FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 425
90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
S1847.03C
AN ACT
To amend chapter 167, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to remediation of student academic deficiencies.
Section A. Chapter 167, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 167.333, to read as follows:
167.333. 1. (1) The department of elementary and secondary education shall, subject to appropriation, provide four-year competitive matching grants to school districts or school buildings to support the cost of reading assessment, teacher and administrator training in the use of reading assessment, and teacher and administrator training in early grade reading intervention strategies which give classroom teachers options for selecting the method most appropriate for individual students' particular needs.
(2) Each school district's grant application shall include a statement of the process to be used to measure student progress in improving reading. Each school district receiving a grant pursuant to this section shall show improvement by the students served under the grant by the end of the second school year of the grant in order to receive funds for the third and fourth school years of the grant. Recipient school districts demonstrating significant improvement in third grade communications arts assessment established pursuant to section 160.518, RSMo, over the period of the grant shall receive, from funds appropriated for that purpose, an additional, one-time payment equal to its contribution to the original grant, and such additional payment shall be expended for professional development as authorized in subsection 1 of section 160.530, RSMo. The department of elementary and secondary education shall determine, by rule, the grant application process and the criteria for such additional payments pursuant to this section.
(3) The state board of education shall develop a list of recommended reading assessments for kindergarten through grade three pupils by July 1, 2000. Such assessments shall have a demonstrated effectiveness based on research. The list shall incorporate a variety of methods and may also include reading improvement programs. The list shall serve as a guideline for districts choosing reading improvement assessment and instructional methods pursuant to the grant program established in this section. Districts are not required to use a reading assessment from the list developed pursuant to this section.
(4) For any year in which more than fifty percent of the third grade students in a school district perform at the lowest two levels of the third grade communications arts assessment established pursuant to section 160.518, RSMo, the school board of the district shall, for the following school year, redirect a percentage of state-level remedial reading funds received pursuant to section 162.975, RSMo, that at least equals the percentage of third grade students performing at the lowest levels of that assessment, provided that such redirection does not result in a reduction of federal education funding. The redirected funds shall be used for intensive reading programs in grades kindergarten through three. The redirection of funds pursuant to this subsection shall be a reportable item pursuant to section 160.522, RSMo.
2. (1) School districts may adopt a policy with regard to student promotion which may require remediation as a condition of promotion to the next grade level for any student identified by the district as failing to master skills and competencies established for that particular grade level by the school board of the district. The policy may also require parents or guardians of such students to commit to conduct home-based tutorial activities with their children.
(2) Such remediation required pursuant to this subsection may include, but shall not be limited to, a mandatory summer school program focused on the areas of deficiency and may include other such activities conducted by the school district outside of the regular school day.
(3) School districts providing remediation pursuant to this subsection outside of the traditional school day may count extra hours of instruction in the calculation of average daily attendance as defined in section 163.011, RSMo.
(4) Any student scoring at the lowest level of proficiency, in any subject, at any grade-level under the state-wide assessment established pursuant to section 160.518, RSMo, shall be required to retake that assessment the following year. Students who receive special education services pursuant to sections 162.670 to 162.955, RSMo, shall be retested only in accordance with the student's individualized education plan. School districts shall evaluate student progress toward proficiency after the initial assessment and report this progress in the aggregate at the building level as a part of the annual report issued to patrons of the district pursuant to section 160.522, RSMo.
(5) The state board of education shall establish, by rule, a method for determining the effectiveness of assisting students identified under subdivision (4) of this subsection. Such rule shall make allowances for students who have recently entered the school district. School districts shall report only the scores of students meeting the district's attendance policy, and no report shall disclose student achievement data in such a manner that would personally identify any student.
(6) The state board of education, beginning in the 2001 school year, shall include the date reported pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection as an element in identifying academic deficient schools pursuant to section 160.538, RSMo, and in the school accreditation process pursuant to section 161.092, RSMo.