New Missouri law gives families opportunities for private school scholarships

ROGERSVILLE, Mo. — This week in Missouri, a handful of new laws are taking effect, including one that provides low-income families with K-12 students access to scholarships that would help pay for private school.

A new private school in Rogersville hosted a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 29. Right now, Legacy Prep School has 80 students enrolled. The Head of School says the school has plans to grow, and a new law like this could help in that journey.

“We are pre-K through seven. We hope to grow one grade level each year. So we have an opportunity here at Harmony Baptist Church to expand and to add classrooms. And so if we are able to facilitate that for more students to come and be a part of our program, we welcome them,” says Joanie Brown.

Legacy Prep is a hybrid school, meaning their students will only be in school two days a week. The other three days they will be homeschooled with a curriculum prepared by the teachers.

The scholarship program that was signed into law will offer low-income families thousands of dollars per child for their private school expenses. This includes tuition, transportation, school supplies and more. A parent at Legacy Prep says this law will give families of the future more opportunities.

“We’ve had a lot of families who have come to us this year looking for scholarship opportunities and it being our first year, that was not something that we could provide,” says Jodie Huff. “So, this new law will give those families who want this kind of community for their kids, this kind of school option, a chance to do that without suffering.”

The new law also impacts public schools, where the minimum salary for teachers is now $40,000. This does not affect Legacy Prep, but Brown says changes like this are nothing but good for all teachers.

“This opportunity allows every school, public or private to reevaluate how we are paying teachers. And this is great for educators all the way around,” says Brown.

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