school choice

The bill would boost minimum teacher salaries from $25,000 to $40,000 a year. It also greatly expands Missouri's tax-credit scholarship program for K-12 students to attend private schools.

Gov. Laura Kelly’s likely doomed push for Medicaid expansion is aimed at setting the table before this fall’s election. But Republican leaders want to focus on other ideas, like cutting taxes.

Missouri Republicans and Democrats both expressed concern that election year pressures, especially with multiple members running for statewide office, may make it difficult to pass significant legislation. Several conservative lawmakers also signaled that they plan to scrutinize bills more closely.

A legislative committee on education offered a glimpse at what Kansas lawmakers could propose during the 2024 session. The Legislature hinted at changing the formula for funding special education and pushing more school choice measures.

A bill advanced by the Kansas House expands the state’s tax credit scholarship program — something supporters see as a school choice and detractors frame as diverting money away from public schools.

Conservatives want to make it easier for Kansas families to send their children to private schools, and they’re once again pushing for more parental control over what’s taught in public school classrooms.

Kansas lawmakers are on the verge of letting students attend public schools outside the districts where they live. That push to open enrollment pits conservative school-choice advocates against school administrators. Plus, America’s entire fleet of long-range stealth bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base 60 miles east of Kansas City.

Conservatives say the plan would give families stuck in failing school districts a chance at a life-changing escape. But school administrators fear a flood of students they’re not prepared for and who come with needs they can’t afford to accommodate.

Charters don’t get as much local revenue as traditional public schools. They also aren’t subject to the same state ratings.

Kansas City Public Schools plan to use a lottery to make admissions fairer and cut the need to set an alarm just to apply.