A Cole County judge ruled on Monday that the Missouri Treasurer's Office can continue to fund certain private-school scholarships amid a lawsuit challenging the fund's lawfulness.
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe rejected the Missouri National Education Association's request for a temporary restraining order to stop funding the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program fund.
Stumpe also denied outgoing Attorney General Andrew Bailey's motion to dismiss the lawsuit altogether, meaning the case is still set to go to trial eventually. A date for the trial has not yet been set.
The entire lawsuit stems from a change to how the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program fund gets its money.
$51 million was allocated to the scholarship when Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the state budget into law in June. The MNEA's lawsuit filed in July says the General Assembly unconstitutionally allocated that $51 million.
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According to previous KOMU 8 reporting, the General Assembly in 2021 created the program, which awards tax credits to Missouri taxpayers who donate to organizations that award scholarships to families to help send their students to private schools.
These volunteer donations have funded the program, but the new state budget put over $50 million in taxpayer dollars toward funding the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program.
Bailey called Monday's decision to reject the MNEA's request a "victory."
Treasurer Vivek Malek said the scholarship funding will allow thousands of parents across the state to choose a an educational path to "best fit their child's needs."
In a statement on Monday, MNEA President Rebekah McIntosh said the money going toward the private-school scholarship hurts public schools across the state.
"Politicians think they've won, but Missouri NEA's 45,000 educators know better," McIntosh said. "We'll prove in court what rural Missouri already knows: When you kill the school, you kill the town. These vouchers violate our constitution and hurt our kids."
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