Rep. Chanel Mosley

Maddy summaryHB 1432 requires Missouri teacher education programs to include at least three credit hours of social and emotional learning (SEL) and three credit hours of social work in education coursework in their curriculum. It also mandates that all licensed public school teachers, principals, and educators complete at least three hours annually of SEL and social work training through in-person or self-directed professional development. Substitute teachers must complete a similar 20-hour online training program containing the same SEL and social work components. The bill directly affects teacher training institutions, current educators, and substitute teachers across Missouri public schools.

Maddy summaryHB 1434 addresses chronic school absenteeism by requiring schools to take specific actions when a student accumulates 15 or more unexcused absences in a school year without a doctor's note. Schools must schedule a meeting with the student, counselor, and parent/guardian to create an attendance plan; if the parent misses the meeting or the student continues missing school, the school must report detailed information (including student demographics, grades, and absence dates) to the state children's division within 10 business days. The children's division then conducts a home visit and notifies the family that further unexcused absences could trigger educational neglect charges under existing law. This bill directly affects students with frequent unexcused absences, their families, school districts, and state child welfare agencies. It modifies existing attendance laws to create a structured process for addressing absenteeism, focusing on early intervention and documentation.