The Governor’s State of the State was this week. A portion of his address focused on education choice and voucher programs. These issues are framed as being about improving education quality and allowing parents to choose their students’ schools. However, the practical and intended effect is to erase conversation about the Black experience and re-segregate schools. The de-funding public schools in historically Black and Brown areas through vouchers and open-enrollment is not an unintended consequence or an accident. It is an intentional way of providing quantitative data to support the narrative that those schools are incapable of providing a quality education or safe learning environment. We are expecting the dismantling of public education to be a major priority in 2026.

MO State Conference President Nimrod Chapel, Jr. testified in favor of a series of bills that would remove the requirement for car inspections. This legislation would mean fewer reasons for police officers to pull over drivers and fewer opportunities for negative interactions between police and Black drivers. Black drivers are three times more likely to get ticketed, be searched, or be arrested than the white drivers in their same area. This is a continued problem and one that will be tracked and documented thanks to the successful recent lawsuit by the MO State Conference against then Attorney General Bailey and his refusal to follow the statute and publish the disparity index report. 

Criminal justice issues will also be a major theme in the 2026 legislative session. Coming up next week is a hearing on a bill, HB2498, that would make it easier to certify juveniles as adults in criminal proceedings. This is another way to suppress and oppress our community as young Black boys are targeted. The same behaviors by white and Black children are treated very differently by teachers, principals, and police. Whether something is seen as a crime or simple youthful antics often depends on the skin color of the child more than the effect of the behavior. 

Please keep an eye on the tracking lists at the top of this page based on the area of law you are most concerned about. If you want to testify or visit the Capitol, send an email to sharon@jonesadvocacy.com to let us know so we can support your visit.