Good afternoon MACRAO membership-
Below are legislative updates since our last post. This post includes progress on Missouri legislation and some national articles that we thought may be of interest to the membership. Note: The last day for the Missouri Legislature to pass non-budget bills in May 17. Our next update will likely come after the close of session with a summary of the bills that made it to completion.
Missouri Legislative Updates
The following bills were passed out of the Senate Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children last week:
HCS HB 1569
(https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB1569&year=2024&code=R)
Sponsor: Ann Kelley (R)
Synopsis: This bill contains multiple higher education related initiatives, which include increasing Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program amounts, creates a STEM grant for eligible Access Missouri recipients, creates a Career-Tech Certificate program, updates eligibility for the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant, and requires public institutions of higher education to adopt a policy to grant undergraduate course credit to incoming freshmen who receive a score of 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate exam.
NOTE: The bill still does not distinguish between International Baccalaureate SL and HL tests.
HB 2310 (https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB2310&year=2024&code=R) -
Sponsor: Cameron Parker (R)
Synopsis: Modifies provisions of the Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act. Would require the transition of Core 42 to a 60-credit hour program that must be in place by June 30, 2026 for the 2027-2028 academic year. The bill allows students with an associate degree from a Missouri public institution of higher education to be considered as satisfying the transferable lower-division coursework requirements and upon transfer to a public institution no additional general education requirements for the same program of study will be required. Would require the development of at least five different “degree program” Core 60 sets.
SB 1125 (https://www.senate.mo.gov/24info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=430)
Sponsor: Ben Brown R)
Synopsis: Prohibits public institutions of postsecondary education from requiring the submission of diversity, equity, and inclusion statements. Employees found to violate the action, upon first violation, would be placed on unpaid leave for the next academic year and be ineligible for employment at any other institution in the state during such unpaid leave. Upon a second violation, the employee shall be terminated and shall be ineligible for employment at any institution in the state for at least 5 years.
Additional Articles of Interest:
Israel-Hamas War Protests at Multiple Missouri Campuses:
Below is a sampling of various protests held recently at Missouri higher education institutions.
Missouri State University: MSU students, others gather for peaceful pro-Palestinian sit-in (news-leader.com)
University of Missouri-Columbia: Hundreds of people march at Mizzou in favor of Palestinian rights (columbiatribune.com)
University of Missouri-Kansas City: UMKC students form 'liberation zone' in support of Gaza amid Israel–Hamas war (kshb.com)
St. Louis University: Hundreds gather at St. Louis University to protest Gaza war (stltoday.com)
Washington University: Protest of Gaza war at St. Louis’ Washington University ends with more than 80 arrests (stltoday.com)
Inside Higher Ed: Iowa Lawmakers Pass Last-Minute Ban on DEI, Institutional Statements
An interesting aspect of this Iowa legislation was that it expanded the definition of DEI offices to be “any university unit responsible for promoting activities or procedures related to DEI” with the DEI definition to include “activities designed or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” The bill also requires public universities to “stay neutral” by forbidding “any effort to promote a particular, widely contested opinion referencing unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial privilege, sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts.”
Inside Higher Ed: Biden Administration Finalizes Overtime Rule
US Department of Labor: Biden-Harris administration finalizes rule to increase compensation thresholds for overtime eligibility, expanding protections for millions of workers | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
This will affect the way and amount that some staff members are paid at many colleges and universities.
