Governor Mike Kehoe and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) kicked off the Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force this afternoon in Jefferson City. Per Governor Kehoe’s Executive Order 25-14, the Task Force is charged with reviewing and recommending changes to Missouri’s K-12 school funding model and providing a final report to the Governor by December 1, 2026.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has announced eight Missouri Gold Star Schools for 2025. The program, which aligns with the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, recognizes schools for outstanding academic achievement or for performing at high levels while serving a significant proportion of disadvantaged students.

Missouri’s 2025 Gold Star Schools include

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) leaders presented a series of recommendations to the State Board of Education (Board) today to reimagine the DESE-operated Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled (MSSD). Those recommendations include

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) Office of College and Career Readiness, in partnership with the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD), kicked off the Governor’s Workforce of the Future Challenge yesterday in Jefferson City.

Governor Kehoe Appoints Four New Members to the State Board of Education

Yesterday, Governor Mike Kehoe appointed four new members to the State Board of Education (State Board), Michael Matousek (Kansas City), Kenneth "Brooks" Miller Jr. (Sunrise Beach), Jon Otto (Kansas City), and Thomas G. Prater, M.D. (Springfield). These appointments are now subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate in the coming weeks.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announces Dr. Kyle Kruse will serve as the new deputy commissioner of the Division of Financial and Administrative Services. He will assume the position on June 2, 2025. Dr. Kari Monsees, current deputy commissioner, announced his retirement earlier this year, effective June 30, 2025. Drs. Monsees and Kruse will work together during the month of June to allow for a smooth transition.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) Office of Childhood (OOC) has kicked off its series of statewide in-person listening sessions. Feedback from the listening sessions will inform the rewriting of child care licensing rules the OOC was charged with completing, per Governor Mike Kehoe’s Executive Order 25-15.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced today the school districts and individual school buildings that earned the 2025 Missouri Purple Star designation — the fourth round of designees in this statewide program:

2025 Purple Star School Districts