Missouri Senators, K-12 community work to navigate underperforming school problems
The coronavirus pandemic’s increased challenges in education have fueled the Missouri Legislature’s efforts this session to make school choice measures a priority. Debate about these bills have been very heated at times.
Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications
On Tuesday, the Missouri Senate Education Committee and representatives of the state’s K-12 public education world instead had a heart-to-heart about ways to address academic achievement levels within public schools. Their discussion centered around a legislative bill that could close some underperforming K-12 public schools in Missouri.
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, involves any public school performing within the bottom five percent of schools for more than three years over a five-year period. Districts would be required to close these schools and transfer students to a higher-performing on