Requires the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to file its annual financial report with the Joint Committee on Education

SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCIAL INFORMATION (Section 162.192) Under this act, each school district and charter school shall maintain a searchable, publicly accessible database on its website setting forth all financial transactions conducted with school district or charter school funds. The financial ledger shall be available without login credentials, registration, or fees, and shall be downloadable and exportable in formats specified in the act. The financial ledger shall record transactions using codes set forth in the Missouri Financial Accounting Manual published by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), as applicable. Certain data fields shall be included in the financial ledger at minimum, such as transaction date, transaction amount, revenue or expenditure designation, fund code, function code, object code, vendor or payee name, and a description or memo field.

The homepage of each public or charter school's website shall include a direct link to the financial ledger of the school district or charter school. The link shall make the financial ledger accessible within one click, and shall be functional and mobile-responsive. DESE may provide standardized language or icons that public and charter schools may use for this purpose.

A school district's or charter school's financial ledger shall be updated at least monthly. Details of each calendar month's financial transactions shall be posted no later than 45 days after the close of that calendar month. For record keeping purposes, a school district or charter school shall maintain at least five fiscal years of historical data on its financial ledger.

Protected personal information may be redacted only to the extent required by applicable law. Vendor names, amounts, and accounting codes shall not be redacted. Payroll data may be presented in aggregated form where disclosure of individual information is restricted.

Debt obligations shall be posted in a separate section of the financial ledger, with disclosure of outstanding debt balances, issuance dates, repayment schedules, annual debt service amounts, and debt service as a percentage of total expenditures.

DESE may provide or approve standardized templates or platforms school districts and charter schools may use for their financial ledgers. DESE may additionally provide guidance to assist school districts and charter schools with compliance.

DESE shall promulgate rules establishing procedures and timelines for school districts and charter schools to certify compliance annually. A school district or charter school that violates any provision of this act may be subject to the withholding of up to 1% of that school year's state aid entitlement for the school district or charter school.

DESE shall establish a process for members of the public to file complaints if they believe a school district or charter school has violated any provision of the act. DESE may also establish a public compliance dashboard on DESE's website to enable members of the public to check whether a particular school district or charter school is certified as in compliance.

This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/HBs 2120 & 1698 (2026), SCS/HBs 2230 & 2978 (2026), SCS/HCS/HB 2748 (2026), and SCS/HB 2872 (2026), and is similar to provisions in SS#2/SCS/SB 1029 (2026) and in SCS/HCS/HB 2710 (2026).

MISSOURI HIGHER EDUCATION LOAN AUTHORITY (Sections 173.365 and 173.445) This act provides that the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) shall protect financial information and trade secrets as required under federal and state law. MOHELA may also close certain records related to student loan servicing, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary. Such records may include details about contract performance, payments, and business communications related to loan servicing operations. However, this provision shall not apply to records requested by Missouri governmental entities.

A provision of current law authorizing MOHELA to sue and be sued shall not be construed to waive any legal defense of MOHELA, including all forms of sovereign immunity. (Section 173.365)

Additionally, current law requires MOHELA to file an annual financial report with the Director of the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. Under this act, such report shall also be filed with the Joint Committee on Education.

These provisions are similar to SCS/SB 476 (2025). (Section 173.445)

WORKFORCE DIPLOMA PROGRAM (Section 173.831) The act repeals the August 28, 2028, sunset on the Workforce Diploma Program.

This provision is identical to SA#4 to SS/HCS/HBs 2097 & 1905 (2026) and to provisions in SS/SCS/HB 2896 (2026) and in HCS/SS/SB 1196 (2026), and is similar to provisions in SCS/SB 1370 (2026) and HCS/HB 3239 (2026). OLIVIA SHANNON