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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3122
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE MURRA Y .
6012H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 160, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to charter schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 160, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 160.426, to read as follows:
160.426 . 1. Beginning August 28, 2026, no charter school shall be eligible to
2 operate in this state without the state board of education's issuance of a certificate of
3 need for such charter school as pr ovided in this section.
4 2. A certificate of need shall be requ ired only for pr oposed charter schools that
5 ar e not established as of August 28, 2026, and shall not be requ ired for:
6 (1) The ren ewal of a charter contract under the pr ovisions of section 160.405; or
7 (2) The transfer of sponsorship of a charter school in accordance with rules
8 pr omulgated by the state board of education.
9 3. This section shall not be construed to exempt a charter school fr om the
10 r equir ements of section 160.405 or any other applicable state or federal law or
11 r egulation.
12 4. The charter school certificate of need application shall consist of a written
13 certification including, but not limited to, supporting documentation, submitted by the
14 governing board of the school district or the governing body of the city or county in
15 which the pr oposed charter school would be located, affirming that the following
16 conditions apply to the school district in which the pro posed charter school would be
17 operated:
18 (1) Consumer demand for alternative educational options exceeds supply;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
19 (2) The school district's attendance area contains sufficient economies of scale to
20 ensur e both an adequate supply of high-quality teachers and a sufficient number of
21 potential students in order for the pro posed charter school to succeed without
22 detrimentally impacting the school district's ability to pr ovide a fr ee public education
23 for students who enro ll in the school district. For purposes of this subdivision,
24 "economies of scale" means the capacity to red uce costs and incr ease efficiency as
25 student enroll ment numbers change; and
26 (3) The pr oposed charter school is likely to:
27 (a) Alleviate economic and racial inequities acr oss the school district's
28 attendance centers;
29 (b) Impr ove students' academic achievement and test scor es;
30 (c) Reduce student-teacher ratios across the school district;
31 (d) Result in a mor e efficient education service delivery system without
32 superfluous duplication of services;
33 (e) Limit the number of schooling disruptions faced by children and families;
34 and
35 (f) Addr ess family priorities that are not strictly educational in natur e including,
36 but not limited to, safety , convenience, transportation time, neighborhood walkability ,
37 and school culture.
38 5. The state board of education shall review each charter school certificate of
39 need application and either appr ove or disappr ove each application within one hundr ed
40 twenty calendar days of r eceipt. If the board determines that the information pr ovided
41 in the application is factual and based on sound data and reas oning, the board shall
42 consider the conditions of this subsection to be satisfied and the board shall appr ove
43 such application. If the board determines that the information pr ovided in the
44 application is not factual and based on sound data and reas oning, the board shall
45 disappr ove the application and pro vide to the applicant written documentation of the
46 r easons why the application was not appr oved.
✔
HB 3122 2