Who will lead Missouri schools as Mike Kehoe pushes for change?

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning.

Missouri’s education department has an interim leader. The bigger question is what kind of permanent leader the state is now looking for.

The State Board of Education named Stacey Preis, a former department official and education consultant, to lead DESE while it begins a nationwide search for a new commissioner. She steps in after a sudden leadership shakeup left the agency without its top official — and as Gov. Mike Kehoe’s appointees gain more influence over the board that will make the final pick.

Preis says she does not want the job permanently. Board leaders say they are starting from scratch.

Annelise Hanshaw reports on who is already being discussed, what the board says it wants and why the next commissioner could help define the future of Missouri education.

by Annelise Hanshaw

Stacey Preis will lead Missouri’s education department for now. But the permanent search begins as DESE faces pressure to carry out Gov. Mike Kehoe’s school-accountability and choice agenda.

by Rebecca Rivas

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway says 7-OH is a dangerous opioid. Sellers say Missouri should regulate it instead. Two settlements now halt major in-state sales while that fight continues elsewhere.

by Eva Lighthiser

A young climate plaintiff argues federal courts keep avoiding the core question in youth climate lawsuits: whether government-backed fossil fuel policy violates children’s constitutional rights.

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