education

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri is calling on the state’s school districts to follow a national example and remove police officers from schools.

The ACLU has circulated a letter to nine school administrators so far, mostly in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, arguing the money spent on school resource officers, often referred to as SROs, should instead go to the social-emotional needs of children, such as by hiring more social workers and counselors.

A Springfield counselor is asking for donations to bring books by Black authors to classrooms across the state.

The University of Missouri College of Education has been told to step up its oversight of charter schools – or stop sponsoring them.

On Tuesday, Assistant Education Commissioner Chris Neale told the State Board of Education that while MU’s Office of Charter School Operations does a good job of vetting applications to open new schools, clear policies on site visits and school closures are needed.

“We look for a system, and we look for how those decisions actually end up being made,” Neale said. “We’d like to see better written documentation.”

Missouri education officials are warning school districts that even deeper cuts to K-12 education are likely as the state tries to offset coronavirus losses.

Last week Gov. Mike Parson announced he was withholding $131 million from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or 39% of the June payment to schools. On Tuesday, Deputy Education Commissioner Roger Dorson told state board members he expects additional cuts when the fiscal year resets July 1.