We return to the Capitol from spring break next Tuesday and we will tackle many new issues. In this report I want to give you a wrap up of the education issues we have been working on during the first half of this Session.

The one issue that every Missourian can relate to is education. Whether you have a child or grandchild going to school in Missouri, or a friend or family member who is a teacher, or if you yourself teach or are enrolled in higher education, education matters to you – and therefore matters to us.

Properly funding education is of course the biggest way we can provide quality education for Missouri’s youth. We have allocated record funding for education in recent years. 2007’s increase of $132 million marked the third year we increased funding for elementary and secondary education. Just last week, the House Budget Committee passed out the 2008 education budget, which again includes an increase over last year. When we return next week the budget will be one of the first things the entire House tackles, and as always, education will be something we spend much time discussing.

In addition to fully funding education, we are working to make the classroom experience safer and better for our students. In previous Capitol Comments I had reported on steps we are taking to make sure our students have adequate protection from teacher sexual misconduct. This bill, HB 1314, has passed the House and is awaiting Senate action. In another effort to improve the classroom experience for Missouri students, we want to make sure our teachers have the ability to enforce classroom discipline without fear of being sued. This legislation prevents lawsuits against teachers who discipline students by using their school district's approved procedures. This legislation is on the Third Reading Calendar in the House and hopefully will be approved soon.

We also know one of the best ways to ensure we are providing a quality education for our young people is by ensuring they have the best teachers possible. This year we are working on giving teachers a much-needed pay increase so we can continue to attract and retain high quality teachers here in Missouri. The teachers we have in our state are doing an amazing job of providing a quality education but they are doing it while being paid far less than they are worth. Right now Missouri is ranked 44th in the nation when it comes to average teacher pay. We can’t allow our teachers to leave our state, so it is time to bring our pay for teachers up to par with other states. HB 2040 has the language for this issue, and you can follow its progress by entering the number in the bill search box at www.house.mo.gov.

We have much work to do in our second half of Session, and I am confident that along with taking steps to improve education, we will successfully tackle the illegal immigration issue and alleviate Missourians’ property tax burden, as we strive to make Missouri a better place to live.

Have a wonderful Easter! And as always I encourage you to contact me with your suggestions or ideas. I can be reached at my Capitol office (573) 751-1484, or by e-mail at shannon.cooper@house.mo.gov. My mailing address is: Room 310, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.