Missouri鈥檚 school districts are struggling not just with a teacher shortage but a scarcity of bus drivers, custodians and other essential personnel.

In the 2022-2023 school year, teachers with inadequate teaching certification taught over 8% of Missouri public school classes, .

The crisis has led larger school districts to consider adopting four-day school weeks to address teacher retention and recruitment problems.

Sen. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, has been working on one way to address the problem for four years. And last week, the governor signed a bill into law, set to take effect Aug. 28, that will allow retired public-school staff to work full-time for a district for up to four years without losing retirement benefits.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like on Aug. 29 everything鈥檚 gonna be fine鈥� but it is going to have an impact to help schools continue to get along somehow until there鈥檚 a better solution or they can find people to come back to schools and work again,鈥� Black told The Independent.

Prior to Black鈥檚 legislation, teachers and non-certificated staff could work full-time for only two years post-retirement without losing benefits.

The bill includes a provision to help prevent too many staff  from taking early retirement, limiting school districts to 30 retired teachers working full time.

Black said the four-year timeframe seemed like the best fit because it allows a student to attend college and earn a teaching credential in that time. Some school districts sponsor college tuition for some students in a 鈥済row your own teacher鈥� program, where students commit to teaching in the district post-graduation.

Black鈥檚 legislation also addresses non-certificated positions, like bus drivers and janitors. Retired school employees can work in positions that don鈥檛 require a teaching certificate for more hours. Previously, they were capped at earning 60% of the minimum teacher鈥檚 salary, which would amount to $15,000 for those without a master鈥檚 degree.

They will now be allowed to earn 133% of the Social Security earning鈥檚 limit for those not at full retirement age, or about $28,250, until June 30 of 2028. On that date, the limit will decrease to 100% of the earning鈥檚 exemption, which is currently $21,240.

Black figured it would be easier for districts to call retired teachers 鈥� who are not intimidated by the school environment 鈥� back into the classroom part-time than find an entirely new workforce.

鈥淪chools that are having a heck of a time finding somebody to come in and fill some hard-to-fill jobs, it鈥檚 a little bit easier to get (retired educators) to come in the door and be successful because they鈥檝e already lived it,鈥� he said.

Springfield Public Schools, Missouri鈥檚 largest school district, met with Black early in the legislative session, the district鈥檚 legislative consultant Jason Zamkus said at the latest board meeting.

Zamkus said Black鈥檚 original bill 鈥� which capped earnings at $21,240, rather than the $28,250 that lawmakers landed on 鈥� wouldn鈥檛 have given enough of a boost for retired teachers鈥� earning potential.

鈥淚 set a meeting with Sen. Black and worked with (the Public School Retirement System) to try to up that in a way that was both fiscally responsible so that it wouldn鈥檛 upset the balance of the retirement system statewide but it would also have the desired result of actually drawing people back into the work of public education,鈥� Zamkus told Springfield鈥檚 school board.

Black said the five-year sunset should give actuaries with the Public School Retirement System time to calculate the best number.

Black said retired educators who served in roles such as bus drivers introduced him to this issue when he was a representative. They told him they would lose their retirement benefits if they drove for the entire school year.

鈥淲ith the old system, they could drive the school bus up until sometime in April and then they had to quit driving,鈥� Black said.鈥滻f they didn鈥檛, they would end up losing their retirement; they would get penalized.鈥�

Black is a retired agriculture educator and often took on non-certificated roles, like driving the bus or coaching football.

He has filed this legislation repeatedly during his time serving in the Missouri House, even striking deals in 2021 and 2022 that didn鈥檛 pan out.

Zamkus said this legislative session was 鈥減robably one of the best legislative sessions for public education,鈥� largely because of the number of bills he deemed harmful that didn鈥檛 pass.

with a myriad of bills that were combined in committee. GOP infighting in the Senate took floor time from his legislation, killing it as the session ended.

Lewis supports Black鈥檚 legislation but foresees more work addressing the teacher shortage.

鈥淭eacher recruitment and retention is still one of the biggest areas that we need to work on,鈥� he told The Independent.

Black said he doesn鈥檛 think his legislation will 鈥渇ix all the problems鈥� but he hopes it makes a difference.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over whether two single mothers should have been sentenced to jail time because their children missed more days of school than the local district allowed.

The case centers on , which states that a parent must ensure their child attends 鈥渢he academic program on a regular basis.鈥�

Assistant Attorney General Shaun Mackelprang, representing the state, argued that the definition of 鈥渁 regular basis鈥� means attending school every day on the district鈥檚 schedule.

鈥淒o I have to go to school everyday? The answer is yes,鈥� he told six Supreme Court judges Wednesday morning. 鈥淵ou have to go to school every day that the school is in session.鈥�

Ellen Flottman, a public defender representing Caitlyn Williams and Tamarae LaRue, argued the law is unconstitutionally vague and inconsistently applied.

鈥淭he state鈥檚 position is anti-parent. Most of the school districts are not prosecuting these parents,鈥� Flottman said Wednesday. 鈥淪chools have to work with parents; they have to have policies because they want the kids to go to school.鈥�

鈥淏ut this is a kindergartener and a first grader. Is missing one day in November and one day in December going to hurt this kindergartener鈥檚 education that much?鈥�

Case Background

Williams and LaRue鈥檚 children attended school in the Lebanon R-III School District, about an hour outside of Springfield.

The district has a 16.1% poverty rate, , compared to Missouri鈥檚 12.7% poverty rate.

During the 2021-2022 school year, Williams鈥� six-year-old daughter missed 16 days of school before the district filed a probable cause statement. A Laclede County Circuit Court judge sentenced Williams to seven days in jail and added a misdemeanor to her record.

Williams called her daughter out from school sick for six of the absences, but the school counts these as 鈥渧erified鈥� but not 鈥渆xcused鈥� and tallies the hours and minutes of missed instructional time toward her percentage.

The district鈥檚 handbook, which parents check a box that they have read when they register online, says parents must notify the school of absences but it does not clarify the difference between 鈥渧erified鈥� and 鈥渆xcused鈥� absences, such as those with a doctor鈥檚 note.

鈥淢y clients were not acting knowingly鈥�. They鈥檙e being misled by the school handbook and the school administrators,鈥� Flottman said Wednesday.

The handbook also says: 鈥淭he state mandates that students maintain 90% or higher attendance each year in school and that continued and valuable learning cannot take place without regular attendance.鈥�

State statute does not mandate a 90% attendance rate, though students who maintain this level of attendance contribute greater to school accreditation, Mackelprang said Wednesday.

Mackelprang argued in a filing in the case that high attendance contributes toward a school鈥檚 funding.

鈥淒aily attendance, even down to the hour, has important consequences for schools and, by extension, all of the students at a given school,鈥� Mackelprang wrote.

LaRue鈥檚 six-year-old son was absent 13 days, according to Flottman, and LaRue called the school with explanation for six of those absences. The district says his attendance, based on the number of hours present, is just under 80%.

Court documents say LaRue gave the following reasons for her son鈥檚 absence: Doctor appointment, fever, at dad鈥檚 in Iowa, another appointment, overslept and sick. Documents mention siblings and that the family contracted COVID-19 during the school year.

LaRue was sentenced to 15 days in jail by a different Laclede County Circuit Court judge than Williams, but the sentence was changed to two years of probation.

Arguments

Flottman鈥檚 argument was three-pronged: The parents didn鈥檛 know that they were violating the rules because the handbook didn鈥檛 state that absences without doctor鈥檚 notes are unexcused; the circuit court failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the children鈥檚 absences were beyond regular attendance; and the state statute is 鈥渦nconstitutionally vague鈥� by failing to define what 鈥渞egular鈥� attendance means.

She opened the arguments by saying she attends church 鈥渙n a regular basis,鈥� although she missed a service recently and has a vacation planned.

鈥淭he state has argued that regular means every day,鈥� she said as Judge W. Brent Powell interrupted her.

Powell said he liked her church analogy but asked if the nonattendance rules were like the speed limit, where not everyone that gets caught breaking the law gets a ticket but officers have discretion on what is too far.

Flottman responded by using an example introduced in Mackelprang鈥檚 brief, the Wisconsin compulsory school attendance law which says children should attend school 鈥渞egularly.鈥� The Wisconsin Court of Appeals defined 鈥渞egularly鈥� as 鈥渃onstantly and uniformly,鈥� Mackelprang wrote.

Flottman said the state鈥檚 argument also helped her clients, for Wisconsin鈥檚 law has a 鈥渟pecific schema,鈥� she said Wednesday.

鈥淢issouri doesn鈥檛 give that kind of guidance to parents,鈥� she said.

Judge Mary R. Russell inquired Mackelprang about why Missouri lawmakers didn鈥檛 include more specificity in the attendance law.

鈥淲hy would the legislature choose to write it this way instead of in a way that is more articulate?鈥� she asked.

鈥淭hey just have to write it in a way that is adequate,鈥� Mackelprang said.

鈥淪o, is the legislature leaving it up to local school districts how to enforce this word?鈥� Russell asked, inquiring about the definition of 鈥渞egular attendance.鈥� 鈥淗ow to interpret this word?鈥�

鈥淭here probably is some discretion of when they are going to go to the prosecutor with it,鈥� Mackelprang said.

Flottman said she was worried about this leniency allowing schools to apply different standards to students.

鈥淭he students that take a day off to go deer hunting or their parents who take their children out of school for a week to go to Disney World are not being prosecuted for this. So there鈥檚 a difference between prosecutorial discretion and arbitrary enforcement,鈥� she said.

Judge Robin Ransom asked if she would make the same argument if it were not a criminal case.

鈥淚 do think the criminalization of this certainly has to do with it. We鈥檙e talking about the liberty of people who are just trying to do the best they can,鈥� Flottman said.

She said she would argue that the state should get involved to provide services to get the children to school.

Mackelprang said the statute is not 鈥渁nti-parent.鈥� He said parents are in control of young children and have options to homeschool or enroll them in private school.

鈥淲omen make the decision to enroll them in a public school, like the parents did in this case,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e subject to the terms of this statute.鈥�

The judges can鈥檛 base their decision on violations of the school handbook, for the state鈥檚 case is that Williams and LaRue broke state law.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .

Over a quarter of Missouri school districts learn on a four-day schedule. And up until last week, they were small, rural districts 鈥� some with as few as 50 students.

That changed when Independence School District voted to implement the schedule for its 14,000 students next fall.

Missouri policymakers are taking notice, with varying ideas to deal with the key factor for many districts鈥� shift to a four-day week: Teacher recruitment and retainment.

Four-day school weeks have been growing exponentially across Missouri鈥檚 rural school districts since 2009. That year, the state legislature removed a requirement that set a minimum number of days schools must open their doors, leaving a mandate for 1,044 hours of learning.

Roughly 12% of the state鈥檚 public school K-8 students now attend class four days per week, according to and data.

Only two of the districts educate over 3,000 students, meaning Independence will be by far the largest in Missouri to make the switch.

鈥淛ust the sheer magnitude of the size of the school district makes them a unique case,鈥� said Jon Turner, an associate professor at Missouri State University studying the implementation of the four-day school week.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas voiced concerns on Twitter, calling for salary raises for educators and naming a four-day school week a 鈥済immick.鈥�

鈥淚 am concerned this is more about adults than our kids. I hope I am wrong,鈥� he wrote.

Motive

Dale Herl, superintendent of the Independence School District, starred in a few short videos explaining the four-day school week to families in the run up to the school board鈥檚 vote. The first video made it clear what the district鈥檚 motivation was for cutting Mondays off the schedule.

鈥淭he main thing, looking at this, is we wanted to see if it would help retain and recruit staff,鈥� he said.

State Rep. Doug Richey, R- Excelsior Springs and co-chair of the legislature鈥檚 , said an employment perk is what he hears as the key reason for switching to a four-day school week.

Turner has watched rural districts adopt a four-day week in order to have a large enough workforce to operate. Now, he said he wonders if larger districts are having the same problem.

鈥淭he dynamic of the four-day week is that many of those districts are smaller, rural school districts, and where they lose their competitive angle is with mid- and late-career teachers,鈥� Turner said.

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data shows that 40.5% of Missouri teachers are leaving their school districts after three years. In Independence, that rate is slightly higher, with 43.7% choosing to leave their positions.

A four-day work week, which is growing in popularity in the tech industry, is pitched as聽 an incentive for school staff to stay loyal to their professions and the district.

Teacher pay

Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, doesn’t just represent the state’s newest four-day school district. His children also attend and he expressed frustration with the district’s decision in an interview with The Independent.

Rizzo said he and his wife are considering taking their children out of their current schools.

He wants to see the state increase its investment in public education.

鈥淲e’re at the bottom when it comes to teacher pay, and we’re expecting miracles. We shouldn鈥檛 educate on miracles,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e should educate on dollars and cents and in fully funding the schools in our state.鈥�

Missouri ranks 50th in the nation for the average teacher starting salary, paying new educators an average of $33,234, . The state is 47th for overall teacher salary, paying an average of $51,557.

Richey touts local control, wary of raising the state鈥檚 minimum wage for educators.

He pointed to Hickman Mills School District, which is also located outside of Kansas City. The district is raising teacher salaries with an operational levy passed by voters in August.

Independence pays teachers an average salary of $53,528, according to DESE data. The Lee鈥檚 Summit R-7 School District, located less than 30 minutes away, pays an average of $64,350; less than 30% of its educators leave the district after three years.

鈥淯nless the taxpayers are really ready to kick in with a much higher salary to compensate these people, the only way we can [retain teachers] is by figuring out ways within the schedule, like four days a week, that seem to be attractive to people,鈥� Turner said.

He said he has heard anecdotal evidence that educators are leaving higher-paying jobs to teach at schools that operate four days per week.

Numerous bills filed ahead of the upcoming legislative session address the apparent shortage of teachers. Multiple suggest raising the minimum teacher salary to $38,000.

The current minimum is $25,000, but a one-year grant program allowed participating schools to raise their salary floors to $38,000 with a year of state help.

鈥淚 wasn’t entirely excited about that because it’s a one-year grant program. And districts really can’t plan around that,鈥� said Richey, who also serves on the House Budget Committee. 鈥淚 just thought that was more of a band-aid approach.鈥�

This month, DESE . Sitting atop the list is raising teachers鈥� minimum wage to at least $38,000, along with urging the legislature to establish a fund to help districts afford the higher salaries.

Research

Turner said he can鈥檛 predict whether Independence鈥檚 shift will help or hurt student outcomes. Either way, he says the impact will be small.

鈥淚 have not seen any data that has said over the long term 鈥� and I’m talking about more than five years 鈥� that you’re seeing long-term negative or positive impacts of the four-day week,鈥� he said.

He said it could help keep high-quality instructors around students, but the kids could suffer from more memory loss over longer weekends.

The weekday students are home also allows for more professional development than teachers could otherwise get on the calendar, Turner said.

looked at standardized test scores across multiple states over 12 years and tracked academic growth. They found that schools with four-days per week had less academic growth, especially in urban areas.

The effect gets worse the more years a school meets only four days per week, the researchers write.

But they were not able to measure how many hours of instruction students get annually.

, divided their data into three categories: Low, medium and high-time at school.

Only those with a low amount of time in the classroom had negative effects from the four-day schedule, they wrote.

Independence School District will be adding 35 minutes to each day, so students will not lose the equivalent of an entire day of class, the district said .

Fifth day

Independence will provide its after school program, called “Kids Safari,” on the weekday students have off for Kindergarten through eighth grade.

But it would not be free.

Families can utilize childcare on Mondays for elementary and middle-school-aged children for $225 per year per child. Transportation is not provided.

Rizzo described Independence as a 鈥渂lue-collar, hard-working, middle-class area.鈥� He didn鈥檛 know the district鈥檚 plan for the fifth day yet, but he said having something would be important to families.

A way he鈥檒l measure the four-day school week鈥檚 success is by the district鈥檚 enrollment numbers the following year.

Richey said he will be looking at the absenteeism rate and measures of teacher morale. Then, around five years from now, a successful program should have improved test scores, he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .

Within seven minutes of receiving a 911 call about an active shooter in a St. Louis high school, police and armed security guards were already in the building and engaging the suspect in gun fire. 

The immediate response by police and school security on Oct. 24 at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School has drawn praise and received credit for minimizing loss of life. 

However, a day after the tragedy, St. Louis Public School District officials faced questions abouts why the seven security guards stationed inside the school weren鈥檛 armed. 

The district employs 25 armed guards who patrol outside schools, district officials said, but district policy forbids firearms inside buildings. 

鈥淲e thought it was best for us, for our officers and for the normalcy of school for kids to not have officers armed in the school,鈥� said Deandre Davis, director of safety and security for SLPS.

Armed security wouldn鈥檛 have been a match for the shooter anyway, since he was carrying an AR-15-style rifle, said Matt Davis, president of the district鈥檚 school board.

鈥淭he assailant had a high-powered rifle,鈥� Matt Davis said, 鈥渟o much so that he could force himself into a secured building. The building is riddled with bullets. I don鈥檛 know how much firepower it would take to stop that person. You saw the police response. It was massive.鈥�

Whether someone in the school should have been armed 鈥� and if that would have made any impact whatsoever 鈥� isn鈥檛 just a question in the aftermath of last month鈥檚 shooting. It will likely be a focus for state lawmakers when they return to the Capitol in January.

Right now school districts have the option to have armed security, including allowing teachers or administrators to carry a firearm. Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville said he鈥檚 exploring legislation to make it mandatory. 

鈥淲e need to step it up to where there鈥檚 a requirement to how you鈥檙e going to protect kids,鈥� Brattin said.

Missouri Democrats responded to the shooting by , like establishing universal background checks for gun purchases and extreme risk protection orders 鈥� or red flag laws 鈥� allowing judges to temporarily separate at-risk individuals from their firearms.

Republicans, who hold super majorities in both the House and Senate, have largely panned the proposals as an infringement on Second Amendment rights. 

Gov. Mike Parson said tougher gun laws won鈥檛 stop gun violence. 

鈥淵ou got a criminal that committed a criminal act, you know, and all the laws in the world are not going to stop those things,鈥� . 

 This year alone, there have been across the country. 

It was inevitable that a shooting would happen in Missouri, Matt Davis said, but the only solution state legislators have offered is to 鈥渉arden schools鈥� with more guns and security.  

鈥淭here鈥檚 how many hundreds of bills, hundreds of solutions, hundreds of things where people can come together and compromise to protect their Second Amendment rights and to protect our kids in school,鈥� Matt Davis said. 鈥淚f you have the job as a politician and can write laws, and you can鈥檛 think of anything to do to stop this, then do something else.鈥� 

School protection officers

Included in a bill passed by Missouri lawmakers in 2009 was a provision giving school officials and school boards the authority to decide if a person with a concealed carry permit could carry a gun on school campuses.聽

There鈥檚 no state agency that tracks which campuses have given this authorization, according to the state Department of Public Safety. 

Four years later, Brattin said he decided to push legislation to establish a school protection officer program after hearing about school shootings and realizing 鈥渨hat a soft target our schools really are.鈥� 

For some rural schools, it takes law enforcement 45 minutes to respond to a call, Brattin said, and several of the districts didn鈥檛 have access to school security guards. 

A released by the Missouri Governor鈥檚 School Safety Task Force confirmed this, finding that 40% of public school districts that responded to a survey didn鈥檛 have any school security. The survey was completed by more than half of the public school districts in Missouri.

Some teachers and administrators were already carrying firearms to respond to potential threats, so Brattin said he wanted to offer them training. 

鈥淚 wanted to develop something that had a rigorous form of training to it,鈥� Brattin said.

Brattin鈥檚 2013 bill didn鈥檛 pass, but one provision from his proposal made it onto a bill that was signed by the governor. It allowed the POST Commission, which facilitates training for law enforcement statewide, to determine for these teachers and administrators. 

Those standards include more than 100 hours of training in handling imminent threats, de-escalation and administering first aid. 

The next year Brattin was able to get his proposal attached as an amendment to a wide-ranging gun , which the bill sponsor, then-Sen. Will Kraus, boasted would make training for teachers and administrators who want to be school protection officers mandatory. 

The idea behind Brattin鈥檚 amendment was to take the state鈥檚 a 鈥渟tep further,鈥� Kraus said at the time.

鈥淪o this actually puts an additional requirement on those individuals,鈥� Kraus said during a 2014 floor debate. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important that we train those individuals if they are going to carry [on campuses].鈥�

But the 2014 law didn鈥檛 make training mandatory. 

According to Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike O鈥機onnell, the state has a 鈥渘arrow role鈥� of facilitating the school protection officer training program. 

If school districts want to use the state鈥檚 training program, they can, but he said, 鈥渢here鈥檚 nothing that says you can鈥檛 do this on your own.鈥�

It鈥檚 up to each district to decide who becomes a school protection officer, he said, and 鈥渢here鈥檚 nothing that we would have a say in.鈥� 

As of today, 70 people in 29 school districts have opted to go through the state鈥檚 training. St. Louis is not among them. 

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not oversee the training or certification of either school resource officers or school protection officers, a department spokesperson said. 

Now, Brattin wants to make it mandatory for schools to allow someone to carry in the building. But it remains unclear how the state would track these individuals or if training could be required of these gun carriers. 

Brattin said there is 鈥渁mbiguity鈥� on tracking who receives training because school districts can opt to authorize people under the concealed carry law or under the school protection officer statute.  

鈥淣othing is stopping these schools just from authorizing a teacher to have a CCW (concealed carry weapon),鈥� Brattin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that is already authorized. [The school protection officer measure] didn鈥檛 nullify that.鈥� 

Democrats demand universal background checks

Two weeks before he entered a St. Louis high school and killed a teacher and student, 19-year-old Orlando Harris attempted to buy a gun from a licensed dealer in St. Charles. 

An FBI background check blocked the sale, according to St. Louis police officials, and he ultimately bought the weapon that he used in the shooting from a private seller. 

Background checks are not required under federal or Missouri law to legally buy a firearm from an unlicensed private seller. Democrats want Missouri to join 21 states and the District of Columbia in extending background checks beyond federal law.

鈥淎 requirement for universal background checks on all firearm purchases would have blocked this sale,鈥� House Democratic leaders wrote in to the governor and GOP legislative leaders.

Nine days before the shooting, Harris鈥� mother asked police to take the gun away from him because she was concerned about his mental state. Police said state law didn鈥檛 give them the authority to take Harris鈥� weapon.

鈥淭he State of Missouri does not have a red flag law,鈥� St. Louis Police Sgt. Charles Wall said in a statement to the media. 鈥淭hat means SLMPD officers did not have clear authority to temporarily seize the rifle when they responded to the suspect鈥檚 home when called by the suspect鈥檚 mother on 10/15/22.鈥�

Brattin, like many Missouri Republicans, said he strongly opposes red flag laws because people could abuse the process.

He believes Harris鈥� family should have taken the gun away from him on their own.

鈥淔irst and foremost, if the mother knew that, she could have had a family member just go and take the gun themselves from the son, instead of having to get law enforcement involved,鈥� Brattin said.

St. Louis Police Chief Michael Sack said the mother worked with officers to give the gun to an adult who was lawfully able to possess it. 

鈥淭he mother at the time wanted it out of the house, so they facilitated that,鈥� Sack said. 鈥淭his other party had it. How [Harris] acquired it after that, we don鈥檛 know.鈥�

St. Louis school leaders and elected officials don鈥檛 want to see more armed security. Instead, they are .

鈥淚 do not think that we need guns in our schools, period,鈥� said Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, in an interview with The Independent after the shooting. 鈥淲hat we need to do is strengthen our state gun laws and we won鈥檛 have to worry about people having unlimited access to ammunition, and clips that shoot 20 and 40 rounds at one time.鈥�

May said arming teachers and people in the school sends a certain message to the children. 

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not the message we want to send,鈥� May said. 鈥淲e want a safe, peaceful environment for our kids to grow up in. And we can do that by strengthening the gun laws in this state.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .