This bill creates the Missouri Rangers, a new training program for school protection officers designed to prepare them for handling emergency and violent crisis situations in schools. The Missouri State Professional Standards and Training Commission will oversee the program, which includes up to 160 hours of training covering firearms, active shooter response, defensive tactics, and other related skills, with physical requirements based on age. People who complete the training will receive a certificate and badge, and their arrest powers will be limited to weapons offenses and trespassing on school property, though active law enforcement officers are exempt from this restriction. The bill also specifies uniform requirements, mandates that Rangers be considered employees of the hiring school for liability purposes, and grants them qualified immunity.
This bill expands student transfer rights by allowing any student to move to a public school in a different district starting in the 2027-28 school year, removing previous restrictions that limited transfers only to students from unaccredited districts. School boards must report their capacity to accept transfers, and parents must notify the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to request transfers, which the department will then assign to available schools. The legislation eliminates tuition payments between districts for transfer students and counts them as residents of their new district for state and federal funding purposes. Districts must also provide transportation to designated receiving schools and handle special education responsibilities according to specific rules based on the type of sending and receiving districts.
HB 3305 requires public and charter schools serving grades 7-12 to implement suicide prevention training for educators and mental health awareness for students. Starting in 2023-24, school districts must provide at least two hours of annual suicide prevention training for all teachers and staff, including specific instruction on the Columbia Protocol (C-SSRS) and a virtual mental health tool by 2027-28. The bill also mandates that student ID cards display the 988 suicide lifeline number starting July 2025. Additionally, it requires high school students (grades 9-12) to receive mental health awareness instruction integrated into existing health or physical education courses beginning 2022-23. These provisions directly affect all public and charter schools, educators, and students in participating districts.
HB 3228 provides legal protection for teachers who intervene in school violence to protect themselves or students. It shields teachers and their school districts from lawsuits if they follow school procedures or act in good faith with a reasonable belief the intervention was justified. The bill explicitly excludes protection for cases involving willful misconduct or gross negligence. It also prohibits schools from creating policies that prevent teachers from intervening in such incidents. This bill directly affects educators and school districts by changing liability rules for on-the-ground safety responses.
SB 1641 allows students enrolled in private, home, or full-time virtual schools (defined as "eligible schools") to participate in public school extracurricular activities like sports, fine arts, and career programs under the same requirements as public school students. The bill prohibits public schools from blocking this participation solely because a student attends a private, home, or virtual school, provided the student meets standard criteria such as residency proof, health records, behavior standards, and financial obligations. Public schools cannot require these students to attend public school classes to join activities, though they may enforce existing rules for tryouts, rehearsals, or academic eligibility. The law also prevents schools from applying separate disciplinary policies to these students compared to public school attendees. This affects private/home/virtual school students seeking access to public school programs not offered at their own schools.
HB 3311 establishes standards for Missouri school libraries, requiring districts to adopt policies protecting access to library resources and preventing censorship. It defines key terms like "school librarian" and mandates that libraries promote free expression, support academic standards, and prohibit removal of materials for reasons like political views or author background. The bill creates a specific process for reviewing challenges to library materials, including a committee with diverse members, keeping challenged items available during review, and banning removal for "doctrinal or partisan reasons." It also prohibits retaliation against library staff who follow this review process and prevents repeated challenges to the same material within four years. This law directly affects Missouri public school districts, their library programs, and students' access to information.
SB 1642 establishes a program for nonprofit organizations to operate adult high schools in Missouri, requiring the Department of Social Services to authorize up to five schools in specific geographic locations based on county population criteria. Organizations must meet detailed requirements, including providing industry certification, partnering with postsecondary institutions, and addressing barriers like homelessness or criminal history for disadvantaged adults. The bill sets academic standards for diplomas equivalent to traditional high school diplomas (without distinguishing marks), allows flexible pacing and limited online instruction, and mandates partnerships to support workforce development. While a minor provision requires maintaining complaint records for summer camps and day camps, the bill's primary focus is on creating adult education programs, not camp licensing.
HB 3222 requires Missouri school districts and charter schools to immediately terminate an employee’s employment if they attempt to resign during an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with a student. The bill mandates that schools disclose substantiated findings of such misconduct to future employers when requested, ensuring transparency about a former employee’s history. It applies directly to school employees accused of sexual misconduct with students during active investigations and to school districts/charter schools handling employment references. The law aims to prevent employees under investigation from avoiding termination through resignation while ensuring future employers receive critical safety information.
SB 1733 - This act establishes "Alyssa's Law" and requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement wearable panic alert technology and critical incident response mapping. Beginning with the 2027-28 school year and continuing in all subsequent school years, each LEA shall provide each staff person with a wearable panic alert device. The device shall allow for immediate contact with local emergency response agencies, shall be capable of initiating a campus-wide emergency notification, such as a lockdown, and shall include certain other features specified in the act. Upon activation of an alert, the wearable panic alert system shall provide accurate location information at the room and floor level inside the facility and other areas that are part of the school grounds, such as parking lots and playgrounds. Before the school year begins, all school building personnel shall receive training on the emergency protocols and appropriate use of the panic alert device. Additionally, each LEA shall ensure, before the school year begins, that emergency response mapping is made available by the provider of the wearable panic alert device, at no cost to the LEA, to local first responder agencies. Emergency response maps shall be compatible with security software used by the school, be oriented true north, be overlaid on school floor plans, contain site-specific labeling that matches the structure of school buildings, be capable of managing electronic asset tags, have the ability to provide real time updates to changes to the physical structure of buildings, and have ownership retained by the LEA, as provided in the act. An LEA shall ensure all security data are accessible by a local law enforcement agency and coordinate with a local law enforcement agency to establish appropriate access protocols. Any records relating directly to the physical security or fire safety of the school facility or revealing security or fire safety systems held by a local educational agency are confidential and exempt from public disclosure under the Missouri Sunshine Law. Such records may, however, be disclosed to the owner or leaseholder of the school building; as required in furtherance of the LEA's official duties and responsibilities; to another agency in furtherance of that agency's official duties; or upon a showing of good cause before a court of competent jurisdiction. This act is similar to a provision in HCS/HB 3174 (2026). OLIVIA SHANNON
HB 3188, the "Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Act," would have established a pilot program for public schools to integrate media literacy skills into curricula. It required the education department to select 5-7 diverse school districts for a two-year pilot (2027-2029), focusing on teaching students to analyze news, visual media, digital safety, and online misinformation. The program would have developed guidelines covering topics like digital ethics, algorithm awareness, and constitutional free speech rights, with districts reporting outcomes to the state. However, the bill was introduced in February 2026 and withdrawn the same day, so it never became law and no schools participated.
