As concerns grow and information comes out about the dangers of GAI, policymakers, educators, and caregivers continue to look for ways to support all students in a technology-ridden world. 

On January 13, 2026, Governor Michael Kehoe signed Executive Order 26-01. This executive order directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to create a new accountability system for schools in Missouri. The order requires the new system to include an A–F school and district grading framework. DESE must outline new guidelines for the A-F system for elementary, middle, and high schools.

House Bill 22-30, proposed by State Representative Tricia Byrnes, would limit screen time to 45 minutes per day in kindergarten through 5th grade. The bill also mandates an increase in paper assignments and textbooks. 70% of assignments would need to be completed through paper and pencil. Additionally, students would be required to have dedicated handwriting practice and cursive instruction in grades two through five. The bill states that cursive supports letter recognition, decoding, orthographic mapping, reading fluency, phonological awareness, and more.

On July 9, 2025, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 68 into law, enacting a statewide ban on electronic communication devices in Missouri public and charter schools beginning with the 2025–26 academic year. This bill comes in response to growing concerns among Missourians about technology in the classroom and reflects a broader desire to promote educational attainment, safety, and effective working environments for employees in Missouri schools.

This week in neighboring Illinois, a bill to ban cell phones from classrooms unanimously passed in the Senate. The bill, advocated for by Illinois’ Governor J.B. Pritzker, now moves to the House. If passed, they would join the more than 40% of states who have laws or policies restricting cell phone use in schools. Missouri has similar legislation in the works, and voters are in support.

Right now, 144 districts (27%) utilize the 4-day school week (4DSW) model, a 136% rise since pre-pandemic numbers in the 2019-2020 school year. In this blog, we highlight discussion on use of 4DSW in Missouri and offer evidence from our prior work on the impact of 4DSW on teacher recruitment.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the latest Annual Performance Report (APR) scores for local education agencies (LEAs) and schools. In this blog, we provide five key things to remember as you interpret the 2022 APR score data.

Missouri’s 2023 legislative session kicks off in just a few short weeks and the landscape will be shifting. Pre-filing of legislation began on December 1st with an introduction of education bills covering a wide range of issues. In this blog, we highlight the current pre-filed bills in education and the soon-to-be-filled leadership vacancies that will determine which bills are heard in committee and voted out.

Missouri’s 2022 legislative wrapped up, and education bills made the way to the finish line. Some of the highlights include a shift in minimum teacher salary, legislation to remove lead from school drinking water, and charter school funding equity.

Missouri’s 2022 legislative session begins next month, and already more than 120 education-related bills have been pre-filed. Some of pre-filed bills have recurring themes from bills offered in past sessions, some are inspired by current events, and several others offer specific strategies for supporting student and school success.

In this blog, we draw attention to three key takeaways from the Middle schools receiving top PRiME Growth Scores released in the Missouri Statewide Student Growth Report.

In this blog, we draw attention to three key takeaways from the eleMiddle schools receiving top PRiME Growth Scores released in the Missouri Statewide Student Growth Report.

In this blog, we draw attention to three key takeaways from the elementary schools receiving top PRiME Growth Scores released in the Missouri Statewide Student Growth Report.

The 2021 Missouri legislative session wrapped on May 14. Despite several bills being proposed and debated around preK-12 education, only HB349 made it to the governor’s desk. Read on to learn more about Missouri’s Empowerment Scholarships program.

The Missouri General Assembly ended the 2019 session having passed several education bills while leaving others on the table. In this week’s blog, we take a look at some of the new education initiative that passed and those that failed, but will likely be back next session.