Missouri
Thousands of Missouri students have left public education. Here's why
Thousands of students in Missouri have left public school in the last four years, in line with a national trend of more families disengaging from public education.
An analysis by the Associated Press, Big Local News and Stanford University economist Thomas Dee found enrollment in Missouri’s public schools dropped by 2% from the 2019-2020 school year to the 2022-2023 school year — making up nearly 18,000 students.
Nationally, the AP’s study found private schooling grew nearly 8% and homeschooling grew by nearly 27% during the same time period among more than 30 states with credible private, public or homeschool enrollment data.
Collin Hitt, executive director of the PRiME Center, which studies education in Missouri, said it’s been an open question whether the state’s homeschooling jump was temporary.
“Given the fact that we’re seeing public K-12 enrollments stay relatively flat, it probably suggests this is something that’s going to continue for some time, which is a major development,” Hitt said.
Thousands of students across the country still haven’t returned to the classroom since the pandemic shut schools down for months. An estimated 230,000 students were considered “missing” in fall 2021, meaning demographic changes or increases in private school or homeschooling couldn’t account for their disappearance from public education.
Students have since slowly made their way back to varying forms of education or aged out of school, leaving only 50,000 kids unaccounted for.
Missouri doesn’t track private school data and doesn’t legally require parents to tell the state when they homeschool their child. However, most parents will notify their public school district if they switch to homeschooling.
Based on that limited data, Missouri has seen a 34% increase in homeschooling since 2019 — but that doesn’t include children who never attended public schools to begin with.
Education leaders anticipated a drop in enrollment across the country because of declining birth rates. U.S. birth rates have been on the downswing for more than a decade, hitting a record low in 2020.
The AP found there are 3,000 fewer school-aged children in Missouri compared to when the pandemic began.
Hitt said even if birth rates remain flat going forward, the declines between 2010 and 2020 have yet to age their way through the system, which will result in lower school enrollment.
However, he said birthrates can’t explain the steep drop in enrollment after the pandemic hit.
“What the pandemic did is it exposed more parents to homeschooling and virtual schooling,” Hitt said. “It also changed the work dynamic for tons of families, where tons of families are now working from home all or most of the time.”
That, combined with more private school vouchers and savings programs for families to spend on public school alternatives, Hitt said, has created the perfect conditions for a homeschooling boom.
Dannielle Joy Davis, known by many as Dr. Joy, runs a program for homeschooling families called “The Circle of Excellence” and is a professor of higher education at St. Louis University.
She began homeschooling her son before the pandemic, but said it was some families’ first exposure to homeschooling.
“Once students experienced that and enjoyed it, and once parents saw the joy of learning in their own households, as you imagine, some parents said, “‘This is nice — we should keep doing this,’” Davis said.
She said parents who choose to homeschool are drawn to the freedom to choose how to teach their children. For example, her son took a scuba class with a certified diver because he loves marine biology.
Davis said more families are turning to homeschooling for another reason.
Society and schools have seen dramatic changes in the last several years. Repeated mass shootings have heightened concerns around school safety. A white Minneapolis police officer’s 2020 murder of George Floyd kicked off international calls for justice and police reform. Republican state legislators in Missouri have targeted school curricula around history and race in recent years.
Davis said some parents see homeschooling as an opportunity to protect their children from bullying, sexism or racism at school — and even the stress of having to go through a metal detector to enter the building.
“A large part of the shift is out of love,” Davis said. “The parents’ love of the children to say, ‘Look, the system is not the ideal in terms of cultivating a safe, peaceful, loving environment for my kid and look, I get to do something about it.’”
Thinking “smaller and smarter”
Hitt said declining public school enrollment has some potential benefits, like smaller class sizes. He said that could also allow the state to give schools more money per pupil in the short term, since the state legislature is used to appropriating a certain amount for K-12 education.
“It’s possible that these enrollment declines will take some pressure off of the system and let them get down to a size that might actually work better for kids,” Hitt said.
But districts that see a significant decline in enrollment could have a substantial drop in state and federal resources, Hitt said, since those are typically determined on a per-pupil basis.
The steep enrollment drop following the pandemic has mostly leveled, but Hitt said schools will still have to cope with the fallout of declining birth rates for years to come.
“Going forward, I think 20 years from now, when we look back at who the most effective educational leaders were of this generation,” Hitt said. “It’s going to be the people who figured this out; how do we get smaller, and smarter and better all at once?”
A Jackson County judge on Friday denied Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s attempt to immediately stop Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman and several affiliated companies from selling kratom products.
The motion for a temporary restraining order, which was filed alongside the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, took particular aim at the more potent 7-OH products, which Hanaway argues are “hazardous opioids” banned by state and federal law.
Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles McKenzie’s ruling Friday stated there are “competing affidavits” from experts on both sides of the argument, following a hearing on the motion earlier this week.
“The court cannot find, based on the oral argument of the parties, the respective competing affidavits presented and the pleadings, whether the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits at this juncture in the proceedings in order for the court to grant relief in the form of a temporary restraining order,” McKenzie’s order states.
Hanaway’s argument was backed by sworn statements from an undercover narcotics officer with the highway patrol who said 7-OH is being used to cut fentanyl and a woman whose brother died from a kratom overdose.
Her office also submitted an FDA report that points to 7-OH as “a potent opioid that poses an emerging public health threat” and states health data showing synthetic 7-OH was involved in at least 197 Missouri deaths.
American Shaman submitted statements of its own from five toxicology and addiction experts, who largely said there wasn’t enough evidence to show that 7-OH and kratom posed a public health risk. One who researched narcotics said she had never heard of 7-OH being used to cut fentanyl.
Company owner Vince Sanders’ statement detailed how he came up with the idea to create 7-OH products, which now have an “enormous” demand, particularly among people who need pain management.
Sanders could not be reached for comment about the ruling on Friday.
McKenzie denied a temporary restraining order “without prejudice,” meaning that he would like to see more evidence.
“It is because of this finding that the court determines it necessary to hold an additional hearing,” he wrote, “where it can consider the parties’ respective positions with the potential of testimonial evidence and other properly introduced evidence, all as more fully developed by the parties, in order to further analyze these issues.”
The judge will consider “other injunctive relief sought in the pleadings at a future hearing to consider the issues,” the order states.
Hanaway filed a similar lawsuit Thursday against Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC, and its owners Dustin Robinson and Ajaykumar Patel.
The group received a warning letter from the FDA for producing 7-OH products last year, similar to one received by Shaman Botanicals.
“This is another step in our ongoing crackdown on kratom manufacturers who flout the law and try to justify endangering Missourians in the name of profit,” Hanaway said in a press release Thursday.
“Our mission is to safeguard Missourians from unregulated and addictive substances, and we will continue to pursue every legal tool available to protect public health and safety.”
The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 7-2-5
Midday Wild: 7
Evening: 9-6-8
Evening Wild: 7
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 10 drawing
Midday: 7-1-9-9
Midday Wild: 1
Evening: 6-9-8-9
Evening Wild: 2
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from May 10 drawing
Early Bird: 02
Morning: 11
Matinee: 10
Prime Time: 12
Night Owl: 11
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Show Me Cash numbers from May 10 drawing
09-18-23-31-39
Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.
To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:
Ticket Redemption
Missouri Lottery
P.O. Box 7777
Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777
For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
- Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
- Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
- Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.
BURLINGTON JUNCTION, Mo. (KCTV) – A head-on collision on Highway 71 killed 3 people and seriously injured a 4th, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
State Troopers say the crash happened around 1:25 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, near the intersection of Highway 71 and 170th St. – about a mile and a half north of Burlington Junction.
Investigators say a 2026 Chevrolet Equinox, driven by a 59-year-old woman from Carthage, Texas, was heading north on the highway when it crossed the centerline.
The Chevrolet struck a southbound 2026 Ford Explorer head-on, according to MSHP. Both vehicles caught fire and came to rest in the southbound lane.
State Troopers note that the crash killed the Texas driver, a 67-year-old woman from Harlan, Iowa and a 76-year-old woman from Rockwell City, Iowa.
The Ford’s driver – a 72-year-old man from Rockwell City – was airlifted to Bryan West Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, with serious injuries, according to first responders.
Troopers say all four people involved were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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