MO HB2054

Establishes the Joint Committee on Education with seven senate members and seven house members appointed by the president pro tem and speaker respectively

Requires the committee to meet at least twice yearly and empowers it to review education progress, receive reports from education commissioners, conduct studies on school funding equity, and monitor performance measures

Changes the commissioner of education's expenditure review process from requiring committee "approval" to "review" for the $18 million in statewide critical need funding distributed annually

Requires the commissioner to present the joint committee with a list of programs and proposed budget for each program before distributing funds, with the committee reviewing rather than approving the spending proposal

Requires the committee to study open enrollment for public school students across district boundaries and submit recommendations to the general assembly by December 31, 2009