Missouri School Boards’ Association: Documents, Policies, and Influence
Most Missourians have never heard of the Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA).
But if you want to understand how education policy spreads from Jefferson City into school districts across the state, it’s a good place to start.
MSBA trains school board members, distributes policy guidance, and advocates on education legislation. When the organization takes a position, local districts often hear about it.
That makes them worth watching.
MSBA’s Position on School Choice
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that the MSBA has taken a clear stance against school choice programs.
In its advocacy materials, the association stakes out opposition to “vouchers, tax credits, deductions for tuition and other similar initiatives to support non-public K–12 schools.”
More recently, MSBA circulated a document titled “Education Under Pressure.” In it, they argue that expanding school choice means “school choice expansion without equal accountability.”
At its core, this is about competition. Expanding school choice gives families alternatives, and that inevitably changes where students enroll.
School choice programs have demonstrated positive effects in randomized evaluations, including higher graduation rates and increased college enrollment in long-term studies.
MSBA’s opposition to school choice is not surprising. What is striking is how directly the organization enters the political fray.
They want to have it both ways.
When it’s convenient, the MSBA will tell you they’re just a nonpartisan group focused on training and professional development.
But when it’s not, they’re happy to engage in politics.
The Transgender Policy Guide Hosted by MSBA
MSBA’s online resource library includes documents with titles like “Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools.” MSBA hosts this document directly on their website and distributes it as a resource for school boards.
The guide was written by national advocacy organizations including the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Gender Spectrum, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and the ACLU LGBT Project.
The guide is intended to instruct school board members on issues such as student names and pronouns, privacy considerations around gender identity, restroom and locker room access, and participation in school programs.
These are some of the most contentious policy questions school districts face today.
Once again, MSBA presents an ideological position as neutral guidance.
They’ll tell you they’re nonpartisan until radical gender ideology comes up.
Then, they’ll stake out a Radical Liberal position and call it education.
MSBA’s Role in Missouri Education Policy
The Missouri School Boards’ Association is organized as a 501(c)(6) trade association representing school boards across the state.
According to public nonprofit filings, MSBA reports annual revenues exceeding $12 million.
MSBA maintains offices in Columbia and a governmental relations presence in Jefferson City, where it engages lawmakers on education legislation.
That means the association’s guidance documents and policy positions do not stay inside conference rooms.
They shape real decisions affecting schools across Missouri.
Their engagement reaches far beyond what their name would suggest.
They present themselves as neutral. In practice, they shape policy, lobby lawmakers, and take sides on the most contested issues in education.
Missourians should know exactly who is influencing their schools.
Andy Bakker
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA