Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

Neither the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education nor the Missouri State High School Activities Association could say how they will enforce the state's restrictions on transgender athletes — one of the most controversial new laws approved by Missouri legislators this year.

To help solve Missouri's shortage of school staff, Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation last week that allows educators to work full-time for a district without losing their retirement benefits. The law also affects positions like bus drivers and janitors.

Missouri secluded and restrained more than 1,000 students last school year. Justyn Jefferson, an 11-year-old from Belton, is one of them. But because schools don't always report instances of seclusion and restraint, it's difficult to know if they're using the techniques legally.

Missouri only started collecting data on seclusion and restraint this year, and many schools aren't reporting how often they use the practices. A Belton mom whose son was repeatedly secluded and restrained says schools are also using those methods in inappropriate ways.

Applicants to the state child care subsidy program often face long call center wait times and onerous paperwork requirements — and child care providers who accept the subsidy face administrative hurdles of their own.

The Hickman Mills School Board says it's renewing its efforts to work together after contentious meetings amid a decade-long battle to regain accreditation.

This is the first time Missouri schools are being rated under a new accountability system. Kansas City Public Schools — which just regained full accreditation last year — sits just above the range for provisional accreditation, while Hickman Mills would remain provisional. However, the state won't use these results to change accreditation status until the 2023-2024 school year.

Thousands of other Missouri families are waiting for benefits called summer Pandemic EBT, a federal program administered by states that provides a one-time deposit of $391 in grocery benefits for each eligible child. Compared to every other surrounding state, Missouri’s delays have been especially unusual.

Kansas Democrats can't seem to overcome the urban-rural divide that's keeping them out of the state legislature, despite some gains in Johnson County. Plus: A new law is changing how Missouri students are taught to read.

Education leaders want Missouri teachers to lean into research-backed literacy instruction methods, known as the science of reading.

The pandemic caused a greater loss in math instructional time compared to English language arts. There was also a loss in instructional time in virtual or distance learning compared to hybrid or in-classroom instruction.

Charlie Shields, the state board of education’s president, said Missouri is at a "point of crisis" as a state commission tries to come up with solutions for its chronic teacher shortage.