KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
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Parents in Julie Holland’s civic leadership class Wednesday night brought up the difference between intent and interpretation of laws.
“Our class last night was on understanding the law. We really talk about the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law and having our parents analyze a law,” explained Holland, who founded the Parent Leadership Training Institute.
The class used part of a new Missouri law, Senate Bill 727, as an example. KSHB 41 News profiled the law Tuesday. It says districts that “provided” 169 school days in a year receive a 1 percent incentive payment the following year to increase teacher salaries.
The state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education interprets the word “provided” as days when students received instruction. Districts have to make up for traditional snow days if those days drop the district below the 169 mark.
State Representative Brad Banderman interprets it differently. He believes districts that plan to have 169 days should qualify for the incentive payment, no matter if they cancel a few days because of the weather.
“When I think of a school district providing for 169 days, that's different than meeting for 169 days,” Banderman said. “But the interpretation of DESE within the state of Missouri is that they had to actually meet for 169 days.”
A DESE spokesperson said the agency, “believes we are administering the 169-day incentive as directed by the language in the statute.”
Banderman, a Republican from Saint Clair, introduced House Bill 368 to clarify the law for future school years. Legislators will hold a hearing on the proposed bill Wednesday in Jefferson City.
“Any opportunity you can have more funding going to teacher pay is something I know parents are really supportive of,” Holland said.
She looks forward to getting clarification on the topic and holding future classes on how the intent and letter of the law match. The Parent Leadership Training Institute will accept new applicants this spring.
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