Update from the Senate Side

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The tragic loss of State Auditor Tom Schweich has reverberated through the Capitol, the political realm, our community and our state.  He was a serious and determined public servant.  Those who knew him well are remembering him as a man of integrity with a strong ambition to serve.  At his funeral, I heard firsthand the eulogy delivered by his friend and mentor, former U.S. Senator John C. Danforth. 

As time goes on, we may learn more about the circumstances that led Tom to take his own life. Today and going forward, our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.  May all find comfort in the beautiful memories they shared. 

In service,

Senator Jill Schupp

SB 1 et al: Controversial Student Transfer Bill

This legislation, sponsored by Senator David Pearce (R-Warrensburg), was intended to address the school transfer situation which allows students in unaccredited school districts to transfer to schools in accredited districts.

Rather, it has become a broad K-12 education bill with many provisions which are summarized below.

Senate Bill 1 et al:

-Establishes a system of accrediting individual school buildings rather than districts. With this change, students attending an unaccredited school building may transfer to an accredited school building within the same school district.

-Significantly expands charter schools by allowing them to locate in any county that has an unaccredited or provisionally accredited district, and in a county that is adjacent to a county with an unaccredited or provisionally accredited district. The bill also allows school boards in accredited districts to sponsor charter schools in unaccredited districts.

-Significantly expands virtual education by allowing students enrolled in an unaccredited district or a provisionally accredited district to enroll, instead, in a virtual school.

-Prohibits all districts in St. Louis County from promoting any student from 5th grade into 6th, or from 8th grade into 9th, who has not scored proficient or above on a statewide assessment in either Language Arts or Math. Based on last year’s test scores in St. Louis County, children required to be held back would include 12,295 students who scored below proficient based on Language Arts test scores, and 8,909 students who tested below proficient based on Math test scores.

-Requires that vacant buildings owned by the St. Louis City and Kansas City School Districts and any other under-performing districts in St. Louis County be listed for sale for a limited amount of time, then sold at auction for a percent of the appraised value, and then demolished if still not sold.

-This bill does not cap the amount of tuition that sending districts are required to pay to receiving districts for students who have chosen to transfer. This will likely lead to bankruptcy and dissolution of sending districts. The students will then be permanently transferred to one or more nearby highly performing districts.

Consider one of the most egregious, punitive and non student-centered provisions of this legislation. Based on scores in the area of Language Arts alone, Ladue would have to hold back 92 students, Parkway would be required to hold back 557 students, Pattonville would hold back 287 students and Ritenour would hold back 485 students.* All of this based on one Language Arts test taken one day of the year and regardless of all the other measures of a student’s growth and performance throughout the year. The estimated financial cost to the state of this provision alone is an additional $82,573,220. The cost to a student's self-worth has not been calculated.

Painting all children who score (even one point) below proficient as needing to repeat an entire grade does not do what we ask teachers to do everyday:  evaluate our children's complex strengths and weaknesses, build on the strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses to make them successful students and successful in life.

Again, while this is called the “Transfer Bill,” it does not do anything to address the financial crisis created by the transfer situation, leaving those children staying in their home districts with inadequate resources and driving those districts to bankruptcy rather than helping them improve. A real possibility is that a district such as Normandy will be lapsed and attached as a whole or in part to surrounding districts that may include Pattonville, Parkway and Ladue.

*Thank you to Parkway School District for calculating the numbers of students impacted based on test scores.   Students with special needs and accommodations are not subject to this legislation or included in the calculation.

SB 302: Forcing Anti-Abortion Information on Women

Senate Bill 302, sponsored by Senator Jeanie Riddle was recently heard in the Committee on Seniors, Families and Children. This act requires abortion facilities or family planning agencies to provide specified printed materials, including by mail, if a woman they have seen makes the decision to go out of state to access an abortion.

Of concern is that the state-scripted materials are not medically accurate or balanced in their approach to providing a woman with all choices as she considers her options. This legislation is an additional attempt by politicians to impose personal beliefs through shame or coercion on a Missouri woman who has made the decision to seek abortion services. This legislation passed through committee with my “no” vote.

More on Bills I Sponsor

SB 328-Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention

On Wednesday February 25th, Senate Bill 328, was heard in the Education Committee chaired by Senator David Pearce. SB 328 was inspired by the father of a 17 year old young woman who committed suicide last May.  Rick Cantor approached me after he lost his daughter, Avery, to suicide.  He knows he will be dealing with this unspeakable loss forever, yet he is determined to make sure he helps prevent other parents and loved ones from experiencing this same pain.  He wants to help stop death by suicide, with a particular focus on our youth and has started the Avery’s Angels Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the issue of youth suicide and working to stop its spread. 

This bill provides opportunities for educators and school personnel to receive professional development training in suicide awareness and prevention.  As more people working in the field of education choose to take this training and learn to see signs and symptoms as well as learn how to intervene, more students in crisis are likely to get the help and support they need before they choose an irrevocable path.

There were 12 witnesses at the hearing who gave personal testimony, including representatives from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the School Administrators Coalition, Behavioral Health Response, CHAD’s Coalition, and more.

We heard compelling testimony from all, including from Rick and Carol Cantor, the father and mother of Avery.

On March 4th, members of the Education Committee voted unanimously to pass SB 328. I am hopeful this legislation will continue to move forward and become law.

Filed SB 446 Purple Heart License Plates

SB 446 seeks to remove fees associated with license plates reserved for our Purple Heart Veterans. This bill would provide Purple Heart Veterans parity with Disabled Veterans. It is an honor that Veterans Committee Chair Senator Dan Brown has co-sponsored my legislation. This is a way to honor and recognize those heroic Purple Heart recipients, at an estimated total annual cost of $525 per year. Let’s hope this idea, brought to me by one of our district veterans, is signed into law.

Filed 482: Nathan’s Law

In 2007, infant Nathan Blecha died while being cared for in an unlicensed in home day care facility. There were too many young children under the care of one provider, and Nathan’s death was likely preventable if he had been more closely supervised.

For several years, my office has been working to make changes in Missouri law.  At its core, Nathan's Law limits the number of young children a paid caregiver is permitted to watch at any given time.

Currently the law does not count children who are related to the caregiver as part of the total number of children for the purpose of determining whether a caregiver must be licensed. For example, a caregiver could be paid by two families to watch their two infants, and then also be watching 2, 4, 6 or more related children.

Regardless of the ages of the related children (they could all be infants) the law allows for this exemption from licensure. Imagine the potential for neglect when one person is in charge of 6 or 8 or 10 infants or young children.  We have seen too many cases where this situation leads to the death of a young child.

SB 482 also requires unlicensed daycare homes to disclose their non-licensure status to the parents or guardians of children for whom they provide care. Under this legislation, fines are increased when a daycare provider is found to be out of compliance with the law. Finally, the Department, which must err on the side of safety for children, can shut down an out-of–compliance daycare until it demonstrates compliance.

The federal government has put into place more safety regulations for child care facilities. Shelly Blecha, Nathan’s Mom and a champion for good public policy, was by the President’s side as he signed legislation into law. Now it is time for Missouri to tackle its problem with unlicensed centers for the safety of our precious children.

SB 543: Ethics

For many reasons, the discussion of ethics in the political process has received much attention this year. Two critical components heretofore not addressed in the legislative process have to do with finances…campaign contribution limits would help give citizens confidence that their voices are not being lost or drowned out by the mega-donors who are willing and do write checks for a million dollars…or more. A bill limiting campaign contributions was the first bill I filed this session.

The second bill, SB 543, put forward by my office, tackles in a more specific way than an earlier bill I filed, the problem of so called “dark money.” This is money funneled through 501C-4 non-profits which spend less than 50% of their money on political candidates or issues.

These non-profits are not required to disclose their donors. It is a loophole that allows for donors to hide behind committees so that their identity is not exposed as they fund efforts in support or opposition to an issue or candidate. 

This bill is designed to shine the light on those spending more than $5000 on any candidate or issue through the filter of a non-profit. I am hopeful we will be able to see this election transparency legislation move forward.

Joint Committee on Abuse and Neglect

On February 26th, the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect created and chaired by Representative Bill Lant (R) Pineville, held its first meeting. This committee is dedicated to understanding the complex issues surrounding the safety and well-being of Missouri’s children, and promoting legislation that protects them.

There are a variety of issues that serve as our starting point. We will be considering how to make a clear delineation between law enforcement roles and social service roles when an investigation is taking place. We will also attempt, if appropriate, to establish guidelines that judges may refer to when making the decision to remove a child from the home. There are currently no such standards.

We will work to find intervention solutions in cases of child-on-child or non-caretaker sexual abuse which often falls through the cracks. We are looking to create a more thorough reporting system that will serve to make sure every case is properly examined. Oftentimes, these cases occur in foster care where our children are particularly vulnerable. Other issues include reassessing the age of responsibility, advising parents on their need for legal counsel, and exploring mental health services for children who have been abused.

Over the course of the session and beyond, Representative Lant will continue to move us forward to address these issues to support and protect our children.

Community Meeting at Fort Leonard Wood

Approximately 2000 people, including our U.S. Senators McCaskill and Blunt, U.S. members of Congress, our statewide elected officials, State Senators and Representatives and locally elected officials gathered at Fort Leonard Wood on Monday, March 3rd, to listen to testimony making the case for military jobs to be maintained at the Fort rather than be lost to budget cuts. Projected federal budget cuts in Washington D.C. could mean the loss of 5,400 jobs at the army base. The presentation was very informative, and it was well worth the travel time spent with two busloads of colleagues to make the case for Missouri.

Announcements

Children’s Tax Fund Check-off Program

As a member of the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) Board, I want to remind you about the opportunity to participate in the Tax Check-off Program as you do your taxes. Donations to the CTF are used to finance the mission of stopping child abuse and neglect in Missouri.

The Check-off Program is very important to CTF. CTF does not receive any general revenue funding from the State of Missouri, and all donations to CTF are tax deductible. The funds are used to support home visitation, parent support & education, training, public awareness & other programs that work to strengthen families & prevent child abuse & neglect.

You can visit the Tax Check-off Webpage and the Tax Check-off Blog for additional information about the program. Thank you for considering offering your support.

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