Creates and modifies provisions relating to elementary and secondary education

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 BILL NO. 1384
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR WASHINGTON.
4639S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 160.405, 160.420, 160.518, 160.522, 160.545, 161.092, 163.023, and 168.011,
RSMo, and section 171.031 as enacted by senate bill no. 727, one hundred second
general assembly, second regular session, and to enact in lieu thereof twelve new
sections relating to elementary and secondary education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 160.405, 160.420, 160.518, 160.522, 1
160.545, 161.092, 163.023, and 168.011, RSMo, and section 2
171.031 as enacted by senate bill no. 727, one hundred second 3
general assembly, second regular session, are repealed and 4
twelve new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as 5
sections 160.405, 160.420, 160.518, 160.522, 160.545, 161.092, 6
162.012, 162.015, 163.023, 166.706, 168.011, and 171.031, to 7
read as follows:8
160.405. 1. A person, group or organization seeking 1
to establish a charter school shall submit the proposed 2
charter, as provided in this section, to a sponsor. If the 3
sponsor is not a school board, the applicant shall give a 4
copy of its application to the school board of the district 5
in which the charter school is to be located and to the 6
state board of education, within five business days of the 7
date the application is filed with the proposed sponsor. 8
The school board may file objections with the proposed 9
sponsor, and, if a charter is granted, the school board may 10
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file objections with the state board of education. The 11
charter shall include a legally binding performance contract 12
that describes the obligations and responsibilities of the 13
school and the sponsor as outlined in sections 160.400 to 14
160.425 and section 167.349 and shall address the following: 15
(1) A mission and vision statement for the charter 16
school; 17
(2) A description of the charter school's 18
organizational structure and bylaws of the governing body, 19
which will be responsible for the policy, financial 20
management, and operational decisions of the charter school, 21
including the nature and extent of parental, professional 22
educator, and community involvement in the governance and 23
operation of the charter school; 24
(3) A financial plan for the first three years of 25
operation of the charter school including provisions for 26
annual audits; 27
(4) A description of the charter school's policy for 28
securing personnel services, its personnel policies, 29
personnel qualifications, and professional development plan; 30
(5) A description of the grades or ages of students 31
being served; 32
(6) The school's calendar of operation, which shall 33
include at least the equivalent of a full school term as 34
defined in section 160.011; 35
(7) A description of the charter school's pupil 36
performance standards and academic program performance 37
standards, which shall meet the requirements of subdivision 38
(6) of subsection 4 of this section. The charter school 39
program shall be designed to enable each pupil to achieve 40
such standards and shall contain a complete set of 41
indicators, measures, metrics, and targets for academic 42
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program performance, including specific goals on graduation 43
rates and standardized test performance and academic growth; 44
(8) A description of the charter school's educational 45
program and curriculum; 46
(9) The term of the charter, which shall be five years 47
and may be renewed; 48
(10) Procedures, consistent with the Missouri 49
financial accounting manual, for monitoring the financial 50
accountability of the charter, which shall meet the 51
requirements of subdivision (4) of subsection 4 of this 52
section; 53
(11) Preopening requirements for applications that 54
require that charter schools meet all health, safety, and 55
other legal requirements prior to opening; 56
(12) A description of the charter school's policies on 57
student discipline and student admission, which shall 58
include a statement, where applicable, of the validity of 59
attendance of students who do not reside in the district but 60
who may be eligible to attend under the terms of judicial 61
settlements and procedures that ensure admission of students 62
with disabilities in a nondiscriminatory manner; 63
(13) A description of the charter school's grievance 64
procedure for parents or guardians; 65
(14) A description of the agreement and time frame for 66
implementation between the charter school and the sponsor as 67
to when a sponsor shall intervene in a charter school, when 68
a sponsor shall revoke a charter for failure to comply with 69
subsection 8 of this section, and when a sponsor will not 70
renew a charter under subsection 9 of this section; 71
(15) Procedures to be implemented if the charter 72
school should close, as provided in subdivision (6) of 73
subsection 16 of section 160.400 including: 74
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(a) Orderly transition of student records to new 75
schools and archival of student records; 76
(b) Archival of business operation and transfer or 77
repository of personnel records; 78
(c) Submission of final financial reports; 79
(d) Resolution of any remaining financial obligations; 80
(e) Disposition of the charter school's assets upon 81
closure; and 82
(f) A notification plan to inform parents or guardians 83
of students, the local school district, the retirement 84
system in which the charter school's employees participate, 85
and the state board of education within thirty days of the 86
decision to close; 87
(16) A description of the special education and 88
related services that shall be available to meet the needs 89
of students with disabilities; and 90
(17) For all new or revised charters, procedures to be 91
used upon closure of the charter school requiring that 92
unobligated assets of the charter school be returned to the 93
department of elementary and secondary education for their 94
disposition, which upon receipt of such assets shall return 95
them to the local school district in which the school was 96
located, the state, or any other entity to which they would 97
belong. 98
Charter schools operating on August 27, 2012, shall have 99
until August 28, 2015, to meet the requirements of this 100
subsection. 101
2. Proposed charters shall be subject to the following 102
requirements: 103
(1) A charter shall be submitted to the sponsor, and 104
follow the sponsor's policies and procedures for review and 105
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granting of a charter approval, and be approved by the state 106
board of education by January thirty-first prior to the 107
school year of the proposed opening date of the charter 108
school; 109
(2) A charter may be approved when the sponsor 110
determines that the requirements of this section are met, 111
determines that the applicant is sufficiently qualified to 112
operate a charter school, and that the proposed charter is 113
consistent with the sponsor's charter sponsorship goals and 114
capacity. The sponsor's decision of approval or denial 115
shall be made within ninety days of the filing of the 116
proposed charter; 117
(3) If the charter is denied, the proposed sponsor 118
shall notify the applicant in writing as to the reasons for 119
its denial and forward a copy to the state board of 120
education within five business days following the denial; 121
(4) If a proposed charter is denied by a sponsor, the 122
proposed charter may be submitted to the state board of 123
education, along with the sponsor's written reasons for its 124
denial. If the state board determines that the applicant 125
meets the requirements of this section, that the applicant 126
is sufficiently qualified to operate the charter school, and 127
that granting a charter to the applicant would be likely to 128
provide educational benefit to the children of the district, 129
the state board may grant a charter and act as sponsor of 130
the charter school. The state board shall review the 131
proposed charter and make a determination of whether to deny 132
or grant the proposed charter within sixty days of receipt 133
of the proposed charter, provided that any charter to be 134
considered by the state board of education under this 135
subdivision shall be submitted no later than March first 136
prior to the school year in which the charter school intends 137
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to begin operations. The state board of education shall 138
notify the applicant in writing as the reasons for its 139
denial, if applicable; and 140
(5) The sponsor of a charter school shall give 141
priority to charter school applicants that propose a school 142
oriented to high-risk students and to the reentry of 143
dropouts into the school system. If a sponsor grants three 144
or more charters, at least one-third of the charters granted 145
by the sponsor shall be to schools that actively recruit 146
dropouts or high-risk students as their student body and 147
address the needs of dropouts or high-risk students through 148
their proposed mission, curriculum, teaching methods, and 149
services. For purposes of this subsection, a "high-risk" 150
student is one who is at least one year behind in 151
satisfactory completion of course work or obtaining high 152
school credits for graduation, has dropped out of school, is 153
at risk of dropping out of school, needs drug and alcohol 154
treatment, has severe behavioral problems, has been 155
suspended from school three or more times, has a history of 156
severe truancy, is a pregnant or parenting teen, has been 157
referred for enrollment by the judicial system, is exiting 158
incarceration, is a refugee, is homeless or has been 159
homeless sometime within the preceding six months, has been 160
referred by an area school district for enrollment in an 161
alternative program, or qualifies as high risk under 162
department of elementary and secondary education 163
guidelines. Dropout shall be defined through the guidelines 164
of the school core data report. The provisions of this 165
subsection do not apply to charters sponsored by the state 166
board of education. 167
3. If a charter is approved by a sponsor, the charter 168
application shall be submitted to the state board of 169
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education, along with a statement of finding by the sponsor 170
that the application meets the requirements of sections 171
160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 and a monitoring plan 172
under which the charter sponsor shall evaluate the academic 173
performance, including annual performance reports, of 174
students enrolled in the charter school. The state board of 175
education shall approve or deny a charter application within 176
sixty days of receipt of the application. The state board 177
of education may deny a charter on grounds that the 178
application fails to meet the requirements of sections 179
160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 or that a charter 180
sponsor previously failed to meet the statutory 181
responsibilities of a charter sponsor. Any denial of a 182
charter application made by the state board of education 183
shall be in writing and shall identify the specific failures 184
of the application to meet the requirements of sections 185
160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349, and the written 186
denial shall be provided within ten business days to the 187
sponsor. 188
4. A charter school shall, as provided in its charter: 189
(1) Be nonsectarian in its programs, admission 190
policies, employment practices, and all other operations; 191
(2) Comply with laws and regulations of the state, 192
county, or city relating to health, safety, and state 193
minimum educational standards, as specified by the state 194
board of education, including the requirements relating to 195
student discipline under sections 160.261, 167.161, 167.164, 196
and 167.171, notification of criminal conduct to law 197
enforcement authorities under sections 167.115 to 167.117, 198
academic assessment under section 160.518, transmittal of 199
school records under section 167.020, the minimum amount of 200
school time required under section 171.031, and the employee 201
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criminal history background check and the family care safety 202
registry check under section 168.133; 203
(3) Except as provided in sections 160.400 to 160.425 204
and as specifically provided in other sections, be exempt 205
from all laws and rules relating to schools, governing 206
boards and school districts except for all laws and rules 207
relating to procurement processes, wage standards, and 208
contractual obligations; 209
(4) Be financially accountable, use practices 210
consistent with the Missouri financial accounting manual, 211
provide for an annual audit by a certified public 212
accountant, publish audit reports and annual financial 213
reports as provided in chapter 165, provided that the annual 214
financial report may be published on the department of 215
elementary and secondary education's internet website in 216
addition to other publishing requirements, and provide 217
liability insurance to indemnify the school, its board, 218
staff and teachers against tort claims. A charter school 219
that receives local educational agency status under 220
subsection 6 of this section shall meet the requirements 221
imposed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for 222
audits of such agencies and comply with all federal audit 223
requirements for charters with local educational agency 224
status. For purposes of an audit by petition under section 225
29.230, a charter school shall be treated as a political 226
subdivision on the same terms and conditions as the school 227
district in which it is located. For the purposes of 228
securing such insurance, a charter school shall be eligible 229
for the Missouri public entity risk management fund pursuant 230
to section 537.700. A charter school that incurs debt shall 231
include a repayment plan in its financial plan; 232
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(5) Provide a comprehensive program of instruction for 233
at least one grade or age group from early childhood through 234
grade twelve, as specified in its charter; 235
(6) (a) Design a method to measure pupil progress 236
toward the pupil academic standards adopted by the state 237
board of education pursuant to section 160.514, establish 238
baseline student performance in accordance with the 239
performance contract during the first year of operation, 240
collect student performance data as defined by the annual 241
performance report throughout the duration of the charter to 242
annually monitor student academic performance, and to the 243
extent applicable based upon grade levels offered by the 244
charter school, participate in the statewide system of 245
assessments, comprised of the essential skills tests and the 246
nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement tests, 247
as designated by the state board pursuant to section 248
160.518, complete and distribute an annual report card as 249
prescribed in section 160.522, which shall also include a 250
statement that background checks have been completed on the 251
charter school's board members, and report to its sponsor, 252
the local school district, and the state board of education 253
as to its teaching methods and any educational innovations 254
and the results thereof. No charter school shall be 255
considered in the Missouri school improvement program review 256
of the district in which it is located for the resource or 257
process standards of the program. 258
(b) For proposed high-risk or alternative charter 259
schools, sponsors shall approve performance measures based 260
on mission, curriculum, teaching methods, and services. 261
Sponsors shall also approve comprehensive academic and 262
behavioral measures to determine whether students are 263
meeting performance standards on a different time frame as 264
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specified in that school's charter. Student performance 265
shall be assessed comprehensively to determine whether a 266
high-risk or alternative charter school has documented 267
adequate student progress. Student performance shall be 268
based on sponsor-approved comprehensive measures as well as 269
standardized public school measures. Annual presentation of 270
charter school report card data to the department of 271
elementary and secondary education, the state board, and the 272
public shall include comprehensive measures of student 273
progress. 274
(c) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as 275
permitting a charter school to be held to lower performance 276
standards than other public schools within a district; 277
however, the charter of a charter school may permit students 278
to meet performance standards on a different time frame as 279
specified in its charter. The performance standards for 280
alternative and special purpose charter schools that target 281
high-risk students as defined in subdivision (5) of 282
subsection 2 of this section shall be based on measures 283
defined in the school's performance contract with its 284
sponsors; 285
(7) Comply with all applicable federal and state laws 286
and regulations regarding students with disabilities, 287
including sections 162.670 to 162.710, the Individuals with 288
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400) and 289
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 290
Section 794) or successor legislation; 291
(8) Provide along with any request for review by the 292
state board of education the following: 293
(a) Documentation that the applicant has provided a 294
copy of the application to the school board of the district 295
in which the charter school is to be located, except in 296
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those circumstances where the school district is the sponsor 297
of the charter school; and 298
(b) A statement outlining the reasons for approval or 299
denial by the sponsor, specifically addressing the 300
requirements of sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349. 301
5. (1) Proposed or existing high-risk or alternative 302
charter schools may include alternative arrangements for 303
students to obtain credit for satisfying graduation 304
requirements in the school's charter application and 305
charter. Alternative arrangements may include, but not be 306
limited to, credit for off-campus instruction, embedded 307
credit, work experience through an internship arranged 308
through the school, and independent studies. When the state 309
board of education approves the charter, any such 310
alternative arrangements shall be approved at such time. 311
(2) The department of elementary and secondary 312
education shall conduct a study of any charter school 313
granted alternative arrangements for students to obtain 314
credit under this subsection after three years of operation 315
to assess student performance, graduation rates, educational 316
outcomes, and entry into the workforce or higher education. 317
6. The charter of a charter school may be amended at 318
the request of the governing body of the charter school and 319
on the approval of the sponsor. The sponsor and the 320
governing board and staff of the charter school shall 321
jointly review the school's performance, management and 322
operations during the first year of operation and then every 323
other year after the most recent review or at any point 324
where the operation or management of the charter school is 325
changed or transferred to another entity, either public or 326
private. The governing board of a charter school may amend 327
the charter, if the sponsor approves such amendment, or the 328
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sponsor and the governing board may reach an agreement in 329
writing to reflect the charter school's decision to become a 330
local educational agency. In such case the sponsor shall 331
give the department of elementary and secondary education 332
written notice no later than March first of any year, with 333
the agreement to become effective July first. The 334
department may waive the March first notice date in its 335
discretion. The department shall identify and furnish a 336
list of its regulations that pertain to local educational 337
agencies to such schools within thirty days of receiving 338
such notice. 339
7. Sponsors shall annually review the charter school's 340
compliance with statutory standards including: 341
(1) Participation in the statewide system of 342
assessments, as designated by the state board of education 343
under section 160.518; 344
(2) Assurances for the completion and distribution of 345
an annual report card as prescribed in section 160.522; 346
(3) The collection of baseline data during the first 347
three years of operation to determine the longitudinal 348
success of the charter school; 349
(4) A method to measure pupil progress toward the 350
pupil academic standards adopted by the state board of 351
education under section 160.514; and 352
(5) Publication of each charter school's annual 353
performance report. 354
8. (1) (a) A sponsor's policies shall give schools 355
clear, adequate, evidence-based, and timely notice of 356
contract violations or performance deficiencies and mandate 357
intervention based upon findings of the state board of 358
education of the following: 359
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a. The charter school provides a high school program 360
which fails to maintain a graduation rate of at least 361
seventy percent in three of the last four school years 362
unless the school has dropout recovery as its mission; 363
b. The charter school's annual performance report 364
results are below the district's annual performance report 365
results based on the performance standards that are 366
applicable to the grade level configuration of both the 367
charter school and the district in which the charter school 368
is located in three of the last four school years; and 369
c. The charter school is identified as a persistently 370
lowest achieving school by the department of elementary and 371
secondary education. 372
(b) A sponsor shall have a policy to revoke a charter 373
during the charter term if there is: 374
a. Clear evidence of underperformance as demonstrated 375
in the charter school's annual performance report in three 376
of the last four school years; or 377
b. A violation of the law or the public trust that 378
imperils students or public funds. 379
(c) A sponsor shall revoke a charter or take other 380
appropriate remedial action, which may include placing the 381
charter school on probationary status for no more than 382
twenty-four months, provided that no more than one 383
designation of probationary status shall be allowed for the 384
duration of the charter contract, at any time if the charter 385
school commits a serious breach of one or more provisions of 386
its charter or on any of the following grounds: failure to 387
meet the performance contract as set forth in its charter, 388
failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal 389
management, failure to provide information necessary to 390
confirm compliance with all provisions of the charter and 391
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sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 within forty-five 392
days following receipt of written notice requesting such 393
information, or violation of law. 394
(2) The sponsor may place the charter school on 395
probationary status to allow the implementation of a 396
remedial plan, which may require a change of methodology, a 397
change in leadership, or both, after which, if such plan is 398
unsuccessful, the charter may be revoked. 399
(3) At least sixty days before acting to revoke a 400
charter, the sponsor shall notify the governing board of the 401
charter school of the proposed action in writing. The 402
notice shall state the grounds for the proposed action. The 403
school's governing board may request in writing a hearing 404
before the sponsor within two weeks of receiving the notice. 405
(4) The sponsor of a charter school shall establish 406
procedures to conduct administrative hearings upon 407
determination by the sponsor that grounds exist to revoke a 408
charter. Final decisions of a sponsor from hearings 409
conducted pursuant to this subsection are subject to an 410
appeal to the state board of education, which shall 411
determine whether the charter shall be revoked. 412
(5) A termination shall be effective only at the 413
conclusion of the school year, unless the sponsor determines 414
that continued operation of the school presents a clear and 415
immediate threat to the health and safety of the children. 416
(6) A charter sponsor shall make available the school 417
accountability report card information as provided under 418
section 160.522 and the results of the academic monitoring 419
required under subsection 3 of this section. 420
9. (1) A sponsor shall take all reasonable steps 421
necessary to confirm that each charter school sponsored by 422
such sponsor is in material compliance and remains in 423
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material compliance with all material provisions of the 424
charter and sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349. Every 425
charter school shall provide all information necessary to 426
confirm ongoing compliance with all provisions of its 427
charter and sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 in a 428
timely manner to its sponsor. 429
(2) The sponsor's renewal process of the charter 430
school shall be based on the thorough analysis of a 431
comprehensive body of objective evidence and consider if: 432
(a) The charter school has maintained results on its 433
annual performance report that meet or exceed the district 434
in which the charter school is located based on the 435
performance standards that are applicable to the grade-level 436
configuration of both the charter school and the district in 437
which the charter school is located in three of the last 438
four school years; 439
(b) The charter school is organizationally and 440
fiscally viable determining at a minimum that the school 441
does not have: 442
a. A negative balance in its operating funds; 443
b. A combined balance of less than three percent of 444
the amount expended for such funds during the previous 445
fiscal year; or 446
c. Expenditures that exceed receipts for the most 447
recently completed fiscal year; 448
(c) The charter is in compliance with its legally 449
binding performance contract and sections 160.400 to 160.425 450
and section 167.349; and 451
(d) The charter school has an annual performance 452
report consistent with a classification of accredited for 453
three of the last four years and is fiscally viable as 454
described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. If such is 455
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the case, the charter school may have an expedited renewal 456
process as defined by rule of the department of elementary 457
and secondary education. 458
(3) (a) Beginning August first during the year in 459
which a charter is considered for renewal, a charter school 460
sponsor shall demonstrate to the state board of education 461
that the charter school is in compliance with federal and 462
state law as provided in sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 463
section 167.349 and the school's performance contract 464
including but not limited to those requirements specific to 465
academic performance. 466
(b) Along with data reflecting the academic 467
performance standards indicated in paragraph (a) of this 468
subdivision, the sponsor shall submit a revised charter 469
application to the state board of education for review. 470
(c) Using the data requested and the revised charter 471
application under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this 472
subdivision, the state board of education shall determine if 473
compliance with all standards enumerated in this subdivision 474
has been achieved. The state board of education at its next 475
regularly scheduled meeting shall vote on the revised 476
charter application. 477
(d) If a charter school sponsor demonstrates the 478
objectives identified in this subdivision, the state board 479
of education shall renew the school's charter. 480
10. A school district may enter into a lease with a 481
charter school for physical facilities. 482
11. A governing board or a school district employee 483
who has control over personnel actions shall not take 484
unlawful reprisal against another employee at the school 485
district because the employee is directly or indirectly 486
involved in an application to establish a charter school. A 487
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governing board or a school district employee shall not take 488
unlawful reprisal against an educational program of the 489
school or the school district because an application to 490
establish a charter school proposes the conversion of all or 491
a portion of the educational program to a charter school. 492
As used in this subsection, "unlawful reprisal" means an 493
action that is taken by a governing board or a school 494
district employee as a direct result of a lawful application 495
to establish a charter school and that is adverse to another 496
employee or an educational program. 497
12. Charter school board members shall be subject to 498
the same liability for acts while in office as if they were 499
regularly and duly elected members of school boards in any 500
other public school district in this state. The governing 501
board of a charter school may participate, to the same 502
extent as a school board, in the Missouri public entity risk 503
management fund in the manner provided under sections 504
537.700 to 537.756. 505
13. Any entity, either public or private, operating, 506
administering, or otherwise managing a charter school shall 507
be considered a quasi-public governmental body and subject 508
to the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.035. 509
14. The chief financial officer of a charter school 510
shall maintain: 511
(1) A surety bond in an amount determined by the 512
sponsor to be adequate based on the cash flow of the school; 513
or 514
(2) An insurance policy issued by an insurance company 515
licensed to do business in Missouri on all employees in the 516
amount of five hundred thousand dollars or more that 517
provides coverage in the event of employee theft. 518
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15. The department of elementary and secondary 519
education shall calculate an annual performance report for 520
each charter school and shall publish it in the same manner 521
as annual performance reports are calculated and published 522
for districts and attendance centers. 523
16. The joint committee on education shall create a 524
committee to investigate facility access and affordability 525
for charter schools. The committee shall be comprised of 526
equal numbers of the charter school sector and the public 527
school sector and shall report its findings to the general 528
assembly by December 31, 2016. 529
160.420. 1. Any school district in which charter 1
schools may be established under sections 160.400 to 160.425 2
shall establish a uniform policy which provides that if a 3
charter school offers to retain the services of an employee 4
of a school district, and the employee accepts a position at 5
the charter school, an employee at the employee's option may 6
remain an employee of the district and the charter school 7
shall pay to the district the district's full costs of 8
salary and benefits provided to the employee. The 9
district's policy shall provide that any teacher who accepts 10
a position at a charter school and opts to remain an 11
employee of the district retains such teacher's permanent 12
teacher status and retains such teacher's seniority rights 13
in the district for three years. The school district shall 14
not be liable for any such employee's acts while an employee 15
of the charter school. 16
2. A charter school may employ noncertificated 17
instructional personnel; provided that no more than [twenty] 18
ten percent of the full-time equivalent instructional staff 19
positions at the school are filled by noncertificated 20
personnel. All noncertificated instructional personnel shall 21
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be supervised by certificated instructional personnel. A 22
charter school that has a foreign language immersion 23
experience as its chief educational mission, as stated in 24
its charter, shall not be subject to the [twenty-percent] 25
ten-percent requirement of this subsection but shall ensure 26
that any teachers whose duties include instruction given in 27
a foreign language have current valid credentials in the 28
country in which such teacher received his or her training 29
and shall remain subject to the remaining requirements of 30
this subsection. The charter school shall ensure that all 31
instructional employees of the charter school have 32
experience, training and skills appropriate to the 33
instructional duties of the employee, and the charter school 34
shall ensure that a criminal background check and family 35
care safety registry check are conducted for each employee 36
of the charter school prior to the hiring of the employee 37
under the requirements of section 168.133. The charter 38
school may not employ instructional personnel whose 39
certificate of license to teach has been revoked or is 40
currently suspended by the state board of education. 41
Appropriate experience, training and skills of 42
noncertificated instructional personnel shall be determined 43
considering: 44
(1) Teaching certificates issued by another state or 45
states; 46
(2) Certification by the National Board for 47
Professional Teaching Standards; 48
(3) College degrees in the appropriate field; 49
(4) Evidence of technical training and competence when 50
such is appropriate; and 51
(5) The level of supervision and coordination with 52
certificated instructional staff. 53
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3. Personnel employed by the charter school shall 54
participate in the retirement system of the school district 55
in which the charter school is located, subject to the same 56
terms, conditions, requirements and other provisions 57
applicable to personnel employed by the school district. 58
For purposes of participating in the retirement system, the 59
charter school shall be considered to be a public school 60
within the school district, and personnel employed by the 61
charter school shall be public school employees. In the 62
event of a lapse of the school district's corporate 63
organization as described in subsections 1 and 4 of section 64
162.081, personnel employed by the charter school shall 65
continue to participate in the retirement system and shall 66
do so on the same terms, conditions, requirements and other 67
provisions as they participated prior to the lapse. 68
160.518. 1. (1) Consistent with the provisions 1
contained in section 160.526, the state board of education 2
shall develop, modify, and revise, as necessary, a statewide 3
assessment system that provides maximum flexibility for 4
local school districts, private schools, and charter schools 5
to determine the degree to which students in the public 6
schools, private schools, and charter schools of the state 7
are proficient in the knowledge, skills, and competencies 8
adopted by such board pursuant to section 160.514. 9
(2) (a) The statewide assessment system shall assess 10
problem solving, analytical ability, evaluation, creativity, 11
and application ability in the different content areas and 12
shall be performance-based to identify what students know, 13
as well as what they are able to do, and shall enable 14
teachers to evaluate actual academic performance. 15
(b) The statewide assessment system shall neither 16
promote nor prohibit rote memorization and shall not include 17
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existing versions of tests approved for use pursuant to the 18
provisions of section 160.257, nor enhanced versions of such 19
tests. 20
(3) After the state board of education adopts and 21
implements academic performance standards as required under 22
section 161.855, the state board of education shall develop 23
and adopt a standardized assessment instrument under this 24
section based on the academic performance standards adopted 25
under section 161.855. 26
(4) The statewide assessment system shall measure, 27
where appropriate by grade level, a student's knowledge of 28
academic subjects including, but not limited to, reading 29
skills, writing skills, mathematics skills, world and 30
American history, forms of government, geography and science. 31
2. The statewide assessment system shall only permit 32
the academic performance of students in each public school, 33
private school, or charter school in the state to be tracked 34
against prior academic performance in the same school. 35
3. (1) The state board of education shall suggest, 36
but not mandate, criteria for a school to demonstrate that 37
its students learn the knowledge, skills and competencies at 38
exemplary levels worthy of imitation by students in other 39
schools in the state and nation. 40
(2) Exemplary levels shall be measured by the 41
statewide assessment system developed pursuant to subsection 42
1 of this section, or until said statewide assessment system 43
is available, by indicators approved for such use by the 44
state board of education. 45
(3) The provisions of other law to the contrary 46
notwithstanding, the commissioner of education may, upon 47
request of the school district, private school, or charter 48
school, present a plan for the waiver of rules and 49
SB 1384 22
regulations to any such school, to be known as "Outstanding 50
Schools Waivers", consistent with the provisions of 51
subsection 4 of this section. 52
4. (1) For any school that meets the criteria 53
established by the state board of education for three 54
successive school years pursuant to the provisions of 55
subsection 3 of this section, by August first following the 56
third such school year, the commissioner of education shall 57
present a plan to the charter school governing board, 58
private school governing body, or the superintendent of the 59
school district in which such school is located for the 60
waiver of rules and regulations to promote flexibility in 61
the operations of the school and to enhance and encourage 62
efficiency in the delivery of instructional services. 63
(2) The provisions of other law to the contrary 64
notwithstanding, the plan presented to the governing board, 65
governing body, or superintendent shall provide a summary 66
waiver, with no conditions, for the pupil testing 67
requirements pursuant to section 160.257, in the school. 68
(3) Further, the provisions of other law to the 69
contrary notwithstanding, the plan shall detail a means for 70
the waiver of requirements otherwise imposed on the school 71
related to the authority of the state board of education to 72
classify charter schools, private schools, and school 73
districts pursuant to subdivision (9) of subsection 1 of 74
section 161.092 and such other rules and regulations as 75
determined by the commissioner of education, excepting such 76
waivers shall be confined to the school and not other 77
schools in the district unless such other schools meet the 78
criteria established by the state board of education 79
consistent with subsection 3 of this section and the waivers 80
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shall not include the requirements contained in this section 81
and section 160.514. 82
(4) Any waiver provided to any school as outlined in 83
this subsection shall be void on June thirtieth of any 84
school year in which the school fails to meet the criteria 85
established by the state board of education consistent with 86
subsection 3 of this section. 87
5. The score on any assessment test developed pursuant 88
to this section or this chapter of any student for whom 89
English is a second language shall not be counted until such 90
time as such student has been educated for three full school 91
years in a school in this state, or in any other state, in 92
which English is the primary language. 93
6. (1) (a) The state board of education shall 94
identify or, if necessary, establish one or more 95
developmentally appropriate alternate assessments for 96
students who receive special educational services, as that 97
term is defined pursuant to section 162.675. 98
(b) In the development of such alternate assessments, 99
the state board shall establish an advisory panel consisting 100
of a majority of active special education teachers residing 101
in Missouri and other education professionals as appropriate 102
to research available assessment options. 103
(c) The advisory panel shall attempt to identify 104
preexisting developmentally appropriate alternate 105
assessments but shall, if necessary, develop alternate 106
assessments and recommend one or more alternate assessments 107
for adoption by the state board. 108
(d) The state board shall consider the recommendations 109
of the advisory council in establishing such alternate 110
assessment or assessments. 111
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(2) Any student who receives special educational 112
services, as that term is defined pursuant to section 113
162.675, shall be assessed by an alternate assessment 114
established pursuant to this subsection upon a determination 115
by the student's individualized education program team that 116
such alternate assessment is more appropriate to assess the 117
student's knowledge, skills and competencies than the 118
assessment developed pursuant to subsection 1 of this 119
section. 120
(3) The alternate assessment shall evaluate the 121
student's independent living skills, which include how 122
effectively the student addresses common life demands and 123
how well the student meets standards for personal 124
independence expected for someone in the student's age 125
group, sociocultural background, and community setting. 126
7. The state board of education shall also develop 127
recommendations regarding alternate assessments for any 128
military dependent who relocates to Missouri after the 129
commencement of a school term, in order to accommodate such 130
student while ensuring that he or she is proficient in the 131
knowledge, skills, and competencies adopted under section 132
160.514. 133
8. (1) As used in this subsection, the following 134
terms mean: 135
(a) "Department", the department of elementary and 136
secondary education; 137
(b) "Grade-level equivalence", a metric developed for 138
grades three to eight and used by the department to show a 139
student's proximity to doing grade-level work; 140
(c) "Parent", a parent, guardian, custodian, or other 141
person with authority to act on behalf of a student. 142
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(2) Grade-level equivalence, as developed and used 143
under this subsection, shall consist of a student's 144
knowledge of academic subjects by grade level and 145
performance-level descriptors indicating whether such 146
student is ready for the next grade or level of education. 147
Such performance-level descriptors shall consist of the 148
following: 149
(a) Advanced, which shall indicate that such student: 150
a. Demonstrates superior performance on challenging 151
grade-level subject matter; 152
b. Is above such student's current grade or level of 153
education; and 154
c. Is ready for, at a minimum, the next grade or level 155
of education; 156
(b) Proficient, which shall indicate that such student: 157
a. Demonstrates mastery over all appropriate grade- 158
level standards and has introductory-level knowledge for the 159
next grade or level of education; 160
b. May be above such student's current grade or level 161
of education in some areas; and 162
c. Is ready for the next grade or level of education; 163
(c) Grade level, which shall indicate that such 164
student: 165
a. Demonstrates mastery over appropriate grade-level 166
subject matter; 167
b. Is at such student's current grade or level of 168
education; and 169
c. May be ready, with appropriate reinforcement, for 170
the next grade or level of education; 171
(d) Basic, which shall indicate that such student: 172
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a. Demonstrates partial mastery of the essential 173
knowledge and skills appropriate to such student's grade or 174
level of education; 175
b. May not be at such student's current grade or level 176
of education; and 177
c. May not be ready, without appropriate remediation, 178
for the next grade or level of education; and 179
(e) Below basic, which shall indicate that such 180
student: 181
a. Has failed to perform, at a minimum, at the limited 182
knowledge level necessary for such student's grade or level 183
of education; 184
b. Is not at such student's current grade or level of 185
education; and 186
c. Has been determined to be at the specific lower 187
grade or level of education measured by and listed in such 188
student's statewide assessment score. 189
(3) (a) Such grade-level equivalence shall be 190
determined at the same time each student's academic 191
performance is measured by the statewide assessment system 192
developed under this section. 193
(b) Such grade-level equivalence shall be provided at 194
the same time such student's statewide assessment score is 195
reported to such student or such student's parent. 196
(4) (a) Data related to grade-level equivalence shall 197
be searchable on a building-by-building, school-by-school, 198
district-by-district, and statewide basis on the 199
department's school accountability report card developed 200
under section 160.522. 201
(b) Data related to grade-level equivalence shall 202
display the percentage of students whose performance-level 203
descriptor is grade level or above on a building-by- 204
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building, school-by-school, district-by-district, and 205
statewide basis. 206
(c) No data related to grade-level equivalence shall 207
be disclosed in any form that allows the personal 208
identification of any student to any individual or entity 209
except such student or such student's parent. 210
(5) The provisions of subsection 2 of section 160.514 211
shall not apply to the development of the grade-level 212
equivalence metric. 213
(6) The department may choose a third-party nonprofit 214
entity to develop the grade-level equivalence metric. 215
9. As used in this section, "private school" means any 216
private school that enrolls a student who participates in 217
the program established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and 218
sections 166.700 to 166.720. 219
160.522. 1. The department of elementary and 1
secondary education shall produce or cause to be produced, 2
at least annually, a school accountability report card for 3
each public school district, each public school building in 4
a school district, each private school, and each charter 5
school in the state. All school districts, private schools, 6
and charter schools shall be held to the same annual 7
reporting standards pursuant to this section. The report 8
card shall be designed to satisfy state and federal 9
requirements for the disclosure of statistics about 10
students, staff, finances, academic achievement, and other 11
indicators. The purpose of the report card shall be to 12
provide educational statistics and accountability 13
information for parents, taxpayers, school personnel, 14
legislators, and the print and broadcast news media in a 15
standardized, easily accessible form. 16
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2. (1) The department of elementary and secondary 17
education shall develop a standard form for the school 18
accountability report card. 19
(2) The information reported shall include, but not be 20
limited to, the following information reported by each 21
school district, private school, or charter school: 22
(a) The most recent accreditation rating; 23
(b) Enrollment; 24
(c) Rates of pupil attendance; 25
(d) High school dropout rate and graduation rate; 26
(e) The number and rate of suspensions of ten days or 27
longer and expulsions of pupils; 28
(f) The district, private school, or charter school 29
ratio of students to administrators and students to 30
classroom teachers; 31
(g) The average years of experience of professional 32
staff and advanced degrees earned; 33
(h) Student achievement and grade-level equivalence 34
data as measured through the statewide assessment system 35
developed pursuant to section 160.518; 36
(i) Student scores on the ACT, along with the 37
percentage of graduates taking the test; 38
(j) Average teachers' and administrators' salaries 39
compared to the state averages; 40
(k) Average per-pupil current expenditures for the 41
district, private school, or charter school as a whole and 42
by attendance center as reported to the department of 43
elementary and secondary education; 44
(l) The adjusted tax rate of the district or charter 45
school; 46
(m) The assessed valuation of the district; 47
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(n) The percentage of the district, private school, or 48
charter school operating budget received from state, 49
federal, and local sources including, but not limited to, 50
the percentage of the private school operating budget 51
received from the program established in sections 135.712 to 52
135.719 and sections 166.700 to 166.720; 53
(o) The percentage of students eligible for free or 54
reduced-price lunch; 55
(p) Data on the percentage of students continuing 56
their education in postsecondary programs; 57
(q) Information about the job placement rate for 58
students who complete district, private school, or charter 59
school vocational education programs; 60
(r) Whether the school district, private school, or 61
charter school currently has a state-approved gifted 62
education program; and 63
(s) The percentage and number of students who are 64
currently being served in the district's, private school's, 65
or charter school's state-approved gifted education program. 66
3. The report card shall permit the disclosure of data 67
on a school-by-school basis, but the reporting shall not be 68
personally identifiable to any student or education 69
professional in the state. 70
4. The report card shall identify each school or 71
attendance center that has been identified as a priority 72
school under sections 160.720 and 161.092. The report also 73
shall identify attendance centers that have been categorized 74
under federal law as needing improvement or requiring 75
specific school improvement strategies. 76
5. The report card shall not limit or discourage other 77
methods of public reporting and accountability by charter 78
schools, private schools, and local school districts. 79
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Districts, private schools, and charter schools shall 80
provide information included in the report card to parents, 81
community members, the print and broadcast news media, and 82
legislators by December first annually or as soon thereafter 83
as the information is available to the district, private 84
school, or charter school, giving preference to methods that 85
incorporate the reporting into substantive official 86
communications such as student report cards. The school 87
district, private school, or charter school shall provide a 88
printed copy of the district-level or school-level report 89
card to any patron upon request and shall make reasonable 90
efforts to supply businesses such as, but not limited to, 91
real estate and employment firms with copies or other 92
information about the reports so that parents and businesses 93
from outside the district who may be contemplating 94
relocation have access. 95
6. For purposes of completing and distributing the 96
annual report card as prescribed in this section, a school 97
district may include the data from a charter school located 98
within such school district, provided the local board of 99
education or special administrative board for such district 100
and the charter school reach mutual agreement for the 101
inclusion of the data from the charter school and the terms 102
of such agreement are approved by the state board of 103
education. The charter school shall not be required to be a 104
part of the local educational agency of such school district 105
and may maintain a separate local educational agency status. 106
7. As used in this section, "private school" means any 107
private school that enrolls a student who participates in 108
the program established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and 109
sections 166.700 to 166.720. 110
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160.545. 1. There is hereby established within the 1
department of elementary and secondary education the "A+ 2
Schools Program" to be administered by the commissioner of 3
education. The program shall consist of grant awards made 4
to public secondary schools that demonstrate a commitment to 5
ensure that: 6
(1) All students be graduated from school; 7
(2) All students complete a selection of high school 8
studies that is challenging and for which there are 9
identified learning expectations; and 10
(3) All students: 11
(a) Earn credits toward any type of college degree 12
while in high school; or 13
(b) Proceed from high school graduation to a college 14
or postsecondary vocational or technical school or high-wage 15
job with work place skill development opportunities. 16
2. The state board of education shall promulgate rules 17
and regulations for the approval of grants made under the 18
program to schools that: 19
(1) Establish measurable districtwide performance 20
standards for the goals of the program outlined in 21
subsection 1 of this section; and 22
(2) Specify the knowledge, skills and competencies, in 23
measurable terms, that students must demonstrate to 24
successfully complete any individual course offered by the 25
school, and any course of studies which will qualify a 26
student for graduation from the school; and 27
(3) Do not offer a general track of courses that, upon 28
completion, can lead to a high school diploma; and 29
(4) Require rigorous coursework with standards of 30
competency in basic academic subjects for students pursuing 31
SB 1384 32
vocational and technical education as prescribed by rule and 32
regulation of the state board of education; and 33
(5) Have a partnership plan developed in cooperation 34
and with the advice of local business persons, labor 35
leaders, parents, and representatives of college and 36
postsecondary vocational and technical school 37
representatives, with the plan then approved by the local 38
board of education. The plan shall specify a mechanism to 39
receive information on an annual basis from those who 40
developed the plan in addition to senior citizens, community 41
leaders, and teachers to update the plan in order to best 42
meet the goals of the program as provided in subsection 1 of 43
this section. Further, the plan shall detail the procedures 44
used in the school to identify students that may drop out of 45
school and the intervention services to be used to meet the 46
needs of such students. The plan shall outline counseling 47
and mentoring services provided to students who will enter 48
the work force upon graduation from high school, address 49
apprenticeship and intern programs, and shall contain 50
procedures for the recruitment of volunteers from the 51
community of the school to serve in schools receiving 52
program grants. 53
3. Any nonpublic school in this state may apply to the 54
state board of education for certification that it meets the 55
requirements of this section subject to the same criteria as 56
public high schools. Every nonpublic school that applies 57
and has met the requirements of this section shall have its 58
students eligible for reimbursement of postsecondary 59
education under subsection 8 of this section on an equal 60
basis to students who graduate from public schools that meet 61
the requirements of this section. Any nonpublic school that 62
applies shall not be eligible for any grants under this 63
SB 1384 33
section. Students of certified nonpublic schools shall be 64
eligible for reimbursement of postsecondary education under 65
subsection 8 of this section so long as they meet the other 66
requirements of such subsection. For purposes of 67
subdivision (5) of subsection 2 of this section, the 68
nonpublic school shall be included in the partnership plan 69
developed by the public school district in which the 70
nonpublic school is located. For purposes of subdivision 71
(1) of subsection 2 of this section, the nonpublic school 72
shall establish measurable performance standards for the 73
goals of the program for every school and grade level over 74
which the nonpublic school maintains control. 75
4. A school district may participate in the program 76
irrespective of its accreditation classification by the 77
state board of education, provided it meets all other 78
requirements. 79
5. By rule and regulation, the state board of 80
education may determine a local school district variable 81
fund match requirement in order for a school or schools in 82
the district to receive a grant under the program. However, 83
no school in any district shall receive a grant under the 84
program unless the district designates a salaried employee 85
to serve as the program coordinator, with the district 86
assuming a minimum of one-half the cost of the salary and 87
other benefits provided to the coordinator. Further, no 88
school in any district shall receive a grant under the 89
program unless the district makes available facilities and 90
services for adult literacy training as specified by rule of 91
the state board of education. 92
6. For any school that meets the requirements for the 93
approval of the grants authorized by this section and 94
specified in subsection 2 of this section for three 95
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successive school years, by August first following the third 96
such school year, the commissioner of education shall 97
present a plan to the superintendent of the school district 98
in which such school is located for the waiver of rules and 99
regulations to promote flexibility in the operations of the 100
school and to enhance and encourage efficiency in the 101
delivery of instructional services in the school. The 102
provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the 103
plan presented to the superintendent shall provide a summary 104
waiver, with no conditions, for the pupil testing 105
requirements pursuant to section 160.257 in the school. 106
Further, the provisions of other law to the contrary 107
notwithstanding, the plan shall detail a means for the 108
waiver of requirements otherwise imposed on the school 109
related to the authority of the state board of education to 110
classify school districts pursuant to subdivision (9) of 111
subsection 1 of section 161.092 and such other rules and 112
regulations as determined by the commissioner of education, 113
except such waivers shall be confined to the school and not 114
other schools in the school district unless such other 115
schools meet the requirements of this subsection. However, 116
any waiver provided to any school as outlined in this 117
subsection shall be void on June thirtieth of any school 118
year in which the school fails to meet the requirements for 119
the approval of the grants authorized by this section as 120
specified in subsection 2 of this section. 121
7. For any school year, grants authorized by 122
subsections 1, 2, and 5 of this section shall be funded with 123
the amount appropriated for this program, less those funds 124
necessary to reimburse eligible students pursuant to 125
subsection 8 of this section. 126
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8. The department of higher education and workforce 127
development shall, by rule, establish a procedure for the 128
reimbursement of the cost of tuition, books and fees to any 129
public community college or vocational or technical school 130
or within the limits established in subsection 10 of this 131
section for any two-year private vocational or technical 132
school for any student: 133
(1) Who has attended a high school in the state for at 134
least two years that meets the requirements of subsection 2 135
of this section and who has graduated from such a school; 136
except that, students who are active duty military 137
dependents, and students who are dependents of retired 138
military who relocate to Missouri within one year of the 139
date of the parent's retirement from active duty who meet 140
all other requirements of this subsection and are attending 141
a school that meets the requirements of subsection 2 of this 142
section shall be exempt from the two-year attendance 143
requirement of this subdivision; and 144
(2) Who has made a good faith effort to first secure 145
all available federal sources of funding that could be 146
applied to the reimbursement described in this subsection; 147
and 148
(3) Who has earned a minimal grade average while in 149
high school or through the semester immediately before 150
taking the course for which reimbursement is sought as 151
determined by rule of the department of higher education and 152
workforce development, and other requirements for the 153
reimbursement authorized by this subsection as determined by 154
rule and regulation of the department; and 155
(4) Who is a citizen or permanent resident of the 156
United States. 157
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9. The commissioner of education shall develop a 158
procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the program 159
described in this section. Such evaluation shall be 160
conducted annually with the results of the evaluation 161
provided to the governor, speaker of the house, and 162
president pro tempore of the senate. 163
10. For a two-year private vocational or technical 164
school to obtain reimbursements under subsection 8 of this 165
section, the following requirements shall be satisfied: 166
(1) Such two-year private vocational or technical 167
school shall be a member of the North Central Association 168
and be accredited by the Higher Learning Commission as of 169
July 1, 2008, and maintain such accreditation; 170
(2) Such two-year private vocational or technical 171
school shall be designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 172
organization under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 173
amended; 174
(3) No two-year private vocational or technical school 175
shall receive tuition reimbursements in excess of the 176
tuition rate charged by a public community college for 177
course work offered by the private vocational or technical 178
school within the service area of such college; and 179
(4) The reimbursements provided to any two-year 180
private vocational or technical school shall not violate the 181
provisions of Article IX, Section 8, or Article I, Section 182
7, of the Missouri Constitution or the first amendment of 183
the United States Constitution. 184
161.092. 1. The state board of education shall: 1
(1) Adopt rules governing its own proceedings and 2
formulate policies for the guidance of the commissioner of 3
education and the department of elementary and secondary 4
education; 5
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(2) Carry out the educational policies of the state 6
relating to public schools that are provided by law and 7
supervise instruction in the public schools; 8
(3) Direct the investment of all moneys received by 9
the state to be applied to the capital of any permanent fund 10
established for the support of public education within the 11
jurisdiction of the department of elementary and secondary 12
education and see that the funds are applied to the branches 13
of educational interest of the state that by grant, gift, 14
devise or law they were originally intended, and if 15
necessary institute suit for and collect the funds and 16
return them to their legitimate channels; 17
(4) Cause to be assembled information which will 18
reflect continuously the condition and management of the 19
public schools of the state; 20
(5) Require of county clerks or treasurers, boards of 21
education or other school officers, recorders and treasurers 22
of cities, towns and villages, copies of all records 23
required to be made by them and all other information in 24
relation to the funds and condition of schools and the 25
management thereof that is deemed necessary; 26
(6) Provide blanks suitable for use by officials in 27
reporting the information required by the board; 28
(7) When conditions demand, cause the laws relating to 29
schools to be published in a separate volume, with pertinent 30
notes and comments, for the guidance of those charged with 31
the execution of the laws; 32
(8) Grant, without fee except as provided in section 33
168.021, certificates of qualification and licenses to teach 34
in any of the public schools of the state, establish 35
requirements therefor, formulate regulations governing the 36
issuance thereof, and cause the certificates to be revoked 37
SB 1384 38
for the reasons and in the manner provided in section 38
168.071; 39
(9) Classify the public schools, private schools, and 40
charter schools of the state, subject to limitations 41
provided by law and subdivision (14) of this [section] 42
subsection, establish requirements for the schools of each 43
class, and formulate rules governing the inspection and 44
accreditation of schools preparatory to classification, with 45
such requirements taking effect not less than two years from 46
the date of adoption of the proposed rule by the state board 47
of education, provided that this condition shall not apply 48
to any requirement for which a time line for adoption is 49
mandated in either federal or state law. Such rules shall 50
include a process to allow any district, private school, or 51
charter school that is accredited without provision that 52
does not meet the state board's promulgated criteria for a 53
classification designation of accredited with distinction to 54
propose alternative criteria to the state board to be 55
classified as accredited with distinction; 56
(10) Make an annual report on or before the first 57
Wednesday after the first day of January to the general 58
assembly or, when it is not in session, to the governor for 59
publication and transmission to the general assembly. The 60
report shall be for the last preceding school year, and 61
shall include: 62
(a) A statement of the number of public schools in the 63
state, the number of pupils attending the schools, their 64
sex, and the branches taught; 65
(b) A statement of the number of teachers employed, 66
their sex, their professional training, and their average 67
salary; 68
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(c) A statement of the receipts and disbursements of 69
public school funds of every description, their sources, and 70
the purposes for which they were disbursed; 71
(d) Suggestions for the improvement of public schools; 72
and 73
(e) Any other information relative to the educational 74
interests of the state that the law requires or the board 75
deems important; 76
(11) Make an annual report to the general assembly and 77
the governor concerning coordination with other agencies and 78
departments of government that support family literacy 79
programs and other services which influence educational 80
attainment of children of all ages; 81
(12) Require from the chief officer of each division 82
of the department of elementary and secondary education, on 83
or before the thirty-first day of August of each year, 84
reports containing information the board deems important and 85
desires for publication; 86
(13) Cause fifty copies of its annual report to be 87
reserved for the use of each division of the state 88
department of elementary and secondary education, and ten 89
copies for preservation in the state library; 90
(14) Promulgate rules under which the board shall 91
classify the public schools, private schools, and charter 92
schools of the state; provided that all public schools, 93
private schools, and charter schools shall be classified 94
using the same assessment systems and accountability 95
measures; and further provided that the appropriate scoring 96
guides, instruments, and procedures used in determining the 97
accreditation status of a district shall be subject to a 98
public meeting upon notice in a newspaper of general 99
circulation in each of the three most populous cities in the 100
SB 1384 40
state and also a newspaper that is a certified minority 101
business enterprise or woman-owned business enterprise in 102
each of the two most populous cities in the state, and 103
notice to each district board of education, each 104
superintendent of a school district, and to the speaker of 105
the house of representatives, the president pro tem of the 106
senate, and the members of the joint committee on education, 107
at least fourteen days in advance of the meeting, which 108
shall be conducted by the department of elementary and 109
secondary education not less than ninety days prior to their 110
application in accreditation, with all comments received to 111
be reported to the state board of education; 112
(15) Have other powers and duties prescribed by law. 113
2. As used in this section, "private school" means any 114
private school that enrolls a student who participates in 115
the program established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and 116
sections 166.700 to 166.720. 117
162.012. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to 1
the contrary, the governing body of a school district, 2
private school, or charter school shall comply with all 3
requirements for public meetings pursuant to the provisions 4
of chapter 610, provide public notice of all meetings 5
pursuant to the provisions of section 610.020, and provide 6
online public access to all meeting minutes. 7
2. As used in this section, "private school" means any 8
private school that enrolls a student who participates in 9
the program established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and 10
sections 166.700 to 166.720. 11
162.015. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to 1
the contrary, a school district, private school, or charter 2
school shall publicly display on such district's or school's 3
website the annual financial report for such district or 4
SB 1384 41
school. The report shall include, but is not limited to, 5
comprehensive information about the school district's or 6
school's revenues, expenses, contributions, contracts, and 7
personnel salary schedules. 8
2. As used in this section, "private school" means any 9
private school that enrolls a student who participates in 10
the program established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and 11
sections 166.700 to 166.720. 12
163.023. 1. Commencing September 1, 1997, a school 1
district that has an operating levy for school purposes as 2
defined in section 163.011, of less than the minimum value 3
required by section 163.021, shall be classified as 4
unaccredited by the state board of education and shall be 5
deemed to be an unclassified school district for all 6
purposes under force of law, pursuant to the authority of 7
the state board of education to classify school districts 8
pursuant to section 161.092, except that no school district 9
shall be classified as unaccredited or deemed to be an 10
unclassified school district pursuant to this section if 11
such district is ineligible to receive state aid under 12
section 163.031, exclusive of categorical add-ons, because 13
the district's local effort is greater than its weighted 14
average daily attendance multiplied by the state adequacy 15
target multiplied by the dollar value modifier. No school 16
district, except a district which is ineligible to receive 17
state aid under section 163.031, exclusive of categorical 18
add-ons, because the district's local effort is greater than 19
its weighted average daily attendance multiplied by the 20
state adequacy target multiplied by the dollar value 21
modifier, may be classified or reclassified as accredited 22
until such district has an operating levy for school 23
purposes which is equal to or greater than the minimum value 24
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required by section 163.021. Beginning July 1, 1998, the 25
state board of education shall consider the results for a 26
school district from the statewide assessment system 27
developed pursuant to the provisions of section 160.518 when 28
classifying a school district as authorized by subdivision 29
(9) of subsection 1 of section 161.092. Further, the state 30
board of education shall consider the condition and adequacy 31
of facilities of a school district when determining such 32
classification. 33
2. For any school district classified unaccredited for 34
any school year, the state board of education shall conduct 35
procedures to classify said school district for the first 36
school year following. 37
166.706. 1. As used in this section, "private school" 1
means any private school that enrolls a student who 2
participates in the program established in sections 135.712 3
to 135.719 and sections 166.700 to 166.720. 4
2. A private school shall be subject to the following 5
provisions of state law: 6
(1) Statewide assessment system requirements as 7
provided in section 160.518; 8
(2) Annual performance reporting requirements as 9
provided in section 160.522; 10
(3) Classification by the state board of education as 11
provided in section 161.092; 12
(4) Public meeting requirements as provided in section 13
162.012; 14
(5) Annual financial report requirements as provided 15
in section 162.015; 16
(6) Teacher certification requirements as provided in 17
section 168.011; and 18
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(7) The school term start date as provided in section 19
171.031. 20
3. A private school shall be subject to the same state 21
laws and rules relating to procurement processes, wage 22
standards, and contractual obligations as are public schools 23
and school districts. 24
168.011. 1. Except as provided in subsection 3 of 1
this section, no person shall be employed to teach in any 2
position in a public school or private school until he has 3
received a valid certificate of license entitling him to 4
teach in that position. 5
2. Teaching in the state of Missouri, performing other 6
related education duties, school administration, and teacher 7
education are hereby declared to be professions with all the 8
appropriate rights, responsibilities and privileges accorded 9
to other recognized professions. 10
3. A school district or private school may employ 11
noncertificated instructional personnel; provided that no 12
more than ten percent of the full-time equivalent 13
instructional staff positions at the school district or 14
private school are filled by noncertificated personnel. The 15
school district or private school shall ensure that all 16
instructional employees of the school district or private 17
school have experience, training, and skills appropriate to 18
the instructional duties of the employee, and the school 19
district or private school shall ensure that a criminal 20
background check and family care safety registry check are 21
conducted for each employee of the school district or 22
private school prior to the hiring of the employee pursuant 23
to the requirements of section 168.133. The school district 24
or private school shall not employ instructional personnel 25
whose certificate of license to teach has been revoked or is 26
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currently suspended by the state board of education. 27
Appropriate experience, training, and skills of 28
noncertificated instructional personnel shall be determined 29
considering: 30
(1) Teaching certificates issued by another state or 31
states; 32
(2) Certification by the National Board for 33
Professional Teaching Standards; 34
(3) College degrees in the appropriate field; 35
(4) Evidence of technical training and competence when 36
such is appropriate; and 37
(5) The level of supervision and coordination with 38
certificated instructional staff. 39
4. As used in this section, "private school" means any 40
private school that enrolls a student who participates in 41
the program established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and 42
sections 166.700 to 166.720. 43
171.031. 1. Each school board shall prepare annually 1
a calendar for the school term, specifying the opening date, 2
days of planned attendance, and providing a minimum term of 3
at least one thousand forty-four hours of actual pupil 4
attendance, and, for a school district that is located 5
wholly or partially in a county with a charter form of 6
government or a school district that is located wholly or 7
partially in a city with more than thirty thousand 8
inhabitants, a minimum of one hundred and sixty-nine school 9
days, unless the district has adopted a four-day school week 10
as provided in section 171.028, in which case the district 11
school term shall have a minimum of one hundred forty-two 12
school days. In addition, such calendar shall include six 13
make-up days for possible loss of attendance due to 14
inclement weather as defined in subsection 1 of section 15
SB 1384 45
171.033. In school year 2019-20 and subsequent years, such 16
calendar shall include thirty-six make-up hours for possible 17
loss of attendance due to inclement weather, as defined in 18
subsection 1 of section 171.033, with no minimum number of 19
make-up days. 20
2. Each charter school that accepts transferring 21
students under any public school open enrollment program 22
enacted by the general assembly, each private school that 23
enrolls a student who participates in the program 24
established in sections 135.712 to 135.719 and sections 25
166.700 to 166.720, and each local school district may set 26
its opening date each year, which date shall be no earlier 27
than fourteen calendar days prior to the first Monday in 28
September. No such charter school, private school, or 29
public school district shall select an earlier start date 30
[unless, for calendars for school years before school year 31
2020-21, the district follows the procedure set forth in 32
subsection 3 of this section. The procedure set forth in 33
subsection 3 of this section shall be unavailable to school 34
districts in preparing their calendars for school year 2020- 35
21 and for subsequent years]. 36
3. [For calendars for school years before school year 37
2020-21, a district may set an opening date that is more 38
than fourteen calendar days prior to the first Monday in 39
September only if the local school board first gives public 40
notice of a public meeting to discuss the proposal of 41
opening school on a date more than fourteen days prior to 42
the first Monday in September, and the local school board 43
holds said meeting and, at the same public meeting, a 44
majority of the board votes to allow an earlier opening 45
date. If all of the previous conditions are met, the 46
district may set its opening date more than fourteen 47
SB 1384 46
calendar days prior to the first Monday in September. The 48
condition provided in this subsection must be satisfied by 49
the local school board each year that the board proposes an 50
opening date more than fourteen days before the first Monday 51
in September. 52
4.] If any local district violates the provisions of 53
this section, the department of elementary and secondary 54
education shall withhold an amount equal to one quarter of 55
the state funding the district generated under section 56
163.031 for each date the district was in violation of this 57
section. 58
[5.] 4. The provisions of subsections 2 [to 4] and 3 59
of this section shall not apply to charter schools, private 60
schools, or school districts in which school is in session 61
for twelve months of each calendar year. 62
[6.] 5. The state board of education may grant an 63
exemption from this section to a charter school, private 64
school, or school district that demonstrates highly unusual 65
and extenuating circumstances justifying exemption from the 66
provisions of subsections 2 [to 4] and 3 of this section. 67
Any exemption granted by the state board of education shall 68
be valid for one academic year only. 69
✓