SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 625
90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR EHLMANN.
Pre-filed December 1, 1999, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
2765S.01I
AN ACT
To repeal section 160.518, RSMo 1994, relating to review and accreditation of school districts, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.
Section A. Section 160.518, RSMo 1994, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 160.518, to read as follows:
160.518. 1. Consistent with the provisions contained in section 160.526, the state board of education shall develop a statewide assessment system that provides [that] maximum flexibility for local school districts to determine the degree to which students in the public schools of the state are proficient in the knowledge, skills and competencies adopted by such board pursuant to subsection 1 of section 160.514. The statewide assessment system shall assess problem solving, analytical ability, evaluation, creativity and application ability in the different content areas and shall be performance-based to identify what students know, as well as what they are able to do, and shall enable teachers to evaluate actual academic performance. The assessment system shall neither promote nor prohibit rote memorization and shall not include existing versions of tests approved for use pursuant to the provisions of section 160.257, nor enhanced versions of such tests. The statewide assessment shall measure, where appropriate by grade level, a student's knowledge of academic subjects including, but not limited to, reading skills, writing skills, mathematics skills, world and American history, forms of government, geography and science.
2. The assessment system shall only permit the academic performance of students in each school in the state to be tracked against prior academic performance in the same school.
3. [The state board of education shall suggest criteria for a school to demonstrate that its students learn the knowledge, skills and competencies at exemplary levels worthy of imitation by students in other schools in the state and nation. "Exemplary levels" shall be measured by the assessment system developed pursuant to subsection 1 of this section, or until said assessment is available, by indicators approved for such use by the state board of education. The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the commissioner of education may, upon request of the school district, present a plan for the waiver of rules and regulations to any such school, to be known as "Outstanding Schools Waivers", consistent with the provisions of subsection 4 of this section.] The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the commissioner of education shall, upon the request of any school district, present a waiver of rules and regulations, to be known as the "Outstanding Schools Waiver", consistent with the provisions of subsection 4 of this section, to any school which certifies the following:
(1) For the previous school year, fifty percent of the school's students scored at the advanced or proficient level or the percentage of students scoring at the advanced or proficient level has increased by at least one percent since the last annual reporting period or has increased by a total of at least five percent over the last three annual reporting periods; and
(2) One-fourth of the full-time faculty members in the school have master's degrees, and thirty-five percent of those faculty members who have taken the examination required by the state board of education pursuant to section 168.021, RSMo, for an initial professional certificate shall have scored above the fiftieth percentile;
(3) The school has written curriculum guides for all courses of instruction offered by the school, and the curriculum guides are available for public inspection and have been updated within the last seven years;
(4) If an elementary school, the school has an ongoing, active, on-site program for at-risk students;
(5) If a high school, the school has an ongoing, active alternative school; and
(6) If a high school, the school has successfully completed North Central evaluation within the last five years.
4. For any school that meets the criteria established [by the state board of education for three successive school years pursuant to the provisions of subsection 3 of this section,] by August first [following the third such school year] of any year, the commissioner of education shall present a [plan to the superintendent of the school district in which such school is located for the] waiver of rules and regulations to promote flexibility in the operations of the school and to enhance and encourage efficiency in the delivery of instructional services. The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the [plan] waiver presented to the superintendent shall provide a summary waiver, with no conditions, for the pupil testing requirements pursuant to section 160.257, in the school. Further, the provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the plan shall [detail a means] provide for the waiver of requirements otherwise imposed on the school related to the authority of the state board of education to classify school districts pursuant to subdivision (9) of section 161.092, RSMo, and such other rules and regulations as determined by the commissioner of education, excepting such waivers shall be confined to the school and not other schools in the district unless such other schools meet the criteria established [by the state board of education] consistent with subsection 3 of this section and the waivers shall not include the requirements contained in this section and section 160.514. Any waiver provided to any school as outlined in this subsection shall be void on June thirtieth of any school year in which the school fails to meet the criteria established by the state board of education consistent with subsection 3 of this section.