Missouri Court rules in favor of Missouri Right to Education lawsuit

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- A Cole County judge ruled in favor of the Missouri Right to Education’s Director, Spencer Toder, in his lawsuit challenging the Secretary of State’s ballot language.

The lawsuit proposed an issue with the ballot language for the amendment, which seeks to “make high-quality public education – adequate, thorough, and uniform – a fundamental right in the Missouri Constitution."

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' language says the amendment would “potentially eliminate existing state scholarship programs that provide direct aid to students with disabilities and low-income families” and “prevent the state from supporting educational choices other than free public schools.”

The court sided with Toder because the state was unable to provide evidence that the amendment would result in negative outcomes for “students with disabilities and low-income families.”

“Education right now is at war, and this issue was winning a battle, you know, but there's going to be a whole lot more. And so we need more individuals to be loud about advocating to protect public education, or it's going to be too late," said LaTonya Williams, the St. Joseph School District Board of Education president.

The ruling will order the state to adopt clear language that accurately reflects the initiative's purpose, ensuring every child in Missouri has a right to a high-quality public education.

The ballot summary will be returned to Hoskins for rewriting before Dec. 8.

To read the lawsuit update, visit the MoEducation.Org lawsuit update page.