MO bills would crack down on unlicensed boarding schools ‘to prevent further abuses’
Missouri lawmakers pre-filed two identical bills Friday that, if passed, would for the first time give the state oversight of unlicensed reform schools where former students say abuse has been ignored for years.
The proposed legislation would require all faith-based boarding schools to register with the state — referred to in the measures as “notification” — and mandate federal criminal background checks for all employees and volunteers. The schools also would have to adhere to fire, safety and health regulations.
“There were loopholes in the system that were allowing further abuses to occur,” said Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, a sponsor of one of the measures. “The purpose of this bill is to put a stopgap and try to prevent further abuses.”
The other bill is sponsored by Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville. The bipartisan legislation will be formally introduced when the General Assembly convenes next month.
Known as The Child Residential Home Notification Act, the proposal would require schools’ registration to include a description of the agency or organization running the facility, the names of all the students and the contact information for their parents or guardians. The schools also would need to provide the name of the executive director and all staff members, as well as a copy of the fire, safety and health inspections and proof that every child’s medical records are on file.
Failure to comply with the law could ultimately result in the removal of children or a facility being shut down.
Under the legislation, no government agency would be allowed to regulate or control the content of a school’s religious curriculum or the ministry of a school sponsored by a church or religious organization.
The measures are considered an “emergency act,” meaning they would go into effect immediately upon passage.
The action comes as The Star has been investigating faith-based reform schools, which are exempt from state oversight. A 1982 law allows religious organizations to claim an exemption from Missouri’s licensing requirement.
In interviews with The Star, nearly 50 former students have described punishment that includes withholding food and water, being forced to stand against a wall for hours and being restrained on the ground as staff and sometimes students apply pressure to various parts of their bodies. Many of those students attended Circle of Hope Girls Ranch and Agape Boarding School and were speaking out for the first time.
Ingle called for a hearing on the issue, held last month, after reading The Star’s first story on Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch in rural Cedar County. The House Children and Families Committee submitted a report less than two weeks later that suggested legislation be introduced next session.
The legislation pre-filed Friday does not require schools to be licensed, which many former students and some child advocates say is needed. But lawmakers say this is a “good first step.”
Veit said he and Ingle worked with the state Department of Social Services and several child welfare groups while drafting the bills.
“Everybody’s on board,” Veit said. “Some people want more, some people want less. We balanced the pros and cons and wanted to have something that’s also passable.”
Veit and Ingle both said many of the state’s boarding schools are doing good work.
“I believe that there are a lot of good ones out there, and there are times when spiritual beliefs can solve certain problems that medicine may not, or that work well in conjunction with medicine,” Veit said. “We don’t want to infringe on that right, but by the same token we have to ensure that those people who are providing the services have the right intent in their actions.
“If we don’t supervise it a little bit, a few bad apples are going to ruin the reputation of all of them.”
Ingle agreed.
“There are facilities that are unlicensed but do abide by all of the things we are requiring in this bill,” she said.
Students have been posting on social media, talking on podcasts and held a rally last month to call for change in the Missouri law.
“They’ve been able to run rampant,” said Maggie Drew, who attended Circle of Hope for more than five years and was at the rally. “They can do whatever they want behind those walls. They would always tell us at Circle of Hope, ‘Who are they going to believe? This troubled kid who got sent away for being this awful monster or this adult who works at this place to try to help kids?’”
D’Nae Hetrick, who went to Circle of Hope from 2007 to 2009, also attended the rally. She said she hopes lawmakers finally do something to stop the abuse that has gone on for decades.
“Just because this school is hiding behind religion and Christianity that shouldn’t be premises for people to be abused and it to go unnoticed because it is being done in the name of God,” Hetrick said. “There needs to be regulations and checkups done for people.”
Over the years, the legislature has repeatedly defeated efforts to enact state oversight of faith-based programs. Attempts were always stymied by religious leaders and lawmakers who insisted that any movement against faith institutions was an attack on religious freedom.
Veit said he’s working with a Missouri senator to introduce the bill in that chamber as well. He said GOP leaders have been supportive.
“Leadership is concerned with protecting children and protecting children’s rights and to try to hit a balance between that and also protecting our religious freedoms,” he said. “That’s the purpose of this bill. Not to infringe upon religious freedoms.”
Rep. Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph and chairwoman of the Children and Families Committee, thinks the legislation has a good chance of passing.
“I think something is going to happen, and I don’t think this is going to be something that takes years,” said Solon, who is about to leave office because of term limits. “I think this year we can get it passed. The momentum is now.”
Many legislators say it’s time to address a systemic problem that’s been allowed to continue for decades and only worsen.
“Now that I’m aware of this, now that several of my colleagues are aware of this, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that the atrocities that we heard about that allegedly occurred at Circle of Hope and other facilities, don’t happen again,” Ingle said. “This isn’t going to happen again on our watch.
“We stand with all of the survivors who have come forward.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 3:59 PM.
