Missouri lawmakers are considering expanding the state’s private school voucher program with proposals to open eligibility and remove demands on private schools who accept voucher funds.
But the program, which has spent a majority of the $50 million it received in state funding this fiscal year, may lack room to grow with Gov. Mike Kehoe proposing only a small bump for MOScholars alongside a cut of $600 million from the state budget.
MOScholars uses state money, funded directly in the state budget and indirectly through tax-credit donations, to subsidize K-12 education outside a student’s local public school. The program is largely used to fund private, religious education. But some homeschool families use the funds to buy supplies, and a couple students have used the funds to enroll in neighboring public schools.
The program is in its fourth year and provides scholarships to over 6,000 students, thanks in large part to an infusion of $50 million of general revenue last year.
State Treasurer Vivek Malek, whose office oversees MOScholars, wants to keep the momentum going this upcoming fiscal year. His office asked for $100 million in its budget request for the program, seeking to provide funding for 13,000 students next school year.
Kehoe, who lauded the program’s success in his State of the State speech Tuesday, budgeted $60 million in state funds to MOScholars.
“This program is working,” he said, “and Missouri families are counting on it.”
Malek’s office has already spent nearly $40 million on scholarships this fiscal year, according to the Missouri Accountability Portal. Most students with MOScholars funding return the next year, so without funding above and beyond last year’s appropriation, the program will not be able to offer scholarships to many new students.
Despite this funding challenge, the Senate Education Committee appears poised to prioritize MOScholars' expansion.
State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville, chairs the committee and has spoken in strong support of MOScholars. His children attend Summit Christian Academy, a school that received $727,000 from the program in its first three years.
Among the first bills Brattin selected for a hearing Tuesday was a proposal by state Sen. Brad Hudson, a Republican from Cape Fair, to open eligibility to students already enrolled in private schools.
In the bill’s fiscal note, the treasurer’s office warns the legislation would “significantly increase the amount of funding needed for the program.”
Currently, eligibility for MOScholars is multi-pronged.
Students with an individualized education plan, which public schools administer to students with disabilities requiring accommodations, can apply without restrictions on family income. Students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch are eligible as long as they have attended public school for at least one semester in the past year or are entering kindergarten or first grade. Siblings of MOScholars recipients are also eligible.
Heather Smith, a mother from Cass County, told the committee the expansion would help families like hers. She told them about her son, who struggled in the local public school but “thrived” with the smaller classroom size at Summit Christian Academy.
“The financial strain has been absolutely crushing to our family,” she said.
This school year, her family couldn’t afford the private school tuition. But since her son has been out of public school for over a year, he doesn’t qualify for MOScholars.
“(School) should absolutely be a parent’s choice,” Smith said. “And that choice should not bring a family so far underwater financially that there is little to no way out.”
The bill also seeks to expand eligibility to students with disabilities diagnosed by a medical provider, but it does not define disability nor specify what types of conditions would be covered.
In addition to expanding program eligibility, Hudson’s bill would require judges to allow organizations representing parents to intervene in cases challenging the MOScholars statute. Currently, EdChoice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for school vouchers and similar programs, is an intervener in a case challenging the state’s use of general revenue to fund MOScholars.
Hudson’s bill also seeks to bar administrative rules that would place requirements on schools accepting MOScholars students.
The Missouri House is not set to move MOScholars bills early in the legislative session, with its education committee concentrating on matters affecting public schools.
Moberly Republican state Rep. Ed Lewis, the committee chairman and a former public school teacher, said in the committee’s first meeting Wednesday that he is focusing on teacher certification and retention, literacy, and transparency and accountability in public education.
The committee will consider bills outside of these topics, he said, adding: “We want to make sure that we focus on those things this session to try to move education in Missouri forward.”
Some bills seek to rein in MOScholars, adding requirements for private schools to be eligible to receive program funds.
A bill filed by state Sen. Barbara Washington, a Democrat from Kansas City, would require charter schools and private schools accepting MOScholars funds to follow accreditation and accountability measures set by the state, among other requirements.
Similarly, a bill by state Rep. Mark Boyko, a Democrat from Kirkwood, private schools with MOScholars students would be required to follow safety requirements, like teaching CPR in high schools and screening for dyslexia.
“If a school is being supported with state dollars, then I think it’s important that the state takes responsibility for the safety of those students, just like they would a public school student,” Boyko told The Independent.
He filed the bill last year, but it did not get a hearing. If MOScholars' legislation makes it to the full House, Boyko said, he is open to adding his legislation as an amendment.
This story was originally published by The Missouri Independent.
