Missouri Senate

Perfected

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CREDIT FOR PARTICIPATION IN INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS: Current law requires students to earn one unit of credit in Physical Education to graduate from high school. This act would allow a school board to adopt a policy allowing any student who has participated in three or more years of interscholastic athletics at the high school level to receive one unit of physical education credit for the graduation requirement. Any board that votes to adopt such a policy must notify appropriate officials at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education within thirty days. The State Board of Education must make any necessary alterations to bring the state's minimum graduation requirements into compliance with this section. (Section 160.353)

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CREDIT FOR PARTICIPATION IN MARCHING BAND: This act would allow a school board to adopt a policy allowing any student who has earned fine arts credit for participation in high school marching band for three or more years to be granted one unit of the physical education graduation requirement. A school board must hold a public hearing on the question and a majority of the board must vote in favor of the question in order for the policy to be adopted. Any board that votes to adopt such a policy must contact appropriate officials at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education within thirty days of an affirmative vote. The State Board of Education must make any necessary alterations to bring the state's minimum graduation requirements into compliance with this section. (Section 160.355)

CHARTER SCHOOLS: This act requires the State Board of Education to establish standards for charter school sponsors to conduct annual Missouri school improvement plan assessments of each sponsored charter school. The standards must include an evaluation of: curriculum and instruction, facilities, health and safety, educational programs and compliance with state performance standards, adequacy of the sponsoring agency's support, and operation and performance of the school's governing board.

The sponsor of a charter school must annually conduct a Missouri school improvement plan assessment of each school it sponsors based on the State Board of Education's standards. A sponsor of a charter school may revoke a school's charter, or place it on probationary status, if the school fails to meet the standards under the sponsor's annual Missouri school improvement plan assessment.

These provisions are substantially similar to SB 1033 (2010). (Sections 160.400 & 160.405)

This act allows proposed or existing high risk or alternative charter schools to include alternative arrangements for students to obtain credits for satisfying graduation requirements in the charter application and charter. Alternative arrangements may include credit for off-campus instruction, embedded credit, work experience, independent studies, and performance-based credit options. Upon approval of the charter by the State Board of Education, any alternative arrangements will be approved at the same time.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must conduct a study of any such charter school granted alternative arrangements for students to obtain credit to assess student performance, graduation rates, educational outcomes, and entry into the workforce or higher education. (Section 160.405)

This act requires charter schools whose mission includes student drop-out prevention or recovery to enroll nonresident pupils from the same or an adjacent county who reside in residential care facilities, transitional living group homes, or independent living programs, whose last school of enrollment is in the school district where the charter school is established, who submit a timely application. Preference will be given to resident pupils over non-resident pupils if there is insufficient capacity. Charter schools may also give an admissions preference to high-risk and dropout students. (Section 160.410)

These provisions are similar to SB 835 (2010), SB 317 (2009), SB 1027 (2008) and similar to provisions also contained in SB 64 (2009).

QUALIFIED SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BONDS: This act requires that all qualified school construction bond issuance authorizations for calendar year 2010 be allocated on an average daily attendance basis by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to school districts in which the required percentage of voters approved the issuance of bonds. This allocation will apply to bond issuances for public school facilities in accordance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Department must use the most current available data when determining the average daily attendance allocation amounts. The Department must submit a report to the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives detailing the 2010 calendar year qualified school construction bond issuance authorization allocations not less than thirty days subsequent to the completion of the 2010 allocation schedule.

This section contains an emergency clause. (Section 164.320)

TEACHER CHOICE COMPENSATION PACKAGE: Current law provides that only teachers in the St. Louis City School District are eligible to participate in the Teacher Choice Compensation Package to receive performance-based salary stipends. This act expands eligibility to participate in the package to all school districts other than St. Louis that resolves, by majority vote of the board of education, to allow its teachers to participate. A participating teacher who changes employment may continue to participate if the school board of the new school district of employment has voted to allow its teacher to participate. (Sections 168.106, 168.745, 168.747)

YEAR-ROUND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: This act allows a school district to adopt a year-round educational program by a majority vote of the school board. A school district that adopts a year-round educational program must meet the minimum number of school days required and have no vacation, including summer, last more than four weeks. School districts with a year-round educational program must meet all other educational requirements. (Section 171.015)

START DATES FOR KINDERGARTEN: This act allows a school district to offer, by majority vote of the school board, two start dates for kindergarten. One start date must occur on the normal starting date for the district and the other must occur approximately halfway through the year. The school district may group children according to their date of birth. In addition, school districts must allow parents to have their child start kindergarten on the start date of their choice. (Section 171.017)

This section is similar to a provision contained in SB 969 (2010).

PARENTS AS TEACHERS: This act requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to require a parent or family share in the cost of services provided through the Parents As Teachers program if no developmental delay is detected by a parent educator after the sixth family visit specific to one child. (Section 178.693)

MICHAEL RUFF