Charter Schools

An original version of the bill would have taken funding from St. Louis Public Schools, but lawmakers found a compromise that pleased education leaders in St. Louis.

A previous version of the legislation would have taken money away from public school districts to make up for a disparity in funding for public charter schools. Now, the state would handle that responsibility.

Unlike the House version, the Senate substitute uses state money to fund charter schools. The bill now goes back to the House, where it would need to pass to reach the governor.

According to a fiscal analysis, the changes to charter school funding would initially cost the state an additional $62 million.

The Leadership School will will open in north St. Louis County this August with about 120 students in kindergarten through second grade and plans to have 450 students through the eighth grade in six years. Elected officials in the Normandy area worry that the charter school will take students and funding from public schools.

With fewer Republican lawmakers in the legislature who have previously supported school choice measures, compromises were made to secure the bills’ passage

Education advocates are hoping for a focus on schools in the 2022 legislative session.

Missouri’s first all-girls public high school opened six years ago. After ups and downs, eight seniors received Hawthorn’s first diplomas.

The Opportunity Trust says it wants to improve public education in St. Louis. But its doubters say it has bigger plans it’s not being transparent about.

After an active first few months of the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers are returning Monday to Jefferson City after a weeklong spring break with several priorities on the agenda of the Republican supermajority.