been assigned to the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education. It has not been assigned a hearing date at this time. This bill seeks to amend our homeschool statute RsMO 167.012 and says that we cannot be background checked as a condition to receiving funds. This  same wording is included  in his amendment of the FPE Schools statute, RsMO 167.013. MHA is seeking more information on this bill. 

SB24, sponsored by Senator Rick Brattin has been referred to the Senate Education Committee. SB24 requires MO Scholars recipients to be funded by the state if the MO Scholars program isn't fully funded by donations. It requires school districts to reimburse the Educational Assistance Organization who distributes funds for the difference. This is now definitely state money funding the ESA. MHA is OPPOSED to expansion of the MoScholars program.

Watching:

The following bills haven't gone to committee yet, but we're watching them. As these bills have not yet been assigned to a committee, no call to action is being given, however if you feel strongly about any of the bills after reading them, feel free to contact the bill sponsor and politely express your thoughts or concerns.

HB1015, sponsored by Representative Melissa Douglas has had 2nd reading on the floor, but has not yet moved forward to a committee. This bill seeks to modify the compulsory age to 5, but exempts homeschool and FPE school. There is some question about the language in this bill as it appears to not allow a child to be unenrolled/excused from attendance at parent's request. We have questions about how this may require students to homeschool starting at age 5, if that is the district's compulsory age of attendance. MHA is OPPOSED to changes in the compulsory age. . 

HB77, sponsored by Representative Cathy Jo Loy has also had a 2nd read on the floor but is not yet assigned to committee. This bill is called the “Missouri Parental Choice Tax Credit Act”.  It seeks to establish a refundable tax credit, but it appears that public schooled and FPE students are excluded. As it reads this appears to primarily target only homeschoolers? This is backdoor registration and we are watching it closely. This bill is significantly similar to SB53 and SB195.  MHA is OPPOSED to tax credits for homeschooling.

HB1109, sponsored by Representative Scott Cupps has been introduced on the floor and had a 2nd read but is not yet assigned to committee. This bill intends to add probable cause for a prosecuting attorney to see our homeschool records, and deletes the optional declaration of enrollment in RsMO167.042. This bill is titled as a “homeschool protection” bill. We are watching this.

If you believe in the mission of Missouri Homeschool Alliance and wish to support our work in the State Capitol, please consider joining us as a paid member. Your dues of just $5/month help to ensure that we are able to continue our fight to secure parent-led, privately funded homeschooling remains strong in Missouri.