The Missouri Alliance for Arts Education Legislative Watch Team meets weekly during the legislative session and carefully reviews legislation filed to determine the potential impact on arts education, arts educators and students of the arts. Find below the legislation under review within the current year.
Call to Action
The Budget now goes to the Senate for further action.
Please contact your Senator and ask for them to vote to increase the Missouri Arts Council’s budget by $1.9 million. The current core funding is $10.1 million.
The core budget amount is listed at $10.1M and this increase of $1.9M will bring the entire budget request for the Missouri Arts Council to $12 Million. This amount is still below the statutory allocation of 60% of revenue collected from the Athletes and Entertainers tax.
Please let your leaders know that an additional $1.9 Million for MAC is needed to serve Missouri communities.
Updated 4/4/25
Call to Action
The Budget now goes to the Senate for further action.
Please contact your Senator and ask for an increase for the Missouri Fine Arts Academy and the Missouri Scholars Academy of $150,000.00. Currently the core funding is $850,000. They need $1million in the budget to ensure no tuition will be charged to students attending the academies.
Contact your Senator here: Senator Missouri Senate | Missouri Senate
Updated 4/4/25
Bill #
click link for bill textSponsor
Description
MAAE Response
Sponsor
Pollitt
An open enrollment bill. HB 711 establishes transfer procedures to non-resident districts for students in public schools.
Below are Talking points that can be used in your Script.
House Bill 711: Open Enrollment for Public Schools
Please consider sending a message sharing your views. Some information to consider follows:
Revised 3/24/25
House Bill 711: Open Enrollment for Public Schools
Please consider sending a message to your Missouri state Senator sharing your views. Some information to consider follows. Feel free to select elements for your correspondence:
Missouri public schools educate all students, to ensure we have an informed populace to preserve democracy, and provide students the necessary skills to become productive members of society.
Ensuring all Missouri schools have the needed resources to serve their students will not only build up communities, and also will be more cost-effective economically, reducing costs and other issues related to transportation.
With transportation uncertainties, open enrollment disproportionately benefits families who can afford transportation, leaving lower-income students without real school choice.
Open enrollment destabilizes public schools, exacerbates inequities, and ultimately harms students in underfunded districts.
School operating costs do not decrease proportionally if students and funding leave the local district.
Unanticipated budget shortfalls leave struggling schools with fewer resources, forcing emergency budget cuts, and hurting remaining students.
Open enrollment will negatively impact
students who remain in their home district
students with special education needs due to selective enrollment
students and families of lower-socioeconomic backgrounds who lack resources or knowledge to navigate the transfer system
funding for essential school programs
schools by exacerbating socioeconomic segregation, with affluent students in certain schools and disadvantaged students in others
communities, causing fragmentation, destabilization, eroding tradition, local identity, reducing local civic engagement
district planning for staffing, facilities, and curriculum needs with rapid fluctuations in enrollment
Instead of withdrawing resources and shifting students, causing upheaval and greater instability, efforts should focus on equitable funding, community investment, targeted interventions to improve struggling schools and working in partnership to strengthen all public schools.
Link to MAAE Contact info for MO Senators
Updated 3/24/25
MAAE has concerns
Please respond to the
Senate Education Committee.
Sample Script below
Dear Senator X:
I am a taxpayer and voter in Missouri. I hope you will consider looking closer at open enrollment.
Use any of the points in the dropdown to the left to include in your letter to personalize your message.
Sincerely,
X
Authorizes Clay County to establish a county sports complex authority for the purpose of developing, maintaining, or maintaining sports, convention, exhibition, or trade facilities. Additionally, the bill establishes a Convention and Sports Complex Fund, which are separate from the general funds of the county.
MAAE is advocating to keep the sports teams in Missouri so we can collect more funds through the non-resident professional athlete and entertainers’ tax (A&E).
Sponsor
Hough
Carter
This act authorizes income tax deductions for educators and first responders.
For all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, this act authorizes a tax deduction in the amount of 100% of unreimbursed educator expenses incurred by an eligible educator, not to exceed $500.
MAAE supports this bill. Information below.
SB 12 - language was amended onto SB59 - Senate added an amendment to SB59 about the first responders and teachers $500 credit.
Sponsor
Brattin
Amends the Constitution to assert the right of parents to participate in and direct the education of their children free from government interference
Dear ___________:
I am a taxpayer and voter from your district. It has come to our attention that the committee will soon be considering Senate Joint Resolution 6 which includes a provision that eliminates any requirement to align local curriculum to statewide learning standards or academic performance standards which define the knowledge, skills and competencies students must achieve. The impact of this action concerns me for Missouri school districts.
Parents already have the right to be involved in their child’s education. The “Due Process” clause of the 14th amendment to The U.S. Constitution protects the parents’ fundamental right to direct the care, upbringing and education of their children. I have always supported the involvement of parents in their child’s education.
Federal legislation (Every Child Succeeds Act)
explicitly requires states to adopt challenging academic standards in math, reading and science, essentially mandating a standards-based education system, where all students are expected to meet learning
expectations set by their state.
The Missouri Show-Me Standards incorporate six
major content areas: Communication Arts,
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, and Health/Physical Education. These were approved by
the State Board of Education and set in place by the Missouri legislature.
Each local education agency develops a local curriculum to meet these standards.
Standards guide instruction, measure achievement, and help set clear goals for student learning and guarantee
a quality education. If standards are no longer considered, we fear that each student’s arts education experience will be compromised, and as a consequence, Missouri will become less able to meet the demands for a qualified workforce, which could have a negative impact on Missouri’s economic stability.
In a climate concerned with teacher retention, teacher’s professional learning and student performance, eliminating academic performance standards will have a negative effect.
I urge the members of the Senate Education Committee to consider the effects of the proposed constitutional amendment on Missouri’s students, families and economy.
Sincerely,
Sponsor
This act authorizes income tax deductions for educators and first responders.
For all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, this act authorizes a tax deduction in the amount of 100% of unreimbursed educator expenses incurred by an eligible educator, not to exceed $500.
MAAE
Other bills we are monitoring include
