Missouri

Emerging Action

Missouri at a glance

Missouri mandates bell-to-bell phone-free schools, ensuring their students can learn and connect with each other without distractions.
Missouri has a reasonable childhood independence law.
Missouri's Attorney General is actively holding tech companies accountable.
Missouri has not enacted any significant social media age restrictions.
Missouri has not yet passed major laws that regulate harmful tech or hold companies liable.

Areas of Opportunity

Strengthening the statewide phone policy to require inaccessible storage will bring even more focus and connection back to Missouri's schools.
Setting a social media age minimum of 16 with no parental consent loophole will solve the collective action problem for Missouri families.
Enacting laws that address harmful social media design and AI safety will protect Missouri's kids from manipulative technology.
Creating legal pathways for families to sue tech companies for harm will help Missouri hold big tech accountable.

These opportunities are within reach for your home state. Download our policy menu, reach out to us, and reclaim childhood in Missouri.

Take Action

Dive Deeper

Childhood Development Policies

Is the state helping to solve the collective action problems families face by adopting policies that support a healthier real-world childhood?

Distraction-Free Schools
Missouri mandates a bell-to-bell phone-free schools policy, though it does not require inaccessible storage. View the state’s Phone-Free Schools Report Card.
Childhood Independence
Missouri passed a reasonable childhood independence law in 2025, protecting families from unreasonable charges of neglect. The law clarifies that allowing children to engage in age-appropriate independent activities — such as walking to school, playing outside, or staying home alone — is not neglect.

Political Leadership

Is the governor championing kids' safety, and is the Office of the Attorney General using its power to hold big tech accountable?

Attorney General Leadership
Missouri's Attorney General has been active on tech accountability, joining the multistate lawsuit against Meta and calling for action on kids’ online safety by signing the AI Child Safety Letter, the AI Chatbot Safety Letter, and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) Letter.

Tech Policies

What is the state doing to address harmful tech and hold companies accountable?

Social Media Age Limits
Missouri has not enacted any significant social media age restrictions.
Regulating Harmful Design
Missouri has not yet enacted any significant laws in this area.
Holding Tech Companies Accountable
Missouri has not yet enacted any significant laws in this area.
Incentivizing Safer Tech
Missouri has not yet enacted any significant laws in this area.

Family Perceptions

What do parents in the state say about their children's tech use, opportunities for independence, and real-life interactions?

IFS Resilient Childhood Score
Medium. Missouri parents report that their kids experience:
- Moderate levels of independent, unsupervised activity
- Moderate time spent playing outside and socializing with friends
- Moderate screen time, device ownership, and tech use

This page was last updated on March 4, 2026. The Childhood Index highlights key policies and actions and is not intended to be a comprehensive list. If there’s something you think we missed or should consider, we welcome your feedback.