The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or DESE, autonomous of the governor and the Missouri State Legislature, administers primary and secondary public education

Public education

State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

 in the state of Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. Local municipalities and their respective school district

School district

School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...

s operate individual public schools but the Department audits performance of public schools. The Department also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies. The department is headquartered in the Jefferson State Office Building in downtown Jefferson City, Missouri

Jefferson City, Missouri

Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...

.