Accountable Bodies: Missouri Governor

Ensure Language Access

Ensure language access for non-English speakers through enforcement and expansion of Missouri Revised Statute 476.803.1 for courts-related services and addition of statute to include all emergency services, including law-enforcement departments and ambulance services. Consider revision of statute to disallow parents to serve as first-option translators for children in court.

Tags Racial Equity
Read More 

Expand Internship and Apprenticeship Opportunities

Expand internships and apprentice opportunities for eligible high school and college students.

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Reform School Discipline Policies

Reform policies and practices that disproportionately impact youth of color and students with disabilities and further compromise their ability to thrive and succeed: Reform rules pertaining to school disproportionality of behavior referrals, suspensions, expulsions, special education, advanced courses, etc. and ensure that multi- tiered levels of support are in place to prevent disproportionality and systems…

Tags Youth at the CenterEducation
Read More 

Ensure College Counseling for All High School Students

Ensure all high school students have quality college counseling. Not every high school in Missouri has a dedicated college counselor; many times caseload size prohibits meaningful guidance; guidance counseling certification should be reviewed.

Tags Youth at the CenterEducation
Read More 

Ensure Equitable Access to Rigorous High School Courses

Ensure all high school students have access to rigorous courses with quality instruction. Students need to be exposed to high-level courses in high school to garner the academic skills necessary to enter and succeed in college.

Tags Youth at the CenterEducation
Read More 

Early Childhood Education

Ensure sufficient early childhood development and education programs to meet the demand and align all efforts around a high-quality model that produces measurable child outcomes: Birth to 3 years of age: Scale-up and integrate, for the region’s most needy children and families, evidence-based early childhood programs for a continuum of care, including but not limited…

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

End Shame and Stigma

Develop a media campaign to minimize stigma/shame as a singular issue: A vast number of issues (hunger, mental health/illness, homelessness, obesity, poverty, incarceration, etc.) are compounded by the presence of stigma and shame. Showcase the fact that we all suffer from some stigma/shame and through these shared stories and conversations we can become more compassionate,…

Tags Youth at the CenterPromoting Lifelong Wellness and Personal Development
Read More 

Ensure Employer-Educator Collaborations Build a Love of Learning

Ensure all efforts and models designed to align K-12, higher education and workforce development support the social and emotional development of children, youth and young adults and broadly build life-long skills and a love of learning.

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

School Accreditation System

Revise the Missouri accreditation system (MSIP5). Ensure that the process of revision incorporates the following: Inclusive Participation – ensure that the revision team includes broad representation including: K-12 – district superintendents, principals and teachers Higher education representatives Parents and students Business, philanthropic and community social support representatives Lens Assessment – ensure that the new system…

Tags EducationYouth at the Center
Read More 

Veto HB42

Veto HB42. *Note: The Commission affirmed this call prior to Governor Nixon’s veto of the bill on 6/26/15

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Negotiate Reasonable and Equitable Transfer Rates

Negotiate a reasonable and equitable transfer rate between local school districts. Without an established tuition cap, unaccredited school districts are at great risk of going bankrupt and further compromising their remaining students’ hope for a quality education.  

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Amend Role of Assistance Teams

Ensure members of assistance teams are qualified, based on their past performance in failing districts with similar circumstances and omit or change language to “may” consider the recommendations of the assistance teams.

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Limit Criteria for Denial of Transfers

No student shall be denied a transfer based on criteria that does not exclude him/her from attending a school in their resident district. Only students who have committed a safe schools violation be ineligible for transfer.  

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Adopt the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC) Calculation

Adopt the Voluntary Inter-District Choice Corporation (VICC) calculation of $7,200 as the maximum rate.

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Hold Schools Accepting Transfer Students Accountable

Mandate accountability. If districts are going to accept students and funds, they must accept accountability.  

Tags Youth at the CenterEducation
Read More 

Identify Convenient Transfer Schools

Prioritize accredited schools in same district when transferring students from unaccredited schools.  

Tags Youth at the CenterEducation
Read More 

Create School-Based Early Warning Systems

Invest, at the school level, in a quarterly, early warning and coordinated community response system capable of tracking and responding to all students’ successes and challenges.    

Tags Youth at the CenterEducation
Read More 

Support Post-Secondary Access for DACA Students

Support postsecondary access and affordability for residents who are approved under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals): Allow state-supported higher education institutions to charge DACA students resident tuition rates vs. non-resident or international tuition rates. Ensure DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students are eligible for all public financial aid and public benefits afforded to…

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Expand the Access Missouri Program

Expand Access Missouri: Increase the total budget for Missouri’s need-based scholarship program to at least the FY2009 budget amount of $92 million. Since 2009, Missouri has decreased its investment in Access Missouri, resulting in student aid awards that barely meet statutory minimums. Individual awards fall far short of meeting student financial need.  

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Encourage Paid Time Off for Volunteering

Promote “volunteer paid time off” for employees, including but not limited to expert giving, mentoring and tutoring.

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Review the Missouri Family Support Division

Create a Missouri Blue Ribbon Commission (via Executive Order) to conduct a thorough and inclusive review of the current operating model and outcomes of Missouri Family Support Division

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

End Hunger for Children and Families

End hunger for children and families: Create policies and procedures that are client- centric. (i.e. Individuals employed in shift work jobs cannot easily answer telephone calls. Failure to answer call forces individual to go to the “back of the line”). Support and advocate for the expansion of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women,…

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Build Safe Neighborhoods

Support sustained, citizen-led efforts to develop safe neighborhoods, particularly the efforts of parents and families impacted by violence, and clergy working to build community and keep watch. Support should include, but not be limited to, planning, coaching, funding and service- provider coordination  

Tags Youth at the CenterBuilding Safe and Trauma-Informed Environments
Read More 

Create an Innovative Education Hub

Create an “innovative education center/hub” capable of building an inclusive, collaborative, and multi-disciplined education environment focused on leading our region into the 21st Century from early childhood to post-secondary. All efforts should be coordinated and represented by a broad and diverse constituency including but not limited to school district leaders representing low income districts, engaged…

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Create the Spirit of Missouri Fund

Create the Spirit of Missouri Fund Invest in a range of innovations that have a strong potential to impact at a large scale our state’s most vexing challenges. Broadly define innovation as any solution that has the potential to address an important issue, including new business problems, technology, new delivery systems, public policy and/or behavioral…

Tags Youth at the Center
Read More 

Launch Best Practice-Driven Job Training Programs

Expand and incentivize transitional job programs containing confirmed critical attributes to be identified by a designated task force appointed by the Department of Economic Development’s Workforce Development Division to serve a greater number of employment-ready individuals including those who are TANF recipients, long-term unemployed, and at-risk youth.

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Develop a State Supported Funding Plan for Public Transit

Develop a State supported funding plan for public transit in order to fill a significant funding deficit when seeking federal dollars for transit capital projects requiring matching funds.    

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Enhance Collaboration Between Educational Institutions and Employers

Enhance and expand collaboration between educational institutions and employers statewide by: Establishing a regional intermediary to ensure greater public-private collaboration in assessing workforce needs and communicating those needs with K-12 institutions, job training programs, and post-secondary education institutions; Developing a regional strategy for aligning educational programs to workforce needs that has clearly established indicators to…

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Create Individual and Family Development Accounts

Provide progressive Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and Family Development Accounts (FDAs) offered statewide by means of a dedicated funding stream from the state. Additional potential funding sources include: Using the Community Reinvestment Act to provide banks with credit for funding development accounts; Offering corporate tax breaks for contributions to development accounts; Redirecting unclaimed savings account…

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Protect the Rights of Workers to Organize

Protect the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain.

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Protect Rights of Local Government

Protect local government’s ability to innovate above the minimum policy standards maintained by the federal or state government to meet the special needs of their community.

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Create Universal Child Development Accounts

Expand the current scope of the MOST 529 Matching Grant Program so it is used as a platform for progressive universal Child Development Accounts that are: statewide and automatic (opt-out).

Tags Opportunity to Thrive
Read More 

Require Psychological and Bias Screenings

All officers hired by a municipal or County police department shall undergo a full psychological screening, in conjunction with a bias screening, by a Countyapproved psychiatrist or psychologist. New hires shall also receive a full background investigation. All police departments shall contact Missouri POST to review the license status and any known disciplinary history of…

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Support Officer Well-Being

The State of Missouri’s respective departments shall implement annual, independent, and confidential mental health and physical fitness checks and nutritional support for officers. (Adapted from Action Item 6.1.2 of Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing report)

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Provide Mental Health Services for Officers

The State of Missouri shall support law enforcement agencies with research and funding to offer tailored, independent, and confidential mental health treatments to officers, including a toll-free mental health hotline specifically for officers, anonymously connecting callers to officers who are not in the same agency and who could refer the caller to professional help if…

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Increase Funding and Support for POST

The State of Missouri shall provide additional resources that support Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) monitoring, oversight, and investigative roles.    

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Hold Non-Consolidated Agencies to Shared Standards

The State of Missouri shall require non-consolidated agencies to follow the standards set forth by the “Vision for Policing in the St. Louis Region.” Non-consolidated agencies shall integrate independent civilian evaluation, as well as assessment from all levels of the agency, from line officer to leadership, to ensure accordance with the Vision. Adapted from PERF…

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Evaluate Consolidated Departments

Newly consolidated departments shall be assessed periodically through independent civilian evaluation, as well as assessment from all levels of the agency, from line officer to leadership, to ensure accordance with the vision for policing in the St. Louis region described by the Commission.

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Create Civilian Review Boards at the County Level

Counties across the state should establish independent civilian oversight boards designed to manage municipal oversight boards and civilian investigations particularly when local efforts cannot sufficiently address incidents under review. In addition, these independent investigative boards shall align with the following characteristics for effectiveness: • Able and authorized to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing by officers and…

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Create Civilian Review Boards at the Municipal Level

Municipalities (community organizations, municipal governments) shall establish independent civilian oversight boards designed to meet the unique needs of each municipality. In addition, independent civilian oversight boards shall have the power to review non-confidential police data and engage in regular meetings with police upper management to advise them on policies and practices. The purpose of the board shall be to identify any administrative, supervisory,…

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Clarify Public Record Laws

Legislative bodies within the State of Missouri shall update public record laws, such that the relationship between public access and privacy of individuals is clarified. Policies and practices should at a minimum increase transparency and accessibility, provide access to information (e.g. crime statistics, characteristics of use of force incidents, current calls for service, department organizational…

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Fund Technology Storage

Law enforcement agencies statewide shall receive additional resources to support technology storage fees. (Adapted from Recommendation 2.3 of Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing report)

Tags Justice for All
Read More 

Update Use of Force Statute for Fleeing Suspects

Update use of force statute to reflect the United States Supreme Court decision Tennessee v. Garner, which states that, under the Fourth Amendment, a law enforcement officer pursuing a fleeing suspect may not use deadly force to prevent escape unless “the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of…

Tags Justice for All
Read More