Rep. Rebecca Roeber, a long-standing champion of improving education in Missouri, died in her sleep on Tuesday while vacationing with her family in Colorado.

Rep. Roeber served as the chair of the Missouri House of Representatives Education Committee and has played a key and influential role in helping to advance school choice legislation in Jefferson City.

The success of students throughout the state, and their ability to access a quality education, were a driving force for Rep. Roeber, a retired teacher who sponsored charter school expansion legislation in recent years and has been a vocal supporter of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts and virtual education.