MO SB967

Creates a permanent 13-member Black History Education and Awareness Commission housed in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, including the commissioners of elementary/secondary and higher education, the Harris-Stowe State University president, a superintendent from a district with at least 50% Black student enrollment, and 9 public members from civil rights and Black professional organizations

Designates the first full week in February as "Black History Week" with mandatory age-appropriate instruction for students in 6th grade and above beginning in the 2029-2030 school year

Requires curriculum covering 44 specified topics including African civilizations, the transatlantic slave trade, slavery in the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation's limitations, Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, race massacres (Tulsa, East St. Louis), Black military service, civil rights movement, redlining, and the Tuskegee experiment

Mandates a pilot program beginning in 2027-2028 with up to 25 school districts (at least one in each of Missouri's 9 regional professional development centers), with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education developing curriculum and evaluating results before statewide implementation

Allows the commission to receive legislative appropriations and private contributions, sponsor public education programs, and employ staff including an executive director