MO SB531

Creates the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program providing education savings accounts for students with disabilities (ages 3-21), children who are wards of the juvenile court, and those who achieved permanency through adoption or guardianship

Deposits 90% of the state adequacy target into individual scholarship accounts, funded from the student's district of residence's state aid, with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education retaining up to 5% for administration

Permits account funds to be used for private school tuition, textbooks, educational therapies, tutoring, curriculum, online learning programs, standardized testing fees, and contributions to 529 college savings plans

Prohibits use of funds for computer hardware, transportation, or consumable supplies, and requires parents to provide education in reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science

Includes a 6-year sunset provision requiring legislative reauthorization, establishes savings account fraud as a Class A misdemeanor, and protects qualified schools from being required to alter their creed, admissions policy, or curriculum to participate