Residency Requirement

Dozens of students at Hazelwood Southeast Middle School were handed disenrollment letters and shown the door at Hazelwood Southeast Middle School in recent weeks.

Since the 2018-19 school year, the Hazelwood School District has sharply increased its rate of investigating student residency eightfold, deploying a team of employees who can use intrusive tactics.

The city’s charter has required most full-time employees to live in the city since 1914. Voters rejected an effort to lift that requirement in 2020.

“St. Clair County is big enough,” Kern said while county sheriff deputies argue the requirement that officers live within the county makes it difficult for them to recruit new ones.

The city had required some full-time city employees to relocate inside city limits within 15 months of starting their job, but last month, the city council voted unanimously to relax residency requirements for nonunion and non-appointed city employees. Now they’re considering doing the same for mayor-appointed employees.

Proposition 1 would eliminate a residency requirement that’s been in the charter since 1914, although rules around employees living in the city have reportedly existed since the 19th century. If it gets the 60% needed, all employees except elected officials and high-level appointees such as cabinet members would be able to live where they want.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says new legislation lifting the residency requirement for St. Louis’ public safety workers will keep the city safer. The bill was one of two the Legislature approved during a special session on violent crime. It officially took effect Sept. 21, but Parson came to St. Louis for a ceremonial signing Thursday.

The Senate cut off debate around 3 a.m. Thursday to push through a bill allowing the attorney general to prosecute murder cases in St. Louis.

A Missouri Senate committee has advanced the tough-on-crime legislation lawmakers have been working on throughout the special legislative session.

Missouri Senate hears testimony from police and prosecutors in support of legislation to address violent crime.