In a board retreat Tuesday, members of the State Board of Education looked for the extent of their power to make regulations
By: Annelise Hanshaw
Missouri Independent
Recently appointed members of the Missouri State Board of Education’s probed the board’s power at its annual retreat Tuesday, repeating a discussion from last year’s workshop but with a new tone.
Under new leadership, the board is seeing how far its authority reaches, intending to test it through rulemaking.
“I do not think there’s a person at this table that wants to hurt a school in a negative way, but we do want to impact them,” board president Brooks Miller said. “It’s all about the child and making sure they are well-educated.”
State law sets up the board as a guiding force for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Commissioner of Education. The department’s regulations state the board is responsible for “policymaking and general oversight of public education.”
Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, and there is no requirement for board members to have a background in education. Statute bars members from “being connected as an official or employee” to any K-12 school or higher education institution. Board members oftentimes enter the role with limited knowledge of the department’s functions.
Former board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge’s term ended earlier this month and all but one member have been appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe since he took office last year. And these new members seem eager to break the status quo.
Former education commissioner Karla Eslinger retired in May, and the board’s previous president Mary Schrag stepped down June 2 after serving one year on an expired term. As the board’s two leaders, they reigned in discussion at times when new board members proposed more radical changes.
Interim commissioner of education Stacey Preis has a history working in the department and in education policy positions. Tuesday, she explained department norms and helped steer the board away from some ideas, like lowering the threshold to remove school districts’ accreditation, but allowed for the board to share its thoughts.
One of the discussions centered around the board’s ability to make rules — which isn’t entirely clear.
Last year, board member Mike Matousek from Kansas City asked how the board could initiate the rulemaking process and was largely shut down. Eslinger told him that the board doesn’t write regulations on its own.
The department’s chief legal counsel at the time Sarah Madden said the department can only create rules where they have legislative authority, adding “it is a pretty narrow lane.”
Tuesday, the board was interested in finding where it has leeway to create a regulation.
“In my opinion, the board has rulemaking authority unless it is preempted by federal or state law,” Matousek said. “I think the board in general has very broad authority to do what it wants.”
Meaghan Forck, the department’s newly hired chief legal counsel, said she “did not disagree overall,” but it relies on what permission state law gives.
“We do have a pretty broad rulemaking authority, but there is some temperance there,” she said.
Other proposals discussed during the retreat included changes to the way the board presents its legislative priorities. Matousek said the current model looks more like “position statements.” He’d like to instead propose specific changes to state law, like an idea that came up in its April meeting that would give the board authority to deny charter school applications if members find the proposal fiscally unsound for state funding.
“It doesn’t have to be 20 or 30 issues to start,” he said. “It can be two or three.”
Last year, the board formed committees to spearhead tasks like forming a strategic plan. The committees, made of four or fewer board members, allow them to discuss issues without having to meet publicly.
The board talked about focusing more on committees in the months ahead, allowing members to look at issues in greater detail. One such group looks at the board’s legislative priorities, and another is analyzing the department’s budget.
The board also formed a new committee intended to boost student outcomes and look at low-performance schools.
“We want to make sure that schools have the tools and everybody has what they need to improve,” said Jon Otto, a board member from Kansas City.
He suggested the legislative priorities committee work with lawmakers to enumerate the board’s authority.
“I think if we want to really make change,” Otto said, “we are going to have to roll our sleeves up and become a working board.”