Annelise Hanshaw

A directory of MOScholars students, funding amounts and schools were made publicly accessible by the Missouri Treasurer's office for nearly a year. Democrats want enrollments paused and lawmakers to investigate, while Republicans say the state should fix the breach without disrupting the program.

In a 101-48 vote, House lawmakers approve a bill that would place restrictions on transgender Missourians. It would also target all-gender restrooms like at the Kansas City International Airport.

The judge ruled Missouri lawmakers could directly appropriate funds to the MOScholars program because state law does not “expressly prohibit” it. The Missouri National Education Association plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Multicultural student organizations at the University of Missouri are losing tens of thousands of dollars in direct funding, with school leaders citing federal guidance on diversity, equity and inclusion. “We are not going to let the university lead us into the darkness,” one leader said at a town hall Monday.

U.S. attorneys cite key civil rights cases in an effort to overturn the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s policy reserving spots on its board of directors for under-represented candidates, calling it “systematic unconstitutional race and sex-based discrimination.”

The constitutional amendment would establish that access to public education is a "fundamental right." But organizers say the controversy over the Missouri Secretary of State's ballot language, which a judge ruled was unfair and had to be rewritten, delayed signature collection.

Labor, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and faith groups in Missouri are testing a shared message against what they see as a growing list of threats from Republican lawmakers — including a plan to eliminate the state income tax and expand sales taxes on goods and services.

The Republican bills would separate public restrooms and changing rooms by sex as assigned at birth, rather than gender identity. Transgender Missourians testified that the measures would put them at greater risk of assault.

After the state's education department oversaw a pilot program teaching science through agriculture, lawmakers saw an opportunity for more.

The Missouri State Board of Education appears to support legislation creating public-school open enrollment, but members are split on what the policy means. Open enrollment proposals have stalled in the Missouri legislature for the past five years.