State Board Denies School Start Date Exemption Requests

State Board of Education February Meeting Recap

Feb 11, 2026

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. –  The State Board of Education (State Board) unanimously denied multiple requests from Missouri school districts to start the 2026-2027 earlier than what’s allowed under state law. Also, during Tuesday’s meeting, St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) presented an update on the district’s progress following the Board’s reclassification decision in January.

School Calendar Start-Date Exemption Requests

Eight school districts previously submitted start date exemption requests to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for the 2026-27 school year. Those districts presented to the State Board during the January.

Missouri law (171.031) prohibits public schools from starting earlier than 14 calendar days before the first Monday in September. Within that statute, the State Board may grant an exemption to a school district for highly unusual and extenuating circumstances. The exemption would only be valid for one academic year.

Following the requests from eight school districts to start the 2026-27 school year earlier, the department has received more than 130 additional requests.

The State Board unanimously voted to deny all pending and future calendar waiver requests for the 2026-27 school year when those requests are based on the statutory start date being the highly unusual and extenuating circumstances.

The full Missouri Statute 167.645 can be viewed here.

St. Louis Public Schools

During the January meeting, the State Board voted to reclassify SLPS from accredited to provisionally accredited.

SLPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Myra Berry provided an update to the State Board during Tuesday’s meeting on the district’s improvement plan. DESE Commissioner Dr. Karla Eslinger asked SLPS to present to the State Board following their decision to reclassify SLPS’ classification from accredited to provisionally accredited in January.

Berry’s presentation included a progress update on the district’s four priority areas:

• Attendance
• Literacy
• Finance
• Operations (Transportation) SLPS is currently financially stable and shows slight improvement with 863 of its K-3 students advancing out of the lowest performing reading category during the 2024-25 school year.

“DESE remains committed to working with SLPS to drive meaningful improvements and ensure the delivery of high-quality programs for every student,” added Commissioner of Education Dr. Karla Eslinger. “SLPS’s success is the Board’s success, and SLPS’s success is the state’s success.”

Access the presentation from SLPS on DESE’s website.

Last month, Commissioner Eslinger directed DESE’s deputy commissioners to establish weekly meetings with SLPS to gain a better understanding of the district’s needs.

Other Items

• The State Board unanimously approved DESE’s recommendation to revise certification requirements for Special Education teachers. The purpose of this revision is to increase the number of highly qualified Special Education teachers.

• The State Board received the annual update for the foundational reading assessment data, and an update on the Department’s “Read, Lead, Exceed, Literacy Initiatives. Initiatives discussed included Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), Aspire training, the Evidence-Based Reading Instruction Program, the Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant, and the Missouri Early Literacy Collaborative.
  Additional Literacy Takeaways

• Progress across multiple statewide efforts to strengthen early literacy instruction and educator training

• An overview of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Grant

• K-3 Foundational Reading Assessment Data Review

• Reading Success Plan data and information related to TNTP, a national not for profit organization that directs consulting, research and advocacy work in schools and districts across the country. This includes Phelps County’s five school districts that are part of the Rural Schools Early Literacy Collaborative.

• Phelps County’s Three-Year Program Model is currently training administrators, along with 50 kindergarten and first grade teachers in those districts. This model supports teachers and administrators, improves student literacy outcomes through professional development, provides high quality instructional materials, assessment data analysis, and implementation of reading success plans. Data presented during the meeting showed early growth in Phelps County School Districts. Students’ reading levels are increasing putting them at or above grade level. The model created provides scalable, direct, and targeted support for any school to replicate. See the full presentation online.
  The next State Board of Education meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2026.

See agendas, meetings, and minutes from previous meetings here.

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