PROCESS AND SCORING GUIDE AND FREE FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN: The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must develop a process and scoring guide that rewards districts by providing additional performance points on the school improvement program for providing free full-day kindergarten to students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch, students who are receiving special educational services under an IEP, and students who are identified by school staff as at risk.

This section is identical to HCS/HB 1425 (2014) and a provision contained in HCS/HB 1689 (2014). (Section 160.047)

ASSESSMENTS: This act prohibits, after June 30, 2017, the state of Missouri and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from entering into a contract with a company headquartered outside Missouri for developing and implementing a statewide assessment, unless the in-state request for proposal for assessment is greater than the amount appropriated. The Department must create a question database for each Missouri grade-level standard from suggestions submitted by certificated Missouri teachers. The Department must develop a process to solicit submissions and review the questions for appropriateness and grade level.

The Department must pilot assessments from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium during the 2014-2015 school year for each school district and charter school. The results of the statewide pilot will not be used for high stakes accountability or public school district accreditation decisions or teacher evaluation for the 2014-2015 school year.

The Department must undertake a process to move statewide assessments to be given online throughout the year rather than cumulatively at the end of the year or at the end of the course after June 30, 2017. An alternative assessment must be available until every school has the capacity to administer the assessments online.

No more than five end-of-course assessments must be used for the determination of a district or school annual performance report or accreditation status.

Student data collected during the assessment process must not exceed the amount or scope of student data collected during the 2013-2014 school year.

This act prohibits the Department, and any entity contracting with the Department for assessments, from sharing personally identifiable teacher or student data outside the Department without written consent of the teacher, the student's parent, or the student, if the student is an emancipated minor.

The Department may allow aggregate student or teacher data from assessment to be transmitted to an executive agency, as described in the act.

School districts must implement competency-based instruction and promotion policies and procedures for kindergarten through grade three in the 2015-2016 school year. The Department must establish policies and procedures on the subject that school districts may adopt. (Section 160.517)

This act requires the State Board of Education to update the statewide assessment system on an ongoing basis to conform to the learning standards. This act repeals the requirement that the assessment system only permit the academic performance of students in each school to be tracked against prior academic performance in the same school.

This act repeals the authority of the Commissioner of Education to grant an "Outstanding Schools Waivers." (Section 160.518)

MICHAEL RUFF