Latest news with #BradPollitt
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Missouri lawmakers add grade-level performance to standardized test results
State Rep. Brad Pollitt, a Sedalia Republican, presents a bill to the House Education Committee to require the reporting of grade-level equivalence data on statewide assessments (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). Missouri parents may soon have a better understanding of whether their child is performing at or above grade level on the state's standardized test under a sweeping education bill awaiting the governor's signature. The legislation contains a provision that would require the state's education department to add a fifth category to Missouri Assessment Program results, reporting 'grade level' in addition to the current levels of 'below basic,' 'basic,' 'proficient' and 'advanced.' The new provision would include students in grades 3 to 8. CONTACT US State Rep. Brad Pollitt, a Sedalia Republican and former school superintendent, introduced the bill to make student performance more transparent to parents and lawmakers. As an educator, he learned that students at grade level score at the upper end of 'basic,' but many people incorrectly assume 'proficient' means performing at grade level, he told The Independent. 'In order to have accurate conversations about where our students are at, we need to know what grade level is,' he said. The Missouri Assessment Program, often referred to as the MAP test, began in the 1990s with five scoring thresholds. But in response to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, state lawmakers required the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to align MAP with federal performance standards. In December 2005, educators met to determine the new standards in line with the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. They set thresholds based on the percentage of students scoring proficient on the NAEP so that the proportion of students deemed proficient on the state test would be close to the amount reported by the national test. The National Center for Educational Statistics and the NAEP's governing board have repeatedly clarified that proficiency reflects 'solid academic performance' and 'does not signify being on grade level.' But policymakers, parents and other stakeholders speak about proficiency and grade level interchangeably. And candidates for public office, misinterpreting what proficient means, have used MAP data to push anti-public-education policies. During former state Sen. Bill Eigel's run for governor last year, he told ABC17 that 'less than a third of our children are able to do reading, writing, arithmetic at grade level.' At the time, 33% of Missouri fourth graders scored proficient or advanced in reading on the NAEP, and math had higher performance levels. Despite the test's administrators explaining that this is not a measure of grade level performance, politicians and media reports still repeat the misrepresentation. 'Part of my frustration has been that people criticize public education pretty hard and say we're failing our kids because 35% of our students in third grade or fifth grade are proficient or advanced in reading,' Pollitt said. 'We may have 35% that are above grade level, but maybe 60% of our kids are at grade level. And I think that changes the conversation.' In a House committee hearing in January, lobbyists for public-education groups spoke in favor of the bill. Brandt Shields, director of governmental relations for the Missouri School Boards' Association, said a fifth category would be more 'informative' for stakeholders. 'Having only four categories is almost a crude way of trying to differentiate how those scores are interpreted,' he said. No one spoke in opposition, but the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's lobbyist warned that the change would require work groups to set the new standards, which is estimated to cost just over $1 million. The language passed by the legislature exempts the department from having to employ work groups, but Pollitt said it is up to administrators to decide. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amid National Voucher Push, Missouri Once Again Turns to Open Enrollment
Lawmakers in Missouri are debating a move that could significantly expand families' educational options. Within the K–12 politics of 2025, however, the proposal has an almost retro feel. In March, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow students to transfer to public school districts outside their community of residence, a policy known as 'open enrollment.' If it became law, districts would have the option to decline student transfers from other areas, but could not prevent their own students from leaving. Per-pupil funding from the state, totalling roughly $6,700, would follow each child to his or her new destination. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter It's a somewhat familiar idea. According to the nonprofit Education Commission of the States, over 40 states explicitly permit some form of interdistrict transfer, whether through voluntary agreements between communities or via statewide mandate. In Missouri itself, the House has passed statewide legislation for the last five consecutive years, only to have it stall in the state Senate. Related In troubled districts like St. Louis, too, it has become common for families to select among schools in nearby suburbs, mostly through a long-running desegregation effort. Advocacy groups like the No More Lines Coalition have also attempted to draw attention to parents prosecuted for falsifying their addresses to send their kids to better-performing districts. Yet open enrollment — and the occasionally fierce debates it triggers — has also been somewhat overshadowed in recent years as calls have grown for private offerings like education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships. With Republicans at the state and national level supporting the channeling of public funds to non-public institutions, 'school choice' has increasingly come to imply 'private school choice.' Republican Rep. Brad Pollitt, the bill's sponsor, said his aim was to allow parents to exercise more autonomy without having to leave the traditional school system. With birth rates falling and a substantial post-COVID migration of students to homeschooling, he continued, public schools needed 'a seat at the table' during discussions of choice. 'Whatever the percentage of people that want to see a different option — maybe a better fit for their family, depending on work or other factors — I just want them to have another choice in the public school system instead of going to ESAs, a charter school, or even a virtual school,' Pollitt told The 74. But critics of the proposal say it will introduce still more instability into school finance and governance, ultimately leading to districts battling among themselves for families who operate as free agents. Todd Fuller, the communications director of the Missouri State Teachers Association, said he worried that a 'downward spiral' of competition would benefit a few districts and gradually strip the rest of badly needed resources. 'It's not going to happen all at once,' he said. 'Over the course of time, there will be less services,' he said. 'I've seen districts already that tell their students, 'Sorry, we don't have foreign languages,' or, 'Sorry, we don't have a science class that you should take.'' Inter-district transfers are one of the oldest and most common forms of school choice across the United States. Indeed, Missouri already provides several forms of it, allowing parents to take the necessary step of switching districts if their own does not include a high school. More controversially, students attending schools that have lost accreditation — usually for persistently low academic performance — have the option of leaving for a higher-achieving school elsewhere. That scenario was most vividly illustrated in the case of the Normandy school district, which was stripped of its accreditation by the state in 2013. The resulting exodus was far greater than anticipated, with about 1,000 students (roughly 25 percent of all enrolled) heading for the exits that fall. Neighboring districts spent years fighting to reject their transfers, arguing that they could not provide space or meet the learning needs of so many new pupils, before ultimately yielding to court orders and a swell of negative press. Peter Franzen is the associate director of the Children's Education Alliance of Missouri, an organization that supports parent empowerment and school choice. Having worked for decades in and around communities severely impacted by poverty and poor services, he said he believed the Normandy experience illustrated the existing appetite for open enrollment among families who are otherwise told to wait for solutions that may never come. 'If a quarter of your school drains out because nobody wants to be there, who the hell wants to put their taxes into that? I don't care how proud you are of your school — if families are leaving in droves, what could you possibly say to that?' Related Education leaders in the state have long had to work with troubled or under-resourced districts, most famously St. Louis and Kansas City, where only small proportions of the overwhelmingly disadvantaged student population can read or do math at grade level. Both cities feature a wide array of choice options, including charter and magnet schools, and both have seen huge drops in student enrollment over the past few decades. Students were also able to enroll in nearby suburbs under the terms of long-lasting desegregation orders. But St. Louis's desegregation program has recently stopped accepting new students, leading some to worry that they will miss a chance to receive a better education outside the city. But with the passage of statewide open enrollment, smaller districts could suddenly be placed in the same position as some of the largest communities in the state. Missouri is home to a large number of rural districts, including many that struggle to attract high-quality teachers. According to recent data, nearly half of all those districts are operating on a four-day school week, which has been generally shown to negatively impact student achievement. The bill passed in the state House partly addresses the concerns of districts that fear instability in headcounts by capping the number of student departures at 3 percent of total enrollment annually. But John Benyon, superintendent of Cape Girardeau Public Schools in southeast Missouri, said that restriction could nevertheless compound into unsustainable losses over time. 'Even a gradual loss of 3 percent each year can have a compounding effect, particularly for smaller districts,' Benyon wrote in an email. 'Over time, this could lead to school closures and consolidations, which would not only disrupt students but also deeply impact the identity of small, rural Missouri communities.' The legislation is now scheduled for a hearing in the state Senate, which has persistently declined to pass earlier versions over the last half-decade. Pollitt said his bill, which has been supported almost exclusively by Republicans each time he has offered it, aimed for a middle ground in the ongoing school choice debate. 'In the Senate, it's never been drastic enough,' he reflected. 'Those who are for total school choice think it doesn't go far enough, and those who are against any school choice think it goes too far. That's why I think it's a good bill.' Just last year, the state GOP struck a bargain to sizably increase the size of Missouri's tax credit scholarship system, which facilitates student enrollment in private schools. They have yet to advance legislation that would allow for universal access to ESAs or other voucher-like programs, which have been rapidly adopted in a rash of Republican-led states since the pandemic. Related Pollitt, who is currently campaigning for a seat in the state Senate, observed that resistance in the upper chamber is largely concentrated among rural Republicans concerned about the fate of their local public schools if students begin to leave in large numbers. That same dynamic has colored intra-partisan clashes in states like Texas, where resistant legislators have been met with primary challenges for opposing the spread of ESAs. In Missouri, he acknowledged, changes to enrollments would likely create 'winners and losers.' Still, his proposal found new momentum after being endorsed by newly elected Republican Gov. Michael Kehoe in his State of the State address. Benyon, meanwhile, has recently traveled to Jefferson City with members of his school board to lobby against the measure. Though he said students in his district enjoyed access to a range of coveted offerings, including extracurricular opportunities and advanced coursework, he added that already-struggling communities would likely lose students if open enrollment becomes a reality. Instead of opening new avenues for flight, he concluded, the state should work with those schools to make them more attractive places to learn. 'In cases where other districts are underperforming, shouldn't we be asking why and working to fix those root issues?'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Open enrollment bill clears Missouri House for fifth year in a row
State Rep. Brad Pollitt, a Sedalia Republican, presents a bill to the House Education Committee that would require the reporting of grade-level equivalence data on statewide assessments (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). Legislation that would allow students to enroll in neighboring school districts won approval from the Missouri House on Wednesday. The 88-69 vote saw 22 Republicans join with all but three Democrats in opposition. It now heads to the Missouri Senate. The bill's sponsor, Republican state Rep. Brad Pollitt of Sedalia, has filed the legislation for five years in a row. It narrowly passed the House four times but has never come to a vote in the Senate. Over the years, the bill has shifted with protections added, like a 3% cap on the number of students that may leave a school district each year. School districts may opt in to accept students, but schools do not have an option to restrict students from leaving. 'This bill has been vetted tighter than any other bill,' Pollitt said during the debate Wednesday. Supporters of the legislation commended it as a solution to make public schools more competitive during times when programs that allow public funding for private schools are growing nationwide. State Rep. John Black, a Marshfield Republican, said he is 'perplexed that any public-school advocate would oppose this bill.' Black voted against a bill passed last year that boosted MOScholars, a tax credit program that diverts general fund dollars to pay for private school tuition. State Rep. Marlene Terry, a Democrat from St. Louis, also spoke in favor of the bill Wednesday. Last year, she broke from much of her party as a deciding vote in passing the MOScholars bill. She is grateful for her choice, she said, because a student from her district was able to attend the school of his choice. Terry became emotional, saying the boy recently died. 'Pass this bill,' she said. 'Because you never know what might happen.' Opponents say unpredictability is exactly why the bill shouldn't pass. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, a Columbia Democrat, said future legislative sessions could remove protections in the bill. 'We have no guarantees that next year bills won't come forward to remove the opt-in provision, or remove the 3%,' she said. 'And these things could devastate our communities.' She pointed to the legislation establishing MOScholars, which passed in 2021 and was expanded last year. The program was written to be funded by tax-credit-eligible donations, but Gov. Mike Kehoe proposed in his budget this year to give $50 million to the fund. 'It's not hard to see that we're taking money from public schools,' she said. Democrats in opposition asked for funding for public schools instead of open enrollment. 'We should be focusing on the issues where the students live,' said State Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat from Ferguson. If schools are marked as failing and students leave, it will hurt property values and further reduce the funding for public schools in the area because of the lower property tax revenue, she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Missouri bill proposes penalty increase on expired temp tags
The Missouri House of Representatives is considering a bill that will increase penalties on vehicles with expired tags. When drivers buy a car in Missouri, they receive a set of temp tags and are expected within 30 days to pay the sales tax and obtain their license plates. However, some drivers may opt to ride with expired temp tags because the sales tax is too expensive to pay at one time. 'A lot of times it's financial based,' said Capt. Mike Hess with the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department. 'Sometimes people purchase a car and don't have the financial means to get the remainder of the car completely legal, meaning the registration, taxes and licensing fees.' HB 378, introduced by Missouri State Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia, would operate on a three-strike system, with the final violation resulting in the vehicle being impounded until registered. Buchanan County law enforcement officials say stiffer penalties are needed to motivate people driving with expired tags to get their official license plates. 'It also could be an indicator that their insurance is expired or there's some other underlying issue, Hess said. 'So, as law enforcement, we're continuously targeting expired license plates because it's an ongoing issue we see.' In addition, the bill would allow police to stop and inspect vehicles if they have 'reasonable suspicion' that a driver's temp tag is no longer valid. If the temp tag has been altered or expired by at least 60 days, the driver will be ticketed and fined $250. If the person registers the vehicle within 30 days of receiving the ticket, the local prosecutor will drop the ticket, court costs will be waived. However, if the driver or owner still doesn't register the vehicle, the director of revenue will suspend or limit the owner's driving privileges. As a final penalty, if the driver receives another ticket for a temp tag, the vehicle will be impounded until the car is registered. The full version of HB 378's new provision can be read at,
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Open enrollment bill gets public hearing after winning praise from Missouri governor
State Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia, presents a bill to the House Education Committee earlier this month (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). A Republican lawmaker from Sedalia has once again begun his push to allow some students to enroll in schools outside the district where they live. For the fifth year in a row on Wednesday, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee debated an open enrollment bill sponsored by state Rep. Brad Pollitt. As he introduced the legislation, Pollitt called it the 'only school-choice bill that allows students to make a choice and stay in the public school system.' In the previous four years that Pollitt filed the bill, state lawmakers have prioritized programs allowing families to use state funds for homeschooling and to attend private schools. The state's K-12 tax credit program, dubbed MOScholars, passed in 2021, and it was expanded last year in a sweeping education package. Pollitt's bill has cleared committee and made it out of the House four times. But it has never been debated by the Senate. He addressed his bill's four-year purgatory in Wednesday's committee hearing, saying good legislation doesn't completely please anyone. 'All four years I've passed this bill, neither side was happy. It didn't go far enough or it went too far,' he said. 'Sometimes Missouri does a disservice by looking for perfection and bypassing what is better.' Pollitt's legislation has evolved through the years of deliberation. The current version has a cap of 3% on the portion of students allowed to leave a district annually. He also added language suggested by the Missouri High School Activities Association, which oversees competitive athletics in Missouri schools, that would restrict students who transfer into a new district from competing in sports for one year. The bill does not require school districts to accept students living outside the area but, instead, has an opt-in structure. Receiving districts would get state funding for the students coming in, but local funds would remain with the district of residence. Some testified Wednesday that they are concerned the legislation would become mandatory for school districts in the future. 'Our worry is in the future. A lot of (laws) tend to start as voluntary and become mandatory,' said Tammy Henderson, who represents the North Kansas City School District. 'We are concerned about losing some of the local control.' Steve Carroll, a former lawmaker who now lobbies for school districts, cited his experience in the Missouri House in critiquing the bill. 'If this bill passes, within two or three legislative sessions, there is going to be a bill that is going to mandate this,' he said. 'Mark my word.' A majority of public comments were against the bill, and 220 school districts sent in a letter opposed to the legislation. However, Pollitt's proposal is not without its supporters — including Gov. Mike Kehoe, who included the bill in his State of the State speech Tuesday. 'To expand school choice, I urge the General Assembly to pass voluntary open enrollment in public schools,' he said. Jordan Zachary, representing a national education nonprofit started by Jeb Bush called ExcelinEd, said Missouri's neighbors already have open enrollment. 'We believe open enrollment to be one of those student-centered policies,'' he said. 'We do believe in giving students an opportunity to attend a school that best fits their needs.' The bill would not require school districts to add accommodations for incoming students, and some worry the program would exclude students in special education. Pollitt said he would work with Rep. Matthew Overcast, a Republican from Ava who serves on the education committee, to revise the bill to help students requiring accommodations. Overcast is an attorney with experience assisting students in special education. The updated version would be presented to the committee before a vote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
