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With a 30-0 vote on Wednesday, the Missouri Senate passed a proposed bill, HB 2061, to address and prohibit antisemitic discrimination in the state’s public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.
The legislation, sponsored by State Representative George Hruza and State Senator Curtis Trent, defines antisemitism using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, including its 11 contemporary examples, which was endorsed in an executive proclamation by then-Governor Michael Parson in 2023. It was approved last month by a 109-21 margin in the Missouri House of Representatives.
The bill mandates the integration of the definition into student, faculty, and employee codes of conduct, and facilitates stricter enforcement of Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act by directing the Missouri State Board of Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to each designate a Title VI coordinator to monitor, report, and investigate antisemitic discrimination in public K-12 and post-secondary schools.
HB 2061 now returns to the House of Representatives for a final vote on Thursday before going to Governor Mike Kehoe for signature.
The full details and text of HB 2061 are available HERE.
Testifying at a Senate General Laws Committee hearing at the State Capitol in Jefferson City in March, Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Director of State Engagement David Soffer said, “This bill is timely and critical, as it will help prevent further antisemitic incidents in Missouri’s K-20 public schools. Passing HB 2061 will send a powerful message that Missouri is taking proactive steps to protect its Jewish community.”
“Missouri will also demonstrate to the rest of the nation its commitment to combating hatred in all its forms and to ensuring the safety and dignity of all students, faculty, and staff,” Soffer added.
A total of 38 U.S. states have adopted or endorsed the IHRA antisemitism definition, according to a database compiled by the Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) by CAM, with 17 codifying it into state law.
The definition was previously endorsed in Missouri in an executive proclamation by then-Governor Michael Parson in 2023.
Over the past year, CAM has prioritized educating state legislators across the U.S. on antisemitism-related issues and potential policy remedies.
In this time, CAM has tracked legislative initiatives put forth in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, and seven of these states — Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin — have seen new laws enacted since April 2025.
In June 2025, lawmakers and executive officials from 17 states convened in Kansas City, Missouri, for the first-ever CAM-hosted State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism.
