HCS/SS/SCS/SB 168 - This act makes several changes affecting public schools.

SB 380 REFERENDUM CLAUSE - The act repeals sections 143.105, 143.106 and 143.107, RSMo. Section 143.107 is the "contingent referendum clause" from Section D of SB 380 of 1993, and sections 143.105 and 143.106, if submitted and approved pursuant to section 143.107, would revise the corporate income tax rate and deductibility of federal income tax liability to their pre-SB 380 provisions. On November 19, 1996, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled, in W. Todd Akin, et al. v. Director of Revenue, that these sections, as contained in sections B, C and D of SB 380, are void and unconstitutional.

DEFINITIONS OF SCHOOLS - The act clarifies several definitions relating to schools, changing references from 6- director districts to 7-director districts to reflect the increased membership of certain school boards. The act also deletes the definition of "householder" and modifies the definitions of "elementary school" and "high school" to include schools which are limited to just one grade. Currently, schools must contain 2 or more grades. The act also makes technical changes to several definitions. This portion of the act is similar to HB 787 from 1997.

A+ SCHOOLS - The act provides that A+ Schools scholarships shall also be provided for reimbursement of costs of tuition, books and fees of eligible students attending Missouri Western State College or Missouri Southern State College for the purpose of obtaining an associate degree. Such scholarships are currently available to eligible students attending public community colleges and vocational and technical schools. The amount of any such scholarships shall not exceed the state average community college tuition.

SCHOOL BOARD TERMS IN URBAN DISTRICTS - The school board term of certain urban school districts , currently including Springfield Public Schools, is reduced from six years to four years.

SPECIAL EDUCATION STATE AID - The act contains the provisions of HCS/HBs 641 and 593 which revise the distribution of state aid for special education and authorize state reimbursement of excess costs incurred by school districts for special education of nonresident students placed in the district by a court or state agency.

SCHOOL FINANCE DEFINITIONS - "Operating levy" is redefined to establish a "benchmark tax rate" which will be used in the formula even if subsequent reassessment rollbacks require a lower rate to be levied. This language is similar in effect to current provisions from SB 795 from 1996. This provision is also in SS#3/SB 360.

The child of any school district regular employee residing in another district may attend the employing district and be counted as an eligible pupil for state aid by the school district attended. This provision is also in the TAT version of HB 628.

STATE SCHOOL AID - Protested taxes due in previous years, but not prior to 1997, shall be deducted from a district's state aid entitlement in the year received at 90%. A district may use the current year's estimated assessed valuation for determining state aid, if the current year's estimated assessed valuation is more than ten percent less than the average assessed valuation for the preceding year. These provisions are also in SS#3/SB 360 and in SCS/HS/HB 373.

TRANSPORTATION - School districts shall allow each resident pupil to attend the same district school throughout the school year even if the pupil s residence changes to a different school attendance area in the district, provided that all transportation costs are borne by the pupil or the pupil's parent of guardian.

SETTING TAX RATE FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS - The act allows certain districts, such as Pleasant Hill, to set new levy increases in the operating funds, while making the full 24 cents of transfers for capital projects, beginning next year, rather than based upon the phase-in from SB 795 (full phase in occurs for 1999-2000 for all affected districts). To qualify, a district must have at least 16% growth in membership over the last six years, must have passed a full Prop C waiver or increased its tax rate ceiling on or after June 1, 1993 and must be in compliance with teacher's salary provisions of section 165.016 or have paid penalties for fiscal years 1995, 1996 and 1997 without waiver or base year adjustment. These provisions are also in SS#3/SB 360 and in SCS/HS/HB 373.

SCHOOL FUNDS - A school district may borrow between funds so long as the transfer is repaid during the same school year. The Jan. 1, 1997 moratorium on entering new lease purchases and making transfers of operating funds to the capital projects fund shall not apply to lease purchases of school buses. These provisions are also in SS#3/SB 360 and in SCS/HS/HB 373.

Certain districts, such as Pleasant Hill, may transfer the local revenue raised the last three years from a full Prop C waiver or tax rate increase. The transfer to the capital projects fund shall be made no later than June 30, 1997 and shall not decrease the incidental fund balance below 12%. Such transfers shall not be considered as an operating expenditure for the purposes of determining compliance with requirements for expenditure on salaries for certificated staff. A district making this transfer shall comply with the teacher's salary compliance provisions of section 165.016 for the next three years without option for a waiver or base year adjustment. To qualify, a district must have at least 16% growth in membership over the last six years, must have passed a full Prop C waiver or increased its tax rate ceiling on or after June 1, 1993 and must be in compliance with teacher's salary provisions of section 165.016 or have paid penalties for fiscal years 1995, 1996 and 1997 without waiver or base year adjustment. These provisions are also in SS#3/SB 360 and in SCS/HS/HB 373.

SCHOOL BUDGET REPORTING - A school budget and any amendments shall be discussed and approved in a public meeting and made available pursuant to chapter 610, RSMo. The budget shall include all components of the DESE model budget. School audits shall include documentation of a comparison of district payroll records with PSRS records for district employees. These provisions are also in SS#3/SB 360.

SELECTION OF DEPOSITARIES BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS - Current law requires selection of depositaries in odd-numbered years, except that urban districts are permitted to select depositaries annually. This act permits depositaries for school funds in seven-director districts to be selected annually or by a contract for one to five years. Bidders for depositary services may specify the method by which interest will be determined as an alternative to the current requirement that bidders specify the actual interest rate.

Under current law, disclosing bid amounts before depositaries are selected is a misdemeanor. The act prohibits disclosure before bids are opened at public meeting. As bids are opened, they will be read out loud and documented. After clarification of bids, the bids will be entered on the school board records. Depositary statements are required on the fifth rather than the first of the month. These provisions are also in HB 785 from 1997.

FUNDING - The amount of desegregation savings realized by fiscal year 1997 shall continue to be used to fund state aid entitlements. Additional savings in future years shall be used as follows: (1) The first ten million dollars shall be appropriated to dropout prevention programs including at least two million dollars for alternative schools and two million dollars for A+ Schools, (2) For fiscal years 1998 to 2000, the next $50 million shall be transferred to the School Building Revolving Fund, and (3) Any remaining funds shall be used to fund state aid entitlements. A similar provision is in SS#3/SB 360.

SCHOOL BUILDING REVOLVING FUND - The School Building Revolving Fund is revised. No more than $150 million, in the aggregate, shall be credited to the School Building Revolving Fund. The Fund shall be used to provide funding for lease purchases for school districts. If the fund balance in insufficient to fund all projects, projects will be ranked in the following three classes and each class will be funded as fully as possible on a first-come, first-served basis. Rankings shall be based on: 1) uninsured costs due to fire or natural disaster, 2) districts with growth in enrollment of more than 12% for the fifth through the third preceding years and with below average per pupil wealth and bonded debt of at least 9% of district assessed valuation and 3) districts with below average wealth and bonded debt of at least 9% of district assessed valuation. Lease purchase repayment terms, including interest and penalties are included. Similar provisions are contained in SS#3/SB 360 and in SCS/HS/HB 373.

CALCULATION OF TUITION COSTS - Tuition cost shall not be based upon tuition revenues or categorical aid, and such tuition costs shall be based only on the education costs and actual attendance of resident pupils of the district. A similar provision is in SS#3/SB 360.

DATABASE - The act requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish a public school pupil attendance database. The Department shall report the graduation rate annually to the Governor and General Assembly on a statewide and per district basis. A similar provision is in SS#3/SB 360.

GOVERNING BOARDS OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES - This act makes several changes in the representation on the governing bodies of public colleges and universities. These changes affect the governing boards at the University of Missouri, Lincoln University, Truman State University, and the regional state colleges and universities. The act requires that confidentiality requirements apply to all members and representatives on the governing boards, and the act allows any member or representative to voluntarily recuse himself from any board deliberation or proceeding. These provisions are also in HCS/HBs 493 and 39.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES - The student representative to the governing board of each institution shall receive the same reimbursement for expenses related to board meeting attendance as other board members. Current law prohibits the student representative at Lincoln University and the regional institutions from receiving reimbursement for expenses. The act also provides that the current requirement for the student representative to have paid all student fees and tuition prior to appointment to the board and while serving on the board applies to the student representative at each of the institutions. The student representatives may attend closed meetings of the board unless the board members who are present, not including faculty and student representatives, unanimously vote to exclude them from a given closed meeting.

FACULTY REPRESENTATIVES - The act provides that a faculty member representative shall be appointed as a nonvoting member of each institution's governing body. A panel of three names of full-time faculty members is to be submitted to the Governor by each institution's faculty governing association. From the panel of names, the Governor will appoint the faculty member representative, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Faculty appointments to the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri will rotate among each of the 4 campuses, beginning with the Columbia campus, followed by the Kansas City campus, the Rolla campus, and the St. Louis campus.

The faculty member representative at each institution must be a U.S. citizen and a Missouri resident. Faculty member representatives are to serve a term of two years, and will receive the same reimbursement for expenses as other board members. Faculty member representatives may attend closed meetings of the board unless the board members who are present, not including faculty and student representatives, unanimously vote to exclude them from a given closed meeting. Provisions for filling faculty vacancies on the boards are outlined. The board of governors at Truman State University is increased from ten to eleven members, to accommodate the addition of a nonvoting faculty member representative.

TEACHER TRAINING - Teacher training institutions shall provide courses in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

VOLUNTARY INTERDISTRICT TRANSFER - An urban school district under a federal court desegregation order (Kansas City Missouri School District) may enroll pupils who voluntarily apply for admission from other school districts if the race of such pupils will help the receiving school district reach its court-ordered obligations. The enrolling district may determine the number of transfer pupils it will admit. Applying pupils may selected and enrolled at random. School districts shall not adopt policies that block or discourage pupils from applying for transfer to another district. The school district enrolling such nonresident pupils shall receive the lesser of the sum of per pupil basic formula, Prop C, Free Textbook and Fair Share state aid payments received for resident pupils of the enrolling district or such per pupil aid received for pupils residing in the district of residence of such transfer pupils.

The district of residence of such transfer pupils shall not receive state aid payments on account of such pupils. The school district enrolling such nonresident pupils may, but shall not be required to, transport such pupils from their district of residence. The school district of residence shall not be required to provide or pay for any transportation for transfer pupils.

CHARTER SCHOOLS - The act contains provisions similar to SB 30 and SS#3/SB 360 which authorize charter schools. Charter schools may be sponsored by one or more school districts. Charter school pilot projects are limited to St. Louis City and Kansas City Missouri School District. A charter school may be affiliated with a college, university or community college. All applications to establish charter schools shall be submitted to the school district or districts requested to sponsor the charter school. An application denied by a school district may be appealed to the State Board of Education, and the State Board shall grant a charter and act as sponsor if the State Board finds that granting the charter would be likely to provide educational benefit to the children of the district.

A charter school and school district may agree for the charter school to contract with the school district for special education services, and, in such cases, the proportionate share of state and federal funds for disabled students shall go to charter schools educating such students. The charter school shall not be charged for special education services for which the school district receives aid. Schools within special school districts may elect to enroll disabled students in charter schools by contract and with agreement of the parent, school district and charter school. A school district may contract with a charter school to provide special education services.

Charter school regional enrollment policies shall be made subject to State Board guidelines.

The charter school shall receive the total state and local funding (local levy of district in which child resides times GTB) for each attending pupil from the district of residence in monthly payments. No state transportation aid shall be required to be provided.

Certificated teachers at a charter school, may, at the school's option, participate in the public school teacher retirement system applicable to the district in which the school is located. A charter school may employ non-certificated teachers to comprise up to 20% of the instructional staff, up to a maximum of ten persons, but such teachers shall not be members of PSRS. All instructional staff shall have education, experience and skills appropriate to their instructional duties. School district employees may be employed by the district and the charter school contract may provide for employees to choose to remain employed by the district. A criminal and child abuse background check shall be conducted before hiring any employee of the charter school.

ADMINISTRATIVE RULES - The act places any rule promulgated under its authority under certain standards for withstanding a court challenge, requires the court to award reasonable fees and expenses to any prevailing party in such a challenge, and requires that rules promulgated pursuant to the substitute expire on August 28th of the year after they become effective unless extended by statute. These rules provisions have a conditional termination date.

EMERGENCY CLAUSE - The act contains an emergency clause for section 165.011 pertaining to the use of school funds.
OTTO FAJEN