SPONSOR: Lewis (6)
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education by a vote of 15 to 2. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Regulatory Oversight by a vote of 9 to 0.
Please see the Summary Sheet for a detailed list of the additional language added to the bill in committee.
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this bill will provide an opportunity for districts to recruit teachers for hard to fill positions and in hard to staff areas of the state. This language is a good tool to address certain subject areas like physics or positions that are understaffed such as in the area of special education. There is evidence that students in rural areas are often taught by an under qualified teacher and this bill may address that. This bill is supported by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and was one of the recommendations brought out of the Blue Ribbon commission for teacher recruitment and retention.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Lewis; Aligned; The Associated Students of the University of Missouri; Margie Vandeven, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Missouri School Boards' Association; Quality Schools Coalition; Missouri Council of School Administrators; Missouri State Teachers Association; and Missouri NEA.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: