- Perfected -

SB 944 - This act specifies that prohibitions on student possession of weapons under Section 160.261, RSMo, (requires one year suspension) and possession of weapons or controlled substances under Section 167.117, RSMo, (requires reporting to law enforcement) shall apply to the entire school campus, including parking lots, playgrounds and activity facilities, and shall also include school buses.

The Video Instructional Development and Educational Opportunity Fund administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall include four million dollars transferred to the Fund annually.

The act also establishes a National Guard Pilot Program Fund, which shall support a pilot program for public middle schools using military training and motivation methods. The program shall be jointly established by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Social Services and the National Guard. Students in the seventh or eighth grades may apply to the four week residential program, to be conducted at a National Guard facility.

A parent or guardian who negligently allows a child to bring a weapon to school shall be guilty of the Class A misdemeanor of endangering the welfare of a child.

JOAN GUMMELS