State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, had two reasons to celebrate Wednesday, and one was that Gov. Eric Greitens signed a bill including a provision identical to Fitzwater's bill to establish adult high schools in Missouri.
Fitzwater's House Bill 680 passed 141-10 in March but did not make it through the Senate. However, its measures to establish four adult high schools in the state were eventually attached to state Rep. Jeanie Lauer's House Bill 93, which Greitens signed Wednesday.
Fitzwater was not available to speak Wednesday - his other cause for celebration was the birth of his third child, daughter Hazel Ireland Fitzwater.
He said in a news release, "I look forward to the next step of getting this project going and the new opportunities it will bring to folks and the state as a whole."
Fitzwater's legislative assistant, Eric Harmon, said funding for the program will come from a combination of federal money the state receives for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and from the at least $2 million investment the nonprofit that wins the bid for the program will have to put in.
Harmon said people already receiving government assistance will be given preference in admission.
That government assistance could come from the local, state or federal government. Admission preference will be extended only to people receiving such assistance from programs that require a person or family not to exceed a certain income level to receive the assistance.
Other stipulations for the program include that the adult high schools must offer on-site child care, the awarded diploma must be indistinguishable from a regular high school diploma, course work will be completed at the students' pace, students will not be required to satisfy any specific number of class minutes, and classes will be available online as appropriate.
The adult high schools will be available to students 21 years old and older who have not graduated high school.
Approximately half a million Missourians over age 21 don't have high school diplomas.
"According to the Census Bureau, a high school diploma can increase a person's lifetime earnings by as much as $400,000. If we want to empower people to move from government assistance toward self-sufficiency, providing them a path to earn a high school diploma is crucial," Fitzwater said in the news release.
Harmon said it's not yet known specifically where the adult high schools will be located, beyond one each in southeastern Missouri, St. Louis City, Mid-Missouri and southwestern Missouri.
The program is modeled after a similar one in Indiana implemented by former Gov. Mitch Daniels. That program has expanded from four schools to 11.
Harmon said Missouri's program will have four accountability points:
Annually, 75 percent of students shall graduate or continue working toward being enrolled;
At least 50 percent of graduates shall attain an industry certificate, enroll in a higher education program or more advanced skills training program within six months of graduation;
At least 85 percent of graduates who do not enroll in such programs shall be employed within six months;
and graduates who are employed must earn a wage 20 percent greater than the average rate for individuals in Missouri who do not have a high school diploma.
This data will be sent in an annual report to the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and to a joint committee on education with the governor, president pro tem and speaker of the House.
Fitzwater said previously that the adult high school program aligns with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry's 2030 study, which says the No. 1 need in the state is workforce development.