HCS/SS/SB 943 – This act modifies provisions relating to elementary and secondary education funding and planning processes. AMOUNT OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE REQUIRED BY LAW: Current law defines school attendance in terms of days. School districts must have a school calendar with a minimum of 174 school days for a five day school week and a minimum of 143 school days for a four day school week. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, school attendance will be measured in terms of hours. The required number of hours will be 1073. Accordingly, statutes that measure school attendance by days are modified to reflect this change. These provisions are identical to provisions contained in HCS/SCS/SB 815 (2010). (Section 160.011, 160.041, 163.021, 171.029, 171.031, 171.033) A+ SCHOOLS PROGRAM: Schools participating in the A+ Schools Program are required to have a salaried program coordinator. This act specifies that no minimum percentage of time will be required for this position. This provision is identical to a provision contained in HCS/HCS 2053 (2010)and HCS/SCS/SB 815 (2010). (Section 160.545) APPROPRIATIONS & WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS BY THE GOVERNOR: For fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013, if the appropriation for the foundation formula and hold harmless school districts is less than the calculation of the amount required for the phase-in of the formula for that fiscal year, or the appropriation for the transportation categorical is funded at a level less than 75% of allowable costs, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must not penalize any district undergoing its accreditation review for a failure to meet resource standards under the Missouri School Improvement Program. In addition, if the Governor withholds funds for the school funding formula, any school district undergoing accreditation review in the fiscal year following the year in which withholding occurred will not be penalized for failure to meet resource standards under the Missouri School Improvement Program. In fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013, if the appropriation for the foundation formula and hold harmless school districts is less than the calculation of the amount required for the phase-in of the formula for that fiscal year, or the appropriation for the transportation categorical is funded at a level less than 75% of allowable costs, school districts will be excused from compliance with the requirement to spend funds on professional development and fund placement and expenditure requirements. In addition, if the Governor withholds from the school funding formula, school districts will be excused from these requirements in the following fiscal year. In addition, for fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013, school districts may expend up to ten percent of the amount of their categorical payments for expenses not attributable to the specific categorical provided the expenditure does not affect federal funds. These provisions are substantially similar to provisions contained in CCS/SS#2/SCS/HCS#2/HB 1543 (2010), HCS/SCS/SB 815 (2010), and HCS/HB 2053 (2010). (Sections 161.209 & 163.410) FOUNDATION FORMULA MODIFICATIONS: The phase-in of the SB 287 formula will be extended through the 2013-2014 school year. The phase-in percentages for the new and old formulas are modified, as described in the act. This act contains allowances for the distribution of state aid depending on the amount of available appropriations, as described below. This act allows the General Assembly to appropriate more funds than required by the phase-in percentages for any particular school year. In such a situation, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is required to adjust the phase-in percentages to accommodate appropriations in order to distribute one hundred percent of the total amount of appropriated funds. During the phase-in, if the foundation formula appropriation is equal or greater than the fiscal year 2010 foundation formula expenditure and the previous fiscal year's appropriation but is insufficient to fully fund the applicable phase-in percentages, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must adjust the phase-in percentages to accommodate the total amount of available funds. If the Governor withholds funds, the reduced figure will be used. In any school year in which the foundation formula appropriation is less than the fiscal year 2010 foundation formula expenditure; less than the previous year's foundation formula expenditure; or reduced from the current year appropriation by the Governor, as described in the act, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must reduce the payment amounts awarded to all school districts, including hold harmless districts. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must calculate a uniform proportional reduction percentage based on all available state aid to be applied to the payment amount to which all districts would otherwise be entitled under the applicable phase-in percentages. In addition, language pertaining to the summer school penalty, which terminated at the end of the 2008-2009 school year, is repealed. These provisions are similar to provisions contained in the perfected version of HB 2245 (2010). (Section 163.031) SUMMER SCHOOL: In any school year in which the foundation formula appropriation is insufficient to fully fund the applicable phase-in percentages, summer school attendance included in average daily attendance will only include the attendance hours of pupils based exclusively on academic areas of study and core subject areas. Any course specifically required for high school graduation, including but not limited to personal finance, must be included. Each school district must verify to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that its program conforms to these requirements. Districts may offer non-academic or enrichment activities at the district's expense or the parents' expense. No more than three percent of a district's total weighted average daily attendance may be derived from summer school attendance except for districts with a free and reduced lunch count in excess of sixty percent, which may derive no more than seven percent of its weighted average daily attendance from summer school. Students with an IEP that requires extended year services will be exempt from this cap. This act also repeals the summer school provision in section 163.037. These provisions are similar to provisions contained in the perfected version of HB 2245 (2010). (Section 163.036) SMALL SCHOOL GRANTS: This act modifies the Small School Grants Program. It excludes summer school attendance from the average daily attendance count of 350 or fewer students. It requires the appropriation of an additional $5 million to be distributed to districts based on their average daily attendance for the regular school year upon the earlier of the completion of the foundation formula phase-in or the fiscal year after the first fiscal year in which the formula is fully funded. It also extends a proportionally decreasing payment to districts that have an average daily attendance of 351 to 449. This provision is similar to a provision contained in the perfected version of HB 2245 (2010), HB 2052 (2010), and HB 1789 (2010). (Section 163.044) JOINT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION STUDY: The Joint Committee on Education must conduct a study on the issue of the timing of the delivery of state funding for elementary and secondary education to school districts. The study must be conducted during the legislative interim with a final report, with any recommendations for legislative action, to be submitted to the General Assembly by December 31, 2010. (Section 163.500) SCHOOL DISTRICT FUND BALANCES: During fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013, a school district that has unobligated funds in its capital projects fund may make one transfer per fiscal year up to the amount of unobligated funds from the capital projects fund to the incidental fund. The school board must adopt a resolution noting its financial condition and the purposes of the transfer. This provision is identical to a provision contained in HCS/HB 2053 (2010) and HCS/SCS/SB 815 (2010). (Section 165.011) HEARING OFFICER FOR TEACHER REMOVAL HEARINGS IN ST. LOUIS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: This act clarifies that a permanent teacher will have the privilege of being present at the teacher removal hearing. In addition, during any time in which a special administrative board governs the st. Louis city school district, the board may appoint a hearing officer to conduct a hearing to remove a permanent teacher. The hearing officer must conduct the hearing according to the procedures outlined in chapter 536 for contested cases. The hearing officer must issue a written recommendation to the school board. The board must then issue a decision based on the recommendation and the record from the hearing. This provision is identical to a provision contained in CCS/SS#2/SCS/HCS#2/HB 1543 (2010) and HCS/SCS/SB 815 (2010). (SECTION 168.221) CAREER LADDER: This act modifies the Career Ladder program. This act removes the requirement that the General Assembly make an annual appropriation. Beginning in fiscal year 2012, Career Ladder payments will only be made available to local school districts if an appropriation is made. Any state appropriation must be made prospectively in relation to the year in which work under the program is performed. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit a local school district from funding the program for its teachers for work performed in years for which no state appropriation is made available. In addition, this act removes the variable match portion of Career Ladder. Instead, Career Ladder will be funded by sixty percent local funding and forty percent state funding. The three groups of school districts with variable funding rates are eliminated. These provisions are identical to provisions contained in CCS/SS#2/SCS/HCS#2/HB 1543 (2010) and HB 2245 (2010). (Sections 168.500 and 168.515) PARENTS AS TEACHERS: This act removes the prohibition against charging a fee to parents as teachers participants or their parents. Families with children under the age of kindergarten entry will be eligible to receive annual health and development screenings and parents will be eligible to receive prenatal visits under sections 178.691 to 178.699. Priority for service delivery of approved parent education programs under section 178.691 to 178.699, which includes, but is not limited to, home visits, group meetings, screenings, and service referrals, shall be given to high needs families in accordance with criteria set forth by the department of elementary and secondary education. Local school districts may establish cost sharing strategies to supplement funding for such program services. This will expire on December 31, 2015, unless reauthorized by an act of the general assembly. This provision is identical to a provision contained in HCS/SCS/SB 815 (2010), and HB 2245 (2010) and is substantially similar to a provision contained in CCS/SS#2/SCS/HCS#2/HB 1543 (2010). (Section 178.697) This act contains an emergency clause on sections 163.031, 163.036, 163.044, and 168.221 to be effective on July 1, 2010 or upon passage and approval, whichever occurs later. MICHAEL RUFF