FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 115
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BRATTIN.
0741S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapters 160, 161, and 167, 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, 161, and 167, RSMo, are amended 1
by adding thereto four new sections, to be known as sections 2
160.2550, 161.856, 161.1140, and 167.177, to read as follows:3
160.2550. 1. As used in this section, the term 1
"divisive concepts" shall mean concepts that promote t he 2
following ideas: 3
(1) One race or sex is inherently superior to another 4
race or sex; 5
(2) The United States is fundamentally racist or 6
sexist; 7
(3) An individual, by virtue of his or her race or 8
sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or o ppressive, whether 9
consciously or unconsciously; 10
(4) An individual should be discriminated against or 11
receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or 12
her race or sex; 13
(5) Members of one race or sex cannot avoid treating 14
others differently with respect to race or sex; 15
(6) An individual's moral character is necessarily 16
determined by his or her race or sex; 17 SB 115 2
(7) An individual, by virtue of his or her race or 18
sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past 19
by other members of the same race or sex; 20
(8) Any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, 21
anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on 22
account of his or her race or sex; 23
(9) Meritocracy or traits such as a strong work ethic 24
are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race 25
to oppress another race; 26
(10) Ideas that promote any form of race or sex 27
stereotyping, including ascribing character traits, values, 28
moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a 29
race, sex, or an individual because of his or her race or 30
sex; or 31
(11) Ideas that promote any form of race or sex 32
scapegoating, including assigning fault, blame, or conscious 33
or unconscious bias to one or more members of a race or sex 34
and including claims that, consciously or unconsciously, any 35
person is inherently racist, sexist, or inclined to oppress 36
others by virtue of his or her race or sex. 37
2. School districts are prohibited from the following: 38
(1) Teaching about The 1619 Pr oject initiative of The 39
New York Times or any successor theory or concept, critical 40
race theory or any successor theory or concept, any divisive 41
concepts, or any successor concepts or theories 42
substantially similar to The 1619 Project initiative of The 43
New York Times or critical race theory; 44
(2) Implementing training or orientation for teachers 45
or staff that involves racial stereotyping or that seeks to 46
assign blame to individuals based on race or sex; 47 SB 115 3
(3) Creating projects or assignments that compel 48
students to lobby or engage in political activism on behalf 49
of a specific policy or social issue; 50
(4) Forcing teachers to discuss a current 51
controversial topic of public policy or any particular 52
social issues. If a teacher does choo se to teach such 53
topics, the teaching shall be done with an aim to teach the 54
issue from both sides and without showing preference or 55
deference to one perspective; 56
(5) Enforcing policies at schools that prevent 57
students from engaging in and discus sing concepts and topics 58
of traditional American history such as founding documents 59
and the founding fathers. 60
3. In adopting the essential knowledge and skills for 61
the social studies curriculum for each grade level from 62
kindergarten through grade twelve, each school district 63
shall adopt essential knowledge and skills that develop each 64
student's civic knowledge, including: 65
(1) An understanding of: 66
(a) The fundamental moral, political, and intellectual 67
foundations of the American expe riment in self-government; 68
(b) The history, qualities, traditions, and features 69
of civic engagement in the United States; 70
(c) The structure, function, and processes of 71
government institutions at the federal, state, and local 72
levels; 73
(d) The founding documents of the United States, 74
including: 75
a. The Declaration of Independence; 76
b. The United States Constitution; 77
c. The Federalist Papers, including Essays 10 and 51; 78 SB 115 4
d. Excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democra cy in 79
America; 80
e. The transcript of the first Lincoln -Douglas debate; 81
and 82
f. The writings of the founding fathers of the United 83
States; and 84
(e) The history and importance of: 85
a. The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; 86
and 87
b. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Nineteenth 88
Amendments to the United States Constitution; 89
(2) The ability to: 90
(a) Analyze and determine the reliability of 91
information sources; 92
(b) Formulate and articulate reasoned positions; 93
(c) Understand the manner in which local, state, and 94
federal governments work and operate through the use of 95
simulations and models of governmental and democratic 96
processes; 97
(d) Actively listen and engage in civil discourse, 98
including discourse with those with different viewpoints; 99
(e) Responsibly participate as a citizen in a 100
constitutional democracy; and 101
(f) Effectively engage with governmental institutions 102
at the local, state, and federal levels; and 103
(3) An appreciation of: 104
(a) The importance and responsibility of participating 105
in civic life; 106
(b) A commitment to the United States and its form of 107
government; and 108
(c) A commitment to free speech and civil discourse. 109 SB 115 5
4. School districts are prohib ited from accepting 110
private funding for the purposes of teaching any curriculum 111
substantially similar to critical race theory or The 1619 112
Project initiative of The New York Times. 113
5. The attorney general may investigate school 114
districts to determine compliance with this section. If any 115
school district is determined to have violated the 116
provisions of this section, such district shall have fifty 117
percent of its state aid under chapter 163 withheld, until 118
the district presents evidence to the dep artment of 119
elementary and secondary education that the district is no 120
longer in violation of this section. 121
161.856. 1. This section shall be known and may be 1
cited as the "Sunlight in Learning Act". 2
2. The department of elemen tary and secondary 3
education shall ensure that the following information is 4
displayed on each public school and charter school website 5
in an easily and publicly accessible location: 6
(1) All instructional or training materials and 7
activities used for staff and faculty training; 8
(2) All learning materials and activities used for 9
student instruction. Such display of materials or 10
activities shall identify, at a minimum: 11
(a) The title, author, organization, and any website 12
associated with each material and activity; 13
(b) A link to the learning material, if publicly 14
available on the internet; or, if not freely and publicly 15
available, a brief description of the learning material and 16
information on how to request review of a copy of the 17
learning material; 18
(c) If the learning material was created for non - 19
public use, the identity of the teacher, staff member, 20 SB 115 6
school official, or outside presenter who created it. Such 21
identification may be indicated by a personal title and la st 22
initial if referring to a teacher, staff member, or school 23
official; 24
(d) The full text or a copy of any learning materials 25
or educational activities, including presentations, videos, 26
and audio recordings, used for student instruction at the 27
school, if those works were created by the school board or a 28
teacher or staff member employed under the authority of the 29
school board. This section does not require the posting of 30
academic assessments or academic tests; 31
(e) If the activity involve s service-learning, 32
internships, or collaboration with outside organizations 33
after regular school hours for course credit, the name of 34
the organization should be listed, along with the number of 35
students engaged in service -learning, internships, or 36
collaboration with that organization. The name of the 37
students involved shall not be posted; 38
(3) Any procedures for the documentation, review, or 39
approval of the lesson plans, training, learning, or 40
curricular materials, or activities used for staf f and 41
faculty training or student instruction at the school, 42
including by the principal, curriculum administrators, or 43
other teachers; and 44
(4) At each school with a catalog or documented 45
inventory of the resources available to students in its 46
school library, a listing of available resources in the 47
library. 48
3. For the purposes of this section, the following 49
terms mean: 50
(1) "Activities", include, but are not limited to, 51
assemblies, guest lectures, action -oriented civics learning 52 SB 115 7
assignments or projects, including the actual or simulated 53
contacting of government officials or any requirement to 54
advocate for or comment on a contemporary political or 55
social issue or participate in organized political activity, 56
social demonstrations, or other field trips or projects, 57
service-learning, internships, or other forms of 58
collaboration with outside organizations after regular 59
school hours for course credit or as a class project or 60
assignment, or other educational events facilitated by the 61
institution's faculty or staff, including those conducted by 62
outside individuals or organizations, excluding 63
presentations given by students enrolled at the school; 64
(2) "Learning materials", include, but are not limited 65
to, the following: all te xtbooks, reading materials, videos, 66
audio recordings, presentations, digital materials, 67
websites, instructional handouts and worksheets, syllabi, 68
and online applications for a phone, laptop, or tablet; 69
(3) "Lesson plan", the daily, weekly, or othe r 70
routinely produced guide, description, or outline of the 71
instruction to be provided by a teacher to students at the 72
school; 73
(4) "Original materials", learning materials owned or 74
licensed by the school district, school, charter school, 75
faculty, or staff that are used for student instruction; 76
(5) "Used for student instruction": 77
(a) Assigned, distributed, or otherwise presented to 78
students in any course for which students receive academic 79
credit or in any educational capacity in whic h participation 80
of the student body is required by the school or in which a 81
majority of students in a given grade level participate; 82 SB 115 8
(b) Applies also to any materials from among which 83
students are required to select one or more, if the 84
available selection is restricted to specific titles. 85
4. Nothing in subsection 2 of this section shall be 86
construed to require the digital reproduction or posting of 87
copies of the learning materials themselves, where such 88
reproduction would infringe upon co pyrighted material; but 89
in such cases, the school should offer a link to a publicly 90
available website describing and offering access to the 91
learning materials, if possible; and upon request, if the 92
materials are not offered free of charge, provide the 93
learning materials for public inspection, as required under 94
paragraph (b) of subdivision (2) subsection 2 of this 95
section, at the school building where the learning materials 96
or activities are used for student instruction, and no later 97
than thirty days after requested. To the extent 98
practicable, each school shall make any and all learning 99
materials, including original materials, available for 100
public inspection and allow the public to copy, scan, 101
duplicate, or photograph portions of original materi als 102
within the limits of "fair use" under Section 107 of the 103
federal Copyright Act as set forth in 17 U.S.C. Section 104
107. Copyrighted digital learning materials shall be made 105
available for public inspection as required under 106
subsections 13 and 14 of this section. 107
5. Subsection 2 of this section shall not require the 108
separate reporting of individual components of learning 109
materials that are published together as a single volume. 110
Articles, videos, or other materials from websites that are 111
used for student instruction should be identified, where 112
possible, with an internet address specific to the relevant 113
content used for student instruction. 114 SB 115 9
6. The information required by subsection 2 of this 115
section shall be displayed online prior to the first 116
instance of training or instruction, or, at the latest, 117
fourteen days after the training or instruction. Such 118
information shall be organized by school, grade, teacher, 119
and subject, and remain displayed on the school website for 120
at least two years. For privacy purposes, teachers and 121
staff employed by the school may request that a school use a 122
personal title and last initial in lieu of a full name. The 123
date of the latest modification or update to such 124
information shall be displayed on th e same website location. 125
7. To prepare and host the listing of materials and 126
activities pursuant to subsection 2 of this section, a 127
school: 128
(1) May utilize a collaborative online document or 129
spreadsheet software that allows multiple authoriz ed users 130
to update or make additions to posted content on an ongoing 131
basis, as long as a link to the listing is publicly 132
accessible via the school website; 133
(2) May satisfy the requirements of subdivision (2) of 134
subsection 2 of this section by pos ting a copy or the full 135
text of the lesson plans submitted to the school principal 136
or other staff by instructors at the school in the current 137
year, provided that the lesson plans provide equivalent 138
detail of the learning materials and activities used f or 139
student instruction as required by subdivision (2) of 140
subsection 2 of this section, and that any such learning 141
materials and activities not recorded on the lesson plans 142
are also disclosed via a publicly accessible portion of the 143
school website in the manner prescribed by subdivision (2) 144
of subsection 2 of this section. 145 SB 115 10
8. The listing of materials and activities pursuant to 146
subsection 2 of this section shall be created and displayed 147
in searchable or sortable electronic formats. 148
9. A school whose materials or activities are selected 149
independently by instructors at a school with fewer than 150
twenty enrolled students is not required to post a list of 151
learning materials and activities pursuant to this section. 152
10. The attorney general, commissioner of education, 153
state auditor, prosecuting or circuit attorney for the 154
county in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, 155
or a resident of the school district in which an alleged 156
violation of this section occurs, may initiate a suit in the 157
jurisdiction in which the school district, public school, 158
public charter school, or other governmental entity 159
responsible for the oversight of public secondary or 160
elementary schools is located for the purpose of complying 161
with this section. 162
11. An attorney acting on behalf of a school district, 163
public school, public charter school, or the department of 164
elementary and secondary education may request a legal 165
opinion of the prosecuting attorney or the attorney general 166
as to whether a particular piece of training, learning, or 167
curricular material or activity fits under this section and 168
has been disclosed in a manner complying with this section. 169
12. The court which has jurisdiction over the school 170
district or charter school may order the production of any 171
learning materials or other materials or activities, as 172
specified in this section, improperly withheld from the 173
complainant. In such a case, the court shall determine the 174
matter de novo, and may examine the contents of suc h 175
materials in camera to determine whether such materials or 176
any part thereof shall be withheld. The court may assess 177 SB 115 11
against the school district or charter school reasonable 178
attorney's fees and other costs reasonably incurred in any 179
case under this section in which the complainant has 180
prevailed. In the event of noncompliance with the order of 181
the court, the court may punish for contempt the responsible 182
official or employee. Courts shall not entertain complaints 183
under this section unless complai nants have first attempted 184
to remedy the alleged noncompliance by contacting school 185
officials, and if not resolved to the satisfaction of the 186
complainant by school officials within fifteen days, by 187
contacting the school board, which shall have forty -five 188
days to resolve the alleged noncompliance. 189
13. Neither the department nor the school board of a 190
public school, including the governing body of a public 191
charter school, nor any staff employed thereby and acting in 192
the course of their official d uties, shall purchase or 193
contract for copyrighted learning materials to be used for 194
student instruction at the school, including the renewal of 195
subscription-based materials for which students are provided 196
individual login credentials or access via elec tronic 197
personal devices, unless provision is made to allow parents 198
and guardians of enrolled students to review the materials 199
within thirty days of the submission of a written request to 200
the school. The means of provision shall include at least 201
one of the following: 202
(1) Providing access to the materials at the school 203
site during the school's normal hours of operation within 204
thirty days of written request; or 205
(2) Providing temporary remote access or login 206
credentials to at least one copy of the materials for review 207
for at least a twenty -four-hour period following each 208 SB 115 12
request, not to exceed one request per item per household 209
during each thirty-day period. 210
14. The parent or guardian reviewing copyrighted 211
digital materials shall n ot be required as a condition of 212
reviewing the materials to enter into terms of a 213
nondisclosure agreement nor waive any rights beyond 214
complying with federal copyright law. 215
15. The department of elementary and secondary 216
education may promulgate ru les to carry out the provisions 217
of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that 218
term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under 219
the authority delegated in this section shall become 220
effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of 221
the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 222
536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and 223
if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 224
pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective 225
date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently 226
held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking 227
authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 228
2025, shall be invalid and void. 229
161.1140. 1. This act may be cited as the " Parents' 1
Bill of Rights Act of 2025". 2
2. No school district shall deny to the parent or 3
guardian of a minor child any or all of the following rights: 4
(1) The right to fully review, in physical or digital 5
optical character recognition format, and make copies of, 6
the curricula, books, and other educational materials used 7
by the school attended by their minor child or school 8
district that serves such school. This right shall be 9
understood to: 10 SB 115 13
(a) Include a right to affirmative disclos ure of class 11
syllabi and reading lists to the parent or guardian of a 12
minor child by the school attended by their minor child or 13
school district that serves such school; and 14
(b) Prohibit a requirement that an individual sign a 15
nondisclosure agreement as a condition of viewing or 16
otherwise accessing curricular materials; 17
(2) The right to access information on the teachers, 18
guest lecturers, and outside presenters who engage with 19
students at the school attended by their minor child. This 20
right shall be understood to prohibit schools from 21
permitting or requiring the attendance of minor children at 22
school assemblies, field trips, and other extracurricular 23
activities, absent affirmative consent from their parent or 24
guardian; 25
(3) The right to access information on all third -party 26
individuals and organizations that receive contracts or 27
other funding through the school attended by their minor 28
child or the school district that serves such school; 29
(4) The right to visit their mino r child at school 30
during school hours; 31
(5) The right to access all records generated by the 32
school attended by their minor child or the school district 33
that serves such school that concerns their minor child; 34
(6) The right to access informat ion pertaining to the 35
collection and transmission of data regarding their minor 36
child by the school attended by their minor child or the 37
school district that serves such school. This right shall 38
be understood to: 39
(a) Include a right to access in formation on any 40
outside entity, including an accreditor, marketing 41 SB 115 14
consultancy, or third -party clearing-house, to which student 42
data, whether anonymized or not, is transferred; 43
(b) Prohibit the collection, by the school attended by 44
their minor child or the school district that serves such 45
school, of any biometric data or other sensitive personal 46
information from the minor child, absent affirmative consent 47
by a parent or guardian of the minor child; and 48
(c) Require that schools and school districts serving 49
such schools make available processes by which the parent or 50
guardian of a minor child may object in writing to, and deny 51
consent to, the use of videographic, photographic, or audio 52
depictions of their minor child by the school or sc hool 53
district serving such school; 54
(7) The right to be heard at school board meetings or 55
other governance hearings pertaining to the school attended 56
by their minor child or the school district that serves such 57
school. This right shall be underst ood to require that 58
school board meetings or other governance hearings 59
pertaining to curricula, safety, and other student issues be 60
conducted publicly and allow for public comments; 61
(8) The right to be notified of situations affecting 62
the safety of their minor child at school. This right shall 63
be understood to require, but is not limited to requiring, 64
that schools notify parents or guardians within forty -eight 65
hours of any or all of the following incidents: 66
(a) Physical assaults occurrin g on school premises; 67
(b) Sexual assaults occurring on school premises; 68
(c) Appearances of weapons on school premises; 69
(d) Drug use or possession on school premises; 70
(e) Police investigations on school premises; and 71
(f) Crimes, including misdemeanors, committed by 72
teachers or other school or school district employees, 73 SB 115 15
whether such offenses were committed on or off the campus of 74
a school; 75
(9) The right to object to the instructional materials 76
and other materials used i n their child's classroom based on 77
the parent's beliefs that such materials are inappropriate 78
for whatever reason and to be assured that such 79
objectionable materials are not taught to the parent's child. 80
3. Any person who is denied one or more of the rights 81
identified in subsection 2 of this section may bring a civil 82
action in any court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive 83
relief. 84
4. In any case in which the attorney general has 85
reason to believe that an interest of the residents of t his 86
state has been or is threatened or adversely affected by the 87
engagement of any entity in an act or practice denying one 88
or more of the rights identified in subsection 2 of this 89
section, the attorney general may bring a civil action on 90
behalf of the residents of the state in a court of competent 91
jurisdiction to obtain injunctive relief. 92
5. If a school district is found by a court of a 93
competent jurisdiction in a final judgment not subject to 94
further appeal to have violated the provisions of this 95
section, the department of elementary and secondary 96
education may withhold up to fifty percent of the state aid 97
for such district due to such school district under chapter 98
163 for the following fiscal year. 99
167.177. 1. Any school district in the state may 1
adopt the provisions of subsections 2 and 3 of this section 2
if approved by vote of residents of the school district. 3
2. As used in this section, the following terms mean: 4
(1) "Public school", the same definition as in section 5
160.011; 6 SB 115 16
(2) "Sex", an individual's biological sex based solely 7
on an individual's reproductive biology and genetics at 8
birth. 9
3. No public school shall knowingly allow a student of 10
the male sex who is enrolled in such public school to 11
participate on a school -sponsored athletic team that is 12
exclusively for students of the female sex. 13
4. Beginning July 1, 2026, the joint committee on 14
education shall study student athletic events that are 15
exclusively for males or exclu sively for females and the 16
impact of a policy that prohibits participation in those 17
events by individuals who are of the opposite sex. Before 18
January 1, 2027, the joint committee shall report its 19
findings and recommendations, with any legislation requ ired 20
to implement the recommendations, to the general assembly. 21
5. The attorney general may investigate any school 22
district that he or she believes may be in violation of this 23
section. Any school district found to be in violation of 24
this section shall have fifty percent of any state revenues 25
appropriated to such school district pursuant to chapter 163 26
withheld until such school district provides evidence to the 27
department of elementary and secondary education that the 28
school district is in co mpliance with this section. 29