SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS (Section 161.089):

This act defines "accreditation standards" as the standards of the Missouri School Improvement Program, and requires the State Board of Education to modify accreditation standards for special school districts prior to July 1, 2020, to reflect the educational needs of students served by such districts and appropriately measure the performance of students.

This provision is identical to HCS/SS/SB 218 (2019).

CHARTER SCHOOLS (Section 160.400):

Under this act, charter schools may be operated in any school district located within a charter county, or in an urban school district, provided the proposed charter school sponsor receives a petition with the number of signatures of parents of students who would qualify to attend the proposed charter school equal to 50% of the number of seats with which the charter school intends to open, except in a district that is accredited by the State Board of Education and that has a resident pupil enrollment of less than 3,000.

Procedures relating to changes in a school district's accreditation status that affect charter schools are repealed under this act.

If a charter school fails to receive a renewal of its charter after a three-year term, the sponsor of the charter school at the time of the failure of renewal shall not sponsor any new charter schools until the State Board of Education has completed an evaluation and received a determination of compliance with state law for all charter schools sponsored by the sponsor and meets the state standards of sponsorship.

This provision is identical to SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and is similar to HCS/HB 581 (2019), HCS/HB 924 (2019), SB 51 (2019).

UNDERPERFORMING CHARTER SCHOOLS (Section 160.404):

Under this act, a charter school will be classified as underperforming if the charter school has received scores demonstrating that the percentage of students who perform proficient and advanced on the annual statewide system of assessments in English language arts and mathematics in a charter school is lower than the average percentage of grade-level-equivalent students attending nonselective attendance centers in the school district in which the charter school is located who perform proficient and advanced in English language arts and mathematics.

A charter school will not be considered as underperforming if 50% or more of the school's students were previously considered dropouts, as defined under current law, or the average rate of growth in English language arts and mathematics on the annual statewide system of assessments is higher than the average growth in English language arts and mathematics for grade-level-equivalent students attending nonselective attendance centers in the school district in which the charter school is located.

This provision is identical to SB 51 (2019), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), similar to HCS/HB 924 (2019).

ESTABLISHING A CHARTER (Section 160.405):

Current law requires a person, group, or organization seeking to establish a charter school to submit the proposed charter to a sponsor. The charter shall include a legally binding performance contract that describes the obligations and responsibilities of the school and the sponsor and shall, under this act, address the term of the charter, which shall be five years and may be renewed for a three-year term. However, if a charter school underperforms for two of the three consecutive years immediately before a decision whether to renew the school's charter is made, such renewal shall only be for three years. If the charter school again underperforms for two years of the three-year term, the school's charter shall not be renewed.

Under current law, a charter school, per its charter, must be financially accountable. A charter school that receives local educational agency status must meet the requirements imposed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for audits of such agencies and comply with all federal audit requirements for charters with local educational agency status. Under this act, charter schools must make the results of such audits available on their website.

A charter school must also seek to ensure that the percentage of its students who perform proficient and advanced on the annual statewide system of assessments in English language arts and mathematics is equal to or higher than the average percentage of grade-level-equivalent students attending nonselective attendance centers in the school district in which the charter school is located who perform proficient and advanced in English language arts and mathematics.

A sponsor shall revoke a charter or take other appropriate remedial action, which may include placing the charter school on probationary status for no more than 24 months, at any time if the charter school underperforms for at least two years.

Current law requires a sponsor to confirm that each charter school they sponsor is in material compliance and remains in material compliance with the charter and with statute. Under this act, the sponsor's renewal process of the charter school must consider if the charter school has underperformed for two of the three consecutive years immediately before a decision whether to renew the school's charter is made.

If a charter school underperforms for two of the three consecutive years immediately before a decision whether to renew the charter is made, any renewal shall be only for a two-year term. If the charter school again underperforms for both years of the two-year term, the charter shall not be renewed.

The sponsor of a charter school is required to submit a revised charter application to the State Board for review beginning August first during the year in which a charter is considered for renewal, which shall include a financial audit performed by an independent certified public accountant, and be paid for by the charter school.

Information a charter school must currently make available shall, according to the act, also be available on the charter school's website. (Section 160.410.4)

This provision is identical to SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), substantially similar to HCS/HB 924 (2019), SB 51 (2019), and is similar to HCS/HB 581 (2019).

CHARTER SCHOOL ADMISSION (Section 160.410):

If capacity at a charter school is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit a timely application, the charter school may give preference to students who will be eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program in the upcoming school year.

This provision is substantially similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), HCS/SS/SB 218 (2019), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and is similar to HCS/HB 581 (2019) and SB 51 (2019).

ST. LOUIS DEED RESTRICTIONS (Section 160.422):

Under this act, St. Louis City shall not adopt, enforce, impose, or administer an ordinance, local policy, or local resolution that prohibits property sold, leased, or transferred by the city from being used for any lawful education purpose by a charter school.

St. Louis City may not impose, enforce, or apply any deed restriction that expressly, or by its operation, prohibits property sold, leased, or transferred by the city from being used for any lawful educational purpose by a charter school.

If St. Louis City offers property of the city for sale, lease, or rent, St. Louis shall not refuse to sell, lease, or rent to a charter school solely because the charter school intends to use the property for an educational purpose.

Any deeds that have been executed and recorded prior to the effective date of this act shall be exempt from this provision.

This act is identical to SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), substantially similar to SB 51 (2019), and is similar to HB 2247 (2018).

A+ PROGRAM (Section 160.545):

This act modifies the A+ Schools program by adding a requirement that high schools in the program shall demonstrate a commitment to ensure that all students earn credits towards any type of college degree while in high school. The Department of Higher Education shall establish a procedure for the reimbursement of the cost of tuition and fees for any dual-credit or dual-enrollment course offered to a student in high school in association with a public community college or vocational or technical school.

Currently, to be eligible for the program, a student must have attended a high school in Missouri for at least three years prior to graduation. This act provides that the student must have attended a high school in the state for at least two years.

The Department shall, under this act, distribute reimbursements first to community college or vocational or technical school students, then to any dual-credit or dual-enrollment students, on the basis of financial need.

These provisions are identical to SCS/SB 205 (2019), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), and are substantially similar to HB 221 (2019), HB 454 (2019), and HB 2412 (2018).

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION INTERVENTION POWERS (Section 162.081): This act allows the State Board of Education to lapse the corporate organization of all or part of an unaccredited school district. If the State Board appoints a special administrative board for the operation of a part of an unaccredited school district, the State Board shall determine an equitable apportionment of state and federal aid for the part of the district. In addition, the school district shall provide local revenue in proportion to the weighted average daily attendance of the part governed by the special administrative board.

The State Board may appoint members of the elected board to a special administrative board, but members of the elected board shall not comprise more than 49% of the special administrative board.

When the State Board determines another form of governance for an unaccredited district, that other form of governance shall be subject to the following provisions of law: it will retain the authority granted to a board of education; it will expire at the end of the third year of its appointment unless reauthorized; it will not be deemed to be the state or a state agency; and it will not be considered a successor entity for purposes of employment contracts, unemployment compensation, or any other purpose.

If the State Board reasonably believes that a school district is unlikely to provide for the minimum number of school hours required in a school term due to financial difficulty, the State Board may, prior to the start of the school term, allow continued governance by the existing district school board under terms and conditions established by the State Board. As an alternative, the State Board may lapse the corporate organization of the district and implement one of the options available to the State Board to intervene in an unaccredited district. However, this provision shall not apply to any district solely on the basis of financial difficulty resulting from paying tuition and providing transportation for transfer students.

These provisions are identical to SB 25 (2019), SB 587 (2018), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), are substantially similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), and similar to SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), SS#2/SCS/SB 313 (2017), and HCS/HB 118 (2017).

PARENT NOTIFICATION OF UNACCREDITED STATUS (Section 162.1323): When the State Board of Education classifies any district as unaccredited, or when an attendance center receives two or more consecutive annual performance (APR) scores consistent with a classification of unaccredited, the district shall notify the parent or guardian of students enrolled in the district or attendance center of the loss of accreditation within 14 business days. The notice shall also include an explanation of which students may be able to transfer, the transfer process, and any services the student may be entitled to receive. The notice shall be posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in each district attendance center and shall be sent to each municipality located in the boundaries of the school district.

These provisions are identical to SB 25 (2019), SB 587 (2018), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and similar to SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), HCS/HB 118 (2017), and SS#2/SCS/SB 313 (2017).

TRAVEL HARDSHIPS (Section 167.125):

Under current law, if any student in St. Elizabeth or St. Albans applies to attend another school district, the Commissioner of Education is required to assign such student to another district if the driving distance from the student's residence to the school in the student's district of residence is at least 15 miles, and if the school to which the student would be assigned is at least 5 miles closer to the student's residence than the school in the student's district of residence.

This act would also allow a student residing in an unincorporated area of Maries county to apply for a reassignment by the Commissioner.

A student will be eligible to apply to be reassigned by the Commissioner if the student has applied for enrollment in a public school in his or her district of residence, but was denied.

This provision is identical to SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and is substantially similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019).

TUITION (Section 167.131 and 167.132):

The board of education of each district in Missouri that does not maintain a high school offering work through the twelfth grade shall pay tuition as calculated by the receiving district, and provide transportation for each student resident therein who has completed the work of the highest grade offered in the schools of the district and who attends an accredited public high school.

This provision does not apply to students who attend an approved charter school in the same or adjoining county.

Under this act, the tuition rate paid by a sending school district to the receiving district is either the tuition rate set by the receiving district or the receiving approved charter school, or the state adequacy target plus the average sum produced per child by the local tax effort above the state adequacy target of the sending district, whichever is less.

These provisions are substantially similar to SB 25 (2019), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), SB 587 (2018), and SB 559 (2018), and is similar to HB 1252 (2019).

TRANSPORTATION OF PUPILS TO ANOTHER DISTRICT (Section 167.241): For transferring students, the district of residence is required to provide transportation only to school districts or approved charter schools designated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. DESE must designate at least one accredited district or approved charter school to which the district of residence shall provide transportation, but if the designated district or charter school reaches full student capacity and is unable to receive additional students, DESE shall designate at least one additional accredited district or approved charter school to which the district of residence must provide transportation.

This provision is identical to SB 25 (2019), SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and SB 587 (2018).

TRANSFER AND TRANSIENT STUDENT DATA (Section 167.890):

DESE shall compile and maintain student performance data scores of all transient and transfer students enrolled in districts other than their resident districts and make the data available on the Missouri Comprehensive Data System. Personally identifiable information shall not be accessible on the database.

These provisions are identical to SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), HB 1252 (2019), SB 25 (2019), SB 587 (2018), and HCS/HB 118 (2017), and substantially similar to provisions contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), and SS#2/SCS/SB 313 (2017).

STUDENT TRANSFERS (Sections 167.895):

Any student may transfer to another public school in the student's district of residence if such student is enrolled and has attended, for the full semester immediately prior to requesting the transfer, an attendance center, as defined in the act, that is located within an unaccredited district and that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited. However, such transfers shall not be allowed if the transfers result in a class size or assigned enrollment in a receiving school that exceeds the standards promulgated in the Missouri School Improvement Program resource standards. Any student wishing to transfer to a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance process shall meet those admissions requirements in order to attend.

The school board of each unaccredited district shall determine the capacity at each of the district's attendance centers that have an APR score consistent with the classification of accredited. The district's school board is responsible for coordinating transfers within the district.

The school board of each unaccredited district shall annually make a report to DESE or its designee with the following information: the number of available slots in attendance centers that have APR scores consistent with the classification of accredited, the number of students who request to transfer within the district, and the number of such transfers that are granted.

Any student who is eligible to transfer within his or her district but who is unable to do so due to a lack of capacity in the attendance centers in his or her district of residence may apply to DESE or its designee to transfer to:

1) An attendance center that is located within an accredited district that is located in the same or an adjoining county and that has an APR score consistent with a classification of accredited; or

2) An approved charter school located in another district in the same or an adjoining county.

A student who is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade at an attendance center located within an unaccredited district that has an APR score consistent with the classification of unaccredited and that offers classes above the second grade level may apply to DESE for a transfer to one of the two schools described immediately above. Such student is required to reside in the attendance area of the unaccredited school on March 1 preceding the school year of first attendance. A student who does not apply by March 1 is required to enroll and attend for one semester to become eligible.

Any student who does not maintain residency in the attendance area of his or her attendance center in the district of residence loses the eligibility to transfer. With exception as set forth in the act, a student who transfers but later withdraws shall also lose eligibility to transfer. No student enrolled in and attending an attendance center that does not offer classes above the second grade is eligible to transfer under these provisions.

An unaccredited district, provisionally accredited district, unaccredited attendance center, or provisionally accredited attendance center is not eligible to receive transfer students, except that, within an unaccredited district, students may transfer from unaccredited attendance centers to accredited attendance centers, and a transfer student who chooses to attend a provisionally accredited attendance center in the district of residence shall be allowed to transfer to the school if there is an available slot.

If a receiving district becomes unaccredited or provisionally accredited, or if an approved charter school loses such status, any students who previously transferred to the district or charter school shall have the opportunity to remain enrolled or to transfer to another district or approved charter school without losing their eligibility to transfer.

No attendance center that has received two consecutive APR scores consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited for the years immediately preceding the year in which it seeks to enroll transfer students may receive transfer students, regardless of its State Board classification designation, except that any student who was granted a transfer to the attendance center prior to the effective date of the act may remain enrolled in that attendance center.

Districts and charter schools that receive student transfers are not required to: exceed to class size and assignment enrollment standards of its approved policy on class size; hire additional classroom teachers; or construct additional classrooms unless the school board of the receiving district or the receiving approved charter school's governing board has approved the action.

By July 15, 2019, the board of education of each available receiving district and the governing board of each approved charter school shall set the number of transfer students they are able to receive for the 2019-20 school year. The board shall then set such numbers annually by February 1. They shall also publish such numbers and shall not be required to accept any transfer students that would cause it to exceed such number.

Available receiving districts and approved charter schools shall adopt a policy establishing a tuition rate annually for transfer students by February 1.

If an unaccredited school becomes provisionally accredited or accredited without provisions, any resident student who transferred under one of the transfer options shall be permitted to continue his or her educational program in that education option through the completion of middle school, junior high, or high school as specified in the act.

When costs associated with the provision of special education and related services to a student with a disability exceed the tuition amount, the transfer student's district of residence shall remain responsible for paying the excess cost to the receiving district or charter school. When the receiving district is a component district of a special school district, the transfer student's district of residence shall contract with the special school district for the entirety of the costs to provide special education and related services, excluding transportation. The special school district may contract with a district operating an unaccredited school for the provision of transportation of a student with a disability. A special school district shall continue to provide special education and related services, with the exception of transportation, to a student with a disability transferring from an unaccredited school within a component district to an accredited school within the same or a different component district within the special school district.

When the St. Louis City School District operates an unaccredited school, it shall remain responsible for the provision of special education and related services, including transportation, to students with disabilities. A special school district in an adjoining county may contract with the St. Louis City School District for the reimbursement of special education services provided by the special school district for transfer students who are residents of the unaccredited district.

Regardless of whether transportation is identified as a related service within a student's individualized education program, a receiving district that is not part of a special school district shall not be responsible for providing transportation to a student transferring under these provisions. A district operating an unaccredited school may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district for transportation of students with disabilities. When a district other than St. Louis City operates an unaccredited school, it may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district in the same or an adjoining county for the reimbursement of special education and related services provided by the receiving district for transfer students who are residents of the district operating an unaccredited school.

These provisions contain an emergency clause.

These provisions are identical to SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), SB 25 (2019), and are substantially similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019), and SB 587 (2018), and are similar to provisions contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), HCS/HB 118 (2017), and SS#2/SCS/SB 313 (2017).

ELIGIBLE DISTRICTS (Section 167.898):

By July 15, 2019, and by January 1 annually, each district eligible to receive transfer students shall report to DESE the number of its available enrollment slots in accredited schools by grade level. Each unaccredited district shall report the number of available enrollment slots in the district's accredited attendance centers. Each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students shall report the number of available enrollment slots by the same dates. DESE shall make information and assistance available to parents or guardians who intend to transfer their child using one of the transfer options. The parent or guardian who intends to transfer his or her child shall send initial notification to DESE by March 1 for enrollment in the subsequent school year. DESE shall assign transfer students as space allows.

When assigning students to approved charter schools, the DESE shall coordinate with each approved charter school and its admissions process if capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who submit a timely application. An approved charter school shall not be required to receive any transfer student that would require it to institute a lottery procedure for determining the admission of resident students. DESE shall give first priority to students who live in the same household with family members within the first or second degree of consanguinity or affinity who have already transferred and who apply to transfer to the same accredited school. If insufficient grade-appropriate enrollment slots are available for a student to transfer, that student shall receive first priority the following school year.

DESE shall consider the following factors in assigning schools: the student's or parent's choice of the receiving school, which shall be the most important factor; the best interests of the student; availability of transportation funding; and distance and travel time. DESE shall not consider student academic performance; free and reduced price lunch status; or athletic ability in assigning a student to a school.

DESE may deny a transfer to a student, who in the most recent school year, has been suspended from school two or more times or has been suspended for an act of school violence, as specified in the act. A student who is denied a transfer for this reason has the right to an in-person meeting with a representative of DESE. DESE shall develop administrative guidelines to provide common standards for determining disruptive behavior that shall include criteria under the Safe Schools Act.

These provisions contain an emergency clause.

The non-charter school provisions of this act are identical to SB 25 (2019). These provisions are identical to HCS/HB 118 (2017), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and are substantially similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019) and SB 587 (2018), and similar to provisions contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), and SS#2/SCS/SB 313 (2017).

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS (Section 168.133):

Under this act, school districts are required to conduct a criminal background check on screened volunteers, which shall mean any person who assists a school by providing uncompensated service and who may be left alone with students. Volunteers that are not screened shall not be left alone with a student or have access to student records.

These provisions are identical to SB 295 (2019), HCS/HB 739 (2019), and SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), and are substantially similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019).

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY (Section 171.033):

This act exempts school districts from the required number of days school districts are required to make up for days lost due to inclement weather for the 2018-2019 school year. Under this act, school districts would only be required to make up six days lost due to inclement weather, rather than six days plus half the number of days lost in excess of six days.

This section has an emergency clause.

The provisions of this section are identical to SB 478 (2019), SCS/HCS/HBs 161 & 401, and are similar to SS#2/SCS/HCS/HB 604 (2019).

JOSIE BUTLER