Missouri Activist Sues Over Illegal Conduct by the General Assembly – Again

Bills with a likelihood of passing act like avalanches picking up other bills as amendments as they gain mass and momentum on their way toward passage. SB638 jumped from a 4 page bill on this limited topic to one of 58 pages that was an omnibus bill about elementary and secondary education including sections on charters, dyslexia, remediation and gifted education in Missouri schools.

At the time the legislature was debating SB638 state statute already required students to pass “an examination on the provisions and principles of the Constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri, and in American history, American institutions, and American civics.” [RsMO 170.011] The one hundred questions in Riddle’s bill would either be in additionto those needed to assess the above required areas, or to supplant questions on those topics called out above and included in the Missouri History and Social Studies Learning Standards.

SB638 allows districts to use “any online test to comply with the provisions of this section,” (emphasis added) with no requirement to demonstrate that such a test was valid and/or reliable.

The vague and arbitrary guideline to administer a test “of 100 questions” “similar to” the naturalization exam makes clear that this bill was a feel good bill from the start with little consideration of what standards the state has directed teachers to teach, or whether the assessment would be meaningful in the end.

If Calzone’s suit is successful this section of statute will also be struck. Then the state could begin to develop a quality civics exam that is aligned to our new History and Social Studies standards being implemented this fall.

05/09/2017 – Lawsuit Filed

Case: CALZONE v. Missouri General Assembly 

List of defendants:

1. ROBERT TODD RICHARDSON, Missouri House of Representatives Speaker
2. RONALD F RICHARD, Missouri Senate President pro tem
3. MIKE CIERPIOT, Missouri House of Representatives Majority Floor Leader
4. MICHAEL L KEHOE, Missouri Senate Majority Floor Leader
5. MARGIE VANDEVEN, Commissioner, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
6. JENNIFER TIDBALL, Acting Director of the Department of Social Services
7. JOSHUA D. HAWLEY, Mo. Attorney General

Nature of Legal Action:

This action is for a declaratory judgment by the court that Senate Bill 638 is unconstitutional due to procedural infirmities and void, and an injunction to prevent the enforcement of any of its provisions.

What was SB 638’s original purpose / subject?

“relating to civics education”

Initial Bill Title:

“AN ACT To repeal section 170.011, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof four new sections relating to civics education.”

What purpose / subject(s) did the bill evolve into?

“relating to elementary and secondary education”

Final Bill Title:

AN ACT To repeal sections 160.400, 160.403, 160.405, 160.410, 160.415, 160.417, 160.545, 161.216, 162.073, 162.261, 162.531, 162.541, 162.720, 163.031, 167.131, 167.241, 170.011, 170.310, 171.021, and 173.750, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof twenty-nine new sections relating to elementary and secondary education, with an effective date for a certain section.

Count 1:
The Purpose of SB 638 Was Changed By Amendments And the Purpose of the Finally Passed Version Was Not the Same as the Introduced Version in Violation of Missouri Constitution Article III Section 21

Count 2:
The Finally Passed Version of SB 638 Violates The Single Subject Rule in Missouri Constitution Article III Section 23

Count 3:
The Title for SB 638 Was Changed in Violation of Missouri Constitution Article III Section 21

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