Legislation addressing Missouri reform school abuse gets widespread support in House
The Missouri House on Tuesday gave strong bipartisan support to legislation that for the first time would require state oversight of boarding schools now exempt from any regulations.
After a 30-minute debate, lawmakers gave initial approval to the Child Residential Home Notification Act, which would mandate federal criminal background checks for all employees and volunteers of unlicensed boarding schools. The schools also would have to adhere to fire, safety and health regulations.
The measures — two identical bills sponsored by Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, and Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville — are expected to come up for a final vote either Thursday or early next week. If passed, the bills would go to the Senate, where the sponsors say they have broad support.
“We hear a lot of bills on the floor of this House each and every year, (and) there are a few of them that come through here that are so important that we have got to stop and pay attention,” said Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, who said he was “horrified” after reading about abuse allegations in The Star. “I was horrified to see what our young people, the most vulnerable in our society, are living with day after day after day.
“When you read this, it almost looks like you are reading something from a script of a horror movie, but it’s not. It’s reality. These types of legislation are so important for these young people.”
The House debate came on the same day that Gov. Mike Parson’s office told The Star that the governor has directed the attorney general to assist Cedar County authorities in the investigation of Agape Boarding School, an unlicensed Christian facility in southwest Missouri. It’s the second reform school under investigation by state and local authorities.
On March 10, Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office had charged Circle of Hope owners Boyd and Stephanie Householder with 102 crimes — all but one are felonies — that include statutory rape, sodomy and physical abuse.
For months The Star has been investigating faith-based reform schools, which a 1982 law allows to claim an exemption from Missouri’s licensing requirement. The state is one of only two — South Carolina is the other — that has no regulations for exempt schools.
Last month, the Missouri House Committee on Children and Families voted unanimously to pass the bills. The measures also have gone through the House Rules Committee.
Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, chairwoman of the Children and Families Committee, said the former students’ testimony “was maybe the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”
“Even listening to the testimony of the abuse that children have endured was just horrific,” she said.
The Republican from Arnold said Tuesday that she was “just furious this has happened in Missouri.”
“And on behalf of the state, I apologize, because it’s decades that this has gone on,” Coleman said. “And I’m so grateful that today, we’re going to say ‘enough,’ and we’re going to be moving this bill forward.”
Before Tuesday’s debate, the proposals received key endorsements from the editor of The Pathway, a news publication for the 500,000-member Missouri Baptist Convention, and the Missouri Catholic Conference.
“We have both sides of the spectrum looking at the bill and say, ‘Something needs to be done,’” Veit said on the House floor. “And this is the least restrictive way to do it.”
Since early September, The Star has spoken to more than 50 former students who attended several of these unlicensed facilities in Missouri. They have said that some school owners were lured to Missouri because of a lack of regulations and came here after being investigated or shut down in other states.
Because of Missouri’s lax law, Veit told legislators, the state has no control over these reform schools.
“There were people who came here, and they were truly not religious people,” he said. “They set these homes up ... and we had some horrible, horrible results happen. … These homes, all you had to say was that it was a religious organization, you were religious. You couldn’t even check into if they were a recognized religious organization.”
The measures would require boarding 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 notification and health and safety inspections, or if a facility is suspected of abuse or neglect, could result in the boarding school being shut down or the removal of children.
Under the measures, 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.
Veit said the bills were careful not to trample on religious rights.
“I have great respect for these religious organizations,” he said. “There are a lot of good ones out there. The trouble is with no supervision, the bad ones are going to destroy the reputations of the good ones — or worse, they’re going to cause more regulations.”
Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, said he was pleased to see that the bill addressed religious freedom.
“There is a reason why we, in our ministries to children, have chosen to go the licensure route, so we can communicate to those that we serve, as well as the state, that we recognize the tremendous importance of protecting children,” said Richey, a pastor. “I am absolutely supportive of this and am grateful.”
So was Rep. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka.
“Let’s not allow them to use Christ as a beating tool, as a way to get around the law,” Bailey told lawmakers. “Because that’s what these bad actors are doing.”
The measures are considered an “emergency act,” meaning they would go into effect immediately upon passage.
In recent months, Ingle said she has spoken to many former students, who came to the schools from across the country.
“These children were tortured — there’s really no other way to describe it,” Ingle said.
“For whatever reason these facilities were allowed to operate in this state for as long as they were is a blight on all of us.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 5:57 PM.
