Republican legislators are set to push for further expansion of charter schools around Missouri when the General Assembly reconvenes this month.
Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing for more local control in counties where charters already operate, along with rolling back an expansion into Boone County that passed earlier this year.
Identical bills filed , a Washington Republican, and , a Republican from St. Louis, seek to authorize charter schools in the state鈥檚 five charter counties and in municipalities with at least 30,000 residents.
Iterations of the bill have been filed since 2022. O鈥橠onnell prefiled the legislation last legislative session but did not receive a hearing.
With some exceptions, charter schools are only allowed to operate in Kansas City, St. Louis and Boone County.
Bills authorizing specific counties to establish charter schools had more traction. Rep. Brad Christ, a St. Louis Republican, got seeking to authorize charter schools in St. Louis County through committee early in the 2024 legislative session and has refiled the bill this year.
He believes legislation providing alternatives to traditional public schools will gain more traction under the leadership of Gov.-elect Mike Kehoe, who has for charter schools and K-12 tax-credit scholarships.
鈥淭here will be much more coordination between the governor鈥檚 office and both bodies than in the past,鈥� Christ told The Independent.
Residents in his district have asked for more publicly-funded schooling options for various reasons. The schools in his district have a good reputation, so Christ doesn鈥檛 anticipate a large exodus from the public districts.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think charter schools will be popping up overnight all over St Louis County if this passes,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut in areas where there鈥檚 a need and where there鈥檚 a demand, I think it will provide options for families, whether that be academic, personal, social, religious or whatever it might be.鈥�
He鈥檚 open to his bill amending a larger education package. Last year, his bill was tacked onto proposals to expand charters into St. Charles and Boone County.
Ultimately, only the Boone County legislation survived a tumultuous 2024 legislative session, with former Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden of Columbia pushing for his county to be a new home for charter schools.
Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Democrat from Columbia, is hoping to reverse the decision with a that would remove the authorization from state law and, secondly, call for a vote in Boone County to let voters decide if charters are welcome.
鈥淯ltimately, it would be good to just completely have a repealed charter school provision,鈥� he told The Independent. 鈥淏ut also, if we can take it to the voters and let them decide, I think that would be appropriate.鈥�
Smith said Boone County residents 鈥渘ever wanted鈥� charter schools expanded to their county, calling the legislation 鈥淩owden鈥檚 baby.鈥� Rowden is leaving office because of term limits and has accepted a job as director of strategic advocacy at the lobbying firm Strategic Capitol Consulting.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that now that he鈥檚 gone, you鈥檙e gonna have anyone who鈥檚 just adamant about keeping charter schools in Boone County,鈥� Smith said.
He said he didn鈥檛 know of anyone in the House pushing for charter schools in Boone County. Last year, Republican Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch from Hallsville filed the legislation. In November, she narrowly and is term limited from continuing her work in the Missouri House.
Other bills seek to change the way charter schools operate in Missouri.
A , a Democrat from Kansas City,
would require charter schools to obtain a certificate of need from their local school districts to operate. The State Board of Education would review and approve the certificates of need.
Rep. Doug Clemens, a St. Louis Democrat, also filed legislation that would require local oversight.
, which he filed last year as well, would require local school districts to sponsor charter schools. Most of the state鈥檚 charter schools are currently sponsored by the Missouri Charter Public School Commission, a state board that oversees charters. Clemens鈥檚 bill would remove the need for the commission.
鈥淭he idea that local school boards don鈥檛 have control over charter schools operating within their district is just not okay,鈥� Clemens told The Independent. 鈥淚 think that it is worth talking about local control when it comes to the education of our children.鈥�
Having local governance of charter schools would allow residents to have more input on the way their tax dollars are spent on education, he said.
His bill did not get a hearing last legislative session, along with bills filed by other lawmakers that would modify charter sponsorship.
Rudi Keller contributed to this report.
