Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Can Schools in Your State Pin Kids Down? Probably.

Can Schools in Your State Pin Kids Down? Probably.



Public schoolchildren across the country were physically restrained or isolated in rooms they couldn’t leave at least 267,000 times in the 2011-2012 school year, despite a near-consensus that such practices are dangerous and have no therapeutic benefit. Many states have little regulation or oversight of such practices. This map shows where your state stands. Data compiled as of January 2014. Related: Violent and Legal: The Shocking Ways School Kids are Being Pinned Down, Isolated Against Their Will

Schools May Be Underreporting Restraint, Seclusion - Disability Scoop

Schools May Be Underreporting Restraint, Seclusion - Disability Scoop



Students were subject to restraint and seclusion hundreds of thousands of times in one school year, a new analysis finds, and that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg.
During the 2011-2012 school year, there were more than 267,000 instances of restraint and seclusion reported by the nation’s schools. The figure is believed to be low, however.
The numbers come from an analysis by the nonprofit news organization ProPublica, which crunched data collected by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Among students who were restrained, three-quarters had disabilities, federal officials said when they first released the data in March. Such children also represented 58 percent of those placed in seclusion rooms or some other form of involuntary confinement at school, the agency indicated.
Though the Education Department sought to gather data on the use of restraint and seclusion in every public school across the country, only a third of districts reported using the techniques even once, ProPublica found.
What’s more, schools in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles — the country’s three largest districts — reported no instances, leading to questions about possible underreporting by schools.
Numerous reports from advocacy groups, lawmakers and government investigators have cited cases of injury and even death resulting from the use of restraint and seclusion. Currently, however, a patchwork of state rules govern the practices.
Efforts in Congress in recent years to establish nationwide standards limiting the use of restraint and seclusion in schools have stalled. While favored by disability advocates, groups representing school administrators have fought proposals to restrict the practices and insist that restraint and seclusion are only used as a last resort.

Nixon vetoes student transfer bill : News

Nixon vetoes student transfer bill : News



Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed the student transfer bill Tuesday as promised, saying it diverted public money to private schools and exacerbated hardships faced by students in struggling districts and their families. 
Nixon also called out leaders in the Francis Howell School District for a board decision last week, saying it was wrong to "turn its back" on about 350 students accepted last year but now sent back to failing Normandy schools. He urged other districts not to do the same. 
"To overcome the complex problems affecting struggling school districts, we all need to be part of the solution," Nixon said. "We may be comprised of many communities, but we are one state... To turn our back on a single child is to turn our back on our own future."
Nixon said the bill removed the requirement in the current law that says unaccredited districts must pay for transportation for students who want to transfer. He also had problems with the bill permitting receiving school districts to charge a discounted tuition rate in exchange for a pass on accountability.
But Senate leaders stood by the bill, calling the Governor's veto a setback for Missouri's most vulnerable children, and chastising Nixon for what they said was disinterest in helping draft a solution.
“The governor has provided no solutions during this process, offering only a fear-based public relations strategy and rhetoric,” said Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, and a co-sponsor of the bill. "This bipartisan bill gave real solutions to real students. My disappointment is in knowing yet another few years’ worth of students has been deemed expendable in this political fight.”
The Legislature convenes for the annual veto session on Sept. 10, when it could decide whether to override the veto. 
In the last week of the session, the House passed the bill 89-66 and the Senate passed it 28-3. The Senate’s vote was strong enough to overturn a veto. But the House was 20 votes short of a potential override.
The veto comes as the Missouri State Board of Education is set to takeover the Normandy School District on July 1. Nixon has hopes for the board's plan to improve academics and finances in Normandy and said today he did not think calling a special session of the Legislature would lead to a solution.
He said although the Legislature failed to address the issue in a responsible way, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has stepped in with a "reasonable and workable path," getting input from parents, teachers and community leaders. 
After decades of failure on state accountability standards, a state Supreme Court decision last summer triggered the exodus of more than 2,000 students from Normandy and Riverview Gardens, the other unaccredited district in the region. The transfers cost Normandy and Riverview Gardens about $1.5 million in monthly tuition and transportation bills.
Normandy chose to bus students to Francis Howell, a district in St. Charles County with some schools more than 22 miles away. The district brought in more than $3.4 million in revenue from transfer student tuition.
When the state takes over and Normandy becomes a new entity on July 1, Missouri education officials determined that the new Normandy Schools Collaborative would not have an accreditation status, bringing it out from under the law that had pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy, with Riverview Gardens not far behind. Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro said she had hoped the students who had transferred for 2013-14 and wanted to stay in their new schools would be allowed to do so.
But with no accreditation status, the current law no longer requires Francis Howell to accept Normandy students, and the School Board voted 5-0 in closed session last week go back to its previous policy of not accepting nonresident students, except in certain circumstances. 
Other districts with have a combined total of about 650 students who want to return this year are deciding whether to accept a lowered tuition rate for Riverview Gardens students, who are still entitled to transfer under the law, and also to do the same for any Normandy students they had in their schools last year that want to return for 2014-15.
A spokesman for the Hazelwood School District this week said the district plans to follow the state education department's guidelines for student transfers, including a lowered tuition rate for Riverview Gardens. Hazelwood has a total of 170 student transfers who have said they want to come back, mostly from Riverview Gardens. Kirkwood School District Superintendent Tom Williams said he will recommend to the School Board that they retain the eligible Normandy students who want to stay.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Medicaid decision shows up in Missouri personal income numbers : Business

Medicaid decision shows up in Missouri personal income numbers : Business



Missourians' incomes grew more slowly than the national average during the first quarter, but government transfer payments accounted for all of the gap.
Personal income grew by 0.6 percent in Missouri in the first quarter, versus 0.8 percent in the U.S. Missourians' earnings — wages, salaries and business income — actually grew a bit faster than the national average. Transfer receipts, including Social Security and other government programs, grew just one-fourth as fast in Missouri (0.4 percent) as in the nation (1.7 percent).
That may be because of the Missouri Legislature's decision to opt out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Nationally, the Commerce Department says, Medicaid accounted for $22.3 billion of the $41.1 billion increase in first-quarter transfer receipts.
Missouri's personal income growth has now trailed the nation's for five quarters in a row.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Why Missouri's Lobbying System Isn't As Open As You'd Think | St. Louis Public Radio

Why Missouri's Lobbying System Isn't As Open As You'd Think | St. Louis Public Radio



Nice restaurants in Jefferson City should be sad to see the Missouri Legislative session end. They’ve received tens of thousands of dollars worth of business from lobbyists courting Missouri’s legislators over dinners and drinks.
Who were the legislators taken out for expensive meals? Well, in many cases, we don’t really know.
“You look at Missouri, and we have the worst ethics laws in the country. That’s not an exaggeration.” Jason Kander, Missouri’s Secretary of State, said. “We are the only state in the entire country to allow lawmakers to accept unlimited personal gifts from lobbyists and unlimited campaign contributions from anyone.”
Missouri is one of the few states without restrictions on lobbying. It’s one of the reasons we're always near the bottom of the pack in ethics rankings.
People who defend the system say Missouri is a reporting state, not a restricting state. The logic goes that our no-limits system is fine, because it's easy to find out who is giving and who is receiving.
But that’s not really the case. According to our analysis, for the first three months of this year, lobbyists spent more than $450,000 for gifts like drinks, dinners and basketball tickets. Out of that, more than 75 percent of the gifts were to groups instead of individual legislators, which ends up hiding who the real recipients are.
For example, let’s say you’re a legislator, and being taken out for an expensive meal by a lobbyist. Having your name show up on a disclosure looks bad -- nobody wants to be on those. A better alternative could be having the meal go to a group instead. A group could be a lot of different things: it could be your party, it could be the entire House or Senate, or it could be one of the committees you serve on. But most importantly, what it does is leave your name off the list.
Here's a few examples of what we're talking about. All of these gifts could have been disclosed as personal gifts, which name the legislators. But they weren't.
Credit Screenshot from data received from the Misouri Ethics Commission.
The Missouri Ethics Commission is the governmental body charged with keeping track of these lobbyist gifts. The organization's director, Stacey Heislen, says this is all completely acceptable, as long as all members of the group are invited.
'What We’re Allowed To Look At'
The one thing that’s supposed to separate a group expenditure from an individual is the invitation to all the members. But in practice, the Missouri Ethics Commission doesn’t even ask for proof that every member was actually invited.
I asked her if that was problematic -- that our system makes no distinction between 20 legislators partaking in $1,000 meal and one or two legislators partaking in a $1,000 meal, and that it doesn’t even name those legislators.
“We just work within the parameters that we have in the statute," Heislen said. "That’s what we’re allowed to look at, and that’s the authority that we have."
Heislen can only use the rules the General Assembly comes up with. But Kander says those rules need to be revised.
“Allowing lawmakers to hide behind committees - that in some cases have no real duties - in order to avoid disclosing which legislators are receiving gifts is certainly violating the spirit of the law,” Kander said.
He says legislators will always find ways of working around complete disclosure, and that the only course of action is to eliminate lobbyist gifts altogether.
An Institutional Problem
“I come at this from a different perspective. I used to be a lobbyist," Rory Ellinger, a House Democrat from University City. "(I) Never spent a dime though, we didn’t have any money,” he said, laughing.
Ellinger started out as a lobbyist in the 70s, and says the problem isn’t lobbyists themselves -- they provide expertise and experience, especially in Missouri’s term-limited system. He says the only problem is when money and gifts are involved, and that the problem is compounded when it’s so easy to hide your name from the disclosure.
Ellinger is one of the co-sponsors of a bill in the House that would have capped lobbyist gifts at $1,000 per legislator.
That bill never even received a hearing in the Republican-controlled House.
“The Republicans inherited the system that the Democrats left. They haven’t made it better or worse," Ellinger said. "This is an institutional problem that both sides have to face.”
So far, Democrats have accepted $40,000 in personal gifts, Republicans: $62,000.
“It is difficult to get a legislative body or anybody, really to police themselves," Kander said. "It’s a difficult thing to do, but it’s necessary.”

Rep. Jeff Grisamore | Lobbying Missouri | St. Louis Public Radio

Rep. Jeff Grisamore | Lobbying Missouri | St. Louis Public Radio



Rep. Grisamore ranks 50th (out of 197 legislators) in lobbyist spending, having received 104gifts, valued at $4,080.
* The state releases data two months after lobbyists submit it, and our numbers reflect the last 24 months on record.

Since 2004

Rep. Grisamore received 203 gifts from lobbyists, valued at $7,870.
Want all the data? You can download it here.

Value of gifts by industry

Technology/IT
$1,547
Government/Education
$1,502
Healthcare
$1,377
Telecommunications/Cable
$987
Legal/Lobbying/Consulting
$758
Transportation
$403
Entertainment
$363
Energy
$230
Construction/Real Estate
$135
Other
$128
Food/Agriculture/Beverages
$120
Ideology/Single-Issue
$107
Labor
$103
Banking/Finance/Insurance
$68
Chamber of Commerce
$44
 
DateOrganizationValueDescriptionCategory
May 30, 2013AT&T$264.004 tickets to St. Louis Cardinals and KC Royals game and refreshments at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.Entertainment
November 24, 2013GAINES CONSULTING$250.00Chief TicketsEntertainment
May 11, 2013INDEPENDENT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES OF MISSOURI$153.98Concert TicketsEntertainment
February 21, 2013AMERISTAR CASINO HOTEL$103.00TicketsEntertainment
February 21, 2013INDEPENDENT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES OF MISSOURI$103.00TicketsEntertainment
February 21, 2013MISSOURI RAILROAD ASSOCIATION$103.00TicketsEntertainment
February 10, 2014MISSOURI RAILROAD ASSOCIATION$97.75Concert TicketsEntertainment
February 10, 2014INDEPENDENT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES OF MISSOURI$97.75Concert TicketsEntertainment
February 10, 2014AMERISTAR CASINO HOTEL$97.75Concert TicketsEntertainment
February 10, 2014MISSOURI PHARMACY ASSOCIATION$97.75Concert TicketsEntertainment
November 14, 2013MISSOURI COALITION OF CHILDREN'S AGENCIES$87.00Hotel expense for stay at MCCA conference to receive legislative awardTravel
March 15, 2014AMEREN$78.00TicketsEntertainment
March 15, 2014MISSOURI RESIDENTIAL CARE ASSOCIATION$78.00TicketsEntertainment
February 15, 2013AMERISTAR CASINO HOTEL$73.50TicketsEntertainment
February 15, 2013MISSOURI FIRE SERVICE ALLIANCE$73.50TicketsEntertainment
February 15, 2013MISSOURI BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION$73.50TicketsEntertainment
February 15, 2013MISSOURI RAILROAD ASSOCIATION$73.50TicketsEntertainment
April 8, 2014MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOC.$73.12Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 31, 2013MISSOURI COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS$65.50Concert ticketEntertainment
April 10, 2013UNITED TRANSPORTATION UNION$62.16Crab Boil at Hooks Restaurant, Jefferson City, MO for 2013 Legislative SessionMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 11, 2013INDEPENDENT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES OF MISSOURI$60.32Concert TicketsEntertainment
February 12, 2013CITY OF KANSAS CITY$59.99DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 12, 2013CITY OF KANSAS CITY$59.99DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 14, 2014MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$59.52DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
October 4, 2013CERNER CORPORATION$54.04American Royal BBQMeals, Food, & Beverage
October 4, 2013CERNER CORPORATION$54.04American Royal BBQMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 4, 2013MISSOURI FIRE SERVICE ALLIANCE$52.38TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI RESIDENTIAL CARE ASSOCIATION$52.38TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI RESIDENTIAL CARE ASSOCIATION$52.38TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI FIRE SERVICE ALLIANCE$52.38TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI DENTAL ASSOCIATION$52.37TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI PHARMACY ASSOCIATION$52.37TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI PHARMACY ASSOCIATION$52.37TicketsEntertainment
February 4, 2013MISSOURI DENTAL ASSOCIATION$52.37TicketsEntertainment
February 21, 2013INDEPENDENT COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES OF MISSOURI$51.50TicketsEntertainment
February 21, 2013AMERISTAR CASINO HOTEL$51.50TicketsEntertainment
September 11, 2012PENMAN & WINTON CONSULTING$51.05Hotel Room for night before or after meetingOther
September 11, 2012PENMAN & WINTON CONSULTING$51.05Hotel room for night before or after a meetingOther
February 25, 2014STEVEN R. CARROLL & ASSOCIATES$44.09office refreshmentsMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 18, 2013MISSOURI BANKERS ASSOCIATION$41.60Dinner at Alexandro's, Jefferson City MOMeals, Food, & Beverage
June 30, 2013MISSOURI BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION$40.00TicketsEntertainment
October 10, 2012METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE - KANSAS CITY$37.93MCC-Longview Legislative LuncheonMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 3, 2013FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$36.79Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
March 11, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$35.92DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 24, 2013R J REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY$34.12Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
December 17, 2013CITY OF KANSAS CITY$32.28LunchMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 3, 2013MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$28.15Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
March 4, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$27.82BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 8, 2013MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$27.23Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 15, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$21.63T-shirt for charity softball touramentOther
April 22, 2014CENTURYLINK$20.75Dinner in Jefferson CityMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 28, 2014MISSOURI ASSOCIATION OF TRIAL ATTORNEYS$20.34DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 19, 2013NATIONAL MS SOCIETY$20.00MS Advocates dinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 27, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$18.48DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 16, 2014FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$18.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 22, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$17.21BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 1, 2012MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$16.50Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 23, 2013SITE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION$16.45Missouri Transportation CoalitionMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 15, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$16.31dinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 23, 2013FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$16.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 25, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$15.76BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
October 10, 2012METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE - KANSAS CITY$15.17MCC-Longview Legislative LuncheonGift
March 12, 2013MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$15.10Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 27, 2013CENTENE CORPORATION$15.09Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 4, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$14.78DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
March 13, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$14.77BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 13, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$14.62DinnerMeals, Food, & Beverage
March 7, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$14.40BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 27, 2013FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$14.33Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 30, 2014MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$14.25Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 7, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$14.05BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 15, 2014MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$13.85Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 6, 2013MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$13.50Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 15, 2012STINSON MORRISON HECKER$13.07Dinner.Meals, Food, & Beverage
February 20, 2013STEVEN R. CARROLL & ASSOCIATES$11.00BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
August 30, 2013STINSON MORRISON HECKER$10.57Lunch.Meals, Food, & Beverage
March 5, 2014MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$10.19Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 8, 2014NORANDA ALUMINUM$10.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
March 27, 2013MISSOURI HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION$9.95Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 28, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$9.48BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
September 11, 2013FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$9.29Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 31, 2013MISSOURI COUNCIL OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS$9.14Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
December 5, 2013MISSOURI BUDGET PROJECT$9.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 12, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$8.89RefreshmentsMeals, Food, & Beverage
March 13, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$8.71BeveragesMeals, Food, & Beverage
November 17, 2013MISSOURI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY$8.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 12, 2014STRATEGIC CAPITOL CONSULTING LLC$7.99Lunch at Arris Pizza - JCMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 2, 2013MISSOURI CABLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION$7.69Registration fee for Legislative Charity Softball Tournament.Other
April 22, 2013FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$7.50Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 16, 2014FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$6.98Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 27, 2013PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN$6.50Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 22, 2013MISSOURI CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL NETWORK$6.30Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 16, 2013STEVEN R. CARROLL & ASSOCIATES$6.00J. Pfenny's, Jefferson City, MOMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 3, 2013FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER$6.00LunchMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 2, 2012MISSOURI FARMERS CARE$5.00Missouri State Capitol Lawn / BBQ Lunch for all General Assembly and StaffMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 29, 2013AT&T$5.00Beverage at Doubletree, Jefferson City MOMeals, Food, & Beverage
February 13, 2013MISSOURI BUDGET PROJECT$5.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 24, 2013ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES$5.00fish fryMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 30, 2014ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVES$5.00Fish fryMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 16, 2013FARMERS INSURANCE$4.00BeverageMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 22, 2014FAIR ENERGY RATE ACTION FUND$4.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage
January 7, 2014FARMERS INSURANCE$3.25coffee meeting at PaneraMeals, Food, & Beverage
May 9, 2012TRI COUNTY LODGING ASSOCIATION$3.00ice cream social-Capitol rotundaMeals, Food, & Beverage
April 22, 2014FLOTRON & MCINTOSH$3.00Not disclosedMeals, Food, & Beverage