Modifies provisions governing accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools

EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2710
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
6102S.08C KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 162.821, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to
accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 162.821, RSMo, is repealed and three 1
new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 2
160.524, 162.192, and 162.821, to read as follows:3
160.524. 1. (1) The state board of education shall 1
develop an annual school accountability report card for each 2
public school district, public school, and public charter 3
school in the state for the purpose of providing information 4
about school performance in accordance with the provisions 5
of this section. In addition to providing information about 6
student performance, the report card shall be designed to 7
satisfy federal reporting requirements for the disclosure of 8
information about students, staff, finances, and other data. 9
(2) Each school accountability report card shall be 10
designed in a standardized, clear, and easily accessible 11
form so that the accountability report card can be easily 12
understood by parents, taxpayers, school personnel, 13
legislators, and the media and shall include a summary 14
intended for parents and guardians that: 15
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(a) Explains the school's performance level and 16
underlying indicators in nontechnical terms; 17
(b) Identifies areas of strength and areas in need of 18
improvement; 19
(c) Highlights year-to-year progress, including 20
student academic growth; and 21
(d) Provides information on how families may engage 22
with the school to support student learning. 23
The plain-language summary shall include a clear explanation 24
of student academic growth and how the school's growth 25
compares to the state's expectations. 26
2. The state board of education shall assign the 27
duties of implementing the provisions of this section to the 28
department of elementary and secondary education or may 29
contract with a private entity in accordance with the 30
provisions of chapter 34. 31
3. (1) The state board of education shall provide an 32
embargoed version of the school accountability report cards 33
for the previous school year to each public school district, 34
public school, and public charter school by September 35
fifteenth of each year. 36
(2) The state board of education shall provide an 37
appeals process and criteria for an appeal of information in 38
the school accountability report card. 39
(3) Before October thirty-first of each year, each 40
public school district, public school, and public charter 41
school shall publish in a clear and easily accessible 42
location on its website the district and school 43
accountability report cards including each underlying 44
indicator that is used to derive the performance rating and 45
the rates of pupil attendance from the previous school year. 46
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4. The state board of education shall assign each 47
public school district, public school, and public charter 48
school one of the following ratings, which shall be based on 49
a zero-to-one-hundred scale: 50
(1) "A" for those districts and schools producing 51
excellent student outcomes; 52
(2) "B" for those districts and schools producing more- 53
than-satisfactory student outcomes; 54
(3) "C" for those districts and schools producing 55
satisfactory student outcomes; 56
(4) "D" for those districts and schools producing less- 57
than-satisfactory student outcomes; and 58
(5) "F" for those districts and schools failing to 59
produce adequate student outcomes. 60
5. (1) The state board of education shall assign each 61
public school district, public school, and public charter 62
school an overall performance rating of "A", "B", "C", "D", 63
or "F", derived from multiple measures of school performance 64
as provided in this section. 65
(2) The benchmark for excellent student outcomes or an 66
"A" rating shall be the top decile of the composite score of 67
the measures outlined in subsection 8 of this section. 68
(3) A public school district, public school, or public 69
charter school that does not test at least ninety-five 70
percent of its students shall have assessment participation 71
rates reported separately and clearly identified on the 72
school accountability report card. Assessment participation 73
rates shall not result in an automatic reduction of the 74
district's or school's performance level but shall be 75
included to provide transparency and context for parents and 76
the public. 77
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6. (1) There is hereby created the "Show Me Success 78
Program" to provide additional funding, subject to 79
appropriation, to public schools and public charter schools 80
that demonstrate strong student academic growth, sustained 81
improvement over time, or success in closing achievement 82
gaps, as determined by the department of elementary and 83
secondary education. 84
(2) Subject to appropriations, the department may 85
award performance-based funding to eligible public schools 86
and public charter schools based on one or more of the 87
following criteria: 88
(a) Student academic growth above the state average, 89
including value-added growth and growth to proficiency; 90
(b) Demonstrated improvement in student outcomes over 91
multiple years; 92
(c) Significant improvement among historically 93
underserved student groups; 94
(d) High levels of student readiness for postsecondary 95
education, training, or employment; or 96
(e) Demonstrated improvement in early literacy 97
outcomes, including growth in reading achievement for 98
students in kindergarten through grade three, as measured by 99
multiple indicators of reading development and progress over 100
time. 101
(3) The department shall establish, by rule, the 102
methodology for determining eligibility, award amounts, and 103
distribution of funds under this subsection. 104
(4) No school or charter school shall be guaranteed 105
funding under this subsection, and awards shall be made only 106
to the extent that funds are appropriated by the general 107
assembly. 108
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(5) Moneys shall be distributed to the school's fiscal 109
agent before December first of each year, and one hundred 110
percent of the moneys received shall be placed in the 111
school's classroom incidental fund to be used in a manner 112
determined by the governing body of the district or charter 113
school to promote teacher recruitment and retention. 114
7. (1) The department shall develop a criteria- 115
referenced growth measure, called "growth to proficiency", 116
in addition to the existing normative value-added growth 117
measure. 118
(2) Growth to proficiency shall evaluate for each 119
student with two consecutive years of Missouri assessment 120
program performance levels whether that student has made 121
sufficient progress to put them on a trajectory to reach or 122
exceed grade-level within three years or by the end of grade 123
ten, whichever comes first. 124
8. The rating under subsection 4 of this section for a 125
public school district, public school, or public charter 126
school shall be based on the following factors: 127
(1) Student academic achievement level, calculated as 128
the percentage of students proficient or higher on required 129
English language arts, math, and science assessments through 130
the Missouri assessment program; 131
(2) Student academic growth in English language arts, 132
math, and science using a growth to proficiency metric and a 133
value-added growth metric of: 134
(a) All students; and 135
(b) The lowest-performing quartile of students; and 136
(3) For high schools: 137
(a) The student four-year graduation rate; and 138
(b) A "Success-Ready Graduate" measure, calculated by 139
the department of elementary and secondary education, which 140
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shall include the number of students graduating with merit 141
or distinction and which shall include consideration of: 142
a. Advanced placement examinations upon which students 143
achieve a score of three or higher; 144
b. International baccalaureate examinations for an 145
international baccalaureate diploma programme course upon 146
which students achieve a score of four or higher; 147
c. Dual enrollment in core subjects with a "C" course 148
grade or higher; 149
d. Earning an industry-recognized credential or career 150
technical education certificate related to an occupation 151
that is high wage, high demand; 152
e. Completion of an early bachelor's or associate 153
degree; and 154
f. Completion of stackable credentials. 155
9. The rating assigned under subsection 4 of this 156
section for elementary and middle schools shall be based on 157
overall student academic achievement level, value-added 158
growth, and growth to proficiency as follows: 159
(1) Academic achievement level, value-added academic 160
growth, and growth to proficiency shall be calculated and 161
reported separately for English language arts, literacy, 162
math, and science; and 163
(2) As a portion of the rating assigned: 164
(a) Academic achievement level shall represent forty 165
percent of the rating; 166
(b) Value-added growth shall represent thirty percent 167
of the rating; and 168
(c) Growth to proficiency shall represent thirty 169
percent of the rating. 170
10. At least seventy-five percent of the rating 171
assigned under subsection 4 of this section for high schools 172
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shall be based on overall student academic achievement 173
level, value-added growth, and growth to proficiency as 174
follows: 175
(1) Academic achievement level, value-added academic 176
growth, and growth to proficiency shall be calculated and 177
reported separately for English language arts, math, and 178
science; and 179
(2) As a portion of the rating assigned: 180
(a) Academic achievement level shall represent twenty- 181
five percent of the rating; 182
(b) Value-added growth shall represent twenty-five 183
percent of the rating; 184
(c) Growth to proficiency shall represent twenty-five 185
percent of the rating; 186
(d) The success-ready graduate measure shall represent 187
fifteen percent of the rating; and 188
(e) The student four-year graduation rate shall 189
represent ten percent of the rating. 190
11. Public school districts, public schools, and 191
public charter schools shall annually report for high 192
schools the number of graduates who within six months of 193
graduation attend postsecondary education or training 194
programs, serve in the military, serve in national or 195
community service, are employed in the farming or ranching 196
industry, or are employed in a living-wage career as 197
determined by a governmental agency or nongovernmental 198
organization with expertise in living-wage calculation. 199
12. For public school districts, the annual school 200
accountability report card rating shall be calculated 201
following the same method used for calculating a school 202
report except at the district level. 203
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13. The state board of education shall provide a 204
statewide report card that provides the following: 205
(1) The percentages of Missouri students annually 206
attending schools rated "A", "B", "C", "D", or "F", with the 207
objective of increasing the percentage of students attending 208
more highly rated schools each year; and 209
(2) The performance of Missouri students on state 210
assessments relative to the National Assessment of 211
Educational Progress (NAEP), with the objective that 212
proficiency rates on both assessments be reasonably aligned. 213
14. For the purposes of this section, the development 214
and publication of an annual school accountability report 215
card shall not be required for any special school district 216
or state-operated school in which all of the students 217
enrolled are students with disabilities. 218
162.192. 1. For purposes of this section, "financial 1
ledger" means a searchable, machine-readable, publicly 2
accessible database maintained by a school district or 3
charter school that: 4
(1) Sets forth all financial transactions conducted 5
with school district or charter school funds, including, but 6
not limited to, the school funds established pursuant to 7
section 165.011; 8
(2) Is available without login credentials, 9
registration, or fees; 10
(3) Is downloadable and exportable in formats 11
including, but not limited to, comma-separated values (CSV) 12
format and Microsoft Excel format; 13
(4) Records all transactions using Missouri financial 14
accounting manual classification categories, as applicable; 15
and 16
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(5) Includes the following minimum required data 17
fields for each financial transaction, and is searchable and 18
filterable by such fields, at minimum: 19
(a) Transaction date; 20
(b) Transaction amount; 21
(c) Revenue or expenditure designation; 22
(d) Fund code; 23
(e) Function code; 24
(f) Object code; 25
(g) Vendor or payee name; and 26
(h) Description or memo field. 27
2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 28
contrary, each school district and charter school shall 29
maintain a financial ledger on its publicly accessible 30
website. The homepage of each public or charter school's 31
website shall include a direct link to the financial ledger 32
of the school district or charter school that has oversight 33
responsibility for that public or charter school. The link 34
shall make the financial ledger accessible within one click, 35
shall be clearly labeled as a link to the school district's 36
or charter school's financial ledger, and shall be 37
functional and mobile-responsive. The department may 38
provide standardized language or icons that public and 39
charter schools may use for the purpose of ensuring 40
compliance with this subsection. 41
3. A school district's or charter school's financial 42
ledger shall be updated at least monthly. Details of each 43
calendar month's financial transactions shall be posted no 44
later than forty-five days after the close of that calendar 45
month. 46
4. For historical record keeping purposes, a school 47
district or charter school shall maintain complete financial 48
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ledger data on its publicly accessible website for no fewer 49
than five prior fiscal years. 50
5. A school district or charter school may redact 51
protected personal information on the financial ledger only 52
to the extent required by applicable law. Vendor names, 53
amounts, and accounting codes shall not be redacted. 54
Payroll data may be presented in aggregated form where 55
disclosure of individual information is restricted. 56
6. Debt obligations shall be posted in a separate 57
section of the financial ledger, with disclosure of the 58
following information: 59
(1) Outstanding debt balances; 60
(2) Issuance dates; 61
(3) Repayment schedules; 62
(4) Annual debt service amounts; and 63
(5) Debt service as a percentage of total expenditures. 64
7. The department may provide or approve standardized 65
templates or platforms a school district or charter school 66
may use to comply with the provisions of this section. A 67
school district or charter school may use a third-party 68
template or platform that is approved by the department. 69
8. The department may provide guidance to assist 70
school districts and charter schools in complying with the 71
provisions of this section. Such guidance may include: 72
(1) High-level expenditure summaries by classification 73
category under the Missouri financial accounting manual; 74
(2) Standardized definitions of terms to be used in 75
the financial ledger; and 76
(3) Clear explanations of methodology and limitations 77
applicable to the compilation and presentation of financial 78
ledger data. 79
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9. School districts and charter schools shall annually 80
certify compliance with this section to the department. The 81
department shall promulgate rules establishing procedures 82
and timelines for school districts and charter schools to 83
certify compliance. 84
10. If the department finds that any school district 85
or charter school has violated a provision of this section, 86
the department may withhold up to five percent of the state 87
aid to which the school district or charter school is 88
entitled under chapter 160 or 163 for the current school 89
year until the school district or charter school proves to 90
the satisfaction of the department that the school district 91
or charter school is no longer in violation of this section. 92
11. The department shall establish a process for 93
members of the public to file complaints with the department 94
if they believe a school district or charter school has 95
violated any provision of this section. The department may 96
establish a public compliance dashboard on the department's 97
website to enable members of the public to check whether a 98
particular school district or charter school is certified as 99
in compliance with the provisions of this section. 100
12. The department shall promulgate rules to implement 101
the provisions of this section. Any rule or portion of a 102
rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is 103
created under the authority delegated in this section shall 104
become effective only if it complies with and is subject to 105
all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, 106
section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are 107
nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the 108
general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay 109
the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are 110
subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of 111
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rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after 112
August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void. 113
162.821. The district secretary shall keep a record of 1
the proceedings of all annual and special elections of the 2
voters of the district and of the proceedings of the board 3
of education. He shall make copies of the election notices, 4
contracts with teachers, certificates and all other papers 5
relating to the business of the district, and securely keep 6
the same. He shall maintain a correct plat of the district 7
and shall promptly notify the department of elementary and 8
secondary education and the county clerk of each county 9
affected of all changes in the boundaries of the district. 10
He shall transmit to the county commission and to the state 11
department of elementary and secondary education, on or 12
before the fifteenth day of August in each year, a report 13
embracing the following items: 14
(1) The number of children, male and female, attending 15
the public schools during the year; 16
(2) Total number of days' attendance by all such 17
children; 18
(3) The number of days the public schools of the 19
district have been maintained during the school year; 20
(4) The number of teachers employed, male and female, 21
and the wages per month of each; 22
(5) Estimated value of school property owned and 23
managed by the district; 24
(6) Assessed valuation of the district; 25
(7) Rate of school tax on the assessed valuation of 26
the district; 27
(8) Cash on hand at the beginning of the year; 28
(9) Tuition fees received and credited to the 29
teachers' fund of the district; 30
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(10) Public funds received by county treasurer; 31
(11) District tax received by county (or township) 32
treasurer; 33
(12) Amount paid on teachers' wages; 34
(13) Amount paid for incidental expenses; 35
(14) Amount expended for purchasing site, erecting 36
schoolhouses, rent and repairs; 37
(15) Amount expended in cancelling bonded indebtedness 38
and paying interest on same; 39
(16) Amount expended for library; 40
(17) Amount expended for legal services. If the 41
report does not include the amount expended for legal 42
services, then the attorney general may investigate the 43
violation of this subdivision and may bring a civil action, 44
including an action for injunctive relief, against the 45
school district or charter school. Such action shall be 46
brought in the county where the school district or charter 47
school is located; 48
(18) Cash on hand at the end of the year; 49
[(18)] (19) Such other information as may be required 50
by the state board of education. 51
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