Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education believes that lowering a GPA requirement for teachers will improve teacher recruitment and retention without reducing educator quality.

The district scored higher than 70% on its state performance report, but Missouri wants more data before it changes accreditation.

Academic performance at most public schools has improved, but attendance is not back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from the Missouri Department of Secondary and Elementary Education.

A Kansas doctor wants to make everyday health care more affordable through a model called direct primary care, where patients pay a monthly fee for services instead of using insurance. Plus: The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a new leader this school year.

Karla Eslinger, an Ozark Republican who served the past four years as a Missouri state senator, passed on a second term. Instead, she began her tenure as commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in June.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is weeks behind in paying subsidies for child care centers and families. Centers already were facing financial issues.

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick says he'll only investigate the state's charter schools — which are all in Kansas City or St. Louis — if formal complaints show “specific problems. Union leaders sent a letter to the auditor's office in August.

Missouri banned transgender athletes from competing according to their gender identity, but student handbooks and board policies have yet to add the change. Before last year's law, there were only five transgender athletes statewide who were eligible to compete.

Missouri legislators this year approved $11 million to fully fund Parton's program that sends free books to children ages 5 and under. Parton came to Kansas City's briefly-renamed Folly Theater to celebrate — and sing a few songs.

The backlog, which has left daycare providers on the brink of closure, was originally supposed to be resolved by the end of July. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has largely blamed a contracted vendor.

Some Missouri day care centers have been forced to shutter as state subsidy payments remain backlogged due to glitches in a new system.

Outgoing Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers is a key factor to helping students succeed.