Missouri schools

The American Rescue Plan funds for students experiencing homelessness must be budgeted by September — so three legislative interns spent this session helping get the word out.

Missouri public schools enroll thousands of fewer students compared to before the pandemic, in part, because of a homeschooling boom and declining birth rates.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found little to no learning loss after switch to four-day school week.

Some public comments have accused the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of raising "snowflakes."

The Missouri State Board of Education agreed earlier this month that K-12 social-emotional-learning standards are an essential part of the school day. Now, its members are worried politicization of the phrase “social-emotional learning” may complicate the public comment period.

The four-day school week first became an option for Missouri schools 14 years ago. Now, more than 30% of the state’s districts have implemented shorter school weeks.

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Robin Ransom wrote, with five in concurrence, that the unexcused absences in the case violated state law.

The school districts want to use a new Missouri law to get out of the Missouri standardized tests and experiment with a different system.

Only 18 of Missouri’s 500-plus school districts have signed up for screening testing for COVID-19, even though the program is entirely free thanks to the federal government.

For years, the state's tourism industry pushed for a later first day of school. Now schools are asking to start sooner than Aug. 24 in case they have to close for COVID-19 again.