Options and support for education

Hey y'all! Another week has come and gone and it has been a whirlwind of legislative activity. In addition to the continuing process of committee hearings and meeting with colleagues to work out the details of proposed legislation, activity on the Senate floor is picking up steam. Last week we passed a huge bill regarding education in Missouri. I say huge referring to both its impact and its literal size.

I've heard it said that education could be a silver bullet. A starting point to address so many of our society's issues. However, I can't begin to fathom that being the case when I continue to see so many schools struggling to improve their results, or in the worst of cases even keep their doors open. That is why it is apparent to me we cannot simply keep the status quo in regard to how we approach education in our state. I believe we should look at all the options out there and let families and communities decide what will work best for them.

That is why I was proud to support Senate Bill 727. This legislation addresses a number of issues that have been facing our districts and parents for years, starting with opening up more opportunities for parents to decide what kind of education they want their kids to have. The bill increases the amount of funding dedicated to the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) Program, which makes sure that funding for students follows the child through whatever education method a parent chooses through tax credits. If passed, SB 727 would increase the funding in this program from $50 million to $75 million, creating more opportunities for parents to have more choices. Always a good thing, in my opinion.

The bill also changes the minimum wage for teachers in Missouri in our statutes. Teacher pay will increase from $25,000 to $40,000, and from $33,000 to, ultimately over several years of increases, $48,000 for teachers with a master's degree and at least 10 years of experience. It has been simply shocking the number of teachers I see leaving that profession. This change, along with several other provisions and funding mechanisms to improve teacher recruitment and retention, will refocus educational funding on keeping the great teachers we already have and start bringing up the future educators of tomorrow.

Among other provisions included in SB 727 are efforts to help with students' mental health struggles, doubling the allotment of students allowed to be included in a district or charter school's daily attendance counts, establishing an "Elementary Literacy Fund," allowing districts in Boone County to operate charter schools and allowing options for districts that want to have four-day school weeks while incentivizing a standard of five-day weeks.

As I said, there are many different parts of this legislation, and I don't agree with all of it. I don't know if anyone in the Senate likes all of it, but sometimes that's how you know it is good legislation. A lot of time, debate and negotiation went into making this bill a reality, and it was all done with a focus on opening the door for positive change at a time when our current and future students desperately need more options and our teachers desperately need more support.

One other event I want to briefly touch on is the spotlight we were able to shine on Missouri's child marriage problem. I was joined by colleagues from across the aisle and across the building, in addition to advocates and survivors of this horrible practice at a press conference to discuss Senate Bill 767. You can watch the entire press conference at youtu.be/PJiY4fNU8qM. I am hopeful the coverage from this even will help us keep this bill moving and get it to the governor's desk by the end of session.

Holly Thompson Rehder (R-Scott City) represents District 129 in the Missouri Senate.