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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILLS NOS. 2230 & 2978
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5744S.05C KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapters 160, 162, and 186, RSMo, by adding thereto four new sections relating to
elementary and secondary education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapters 160, 162, and 186, RSMo, are amended 1
by adding thereto four new sections, to be known as sections 2
160.068, 162.192, 186.085, and 186.095, to read as follows:3
160.068. 1. This section shall be known and may be 1
cited as the "Student Screen-Time Standards Act". 2
2. As used in this section, the following terms mean: 3
(1) "Instructional technology", a laptop, tablet, 4
computer, Chromebook, smart device, software platform, or 5
other similar device or platform used for student learning; 6
(2) "Manipulatives", hands-on physical learning items 7
including, but not limited to, blocks, counters, cubes, 8
rulers, cards, science materials, and similar educational 9
tools; 10
(3) "Traditional materials", printed books, paper- 11
based workbooks, notebooks, handwriting materials, and 12
physical educational resources. 13
3. For elementary school students in kindergarten 14
through grade five, each school district and charter school 15
shall adopt a written screen time and instructional 16
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technology policy consistent with this section to promote 17
the educational interests of students, prevent the harmful 18
effects of screen time on child development, ensure that 19
technology supports rather than supplants foundational 20
learning, and restore evidence-based practices. The screen 21
time and instructional technology policy shall establish the 22
following: 23
(1) Limits and restrictions on student screen time and 24
student use of instructional technology during the school 25
day; 26
(2) Limits and restrictions on school district- or 27
charter school-issued devices or school district or charter 28
school educational technology being used outside the school 29
day; 30
(3) Limits and restrictions on student access to 31
internet-connected instructional technology; 32
(4) The digital platforms used; 33
(5) Standards and requirements for student use of 34
manipulatives and traditional materials; 35
(6) The process for a parent or guardian to obtain 36
information regarding his or her child's screen time and 37
instructional technology use and the process for a parent or 38
guardian to limit or eliminate his or her child's screen 39
time and instructional technology use; and 40
(7) The research, evidence, and information upon which 41
the policy is based. 42
4. In creating the policy, the district or charter 43
school shall consider and document research on best 44
practices in literacy instruction, instructional technology, 45
and assessment and the optimal role for the use of 46
handwriting and cursive writing in promoting literacy for 47
all students. 48
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5. Each elementary school shall notify parents and 49
guardians annually of the policy adopted under subsection 3 50
of this section. Parents and guardians of students in 51
grades kindergarten through five may, upon request, receive 52
information about their child's login time and use of 53
district-provided instructional technology and online 54
learning platforms. The district or charter school shall 55
provide such available information within a reasonable time 56
and at no cost to the parent or guardian. 57
6. Each elementary school shall publish such policy on 58
such school's website. 59
7. Each policy adopted under subsection 3 of this 60
section shall be periodically updated, including 61
incorporating the best practices recommendations from the 62
recommended model school board policy on screen time and use 63
of technology in instruction from the framework on classroom 64
use of screens (FOCUS) council created under section 65
186.095, when such recommendations become available. 66
8. This section shall be implemented before the end of 67
the 2027-28 school year and shall apply for all subsequent 68
school years. 69
9. This section shall not apply to virtual instruction 70
programs operating under the provisions of section 161.670. 71
162.192. 1. For purposes of this section, "financial 1
ledger" means a searchable, machine-readable, publicly 2
accessible database maintained by a school district or 3
charter school that: 4
(1) Sets forth all financial transactions conducted 5
with school district or charter school funds, including, but 6
not limited to, the school funds established pursuant to 7
section 165.011; 8
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(2) Is available without login credentials, 9
registration, or fees; 10
(3) Is downloadable and exportable in formats 11
including, but not limited to, comma-separated values (CSV) 12
format and Microsoft Excel format; 13
(4) Records all transactions using Missouri financial 14
accounting manual classification categories, as applicable; 15
and 16
(5) Includes the following minimum required data 17
fields for each financial transaction, and is searchable and 18
filterable by such fields, at minimum: 19
(a) Transaction date; 20
(b) Transaction amount; 21
(c) Revenue or expenditure designation; 22
(d) Fund code; 23
(e) Function code; 24
(f) Object code; 25
(g) Vendor or payee name; and 26
(h) Description or memo field. 27
2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 28
contrary, each school district and charter school shall 29
maintain a financial ledger on its publicly accessible 30
website. The homepage of each public or charter school's 31
website shall include a direct link to the financial ledger 32
of the school district or charter school that has oversight 33
responsibility for that public or charter school. The link 34
shall make the financial ledger accessible within one click, 35
shall be clearly labeled as a link to the school district's 36
or charter school's financial ledger, and shall be 37
functional and mobile-responsive. The department may 38
provide standardized language or icons that public and 39
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charter schools may use for the purpose of ensuring 40
compliance with this subsection. 41
3. A school district's or charter school's financial 42
ledger shall be updated at least monthly. Details of each 43
calendar month's financial transactions shall be posted no 44
later than forty-five days after the close of that calendar 45
month. 46
4. For historical record keeping purposes, a school 47
district or charter school shall maintain complete financial 48
ledger data on its publicly accessible website for no fewer 49
than five prior fiscal years. 50
5. A school district or charter school may redact 51
protected personal information on the financial ledger only 52
to the extent required by applicable law. Vendor names, 53
amounts, and accounting codes shall not be redacted. 54
Payroll data may be presented in aggregated form where 55
disclosure of individual information is restricted. 56
6. Debt obligations shall be posted in a separate 57
section of the financial ledger, with disclosure of the 58
following information: 59
(1) Outstanding debt balances; 60
(2) Issuance dates; 61
(3) Repayment schedules; 62
(4) Annual debt service amounts; and 63
(5) Debt service as a percentage of total expenditures. 64
7. The department may provide or approve standardized 65
templates or platforms a school district or charter school 66
may use to comply with the provisions of this section. A 67
school district or charter school may use a third-party 68
template or platform that is approved by the department. 69
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8. The department may provide guidance to assist 70
school districts and charter schools in complying with the 71
provisions of this section. Such guidance may include: 72
(1) High-level expenditure summaries by classification 73
category under the Missouri financial accounting manual; 74
(2) Standardized definitions of terms to be used in 75
the financial ledger; and 76
(3) Clear explanations of methodology and limitations 77
applicable to the compilation and presentation of financial 78
ledger data. 79
9. School districts and charter schools shall annually 80
certify compliance with this section to the department. The 81
department shall promulgate rules establishing procedures 82
and timelines for school districts and charter schools to 83
certify compliance. 84
10. If the department finds that any school district 85
or charter school has violated a provision of this section, 86
the department may withhold up to one percent of the state 87
aid to which the school district or charter school is 88
entitled under chapter 160 or 163 for the current school 89
year until the school district or charter school proves to 90
the satisfaction of the department that the school district 91
or charter school is no longer in violation of this section. 92
11. The department shall establish a process for 93
members of the public to file complaints with the department 94
if they believe a school district or charter school has 95
violated any provision of this section. The department may 96
establish a public compliance dashboard on the department's 97
website to enable members of the public to check whether a 98
particular school district or charter school is certified as 99
in compliance with the provisions of this section. 100
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12. The department shall promulgate rules to implement 101
the provisions of this section. Any rule or portion of a 102
rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is 103
created under the authority delegated in this section shall 104
become effective only if it complies with and is subject to 105
all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, 106
section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are 107
nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the 108
general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay 109
the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are 110
subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of 111
rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after 112
August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void. 113
186.085. The literacy advisory council established 1
under section 186.080 shall provide advice on the inclusion 2
of instruction and assessment of cursive writing and 3
reading, including the optimal role for the use of cursive 4
writing and reading in promoting literacy for all students. 5
Such advice shall include recommendations for a related 6
model policy on cursive. 7
186.095. 1. The commissioner of education shall 1
establish a "Framework on Classroom Use of Screens Council" 2
or "FOCUS Council". The council shall consist of the 3
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, who shall 4
serve as chair of the council. The other members of the 5
council shall be appointed as specified in this subsection 6
and shall include the following: 7
(1) One parent of a child currently enrolled in grades 8
kindergarten through grade five shall be selected by the 9
president pro tempore of the senate; 10
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(2) One parent of a child currently enrolled in grades 11
kindergarten through grade five shall be selected by the 12
speaker of the house of representatives; 13
(3) One education professional selected by the state 14
board of education from names submitted to it by the 15
professional teachers' organizations of the state; 16
(4) One education professional selected by a statewide 17
association of Missouri school boards; 18
(5) One education professional selected by the state 19
board of education from names submitted to it by a statewide 20
coalition of school administrators; 21
(6) Two education professionals selected by the 22
president pro tempore of the senate in addition to the 23
member selected under subdivision (1) of this subsection; 24
(7) Two education professionals selected by the 25
speaker of the house of representatives in addition to the 26
member selected under subdivision (2) of this subsection; 27
(8) One education professional selected by the 28
governor; 29
(9) One education professional selected by the 30
lieutenant governor; 31
(10) One education professional selected by the 32
commissioner of higher education; 33
(11) One education professional selected by the state 34
board of education from names submitted to it by nationally 35
recognized career and technical education student 36
organizations operating in Missouri; 37
(12) One education professional selected by the state 38
board of education from names submitted to it by the heads 39
of state-approved baccalaureate-level teacher preparation 40
programs located in Missouri; 41
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(13) A pediatric mental health professional or board- 42
certified behavioral analyst licensed in the state, 43
preferably with experience in technology and behavioral 44
responses, selected by the speaker of the house of 45
representatives; and 46
(14) A medical professional with expertise in child 47
health and development selected by the governor. 48
2. The department of elementary and secondary 49
education shall provide necessary staff and resources for 50
the work of the advisory council. 51
3. (1) The council shall meet at least four times per 52
year in its initial year and at least twice per year 53
thereafter to conduct a comprehensive survey and analysis of 54
screen time and instructional technology use in public 55
schools and to review best practices regarding screen use 56
and the use of technology in instruction and related policy 57
provisions. Items and information related to such best 58
practices and policies shall include, but not be limited to: 59
(a) Impacts on educational outcomes; 60
(b) Impacts on behavioral and discipline outcomes; 61
(c) Impacts on special education; 62
(d) Impacts on early childhood brain development, 63
including reading and writing skills; 64
(e) The deterioration of student competency in 65
reading, writing, arithmetic, and science; 66
(f) The need to strengthen human connection in 67
classrooms and support healthy, respectful relationships; 68
(g) The isolation of students in a digital and virtual 69
world; and 70
(h) Other such items and information to be determined 71
by the council. 72
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(2) The council shall meet for the first time for 73
purposes of this subsection before December 1, 2026, and the 74
whole council or a subcommittee thereof shall hold at least 75
three additional meetings for purposes of this subsection 76
before July 1, 2027. 77
(3) On or before July 1, 2027, the council shall 78
submit a report containing the council's actions, findings, 79
recommendations, and policy proposals to the state board of 80
education, the governor, and the joint committee on 81
education. 82
(4) The recommendations shall include a recommended 83
model school board policy on screen time and instructional 84
technology use. The model policy shall recommend best 85
practices regarding: 86
(a) Student screen time; 87
(b) Student use of instructional technology; 88
(c) Restrictions on student screen time; 89
(d) Restrictions on student use of instructional 90
technology; 91
(e) Restrictions on student access to internet- 92
connected instructional technology; 93
(f) Student use of manipulatives and traditional 94
materials, as such terms are defined in section 160.068; 95
(g) The process for a parent or guardian to obtain 96
information regarding his or her child's screen time and 97
instructional technology use; 98
(h) Minimizing or eliminating school district- or 99
charter school-issued devices or school district or charter 100
school educational technology being used outside the school 101
day; and 102
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(i) The process for a parent or guardian to limit or 103
eliminate his or her child's screen time and instructional 104
technology use. 105
(5) The recommendations may include suggested changes 106
to state law. 107
(6) The report shall be presented to the state board 108
of education and to the joint committee on education in 109
public hearings. The report shall be updated at least every 110
two years to provide additional information regarding the 111
council's actions, recommendations, and policy proposals. 112
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