02/01/2025
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UPDATE: If you were planning a trip to Jeff City tomorrow, Wednesday, for HB 31, it looks like it was removed from the hearing schedule. It will NOT be heard tomorrow. We will keep you posted .
HB 31 & SB 63 - Information on Home School Bills
NOTE: FHE has been trying for years to make some of these changes in our law, so this is another chance to do so.
Both bills will be heard this coming week and open for testimony. This is NOT an Alert, but if you want to join FHE in Jefferson City for one or both bills, that will help show support within the homeschool community. OR you can send in testimony, especially if you have dealt with the public schools requiring you to fill out their letter of intent to homeschool which, as you know, is not required in the law. Many of you have stories that need to be told. If you agree with FHE and want to testify so that your opinion counts and/or email the Committee (not your actual legislator since neither bill has gone to the floor yet), here is that information.
HB 31, Home School Protections - repeals RSMo 167.042 (the letter of intent statute) and adds probable cause where the local prosecuting attorney needs to have sufficient evidence a law has been violated before bringing on an educational neglect charge against you.
House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Hearing on Date: Wednesday, 2/5/2025 Time: 12:00 PM or upon adjournment (whichever is later)
SB 63, Non-traditional Student Activities Participation - repeals RSMo 167.042 and includes the sports bill.
Senate Education Committee Hearing on Tuesday, 2/4/2025 at 8:00 am in the 3rd Floor Senate Lounge
In an attempt to keep this message fairly short, if interested, please go to our Capitol Report for all the details, links to the bills, Committee members and their emails, etc.
https://fhe-mo.org/capitolreport
Additional Information:
Both bills have the repeal of 167.042 which is the optional statute about the schools letter of intent to withdraw. We are NOT required to sign their letter and never recommend it. Always better to send your own withdrawal letter But the statute causes so much stress and confusion for schools and parents. Schools think they HAVE to keep tabs on the homeschoolers in their districts and pester parents to sign their letters often threatening to not unenroll the child which could lead to a truancy issue. So with it repealed/gone, it will go a long way in eliminating all the issues. FHE has stacks of documentation of families we have helped by calling schools for the family and walking them through what is needed. We have had situations where schools continue to count absences leading to truancy issues until their optional letter is signed. Others count high schoolers as drop outs instead of students who have just transferred to another legal school option. And we have some counties who automatically turn over the letters to the local prosecuting attorney for investigation just because they decide to homeschool. This repeal should help put a stop to all that.
The probable cause verbiage in HB 31 would require the local prosecuting attorney to actually have a reason to open up an educational neglect charge against a family. Currently, they don't need one. We have counties in the southern part of the state where it is automatic for the schools to send new homeschoolers to the prosecuting attorney for investigation and their only "neglect" was that the family choose the legal option to home school. This would put some language around that.
The sports bill in SB 63, while FHE remains neutral on that portion since it is getting involved with the public schools, would help children participate in the public school sports and extracurriculars where MSHSAA controls the rules. Currently, there is a 2 seat in class rule, but schools also make their own rules and often do not allow our homeschoolers to participate. This would remove the required classes unless the class is needed for the activity (take band class if you want to be in band) and allow our children the opportunity to participate. Still have to try out like any other student, but many across the state are not given that opportunity at all.
