On August 28, 2024, Senate Bill 727 will become effective, creating an additional way to satisfy compulsory school attendance law and making some small changes to the home school statutes. On the same date, a new law relative to firearms and home schools will go into effect.

FPE Schools

One way to satisfy compulsory school attendance law is a “family paced education” school, or FPE school as explained in RSMo 167.013. By law, an FPE school is not a home school. FPE schools and home schools are obligated to follow the same requirements, however, except that an FPE school that participates in the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program (MO Scholars) is obligated to meet additional requirements.

And/Or

Formerly, the home school statute was identified as section 167.031.2. As of August 28, it will be identified as section 167.012.2. Other Missouri statutes that refer to home schools will be brought into line with the new number designation.

Formerly, the core subjects were listed in section 167.031.2 as: “reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science or academic courses that are related….”

As of August 28, section 167.012.2(2) will say: “reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science or academic courses that are related….” In other words, the “and” (bolded above) is removed. While the statute was clear before, this change clarifies even more that parents have full discretion as to how the 600 hours of core instruction will be distributed among the listed subjects.

Firearms

Missouri Statute 571.030 makes it a crime to carry a firearm into a school. But that statute did not say what kind of “school” it applied to. There was concern that someone might assume that a home school would be included. HSLDA and other homeschool advocates sought a clarification, and as a result a law was added (effective August 28) to define “school” in a way that clearly excludes home schools and FPE schools from that statute.