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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri bill bars local use restrictions against charter schools and grants public entities first refusal on unused school facilities
Last action · May 7, 2026: Placed on Informal CalendarSponsors: George Hruza and 2 others
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What This Bill Would Do
s in Missouri are prohibited from adopting ordinances, policies, or deed restrictions that block transferred public property from being used for lawful educational purposes by charter schools. Additionally, school districts must offer a to public entities when selling or leasing unused school facilities, and existing restrictive covenants preventing educational use are declared void.
Charter schools and public entities gain expanded access to acquire or lease surplus public property and unused school buildings for educational purposes, while local governments and school districts lose the authority to restrict such properties from educational use.
- House Bill 2404 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the Missouri General Assembly by Representative George Hruza. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
charter public schools
Charter schools gain the legal right to use transferred property from political subdivisions for educational purposes without being blocked by local ordinances or deed restrictions.
school districts
School districts must include right of first refusal provisions in contracts for unused facilities, post public notices for available buildings, and subordinate their lease interests to public entity debt.
political subdivisions
Political subdivisions lose the authority to enforce local policies, ordinances, or deed restrictions that prohibit transferred property from being used by charter schools.
public entities
Public entities receive a right of first refusal to purchase or lease unused school facilities and may incur debt for facility improvements under a subordinated lease.
Key Facts
- Political subdivisions are prohibited from adopting or enforcing any ordinance, local policy, or resolution that prevents transferred property from being used by a charter public school for lawful educational purposes.
- Any deed restriction, property-use restriction, or contract that allows only specified uses excluding charter school education is prohibited and void.
- Existing deed restrictions that prohibit property previously used for educational purposes from being used by a charter school are void.
- An unused facility is defined as a school building owned by a school district not used for academic, extracurricular, administrative, or sports purposes and lacking a school-board-approved plan for such use within two years.
Show all 9 facts
- If a school district offers to sell or lease an unused facility to a non-public entity party, the contract must be subject to a right of first refusal by a public entity.
- School districts must post public notice on their website detailing the availability, square footage, contact information, and a sixty-day expiration deadline for the right of first refusal.
- Public entities have six months after making a written offer to complete the purchase or lease of an unused facility.
- Public entities leasing an entire facility may incur debt for improvements, and the school district must subordinate its lease interest to such debt.
- If a public entity plans to sell an unused facility it purchased, it must first offer the facility back to the originating school district.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a city or county restrict a school district from selling property to a charter school?
What is considered an unused facility under this measure?
How long do public entities have to exercise a right of first refusal?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
28 actions- May 7, 2026HousePlaced on Informal Calendar
- Apr 16, 2026SenateCommitteeSCS Reported Do Pass (S)
- Apr 14, 2026SenateCommitteeSCS Voted Do Pass (S)
- Apr 14, 2026SenateExecutive Session Held (S)
- Mar 31, 2026SenatePublic Hearing Held (S)
- Mar 26, 2026SenatePublic Hearing Scheduled (S)
Show 22 earlier actions
- Mar 23, 2026SenateCommitteeSecond read and referred: Education(S)
- Mar 9, 2026SenateReported to the Senate and First Read (S)
- Mar 5, 2026HouseFloorThird Read and Passed (H)
- Mar 5, 2026HouseTaken Up for Third Reading (H)
- Mar 5, 2026HousePlaced on the Informal Third Reading Calendar (H)
- Mar 3, 2026HousePerfected (H)
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHCS Adopted (H)
- Mar 3, 2026HouseTitle of Bill - Agreed To
- Mar 3, 2026HouseTaken Up for Perfection (H)
- Mar 2, 2026HousePlaced on the Informal Perfection Calendar (H)
- Feb 23, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Do Pass (H)
- Feb 23, 2026HouseCommitteeVoted Do Pass (H)
- Feb 23, 2026HouseExecutive Session Completed (H)
- Feb 12, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Rules - Legislative(H)
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Reported Do Pass (H)
- Feb 2, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Voted Do Pass (H)
- Feb 2, 2026HouseExecutive Session Completed (H)
- Jan 27, 2026HousePublic Hearing Completed (H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Emerging Issues(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 15, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Limitation on Local Property Control
The legislation restricts the ability of municipalities, counties, and school districts to enforce local ordinances or deed restrictions that limit educational use by charter schools.
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy70Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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