The House approved and moved House Bill 1943 along to the Senate; this legislation will institute several important reforms for Missouri’s system of education. One provision will restore a cap on the amount the state needs to provide to the foundation formula that funds public schools in Missouri.
Currently, the funding formula increases each year, but even as the legislature increases school funding, it falls short of the amount called for by the formula. The funding plan previously had a five percent cap in place to control the rate of growth, but the cap was removed by the legislature in 2010. The sponsor of the bill said putting the cap back in place would give the legislature a realistic chance to fully fund the formula in future years.
This funding formula is extremely complex, and in fact I think it needs to be careful analyzed and re-worked in order to be sustainable.
Despite the fact the legislature has proposed an increase of more than $70 million for the foundation formula in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, the formula calls for an additional $550 million in funds. In addition, without the cap, the formula would grow by another $400 million next year. Lawmakers who supported the change said the cap will put an attainable level of funding in place for the legislature going forward.
House Bill 2379 was passed this week in efforts to provide dyslexic children with the resources they need to improve educational outcomes. This legislation intends to provide additional resources and assistance by requiring each public school to screen students for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times. In addition, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must develop guidelines for the appropriate screening of students and the necessary classroom supports.
In addition it establishes the Legislative Task Force on Dyslexia to make recommendations for a statewide system for identification, intervention, and delivery of supports for students with dyslexia including the development of resource materials, professional development activities, and proposed legislation. The task force is called on to ensure no student falls behind in their education.
The Missouri House advanced House Bills 2069 & 2371 to prevent fetal tissue from abortions being donated for medical or scientific use. This includes the selling of body parts; unborn life should be respected. The bill specifically prohibits an individual from knowingly donating the fetal organs or tissue resulting from an abortion to any person or entity for medical, scientific, experimental, therapeutic, or any other use.
The bill stems from the recommendations made by two House committees that met during the interim to investigate allegations that Planned Parenthood sold the tissues and organs from aborted fetuses. It was last year that an anti-abortion group released video that appeared to show a Planned Parenthood executive discuss how the organization disposes of the tissues and organs from aborted fetuses. Pro-life activists claim the video proved that Planned Parenthood sold the tissues for profit, which is illegal. Planned Parenthood claims the allegations are not true and any costs associated with the tissues are there to cover related expenses.
In addition to the ban on the donation of fetal tissues from abortions, the legislation approved by the House would establish a tracking system for fetal remains. Specifically, it requires all tissue removed from an abortion to be sent to a pathologist. Currently, only a representative sample of tissue removed at the time of abortion must be sent to a pathologist. Each fetal tissue specimen must be given a unique identification number to allow the specimen to be tracked from the abortion facility or hospital where the abortion was performed to the pathology lab and its final disposition location.
The bill also requires the department of health and senior services to conduct annual, unannounced, on-site inspections and investigations of abortion facilities.
Overwhelming bipartisan support went to House Bill 1428 which provides additional assistance to veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It changes Missouri statues to recognize mental health service dogs on the same level as traditional service dogs.
The bill would revise the definition of "service dog" to include animals that provide support or therapeutic functions for individuals with psychiatric or mental disabilities. The sponsor said the change is necessary to provide additional support to the many combat veterans who returned home with PTSD or a traumatic brain injury. The sponsor also noted that the global war on terror has created 2.7 million veterans with 20 percent of these individuals estimated to have post-traumatic stress disorder, and more than 300,000 estimated to have a traumatic brain injury.
By adding the definition of the mental health service dogs to current statutes, the Missouri House hopes to help returning veterans suffering from PTSD, as well as individuals struggling with Alzheimer’s, brain injuries, and an array of mental health diagnoses. Mental health service dogs are individually trained to perform tasks that mitigate the psychiatric disabilities of their disabled partners. Therapy dogs can guide a disoriented handler to safety, find a family member for assistance, and stop obsessive compulsive disorder actions.
Despite their benefits, mental health service dogs have not been recognized and treated on the same level as traditional service dogs. However, mental health services dogs are already recognized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Federal Aviation Administration. You can learn more about these special service dogs here: U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
This week a warm welcome went out to SEMO University. I had a productive visit with Dr. Vargus and Chris Martin and earlier in the day the SEMO international students from Japan, China, India, Nepal and more spent some time in my office. So many of them expressed how fortunate they felt to be studying in the U.S.
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