SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 968
89TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCOTT.
Read 1st time February 26, 1998, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
S3991.01I
AN ACT
To repeal sections 160.538 and 168.221, RSMo 1994, relating to public schools, and to enact in lieu thereof four new sections relating to the same subject.
Section A. Sections 160.538 and 168.221, RSMo 1994, are repealed and four new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 160.538, 168.221, 168.242 and 173.280, to read as follows:
160.538. 1. By July 1, 1996, the state board of education shall develop a procedure and criteria for determining that a school in a school district is "academically deficient". In making such a determination for any school, the state board of education shall consider the results for the school from the assessment system developed pursuant to the provisions of section 160.518 together with the results from the education audit performed under subsection 2 of this section.
2. (1) Prior to a decision that a school is academically deficient, the state board of education shall appoint an audit team of at least ten persons to conduct an education audit of the school to determine the factors that have contributed to the lack of student achievement at the school as measured by the district assessment system and make a finding as to whether the school is academically deficient. The specific standards and implementation of the education audit shall be pursuant to rules adopted by the state board of education.
(2) The audit team shall report its findings to the state board. If the audit team finds that the school is academically deficient, then the state board shall declare the school to be academically deficient.
(3) Following a decision that a school is academically deficient, the state board of education shall, within sixty days, appoint a management team of at least ten persons to conduct any necessary investigations and make any recommendations the team believes are appropriate for the administration and management of the school necessary to promote student achievement and any additional resources which are required. Funds shall be provided, upon appropriation, under subsection 2 of section 160.530 for the operation of the audit and management teams and resources needed in the district.
(4) In the appointment of the audit and management teams, the state board of education shall appoint such persons so that at least fifty percent of the team is composed of active classroom teachers at the elementary, middle or secondary level grades. Further, no more than two persons of said team may be employees of the department of elementary and secondary education. At least one member of the team shall be a public school superintendent from another district.
(5) The management team shall report its findings and recommendations to the state board within sixty school days. The commissioner of education shall, subject to availability of resources, provide resources to the district as recommended by the management team. The management team report may also include recommendations for one or more of the following: conducting a recall election for each member of the district school board, suspension of indefinite contracts for certificated staff in the school and a one-year maximum length for new or renewal of contracts for the superintendent or the principal of the school. The education audit team shall reevaluate the school two years after the filing of the management team report. No recall election, suspension of indefinite contract or maximum contract length limit may be imposed unless the audit team determines that the school is still academically deficient.
(6) The commissioner of education shall, upon such recommendation by the management team and upon approval by the state board of education, but only in the case where the education audit team finds the school academically deficient in its reevaluation audit under subdivision (5) of this subsection, order an election in the district to be held for the purpose of conducting a recall election of all members of the district school board. The recall election shall be held on the next available election day thereafter as provided under section 115.123, RSMo, and shall be conducted pursuant to chapter 115, RSMo, except as otherwise provided herein.
3. (1) A district school board member of a district which contains a school declared academically deficient may be removed by the voters in a recall election. Such election shall be held upon the submission of a petition signed by voters of the district equal in number to at least twenty-five percent of the number of persons voting at the last preceding election to elect a district board member. The petition shall be filed with the election authority and the secretary of the district board of education, which petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds for which the removal is sought. The signatures to the petition need not all be appended to one paper, but each signer shall add to his signature his place of residence, giving the street and number. One of the signers of each such paper shall make oath before an officer competent to administer oaths that the statements therein made are true as he believes and that each signature to the paper appended is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
(2) Within ten days from the date of filing such petition the election authority shall examine and ascertain whether said petition is signed by the requisite number of voters; and he shall attach to the petition his certificate, showing the result of the examination. If the petition is shown to be insufficient, it may be amended within ten days from the date of said certificate. The election authority shall, within ten days after such amendment, make like examination of the amended petition and, if his certificate shall show the same to be insufficient, it shall be returned to the person filing the same, without prejudice, however, to the filing of a new petition to the same effect. If the petition shall be deemed to be sufficient, the election authority shall submit the same to the district board without delay. If the petition shall be found to be sufficient, the district board shall order the question to be submitted to the voters of the district.
(3) If a majority of the voters vote in favor of retaining the member, he shall remain in office and shall not be subject to another recall election during his term of office except as provided in subsection 2 of this section. If a majority of voters vote to remove the member, his successor shall be chosen as provided in section 162.261, RSMo.
4. Under subdivision (5) of subsection 2 of this section, a district board of education may suspend indefinite contracts and issue probationary contracts to all certificated staff in a school declared academically deficient. However, no such indefinite contract for any person may be suspended without providing the person an opportunity for a due process hearing, conducted according to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, and only after the school board demonstrates that the performance of the person's duties contributed to the school meeting the criteria for being declared academically deficient. The district board of any school which is declared academically deficient shall not issue new contracts or renew contracts to either the superintendent or the principal of the academically deficient school for a period of longer than one year. The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, a probationary teacher in a school declared academically deficient shall not be granted an indefinite contract until one year after such school is no longer determined to be academically deficient, and the probationary teacher meets all other requirements for permanent status required by law.
5. (1) In any school district whose graduation rate is below sixty-five percent, the district school board may determine which schools in the district are academically deficient, based on criteria determined by the district's school board, whether or not the state board of education has made a finding that the schools are academically deficient.
(2) For any school or schools determined to be academically deficient under subdivision (1) of this subsection, an audit team will be established to conduct an educational audit to determine the factors that have contributed to the lack of student achievement in the school or schools. Each team will consist of five members, three appointed by the district school board and two by the commissioner of education. The results of the team's audit shall become a part of the school district's comprehensive improvement plan described in this subsection.
(3) Following a declaration that a school or schools are academically deficient, the school district shall make a public report to the commissioner of education, which shall include a comprehensive improvement plan detailing research-based programs which will be implemented by the district to improve student achievement, graduation rates and reduce dropout rates. A committee shall be established to monitor the progress of the plan and report to the school district board, the commissioner and the public. Such committee shall consist of five members, three appointed by the school district board and two members appointed by the commissioner of education.
(4) Upon approval of the improvement plan by the commissioner, notwithstanding any provision of state law or regulation, district rule or regulation, or contract, the school district board shall have the authority in any school declared academically deficient to suspend or terminate contracts of certificated staff, the principal and any administrators having responsibility for the school and to reconstitute the school with new teachers and administrative staff. The authority granted herein shall not preclude the district board from offering contracts to individual teachers or administrators as the board may deem appropriate.
6. In any school district subject to the provisions of subsection 5 of this section, which declares a school or schools academically deficient, the district may develop a program of incentives and rewards for teachers who contribute to a successful effort to remove any school or schools from academically deficient status. The district's program shall be reviewed by the commissioner of education, who will evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
7. There is hereby established within the department of elementary and secondary education the "School Reform Program" to be administered by the Commissioner of Education. The program shall consist of grant awards to school districts subject to the provisions of subsection 5 of this section to provide state assistance to such districts in undertaking school reforms to improve student achievement, graduation rates and reduce drop out rates.
168.221. 1. The first three years of employment of all teachers [and principals] entering the employment of the metropolitan school district shall be deemed a period of probation during which period all appointments of teachers [and principals] shall expire at the end of each school year. During the probationary period any probationary teacher [or principal] whose work is unsatisfactory shall be furnished by the superintendent of schools with a written statement setting forth the nature of his incompetency. If improvement satisfactory to the superintendent is not made within one semester after the receipt of the statement, the probationary teacher [or principal] shall be dismissed. The semester granted the probationary teacher [or principal] in which to improve shall not in any case be a means of prolonging the probationary period beyond three years and six months from the date on which the teacher [or principal] entered the employ of the board of education. The superintendent of schools on or before the fifteenth day of April in each year shall notify probationary teachers [or principals] who will not be retained by the school district of the termination of their services. Any probationary teacher [or principal] who is not so notified shall be deemed to have been appointed for the next school year.
2. After completion of satisfactory probationary services, appointments of teachers [and principals] shall become permanent, subject to removal for any one or more causes herein described and to the right of the board to terminate the services of all who attain the age of compulsory retirement fixed by the retirement system. In determining the duration of the probationary period of employment in this section specified, the time of service rendered as a substitute teacher [or substitute principal] shall not be included.
3. No teacher [or principal] whose appointment has become permanent may be removed except for one or more of the following causes: Immorality, inefficiency in line of duty, violation of the published regulations of the school district, violation of the laws of Missouri governing the public schools of the state, or physical or mental condition which incapacitates him for instructing or associating with children, and then only by a vote of not less than a majority of all the members of the board, upon written charges presented by the superintendent of schools, to be heard by the board after thirty days' notice, with copy of the charges served upon the person against whom they are preferred, who shall have the privilege of being present, together with counsel, offering evidence and making defense thereto. Notifications received by an employee during a vacation period shall be considered as received on the first day of the school term following. At the request of any person so charged the hearing shall be public. The action and decision of the board upon the charges shall be final. Pending the hearing of the charges, the person charged may be suspended if the rules of the board so prescribe, but in the event the board does not by a majority vote of all the members remove the teacher [or principal] upon charges presented by the superintendent, the person shall not suffer any loss of salary by reason of the suspension. Inefficiency in line of duty is cause for dismissal only after the teacher [or principal] has been notified in writing at least one semester prior to the presentment of charges against him by the superintendent. The notification shall specify the nature of the inefficiency with such particularity as to enable the teacher [or principal] to be informed of the nature of his inefficiency.
4. No teacher [or principal] whose appointment has become permanent shall be demoted nor shall his salary be reduced unless the same procedure is followed as herein stated for the removal of the teacher [or principal] because of inefficiency in line of duty, and any teacher [or principal] whose salary is reduced or who is demoted may waive the presentment of charges against him by the superintendent and a hearing thereon by the board. The foregoing provision shall apply only to permanent teachers [and principals] prior to the compulsory retirement age under the retirement system. Nothing herein contained shall in any way restrict or limit the power of the board of education to make reductions in the number of teachers [or principals, or both,] because of insufficient funds, decrease in pupil enrollment, or abolition of particular subjects or courses of instruction, except that the abolition of particular subjects or courses of instruction shall not cause those teachers who have been teaching the subjects or giving the courses of instruction to be placed on leave of absence as herein provided who are qualified to teach other subjects or courses of instruction, if positions are available for the teachers in the other subjects or courses of instruction.
5. Whenever it is necessary to decrease the number of teachers [or principals, or both,] because of insufficient funds or a substantial decrease of pupil population within the school district, the board of education upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools may cause the necessary number of teachers [or principals, or both,] beginning with those serving probationary periods, to be placed on leave of absence without pay, but only in the inverse order of their appointment. Nothing herein stated shall prevent a readjustment by the board of education of existing salary schedules. No teacher [or principal] placed on a leave of absence shall be precluded from securing other employment during the period of the leave of absence. Each teacher [or principal] placed on leave of absence shall be reinstated in inverse order of his placement on leave of absence. Such reemployment shall not result in a loss of status or credit for previous years of service. No new appointments shall be made while there are available teachers [or principals] on leave of absence who are seventy years of age or less and who are adequately qualified to fill the vacancy unless the teachers [or principals] fail to advise the superintendent of schools within thirty days from the date of notification by the superintendent of schools that positions are available to them that they will return to employment and will assume the duties of the position to which appointed not later than the beginning of the school year next following the date of the notice by the superintendent of schools.
6. If any regulation which deals with the promotion of [either] teachers [or principals, or both,] is amended by increasing the qualifications necessary to be met before a teacher [or principal] is eligible for promotion, the amendment shall fix an effective date which shall allow a reasonable length of time within which teachers [or principals] may become qualified for promotion under the regulations.
7. The duties and rights of principals shall be as determined by the board of education, except that all principals whose appointment became permanent prior to the effective date of this legislation, shall have the same duties and rights as teachers under section 168.221.
168.242. A metropolitan school district may employ noncertificated individuals as instructional personnel; provided that no more than twenty percent of the full-time equivalent instructional staff positions of the district are filled by noncertificated personnel. The district shall ensure that all instructional employees of the district have experience, training and skills appropriate to the instructional duties of the employee. Appropriate experience, training and skills of noncertificated instructional personnel shall be determined considering:
(1) Teaching certificates issued by another state or states;
(2) Certificate by the National Standards Board;
(3) College degrees in the appropriate fields;
(4) Evidence of technical training and competence when such is appropriate; and
(5) Level of supervision and coordination with certificated instructional staff.
173.280. 1. There is hereby established within the department of higher education the "Urban Teachers Recruitment and Training Incentive Program" to be administered by the coordinating board for higher education. The program shall consist of grant awards made to public and private institutions of higher education that implement a program aimed at preparing and encouraging students pursuing elementary and secondary teaching careers to enter teaching positions in school districts in the urban areas of this state. Such grants shall be made from funds appropriated by the general assembly. Grants shall be available for up to five years, and funding for years beyond the first shall be contingent upon an institution's performance in establishing and promoting the program.
2. The coordinating board shall promulgate rules and regulations for the initial approval and for funding in subsequent years. The rules shall contain a method to evaluate the effectiveness of each institution's proposed program and the implementation of that program.
3. Prior to the award of a grant under this program and as part of the evaluation process of programs proposed by institutions of higher education, the coordinating board shall seek, obtain, and consider input of the local school districts located in the urban areas of the state.
4. The coordinating board shall develop a procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the program described in this section. Such evaluation shall be conducted annually with the results of the evaluation provided to the governor, speaker of the house, and president pro tempore of the senate.