Senator Denny Hoskins Proposes Education and Public Employee Enhancements
This week, Missouri Senate committees took time to hear two very important pieces of legislation that would enhance state policies in the areas of education and public employment.
Senate Bill 898, known as the Missouri Virtual Instruction Program (MOVIP), allows any student enrolled in a public school to take an online class or enroll in a full-time virtual school offered through their school district.
Students learn in different ways. Whether they learn by reading books, engaging in one-on-one instruction or through online courses, the instructional method does not define their level of success. By having MOVIP as an option, kindergartners through high schoolers can engage in the learning style that best fits their needs.
Senate Bill 771, the public employee union paycheck protection bill was heard in the Missouri Senate’s Ways and Means Committee this week. This proposal is an attempt to protect public employees who belong to a union from losing portions of their paycheck without written authorization.
Under this bill, public employees would simply check a box or sign their name signifying their consent to pay union dues on an annual basis. The current system requires public employees to opt-out of their membership in order to stop paying their union dues. If they fail to opt-out, they are automatically forced to allow earnings from their paycheck to be withheld for political gain.
The Senate Higher Education Caucus (SHEC), of which I am a founding member, met for the first time this week. The SHEC is comprised of senators with an interest in public higher education. This week we heard from University of Central Missouri President Chuck Ambrose who is also the newly appointed president of the Council on Public Higher Education (COPHE). We are committed to collaborate our efforts and work toward the common goal of bettering higher education opportunities for both our students as well as our colleges and universities. Throughout this session, I look forward to ongoing discussions with the SHEC on topics such as college affordability and accessibility, ways to promote business partnerships among institutions, identifying the links between student needs and economic needs across various regions and developing tools that promote higher education as the true economic engine of our state.
Finally, I was honored to meet and visit with administrators from the Warrensburg’s Missouri Veterans Home as well as officials from Warrensburg’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post. As the chairman of the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs committee, I am dedicated to ensuring the needs of veterans and servicemen and women across the state are taken care of. I believe it is important to have an open line of communication among the employees at our veterans’ homes in order to quickly and correctly identify problems and provide solutions that benefit all of our heroes who have served our state and our country with honor and distinction.
As always, I appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4302. You may also email me at denny.hoskins@senate.mo.gov.
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