SB 265 - This act modifies provisions related to workforce development in elementary and secondary education. SCHOOL INNOVATION WAIVERS (Section 161.214) Under this act, any school intervention team, which shall mean a group of persons representing certain schools as set forth in the act, may submit a state innovation waiver plan to the State Board of Education for certain purposes, including improving student readiness for employment, higher education, vocational training, technical training, or any other form of career and job training, increasing the compensation of teachers, or improving the recruitment, retention, training, preparation, or professional development of teachers. A school innovation waiver shall mean a waiver granted by the State Board to certain schools, set forth in the act, in which such schools are exempt from a specific requirement imposed by current law, or any regulations promulgated by the State Board or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Any school innovation waiver granted to a school district or group of school districts shall be applicable to every elementary and secondary school within the school district or group of school districts unless the plan specifically provides otherwise. Any plan for a school innovation waiver shall include certain information, including the specific provision of law for which a waiver is being requested, and an explanation for why such provision of law inhibits the ability of the school or school district to accomplish the goal stated in the plan. The plan shall also demonstrate that the intent of the law can be addressed in a more effective, efficient, or economical manner and that the waiver or modification is necessary to implement the plan. In evaluating a plan submitted by a school innovation team, the State Board shall consider whether the plan meets certain criteria set forth in the act. The State Board may propose modifications to the plan in cooperation with the school innovation team. Any waiver granted under this act shall be effective for no longer than three school years, but school innovation waivers may be renewed. No more than one school innovation waiver shall be in effect with respect to any one elementary or secondary school at one time. The State Board shall not authorize the waiver of any statutory requirements relating to teacher certification, teacher tenure, or any requirement imposed by federal law. STUDENT CAREER AND ACADEMIC PLANS (Section 167.903) Current law allows any student, prior to his or her ninth grade year at a public or charter school, to develop a personal plan of study with help from the school's counselors, which shall be reviewed regularly, as needed by school personnel and the student's parent or guardian and updated based upon the needs of the student. Under this act, such students shall be required to develop an individual career and academic plan, rather than a personal plan of study, with his of her school's counselors. Such plan shall be reviewed once per semester by school personnel and the student's parent or guardian. Each student, prior to the completion of the second semester of his or her twelfth grade year, shall include, as part of such plan, a declaration as to his or her post-secondary plans. This provision shall become effective on August 28, 2022. FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (Section 167.907) Under this act, no student shall receive a certificate of graduation from any public or private school unless he or she has completed and submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). A student shall be exempt from such requirement if such student submits to the school a written confirmation of a commitment to enlist in the armed forces or a written document or form signed by the student's parent or guardian, attesting that they understand what the application is and have chosen not to file such application. This provision shall become effective on August 28, 2022. This provision is similar to HB 1349 (2020). AID FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS (Section 167.908) The Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development shall, by rule, establish a procedure for providing the means and capability for high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs to complete an application for aid through the United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. The Department shall work with school districts that deliver CTE programs to educate students on the value of the aid available to them through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and shall meet certain thresholds set forth in the act. CAREER PATHWAYS SYSTEMS (Section 168.021) Under current law, certificates of license to teach in the public schools shall be granted by the State Board, which shall issue an initial visiting scholars certificate based on verification from the hiring school district that the applicant will be employed as part of a business-education partnership initiative designed to build career pathways systems for students in a grade or grades not lower than the ninth grade. This act repeals the requirement that the hiring school district verify that the applicant will be employed as part of a business-education partnership initiative, but rather requires such district to verify that the applicant will be employed to build career pathways systems for students. This provision is similar to HCS/HB 2435 (2020) and a provision in HCS/SS/SCS/SB 528 (2020). PUBLIC SCHOOL RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MISSOURI (PSRS) and PUBLIC EDUCATION EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MISSOURI (PEERS) (Section 169.596) Current law provides that a retired certificated teacher receiving a retirement benefit from the Public School Retirement System of Missouri(PSRS) may, without losing his or her retirement benefit, teach full time for up to two years for a school district covered by PSRS, provided that no such retired teacher shall be employed as a superintendent. Current law also caps the total number of such teachers to the lesser of ten percent of the total teacher staff for that school district, or five certificated teachers. Under this act, such teacher may be employed full time for up to four years for a school district covered by PSRS, without losing his or her retirement benefit. This act also repeals the provision prohibiting such teacher from being employed as a superintendent, and repeals the cap on the number of retired certificated teachers that may be employed. Under this act, a retired certificated teacher receiving a retirement benefit from PSRS may only be employed as a superintendent if he or she has been retired for at least twelve months prior to such employment, unless immediate employment is necessary due to death, disability, or termination for cause of the superintendent who held the position being filled. Current law also provides that any person receiving a retirement benefit from the Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri (PEERS) may, without losing his or her retirement benefit, be employed full time for up to two years for a school district covered by PEERS, provided that the school district has a shortage of noncertificated employees. The total number of retired noncertificated employees shall not exceed the lesser of ten percent of the total noncertificated staff of the school district, or five employees. This act permits such employee to be employed for up to four years, rather than two. The total number of retired members working for a school district under PSRS or PEERS, including certificated and noncertificated employees, shall not exceed the lesser of ten percent of the total number of employees for that district or ten employees. This provision is similar to HB 2291 (2020) and HB 2460 (2020). This act is substantially similar to SB 830 (2020) and HB 2174 (2020). MATT KIMMINAU