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SCS/SB 85 - This act provides for the designation of local control school districts that are exempt from certain assessment, data reporting, and performance reporting requirements of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Any public school district or public charter school may become designated as a local control school district, provided that the Department is able to verify that the designation of local control school district does not result in the loss of any federal funds. A local control school district shall not be required to participate in the Missouri School Improvement Program; annual performance reviews conducted by the Department; the requirement to develop and report standards of teaching to the Department; or the maintaining of a school improvement plan in any format provided by or approved by the Department. A local control school district shall further have the ability to develop and implement a district assessment plan in lieu of the Missouri Assessment Program. Such assessment plan shall consist of standardized assessments of academic subject areas including English language arts, mathematics, science, history, and civics. Any standardized assessment implemented by a local control school district shall provide data that enables a comparison of student achievement on the assessment in the district to student achievement on the assessment across the nation and the state of Missouri. The Department shall post such comparative data on the annual performance report cards required for public schools. If a local control school district does not meet these requirements in any school year, the Department shall immediately revoke such district's designation as a local control school district, and the provisions of the act shall no longer apply. The Department shall notify a local control school district within five business days of any such revocation. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall not advise or incentivize the adoption of any curriculum resources, software programs, or assessments that local control school districts purchase from commercial vendors. Assessment items shall not be developed from materials provided to a district or teachers by entities that have not been formally reviewed and adopted by the district's board of education. Local control school districts may form a consortium without the approval of the State Board of Education for the purpose of developing, reporting, or purchasing assessments in their district assessment plans. The act requires a local control school district to store all district data on servers secured according to industry standards. A local control school district may share only aggregated data, and not any personally identifiable information, as the term "personally identifiable information" is defined in the act, with any external parties, including public agencies and private vendors. A local control school district may continue to receive state funding through the foundation formula, as provided in the act. A local control school district may apply for state and federal grants and shall be considered for such grants without prejudice or penalty. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall ensure that the implementation of the act does not result in any loss of federal funds. If the designation of local control school district results in any loss of federal funds, the Department shall revoke such designation and notify the district within five business days. The Department shall seek any necessary waivers from the U.S. Department of Education in order to implement the provisions of the act. This act is similar to HB 1382 (2023). OLIVIA SHANNON
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