SS#2/SCS/SB 313 - This act establishes the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program. MISSOURI EMPOWERMENT SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS PROGRAM (Sections 135.713-135.716 & 166.700-725): For all fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2018, a taxpayer may make a qualifying contribution to an educational assistance organization and claim a tax credit, as described in the act. The tax credit is for one hundred percent of the amount of the contribution. Tax credits authorized under the program are refundable, but may not be transferred, sold, or assigned. The annual cumulative amount of tax credits is limited at $25 million, which will be adjusted for inflation. The State Treasurer must establish a procedure to allocate the tax credits to the educational assistance organizations on a first come, first served basis. The State Treasurer may reallocate those tax credits to educational assistance organizations that have used all, or a certain percentage, of their tax credits. (Section 135.713) An educational assistance organization must meet certain requirements, including notifying the State Treasurer of its intent to provide scholarship accounts; being a 501(c)(3) organization; providing a receipt to taxpayers for contributions; ensuring that funds are used as specified in the act; distributing scholarship payments four times per year in an amount not to exceed the state adequacy target; providing the State Treasurer, upon request, with criminal background checks on all employees and board members; and demonstrating financial accountability and viability, as described in the act. Each educational assistance organization must publicly report to the State Treasurer, by June first annually, the name and address of the organization, the name and address of each student who opened a scholarship account, the total number and dollar amount of contributions during the previous calendar year, and the total number and dollar amount of scholarship accounts opened during the previous calendar year. (Section 135.714) The State Treasurer must provide standardized forms for program participants. The State Treasurer or State Auditor may conduct an investigation of any educational assistance organization if the State Treasurer or State Auditor possesses evidence of fraud. In addition, the State Treasurer may bar an educational assistance organization from participating if the organization has failed to comply with program requirements. The State Treasurer must issue a report on the state of the program five years after it goes into effect. The act also creates the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Fund. No more than 2% of qualifying contributions may be deposited into the fund for marketing and administrative purposes. (Section 135.716) The provisions of the Missouri Sunset Act shall not apply to the program. A student is eligible to receive funds in a Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account if he or she is identified as having a disability, as described in the act, is a ward of the state, or is a child of a parent in active military service. To be eligible, a student must also have attended a public school under circumstances set forth in the act or be eligible to begin kindergarten. (Section 166.700) The student's parent or guardian shall only use the money in the account for certain expenses related to the qualified student's education, as described in the act. The parent of a qualified student must sign an agreement with an educational assistance organization to enroll the qualified student in a qualified school to receive an education for the student in certain subjects; not enroll the student in a school operated by the qualified student's district of residence or in a charter school; release the district of residence from the obligation of educating the student while the student is enrolled in the program; use the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account money for only specified purposes; and not use the funds for consumable education supplies or tuition at a private school located outside of Missouri. The scholarship accounts are renewable on an annual basis upon request of the parent of a qualified student. Qualified students shall remain eligible for renewal until the student completes high school. If a qualified student withdraws from the program by enrolling in a school other than a qualified school, or is disqualified from the program for violations specified in the act, the scholarship account shall be closed and any remaining funds shall be returned to the educational assistance organization for redistribution to other qualified students. When a student withdraws from the program, the responsibility for providing an education for that student transfers back to the student's district of residence. The funds remaining in the scholarship account at the end of a school year shall remain in the account for the following school year. Any funds remaining in the account after graduation shall be returned to the educational assistance organization for redistribution to other qualified students. (Section 166.705) A qualified student that is a ward of the state who receives a scholarship will continue to be eligible to receive his or her scholarship upon a legal adoption. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, the State Treasurer must conduct or contract for an annual audit of accounts to ensure compliance. A parent or guardian may be disqualified from program participation if the State Treasurer determines that the parent or guardian is found to have committed an intentional program violation. The State Treasurer may refer cases of substantial misuse of moneys to the Attorney General. (Section 166.710) A person commits a Class A misdemeanor if he or she is found to have knowingly used moneys for any purposes other than those set forth in the act. (Section 166.715) The provisions of the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program shall be effective in any fiscal year immediately following a fiscal year in which the school foundation formula is fully funded and the amount appropriated and expended for pupil transportation equals or exceeds 21% of the allowable costs of providing pupil transportation. The provisions shall remain effective in all school years thereafter, irrespective of the amount appropriated for the foundation formula or pupil transportation in any succeeding years. (Section 166.725) These provisions are similar to provisions contained in SCS/SB 32 (2017), SB 609 (2016), SB 531 (2015), and HCS/HBs 1589 & 2307 (2016). This act also modifies provisions relating to elementary and secondary education. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION: This act provides students the opportunity to choose between the ACT Workkeys assessment or ACT assessment, including ACT Plus Writing, in any school year in which the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education directs a state-funded census administration of the ACT assessment. (Section 160.572) This act provides that each school district may rely on technical coursework and skills assessments developed for industry-recognized certificates and credentials when entering into partnerships with certain entities to develop and implement a pathway for students to engage in career and technical education. (Section 162.1115) The act provides several definitions related to career and technical education and states that the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council shall annually review, update, approve, and publish a list of industry certifications, state-issued professional licenses, and occupational assessments. The Career and Technical Education Advisory Council shall annually review, update, approve and publish a list of industry certifications, state-issued professional licenses, and occupational assessments. The list shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for evaluation of course credit. (Section 170.028) This act also modifies the composition of the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council by adding the director of the Department of Economic Development, or his or her designee. The Council is required to encourage local employers to participate in college and career fairs hosted by local school districts, and to cooperate with local school districts to ensure that the curriculum for the career and technical education certificate includes programs of study and course offerings that will lead to industry-recognized certificates or credentials. (Section 178.550) These provisions are identical to SCS/HCS/HB 253 (2017), substantially similar to SCS/SBs 44 & 63 (2017) and similar to provisions contained in SB 1109 (2016), SCS/SBs 620 & 582 (2016), and HCS/SB 13 (2015). TRANSPORTATION HARDSHIP EXEMPTIONS: This act changes the process by which travel hardships are granted to public school pupils. A parent or guardian of any pupil residing in any school district in the state is authorized to submit an application to the Commissioner of Education requesting that the pupil and any sibling of the pupil be assigned to another school district if the pupil is eligible and meets certain conditions as described in the act. The driving distance from the pupil's residence to his or her attendance center in the district of residence must be 15 miles or more by the shortest route available. The new attendance center must be at least five miles closer in actual driving distance to the pupil's residence, and the attendance of the pupil must not cause the classroom in the receiving district to exceed the number of pupils per class set by the receiving district. The Commissioner is required to assign pupils in the order in which applications are received. Once granted, the hardship assignment shall continue until the pupil, and any siblings of the pupil attending the same attendance center, completes his or her course of study in the receiving district or the parent withdraws the pupil. If withdrawn, subsequent grants of applications are discretionary. A pupil who is not currently enrolled in a public school district becomes eligible to apply after the pupil has enrolled in and completed a full school year in a public school in his or her district of residence. The board of education of the district in which the pupil resides shall pay the tuition of the pupil reassigned, which shall not exceed the pro rata cost of instruction. (Sections 162.431, 167.121, 167.125) These provisions are identical to SB 476 (2017) and substantially similar to HB 926 (2017). READING INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT PROMOTION: This act requires, beginning July 1, 2018, all public schools in the St. Louis City School District and Kansas City School District, including charter schools, to use a response-to-intervention tiered approach to reading instruction for students determined by their school to be struggling readers. At a minimum, the reading levels of students in kindergarten through tenth grade must be assessed at the beginning and middle of the school year. Students who score below district benchmarks must be provided with intensive, systemic reading instruction. Beginning on January 1, 2018, and each January thereafter, each public school in the St. Louis City School District and Kansas City School District, including charter schools, must prepare a personalized learning plan for any kindergarten or first grade student whose most recent school-wide reading assessment result shows the student is below grade level. Certain exceptions exist from this requirement for students with an IEP or a Section 504 Plan. Any student who is not reading at the second grade level in the St. Louis City School District and the Kansas City School District by the end of second grade may be promoted to third grade only if one of three conditions is satisfied. First, a student may be promoted if the school provides additional reading instruction during the summer and demonstrates the student has the abilities and the knowledge to successfully learn in third grade at the end of summer school. Second, a student may be promoted if the school provides a "looping" classroom in which the student remains with the same teacher for multiple years. If the student is in a looping classroom but is not reading at the third grade level by the end of third grade, the student must be retained. Third, a student may be promoted if the student's parents or guardians may sign a notice that they prefer to have the student promoted. However, the school will have final determination to retain the student. The St. Louis City School District, the Kansas City School District, and each charter school located in them must provide in the annual school accountability report card the numbers and percentages by grade of any students at grade level who have been promoted but who have been determined as reading below grade level. School districts and charter schools subject to this requirement may provide for a student promotion and retention program and a reading instruction program that are equivalent to those which are described in this section with the oversight and approval of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (Section 167.735) This section is identical to SB 747 (2016), and is substantially similar to a provision contained in CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). SCHOOL DISTRICT ACCREDITATION: When the State Board of Education assigns classification designations to school districts, it must use one of the following designations: unaccredited, provisionally accredited, accredited, and accredited with distinction. The State Board of Education must develop and implement a process to provide assistance teams to borderline districts, as determined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and to underperforming districts upon assignment of such classification or determination by the Department. Teams must have at least ten members, including two active classroom teachers in the district, two principals, and one parent of a student in the district. The Department staff member assigned to the region may be included in the team activities but must not be formally assigned to the team. Teams must provide an analysis of the assessment data, classroom practices, and the communication processes within buildings, in the district, and the community, and also provide prescriptions for improvement based on the district's and community's needs. The team must provide recommendations by June 30, 2018. Assignment of teams must be prioritized so that districts with lower APR scores are addressed first. Suggestions are mandatory for underperforming districts but not for borderline districts. If an underperforming district disagrees with any suggestion of the assistance team, the district must propose a different method of accomplishing what the team has suggested. (Section 161.087) This section is identical to a provision in SB 23 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70, (2015), CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014) and is similar to SB 58 (2017), SB 64 (2015), SB 856 (2014) and a provision in SB 993 (2014), and HB 1856 (2014). The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall be responsible for the receipt and disbursement of funds from statewide career and technical student organizations. (Section 161.106) ATTENDANCE CENTER ACCREDITATION: This act requires the State Board of Education to classify individual attendance centers within a school district. The State Board must adopt a policy to classify individual attendance centers based on a three-year average of their annual performance report scores for the following school districts: unaccredited districts within forty-five days; provisionally accredited districts within ninety days; and the St. Louis City School District, urban school districts, and any school district that has most or all of its land area located in Jackson County or St. Louis County by January 1, 2018. These classifications will become effective immediately. By January 1, 2018, the State Board of Education must develop, through administrative rule, a system of classification that accredits individual attendance centers within a district separately from the district as a whole. The State Board of Education must assign each attendance center a classification. Attendance centers must be assigned one of the following classification designations: unaccredited, provisionally accredited, accredited, or accredited with distinction. Attendance centers that do not offer classes above the second grade will not be given a classification. Upon adoption of this new system, the State Board may change any classification it previously assigned to an attendance center. The State Board of Education may consider the classification designation of an attendance center in its accreditation classification system to exempt attendance centers with classification numbers outside the range of numbers assigned to high schools, middle schools, junior high schools, or elementary schools. Public separate special education schools within a special school district and within a school district are exempted from these accreditation requirements. However, a special school district must report all scores on its annual performance report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for all of its schools. Juvenile detention centers within a special school district are exempt from these accreditation standards. This act waives the statutory two year delayed effective date for school accreditation rules for this system. (Section 161.238) This section is similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015), and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). SCHOOL TRANSFER AND IMPROVEMENT TASK FORCE: This act creates the "School Transfer and Improvement Task Force" within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The task force will study the following: means to address failing schools, including a school improvement district; developing options for school transfer finance formulas; best practices for how to design and finance public virtual and blended schools; best practices and possible pilot projects to assist transient students; options for comprehensive school quality indicators leading to student success; options for school quality review models based on successful review models currently in use; options for locally-created assessment and accountability systems; and best practices in parent and community engagement. The task force will consist of the following members: (1) Three members of the Senate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, of whom not more than two shall be of the same party; (2) One member from an education policy research organization in Missouri, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; (3) Three members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker, of whom not more than two shall be of the same party; (4) One member from a statewide business association, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; (5) The Commissioner of Education, or his or her designee; (6) One member from an education organization consisting exclusively of elected officials, appointed by the Commissioner of Education; (7) The Lieutenant Governor, or his or her designee. The task force must make recommendations by February 1, 2018 to the General Assembly. The task force will expire on April 30, 2018. (Section 161.1000) This provision is identical to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION INTERVENTION POWERS: This act allows the State Board of Education to lapse the corporate organization of all or part of an unaccredited school district. If the State Board appoints a special administrative board for the operation of a part of an unaccredited school district, the State Board of Education must determine an equitable apportionment of state and federal aid for the part of the district. In addition, the school district must provide local revenue in proportion to the weighted average daily attendance of the part governed by the special administrative board. The State Board of Education may appoint members of the elected board to a special administrative board but members of the elected board must not comprise more than forty-nine percent of the special administrative board's composition. Nothing in this provision of law must be construed to permit either the State Board of Education or a special administrative board to raise, in any way not specifically allowed by law, the tax levy of the district or any part of the district without a vote of the people. This act provides that when the State Board of Education determines another form of governance for an unaccredited district, that other form of governance will be subject to the following provisions of law: it will retain the authority granted to a board of education; it will expire at the end of the third year of its appointment unless reauthorized; it will not be deemed to be the state or a state agency; and it will not be considered a successor entity for purposes of employment contracts, unemployment compensation or any other purpose. If the State Board of Education reasonably believes that a school district is unlikely to provide for the minimum school term required by section 163.021 because of financial difficulty, the State Board may, prior to the start of the school term, allow continued governance by the existing district school board under terms and conditions established by the state board of education. As an alternative, the State Board may lapse the corporate organization of the district and implement one of the options available to the State Board to intervene in an unaccredited district. However, this provision will not apply to any district solely on the basis of financial difficulty resulting from paying tuition and providing transportation for transfer students. (Section 162.081) These provisions are substantially similar to provisions contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). TRANSIENT STUDENT RATIO & STUDENT ASSESSMENT SCORES: This act requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to annually calculate a transient student ratio for each attendance center, each school district, and charter school. The transient student ratio must be published on the Department's website and in the school accountability report card for each district and attendance center. The Department must also publish on its website an aggregate transient student ratio for the state. A transient student is defined as a student who withdraws from one attendance center and enrolls in any other attendance center two or more times within two school years. Each school district and charter school must report annually to the Department any information and data necessary for the Department to calculate transient student ratios. This act establishes how the student assessment scores and other performance data for students who have not been enrolled in a district or charter school for the previous full school term will be used when calculating the district's, attendance center's, or charter school's performance for purposes of the Missouri School Improvement Program or scores on the annual performance report. In the first year of attendance in a district, attendance center, or charter school, a transient student's scores on statewide assessment will not be included but growth scores will be weighted at one hundred percent. In the second year of attendance in a district, attendance center, or charter school, a transient student's scores on statewide assessment will be weighted at thirty percent and growth scores will be weighted at one hundred percent. In the third year of attendance in a district, attendance center, or charter school, a transient student's scores on statewide assessment will be weighted at seventy percent and growth scores will be weighted at one hundred percent. In the fourth, and any subsequent, year of attendance in a district, attendance center, or charter school, a transient student's scores on statewide assessment will be weighted at one hundred percent and growth scores will be weighted at one hundred percent. (Sections 162.1303 & 162.1305) These provisions are similar to provisions contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015), CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014), and SB 765 (2014). PARENT NOTIFICATION OF UNACCREDITED STATUS: When a district or attendance center becomes unaccredited, the district must promptly notify the parent or guardian of students enrolled in the district of the loss of accreditation within seven business days. The notice must also include an explanation of the option for a student in an unaccredited attendance center to transfer and any services for which the student may be eligible. This notice must be posted in district attendance centers and must be sent to district taxpayers and each political subdivision located in the boundaries of the school district. (Section 162.1310) This section is substantially similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and is substantially similar to a provision contained in CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). HOME VISITS: The school board of any district that operates an underperforming attendance center must adopt a policy regarding the availability of home visits by attendance center personnel. The school board's policy may offer to the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in any such attendance center the opportunity to have at least one annual home visit and must offer an opportunity for a meeting at the attendance center or a mutually agreeable site. (Section 162.1313) This section is substantially similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). SCHOOL FUNDING: This act provides that funding for children who attend early childhood education programs in accredited school districts and charter schools that have declared themselves as a local education agency, and are included in the average daily attendance of such school districts and charter schools, shall be phased-in in the following manner: 20% of funding shall be allocated in the first school year after the foundation formula is fully funded; 40% shall be allocated in the second school year; 60% in the third school year; 80% in the fourth year; and 100% in the fifth and each succeeding year. (Section 163.018) This act requires that, if a school district is required to remit tuition to a nonsectarian private school under the transfer provisions of this act, the funds shall come from the funds derived from the operating levy for school purposes. (Section 163.021) When a local school board sponsors a charter school, it may only submit an estimate of the district's weighted average daily attendance for the current year. The school board will be prohibited from using a weighted average daily attendance count from any preceding year for purposes of determining state aid. (Section 163.036) MISSOURI VIRTUAL SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY: Currently, the parent or guardian of a child residing in a lapsed school district or in a district that has scored either unaccredited or provisionally accredited on two consecutive annual performance reports may enroll the child in the Missouri public virtual school. This act repeals the requirement that the district have scored unaccredited or provisionally accredited on two consecutive APRs. (Section 167.121) This section is substantially similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), and CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015). USE OF CERTAIN DATA FROM NEGLECTED CHILDREN AND DELINQUENT CHILDREN IN THE AGGREGATE DATA OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT: This act restricts the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from creating a report or publication related to the Missouri School Improvement Program that includes the data of any children in facilities serving neglected children or delinquent children in a district's aggregate scores. (Section 167.127) This section is identical to a section in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and is similar to SB 566 (2014), SB 427 (2013) and SB 737 (2012). K-8 SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Currently, the school board of a school district that does not maintain an accredited attendance center is required to pay the tuition and transportation of resident pupils who attend an accredited attendance center in another district of the same or an adjoining county. This provision of law currently applies to both unaccredited school districts and K-8 school districts that do not offer high school grades. This act repeals the provisions applicable to unaccredited school districts so that the statute only applies to K-8 school districts. (Section 167.131) This provision is substantially similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), and CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015). STUDENT PROMOTION: All underperforming districts in St. Louis County are prohibited from promoting any student from the fifth grade to the sixth grade or from the eighth grade to the ninth grade who is two years or more below grade level as measured by quantifiable student performance data designated by the local district. However, this provision does not apply to any student with an individualized education program or any student with a Section 504 Plan. (Section 167.642) This section is similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). SCHOOL DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT MEASURES: Any unaccredited district must offer free tutoring and supplemental education services to underperforming and struggling students. Districts may use funds from the newly created School District Improvement Fund to the extent funds are available. An unaccredited district may satisfy the free tutoring services requirement by entering into a contract with a public library for online tutoring services. In addition, an underperforming district may do any of the following: implement a new curriculum, as described in the act; retain an outside expert to advise the district or attendance center on regaining accreditation; enter into a contract with an education management organization with a proven record of success to operate a school or schools within the district; enter into a collaborative relationship with an accredited district in which teachers from both districts exchange positions for two school weeks; or implement any other change suggested by the State Board of Education, expert, contractor, or assistance team. Any underperforming district may offer an attendance recovery program designed exclusively to allow students to recapture attendance hours lost due to absences. Attendance recovery hours may be included in the calculation of a district's attendance rate for purposes of the Missouri school improvement program accreditation scoring. (Sections 167.685 & 167.688) This section is substantially similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and is substantially similar to a section in CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). STUDENT TRANSFERS: For school year 2017-2018, students who participated in the transfer program as it existed on July 1, 2016 will be allowed to participate under the same terms that governed the transfers in school year 2016-2017, except for the tuition amount. For school year 2017-2018, any student who transferred from an unaccredited district to an accredited district in the same or an adjoining county in school year 2015-2016 or school year 2016-2017 but did not attend a public school in the unaccredited district for the semester prior to the transfer, unless the student was entering kindergarten or first grade, will no longer be eligible to transfer in school year 2017-2018. If an unaccredited district becomes classified as provisionally accredited or accredited without provisions, any resident student of the unaccredited district who participated in the transfer program as it existed on July 1, 2016, shall be permitted to continue his or her educational program through middle school, junior high, or high school. A student must have previously attended an attendance center in the sending district for at least one school year immediately before initially transferring, unless the student was entering kindergarten or first grade. (Section 167.825) Any student enrolled in and attending an unaccredited attendance center for at least the full school year immediately prior to transferring, may transfer to an accredited attendance center in his or her district of residence that offers the student's grade level of enrollment. However, student transfers within the district of residence cannot result in a class size and assigned enrollment in a receiving attendance center that exceeds the standard level for class size and assigned enrollment under the Missouri School Improvement Program resource standards. The school board of each district that operates an unaccredited attendance center must determine the capacity at each of the district's accredited attendance centers. The district's school board is responsible for coordinating the transfers within the district. Students enrolled in and attending an attendance center only offering kindergarten through grade two are neither eligible to transfer to another attendance center nor under one of the transfer options described below. (Section 167.826) Any student who has first attempted and is unable to transfer to an accredited attendance center within his or her district of residence due to a lack of capacity at accredited attendance centers in the district of residence may apply by March 1 to the Department to transfer to an accredited attendance center in an adjoining district or an approved charter school in an adjoining district, as described in the act. (Section 167.826) A student who is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade at an unaccredited attendance center may apply to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for a transfer if he or she resides in the attendance area of the unaccredited attendance center on March 1 preceding the school year of first attendance. A student who does not apply by March 1 is required to enroll and attend for one semester to become eligible. Any transfer student who does not maintain residence in the attendance area of the attendance center will lose transfer eligibility. In addition, a student who withdraws from the transfer will also lose transfer eligibility. (Section 167.826) Unaccredited attendance centers and provisionally accredited attendance centers cannot receive transfer students except that a student who chooses to attend a provisionally accredited attendance center in his or her district of residence may do so if there is space available. A charter school that has existed for less than three years may receive students. A charter school that has a three-year average score of seventy percent or higher on its annual performance report may receive transfer students. In addition, no attendance center with a three-year average score of seventy percent or lower on its annual performance report is eligible to receive transfer students, except for any student who was granted a transfer prior to the effective date of this act. (Section 167.826) Districts and charter schools that receive student transfers are not required to do any of the following (unless they choose to do so): exceed the class size and assignment enrollment standards of a district-approved policy on class size; hire additional classroom teachers; or construct additional classrooms. (Section 167.826) Each receiving district and charter school has the right to establish a policy for desirable class size and student-teacher ratios based on objective means and will not be required to accept any transfer students that would violate its policy. A policy may allow for estimated growth in the resident student population. A charter school may use the class size, student-teacher ratios, and growth projections for student enrollment in its charter and charter application. A district or charter school that adopts a policy must do so by January 1. If a transfer student is denied admission based on a lack of space under a policy, the student may appeal to the State Board of Education. The State Board may limit the policy if it finds the policy is unduly restrictive to student transfers. The State Board's decision is final. (Section 167.826) Receiving districts and receiving approved charter schools must adopt a tuition rate policy by February first annually. Sending districts must pay tuition to receiving districts and receiving charter schools in two increments: one increment at the start of the school year and a second increment at the start of the second semester. (Section 167.826) If an unaccredited attendance center becomes provisionally accredited or accredited, any resident student who transferred under one of the transfer options will be permitted to continue his or her educational program through the completion of middle school, junior high, or high school, as described in the act. (Section 167.826) For the specified districts that operate an unaccredited attendance center, the Department must designate at least one accredited attendance center to which the district must provide transportation for transfer students. When determining transportation arrangements, the Department shall not contract with or collaborate with any established regional association or cooperative of school districts located in St. Louis County or St. Louis City. (Section 167.826) When costs associated with the provision of special education and related services to a student with a disability exceed the tuition amount, the transfer student's district of residence is responsible for paying the excess costs to the receiving district. When the receiving district is a component district of a special school district, the transfer student's district of residence must contract with the special school district for the entirety of the costs to provide special education and related services, excluding transportation. The special school district may contract with a district operating an unaccredited attendance center for the provision of transportation. A special school district must continue to provide special education and related services, with the exception of transportation, to a student with a disability transferring from a district operating an unaccredited attendance center within the same or a different component district. (Section 167.826) When the St. Louis City School District operates an unaccredited attendance center, it is responsible for the provision of special education and related services, including transportation to students with disabilities. A special school district may contract with the St. Louis City School District, as described in the act. (Section 167.826) Regardless of whether transportation is identified as a related service, a receiving district that is not part of a special school district is not responsible for providing transportation. A district operating an unaccredited attendance center may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district for transportation. When districts other than St. Louis City operate unaccredited attendance centers, they may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district for the reimbursement of special education services. (Section 167.826) By September 1, 2017, and by January 1 annually, each district must report to the Department the number of its available enrollment slots in accredited attendance centers by grade level. Each approved charter school that is eligible to receive transfer students must report the number of available enrollment slots. (Section 167.827) The Department must make information and assistance available to parents who intend to transfer their child. Parents who intend to transfer their child must send initial notification to the Department by March first. The Department will assign transfer students, as space allows. When assigning students to charter schools, the Department must coordinate with each charter school and its admissions process if capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who submit a timely application. An approved charter school is not required to receive any transfer students that would require it to institute a lottery procedure for determining the admission of resident students. The Department will give first priority to students who live in the same household with family members within the first or second degree of consanguinity or affinity who have already transferred and apply to transfer to the same accredited attendance center. If insufficient grade-appropriate enrollment slots are available for a student to transfer, that student will receive first priority the following school year. The Department is only able to disrupt student and parent choice for transfers if a receiving district's or receiving approved charter school's available slots are requested by more students than there are slots available. The Department must consider the following factors in assigning attendance centers: the student's or parent's choice of the receiving attendance center (most important); the best interests of the student; and distance and travel time. The Department must not consider student academic performance; student free and reduced lunch status; or athletics. (Section 167.827) The Department may deny a transfer to a student, who in the most recent school year, has been suspended from school two or more times or has been suspended for an act of school violence, as described in the act. (Section 167.827) The test scores of transfer students attending attendance centers in districts other than their district of residence will be phased in over a four year period, as described in the act. (Section 167.827) The Department is prohibited from contracting or collaborating with any established regional association or cooperative of school districts located in St. Louis City or St. Louis County. (Section 167.827) These provisions are similar to provisions contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and in CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). Any student who has first attempted and is unable to transfer to an accredited attendance center within his or her district of residence due to a lack of capacity at accredited attendance centers may apply by March 1 to the Department to transfer to a nonsectarian private school located in the student's district of residence. The amount of tuition to be paid from the district's operating levy for school purposes and shall not exceed the nonsectarian private school's tuition rate. Nonsectarian private schools shall be eligible to receive transfer students only if it meets certain requirements, as described in the act. (Section 167.828) This provision is similar to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). A district operating an unaccredited attendance center that transfers a student to an accredited attendance center in an adjoining district, or to a nonsectarian private school, shall pay tuition to the receiving district or receiving nonsectarian private school, as described in the act. If the tuition rate of the receiving district exceeds the tuition rate of the sending district, the difference in rates shall be paid from the Supplemental Tuition Fund, which is created by the act. The Supplemental Tuition Fund shall not be used to pay any difference in tuition rates between a sending district and a nonsectarian private school. (Section 167.829) DEFINITIONS: Definitions governing the student transfer portions of this act are provided. (Section 167.848) COMPILATION OF TRANSFER STUDENT PERFORMANCE DATA: The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must compile and maintain student performance data scores of all transfer students and students enrolled in a district other than the district of residence. This data must be available on the Missouri comprehensive data system but no personally identifiable data must be accessible there. (Section 167.890) This provision is identical to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), and CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015). PARENT PORTALS: This act creates the Parent Portal Fund in the state treasury. Moneys in the fund may be used to provide financial assistance to districts to establish and maintain a parent portal so parents may have access to educational information and access to student data via mobile technology. (Section 170.320) This section is identical to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). SCHOOL LEARNING TIME: The school board of any unaccredited district, provisionally accredited district, or district with a three year average annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited or provisionally accredited, may, by a majority vote, increase the length of the school day and also increase the number of instruction hours above the statutory minimum. This act creates the Extended Learning Time Fund in the state treasury. Moneys in the fund will be used for schools that extend the length of the school day or hours of instruction. (Section 171.031) This section is identical to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), SB 58 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014). CHILDREN'S SERVICES FUND: In St. Louis County, if there is an unaccredited or provisionally accredited school district, up to five percent of each fiscal year's revenues in the Children's Services Fund must be devoted to a grant program to deliver services to schools in those districts. The Children's Community Services Fund board of directors must undertake a needs assessment for any such school district within ninety days. The needs assessment must be used as a basis for contracting of services. The board of directors must appoint one of its members to a direct school service coordinating committee. Additional members of the direct service coordinating committee. The committee must provide recommendations and oversight to the program of contracted services. The use of funds is subject to an audit. This provision will terminate after fiscal year 2017. (Section 210.861) This section is identical to a provision contained in SB 23 (2017), CCS/SCS/HCS/HB 42 (2015), SCS/SBs 1, 22, 49 & 70 (2015) and is substantially similar to a provision contained in CCS/HCS/SCS/SBs 493 et al. (2014) and is similar to SB 58 (2017) and HB 2299 (2014). SEVERABILITY: This act contains language specifying that all provisions of this act are severable. (Section 1) This act contains an emergency clause. JAMIE ANDREWS