© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State senator seeks public funding for religious schools

Missouri state Sen. Scott Rupp is sponsoring legislation to abolish language in the Missouri Constitution that prohibits public funding for religious groups to operate schools.
David Shane
/
Flickr
Missouri state Sen. Scott Rupp is sponsoring legislation to abolish language in the Missouri Constitution that prohibits public funding for religious groups to operate schools.

 

A Missouri state senator says religious groups should not be barred from receiving state funds to operate their schools.

Republican Scott Rupp, of St. Charles and Lincoln counties, is sponsoring legislation to abolish language in the Missouri Constitution that prohibits public funding for religious groups to operate schools.

Rupp says the ban is outdated and discriminates against religious institutions. He says religious schools could help educate students in unaccredited districts if they got state funding. Schools in Kansas City, St. Louis and Riverview Gardens in St. Louis County are unaccredited.

A spokeswoman for the Anti-Defamation League says the measure could force Missouri to pay for schools run by groups with discriminatory ideologies, such as white supremacist groups.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.