KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri bill that would mandate more state oversight on religious boarding schools, such as the Agape Boarding School, is unlikely to pass despite numerous calls from lawmakers to have the school shut down.
The bill, filed last week by state Rep. Sarah Unsicker, a Shrewsbury Democrat, would require all residential care facilities to get licenses with the state in the wake of numerous allegations of abuse at Agape and the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch. Religious boarding schools are currently exempt from state licensing.
Unsicker’s bill, which has not been scheduled for a hearing, is not within the scope of the Republican-dominated General Assembly’s special session on tax cuts. Republican Gov. Mike Parson has previously refused to expand the session to include other issues.
