Tessa Weinberg

In total, 25 school districts onboarded and 119 schools participated in the testing program, a small fraction of the schools across the state.

The Department of Mental Health has continued to grapple with steep vacancies among staff, causing access to care across its state-run mental health facilities to decline as wings are shut down.

State officials declared the backlog of Medicaid applications "no more" and expressed optimism they would meet a federal deadline set for the end of the month. The state's processing time had grown to 115 days, far longer than allowed under law.

The attorney general is suing St. Louis over its plan to use federal funds to support abortion access. But after the case was moved to federal court, reproductive rights groups worry that a ruling could further curtail abortion access for the entire region.

Missouri’s average starting teacher salary ranks as one of the lowest in the nation. Educators recounted that new and veteran teachers often have to find second jobs to make ends meet.

A multi-year report on maternal mortality in Missouri found that women on Medicaid are eight times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than those with private health insurance. Black women were three times more likely to die than white women.

Lawmakers argued the change was needed to ensure donors can maintain privacy while giving to causes they believe in.

One doctor worried the ambiguity could leave physicians ‘looking over our shoulders wondering if a patient is in enough of a crisis to permit an exception to a law.’

The clarification comes after a Kansas City hospital system said it would not provide emergency contraception in the wake of Missouri’s trigger ban on abortions.

The Missouri State Board of Education’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission's inaugural meeting was initially not going to be open to members of the public.

Eric Schmitt’s investigation appears to stem from a request his office received from a Georgia-based conservative nonprofit, which has recently turned its focus to Missouri schools. Mehlville and Webster Groves are among the school districts facing subpoenas.

Under the newly signed Missouri bill, “lawfully” dispensing or prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine cannot be the basis for disciplinary action.