To repeal sections 163.161, 167.270 and 167.275, RSMo 1994, and sections 166.275, 167.263, 294.005, 294.011 and 294.030, RSMo Supp. 1996, relating to high school graduation rates, and to enact in lieu thereof eight new sections relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Sections 163.161, 167.270 and 167.275, RSMo 1994, and sections 166.275, 167.263, 294.005, 294.011 and 294.030, RSMo Supp. 1996, are repealed and eight new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 163.161, 166.275, 167.270, 167.275, 294.005, 294.011, 294.030, and 302.065, to read as follows:

     163.161. 1. Any school district which makes provision for transporting pupils as provided in section 162.621, RSMo, and sections 167.231 and 167.241, RSMo, shall receive state aid for the ensuing year for such transportation on the basis of the cost of pupil transportation services provided the current year. A district shall receive, pursuant to section 163.031, an amount not greater than seventy-five percent of the allowable costs of providing pupil transportation services to and from school and to and from public accredited vocational courses, and shall not receive an amount per pupil greater than one hundred twenty-five percent of the state average approved cost per pupil transported the second preceding school year, except when the state board of education determines that sufficient circumstances exist to authorize amounts in excess of the one hundred twenty-five percent of the state average approved cost per pupil transported the second previous year.

     2. The state board of education shall approve all bus routes or portions of routes and determine the total miles each district should have for effective and economical transportation of the pupils and shall determine allowable costs. The state board of education shall approve all mileage necessary for effective and economical transportation to ensure that each resident pupil is able to attend the same district school throughout the school year at which the pupil was first enrolled for that school year, if such transportation is requested in writing by the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian. Under circumstances where the state board approves only a portion of a route, the costs for the disapproved portion shall not be considered allowable costs. The local school board, in its discretion, may continue that portion of the route unless that portion of the route was discontinued by the state board of education for safety reasons. When the local school board decides to continue that portion of the route, costs incurred shall be paid from local money or by the parents of the students living on that portion of the route under consideration. State aid for any other portion of the route which shall otherwise be approved shall not be affected. No state aid shall be paid for the costs of transporting pupils living less than one mile from the school. However, if the state board of education determines that circumstances exist where no appreciable additional expenses are incurred in transporting pupils living less than one mile from school, such pupils may be transported without increasing or diminishing the district's entitlement to state aid for transportation.

     3. State aid for transporting handicapped and severely handicapped students attending classes within the school district or in a nearby district under a contractual arrangement shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of section 163.031 and an amount equal to seventy-five percent of the additional cost of transporting handicapped and severely handicapped students above the average per pupil cost of transporting all students of the district shall be apportioned pursuant to section 163.031 where such special transportation is approved in advance by the department of elementary and secondary education. State aid for transportation of handicapped and severely handicapped children in a special school district shall be seventy-five percent of allowable costs as determined by the state board of education which may for sufficient reason authorize amounts in excess of one hundred twenty-five percent of the state average approved cost per pupil transported the second previous year. In no event shall state transportation aid exceed seventy-five percent of the total allowable cost of transporting all pupils eligible to be transported.

     4. No state transportation aid received pursuant to section 163.031 shall be used to purchase any school bus manufactured prior to April 1, 1977, that does not meet the federal motor vehicle safety standards.

     166.275. If the total amount appropriated by the state to school districts, in accordance with a judgment or order based on the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, for fiscal year 1996 or any subsequent fiscal year is less than the amount appropriated for the same purpose in fiscal year 1994, any amount of the difference, in addition to any unexpended appropriation for the prior fiscal year that results in additional unobligated resources for the state beginning in fiscal year 1997, not to exceed ten million dollars, shall be appropriated for dropout prevention programs and activities under sections 167.260 to 167.380, RSMo, or other dropout prevention programs and activities as provided by law, provided that no less than two million dollars of that amount shall be appropriated under this section for A+ Schools under section 160.545, RSMo, and no less than two million dollars of that amount shall be appropriated for alternative schools under sections 167.320 to 167.332, RSMo, and any remaining amount of the difference necessary to fund the district entitlements under section 163.031, RSMo, with a district entitlement proration factor no less than one, shall be transferred to the state school moneys fund and distributed in the manner provided in section 163.031, RSMo.

     167.270. 1. Local school districts are encouraged to offer additional specialized programs for any pupil who has a high risk of becoming a high school dropout. Additional financial assistance from state aid provided by section 167.260 and section 166.275, RSMo, shall be provided to those school districts which offer such courses. For any programs established pursuant to this section, such additional state aid shall be distributed according to rules and regulations developed by the state board of education.

     2. The rate of reimbursement to local school districts for specialized courses of instruction designed to keep high school pupils from dropping out of school shall be determined on the basis of eight thousand eighty-three dollars for each full-time teacher who teaches such a course which is approved by the state department of elementary and secondary education.

     3. A local school district shall be eligible for additional state aid, subject to appropriation therefor, for a program of alternative education programs for pregnant teens and teen mothers who are enrolled as pupils in the district. Such programs may include specialized courses of instruction established pursuant to subsection 1 of this section and such supplemental services as the district may establish within guidelines set by the state board of education to enable teen mothers to complete high school. For these supplemental services a district may accept funds from federal, local and private sources as may be available. Two or more districts may form a consortium to offer these supplemental services. A district which is not a member of a consortium and which does not offer these services may contract with a district which does. Such a district offering such services may waive all or a portion of the tuition for such a pupil.

     167.275. 1. Effective January 1, 1991, all public and nonpublic secondary schools shall report to the state literacy hot line office in Jefferson City the name, mailing address and telephone number of all students sixteen years of age or older who drop out of school for any reason other than to attend another school, college or university, or enlist in the armed services. Such reports shall be made either by using the telephone hot line number or on forms developed by the department of elementary and secondary education. Upon such notification, the state literacy hot line office shall contact the student who has been reported and refer that student to the nearest location that provides adult basic education instruction leading to the completion of a general educational development certificate.

     2. The department shall develop a public school pupil attendance database. School districts shall report attendance data for each pupil to the department pursuant to procedures established by the department by rule. The attendance data shall be used to determine the district's average daily attendance and the number of district eligible pupils, as those terms are defined in section 163.011, RSMo, for distribution of state school aid under section 163.031, RSMo. The database shall be updated and monitored to determine all students who have dropped out of school since the previous report, and such dropouts shall be treated in the same manner as dropouts reported under subsection 1 of this section.

     3. The department shall annually report the four-year public high school graduation rate for the previous year for the state and for each school district to the governor and general assembly on or before December fifteenth of the school year. School districts shall annually report all data required by the department by rule to calculate the graduation rates. For the purposes of this section, the "four-year public high school graduation rate" shall be the quotient of the number of graduates in the current year as of June thirtieth divided by the sum of the number of graduates in the current year as of June thirtieth plus the number of twelfth-graders who dropped out in the current year plus the number of eleventh-graders who dropped out in the preceding year plus the number of tenth-graders who dropped out in the second preceding year plus the number of ninth-graders who dropped out in the third preceding year.

     294.005. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that no child [under sixteen years of age] is employed in an occupation, or in a manner, that is hazardous or detrimental to the child's safety, health, morals, educational processes or general well-being.

     294.011. As used in this chapter, unless otherwise specified, the following terms mean:

     (1) "Child", an individual under sixteen years of age;

     (2) "Commission", the labor and industrial relations commission;

     (3) "Department", the department of labor and industrial relations;

     (4) "Department director", the director of the department of labor and industrial relations;

     (5) "Director", director of the division of labor standards;

     (6) "Division", the division of labor standards;

     (7) "Employ", engage a child in gainful employment for wages or other remuneration except where the child is working under the direct control of the parent, legal custodian or guardian of the child. The term "employ" shall not include the performance of the following services by a child twelve years of age or older:

     (a) The delivery or sales of newspapers, magazines or periodicals;

     (b) Child care;

     (c) Occasional yard or farm work performed by a child with the knowledge and consent of his or her parent, legal custodian or guardian;

     (d) Any other part-time employment performed by a child with the knowledge and consent of his or her parent, legal custodian or guardian not specifically prohibited under section 294.040.

     294.030. 1. A child under [sixteen] eighteen years of age shall not be employed, permitted or suffered to work at any gainful employment for more than three hours per day in any school day, more than eight hours in any nonschool day, more than six days or forty hours in any week. Normal work hours shall not begin before seven o'clock in the morning nor extend to after 9:00 p.m. The provisions of this subsection may be waived by the director, in full or in part, depending upon the nature of the employment. Such waiver shall be provided in writing to the employer by the director. The waiver shall only exempt employment described in section 294.022.

     2. On all evenings from Labor Day to June first, a child under [sixteen] eighteen years of age shall not be employed, permitted or suffered to work at any gainful employment after 7:00 p.m. nor after 9:00 p.m. from June first to Labor Day. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to children who have been permanently excused from school under the provisions of chapter 167, RSMo. The provisions of this subsection may be waived by the director, in full or in part, depending upon the nature of the employment. Such waiver shall be provided in writing to the employer by the director. The waiver shall only exempt employment described in section 294.022.

     302.065. 1. As used in this section, the following words and phrases mean:

     (1) "GED", a general educational development certificate obtained pursuant rules of the state board of education;

     (2) "Withdrawal", more than ten consecutive days unexcused absences during a single semester or more than fifteen total days unexcused absences during a single semester;

     (3) "Circumstance beyond the control of the person", a circumstance in which the student's withdrawal from school is determined by the district school board to be necessary, unavoidable or in the student's best interest, but not including suspension or expulsion from school or imprisonment in a jail or penitentiary.

     2. The director shall not issue any license hereunder to any person under the age of eighteen unless the person, at the time of application, presents a diploma or other certificate of graduation issued to the person from a secondary high school of this state or any other state, or documentation that the person:

     (1) Is enrolled and making satisfactory progress in a course of study leading to a GED from a state-approved institution or organization, or has obtained a GED;

     (2) Is enrolled in a college, university, public or nonpublic secondary school or home school in this state or any other state; or

     (3) Is exempted due to a circumstance beyond the control of the person.

     3. The attendance officer or superintendent of the district shall provide documentation of enrollment status, upon request, on a form provided by the department of elementary and secondary education, to any student who is fifteen and one-half years of age or older and who is properly enrolled in a public or nonpublic school or home school within the district for presentation to the director with the application for an instruction permit or license issued or reinstated hereunder.

     4. Whenever a student less than eighteen years of age but more than fifteen and one-half years of age withdraws from school or fails to enroll in a course leading to or to obtain a GED or high school diploma for a reason other than a circumstance beyond the control of the student or for the purpose of transfer to another school as confirmed in writing by the student's parent or guardian, the attendance officer or superintendent shall notify the director of such withdrawal within five working days of the date of withdrawal as determined under this section. Within five working days of receipt of such notice, the director shall send notice to the licensee that the license shall be suspended pursuant to this section on the thirtieth day following the date the notice was sent to the licensee unless documentation satisfying the requirements of subsection 2 of this section and indicating the license should not be suspended under this section is provided to the director prior to such date of suspension. If the documentation is not provided to the director prior to the date of suspension, the license shall be suspended beginning on the date indicated on the notice sent to the licensee.