A bill championed by a Lakes Area State Representative is put on hold for now.

In a press release issued last week, Republican 156th State Representative Brian Seitz of Branson states that he had originally dropped his bill and was going to offer it as an amendment to House Bill 1858, which is a Parents Bill of Right in relation to School Districts sponsored by Republican Rep. Ben Baker of Neosho. 

In the release, Seitz says that after conferring with House Leadership, he withdrew both the Bill and the Amendment to help insure passage of 1858 in both the House and Senate. 

Seitz says that the Bill and another Amended added to it has some of the same language of his Bill which he will support while planning to refile his Bill next session.

The complete release from Rep. Brian Seitz is below:

A spirited debate was held on the Missouri house floor Tuesday, April 12, during discussion of House Bill 1858, commonly referred to as "The Parents Bill of Rights." Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, led the charge against the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) during points of the hours long discussion.
 
“On Tuesday, at the behest of leadership and in coordination with the bill sponsor, I offered House Amendment No. 2 to House Amendment No. 8 for House Bill 1858," Seitz said. "Originally my HB 1669, the amendment to the amendment would have stopped the teaching of racial or sexual stereotyping, and or bias, based on ones inherited characteristics."
 
Long known as the most vocal champion in the Missouri Legislature to end the teaching of the tenets of Critical Race Theory and the usage of the 1619 Project in Missouri schools, Seitz said that the legislative process led to him withdrawing the amendment. 
 
“The House would have easily passed the amendment, but eventually it would have died in the Senate," Seitz said. "The amendment was discussed at length on the House floor, then I pulled it at the request of leadership in order to make sure the bill we sent to the Senate could be heard and passed."
 
Seitz continued, “Sometimes, to get a bill passed, procedural techniques are used to further other legislation in order to achieve a desired outcome. To use a football analogy, I was the ‘blocker’ for the running back, allowing him to get a touchdown and achieving victory for the entire team."
 
The aforementioned amendment to HB 1858 by Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, sponsored by Representative Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, mirrored some of the language found in Seitz’s amendment.
 
'“I took the ‘slings and arrows’ in order for Rep. Dogan’s amendment to pass unmolested," Seitz said. "Coordination is key in this environment in order to get legislation across the finish line.”
 
Seitz, known in the House as a conservative firebrand, noted that he will refile his legislation next session if Critical Race Theory continues to be taught in Missouri schools.
 
“Today, I represented the thousands of citizens and parents of Missouri who have shared their concerns about revisionist history and CRT being taught in our classrooms," Seitz said. "No child should be taught that he or she is inherently an ‘oppressor or oppressed’ based on their inherited characteristics, such as skin color. This IS racism, has no place in Missouri schools and must be stopped."
 
Seitz recently filed to run for his second term, and is also running for House Republican Caucus Majority Whip.