SCS/SBs 971 & 906 - This act establishes the "Public School Open Enrollment Act" to enable students to transfer from their charter school or resident school district ("resident local education agency" or "LEA") to a nonresident LEA. (Section 167.1200) No student shall be enrolled under the Public School Open Enrollment Act before July 1, 2028. (Section 167.1230) TRANSFER POLICY AND PARTICIPATION (Section 167.1205) Any student in kindergarten to grade 12 may attend school in a nonresident LEA participating in the open enrollment program. Before November 1st of each year, each charter school or school district, defined as a "local education agency" or "LEA", shall adopt a resolution stating whether the LEA intends to participate in the program by receiving transferring students during the subsequent school year. LEAs may restrict the number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA to 3% of the previous school year's enrollment. After the 2028-29 school year, an LEA's maximum number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA shall increase by 1% for every two consecutive school years that the LEA is at the transfer maximum, up to a potential maximum of 5% of the previous school year's enrollment. For purposes of calculating the transfer maximum, a transferring student shall be counted as enrolled in the resident LEA if, in the school year before the year of transfer, the student was enrolled in a school other than a public school, attended an FPE school, as such term is defined in current law, or moved to Missouri from another state and has not yet enrolled in school. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shall develop and maintain an online resource that allows a nonresident LEA to ensure that such LEA does not accept a transfer application if doing so would cause the transferring student's resident LEA to exceed the transfer maximum established in the act. The online resource shall additionally provide a searchable public database of the number of transfers offered in each participating LEA, listing allowable transfers for each building, grade level, classroom, and program in an LEA. LEAs shall not be required to add teachers, staff, or classrooms to accommodate transfer applicants. DESE or an entity skilled in policy development shall develop a model open enrollment transfer policy as outlined in the act, including specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications. All LEAs that participate in open enrollment shall adopt a policy that defines the term "insufficient classroom space," taking into account future population growth and establishing standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications. The standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications may include the capacity of the school, the availability of classroom space, and any class-size limitation. An LEA may use projections to determine class-size limitations. The standards shall include a statement that priority shall be given to any applicant who has a sibling who is already enrolled in the nonresident LEA. The standards shall not include a consideration of an applicant's academic achievement, athletic ability, disabilities, English proficiency level, or previous disciplinary proceedings, except that any suspension or expulsion from another LEA shall be included. LEAs receiving transferring students shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, disability, or whether the student is homeless or a migrant. A nonresident LEA shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another LEA and award a diploma to a transferring student if the student meets the nonresident LEA's graduation requirements. The governing body of each LEA shall cause certain information about the open enrollment program, such as application deadlines and procedures, to be posted on the LEA's website and in the student handbook. Students who wish to attend a nonresident LEA that has an academic or competitive entrance process shall furnish proof that they meet the admission requirements of the nonresident LEA. A nonresident LEA may deny a transfer to a student who, in the most recent school year, has been suspended from school two or more times or who has been suspended or expelled for an act of school violence, as described in the act. A student whose transfer is initially precluded under this provision may, upon the approval of the nonresident LEA, be permitted to transfer as a probationary student, subject to no further disruptive behavior. A student who is denied a transfer due to disciplinary issues has the right to an in-person meeting with the nonresident LEA's superintendent, as provided in the act. LEAs shall develop common standards for determining disruptive behavior that shall include criteria established in current law. High school students who participate in open enrollment shall be ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics during the first 365 days of enrollment in a nonresident LEA, with exceptions outlined in the act. APPLYING FOR TRANSFER (Section 167.1210) A student who applies for a transfer under the act may accept only one transfer per school year. A student who accepts such a transfer shall commit to attend and take all courses through the nonresident LEA for at least two school years. The student may meet with the superintendent of the nonresident LEA to be released from such commitment if extenuating circumstances arise or if the student's resident LEA changes. A transferring student shall not enroll as a full-time student in the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program. A student who transfers to a nonresident LEA and then returns to the resident LEA shall complete a full semester in the resident LEA before applying for another transfer. A transferring student with a school attendance rate below 80% for any quarter shall be notified of such rate, and if such student's attendance rate in the subsequent quarter does not reach at least 90%, the student's transfer and eligibility to attend the nonresident LEA may be voided by the LEA. A student who transfers to a nonresident LEA may complete all remaining school years in the nonresident LEA without reapplying each year. Any sibling of a student enrolled in a nonresident LEA may enroll in the same nonresident LEA if the LEA has the capacity and the sibling has no discipline issues, as provided in the act. The transferring student or the student's parent is responsible for the transportation of the student to and from the boundaries of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled. Nonresident LEAs shall provide transportation within the boundaries of the LEA, but charter schools that do not currently provide transportation services are exempt from this requirement. Transportation costs shall included in the nonresident LEA's calculation for transportation reimbursement under current law. For the purposes of determining federal and state aid, a student who transfers to a nonresident school district LEA shall be counted as a resident of the nonresident LEA. For a student transferring to a nonresident charter school LEA, state aid for such student shall be determined by multiplying the weighted average daily attendance of such transferring student by the state adequacy target and multiplying this product by the dollar-value modifier, as the terms "weighted average daily attendance", "state adequacy target", and "dollar-value modifier" are defined in current law, and certain provisions of state law providing for state aid payments to charter schools shall not apply to such calculation. For purposes of payment to special school districts, a transferring student receiving services from a special school district shall be counted as a resident pupil of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled. If a student receives 50% or more of such student's instruction from the special school district, the special school district shall receive all funding which would otherwise be paid to the nonresident LEA for such student. The provisions of the act shall not be construed to relieve any resident LEA of its responsibility to pay toward the cost of the education of children who receive special educational services or attend the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled, as provided in current law. PARENT PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE FUND (Sections 167.1211 and 167.1212) The act establishes the "Parent Public School Choice Fund". Appropriations to the fund shall be used to supplement state aid payments to LEAs that participate in the open enrollment program and reimburse nonresident LEAs for the costs of providing special educational services for students with an IEP, as provided in the act. DESE shall annually evaluate the availability and use of moneys from the fund and, if necessary, request additional funds by a specific line item appropriation as part of the legislative budget process. NUMBER OF TRANSFER STUDENTS (Section 167.1215) Before November 1st annually, each LEA shall publish and notify DESE of the number of transfer students the LEA is willing to receive for the following school year, delineated by building, grade, classroom, or program, if such criteria for acceptance have been set by the LEA. An LEA shall not be required to accept any transfer students above this published number. A special school district shall consult with each partner school district and, before November 1st annually, shall notify DESE of the number of likely available spots for special education services at each partner school district, as provided in the act. The online resource created by DESE shall include a waiting list for applications to nonresident LEAs. The online resource shall notify each applicant that the applicant's transfer application may be subject to placement on such waiting list if the number of transfer applications exceeds the number of available transfers. The act sets forth a priority order for acceptance of applications from the waiting list. A parent of a student on the waiting list shall be informed by DESE of the details of the operation of the list and whether the parent will be required to refile an application for open enrollment in order to remain on the waiting list. APPLICATION PROCESS (Section 167.1220) The parent of a student seeking a transfer shall submit an application to DESE between November 15th and January 1st of the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester, as provided in the act. No more than five transfer applications per school year shall be submitted for any student. Upon receiving an application, DESE shall assign a unique identifying number to the application. On or before January 15th, DESE shall conduct a lottery of eligible applications to determine which student transfers DESE will approve for submission to the nonresident LEAs, subject to conditions set forth in the act, and shall also notify each nonresident LEA of applications that DESE has approved for transfer. The governing body of the nonresident LEA shall request from all schools attended by the student within the last 12 months certain records relating to the transfer, including special education records, discipline records, and records of behavioral risk assessments. An LEA that receives such a request for records shall respond to the request within five business days. Any official to whom such information is disclosed shall comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Nonresident LEAs shall review and make a determination on transfer applications received from DESE within 10 business days, as provided in the act. If a nonresident LEA rejects an application, DESE shall submit the next application on the waiting list to the nonresident LEA for consideration. Before March 1st of the school year preceding the school year in which a student seeks to enroll in a nonresident LEA, the nonresident LEA's superintendent shall notify DESE as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected through the online resource created by DESE. Within three business days of sending notifications to the resident and nonresident LEAs, DESE shall notify the parent as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected, as provided in the act. If an application is rejected, DESE's notification shall state the nonresident LEA's reason for the rejection. If an application is accepted, DESE shall state in its notification a reasonable deadline before which the student shall enroll, along with instructions for renewing enrollment each year. DESE shall also notify the resident LEA of the student's participation. DESE shall further notify the student and the student's parent of the opportunity to participate in an anonymous survey provided by DESE regarding all reasons for the student's and parent's interest in participating in the open enrollment program. DESE shall publish an annual report based on the survey results, providing aggregate data of sufficient detail to allow analysis of trends regarding the reasons for participation in the open enrollment program at the statewide, regional, and local levels. The annual report shall also include detection and analysis of the impact of the program on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic balance among schools and LEAs. No such survey results shall be published in a manner that would allow for the identification of data attributable to a specific LEA or that reveals information regarding a group of five or fewer students. DESE shall privately share data specific to each LEA with each LEA prior to publishing the annual report. If a student declines enrolling in the nonresident LEA, provided the nonresident LEA still has capacity to accept additional students, DESE shall send the LEA the next application on the waiting list for consideration. No additional open enrollment transfer applications shall be sent by DESE or approved by a nonresident LEA after April 15th of the school year immediately preceding the school year of enrollment. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND GIFTED CHILDREN (Section 167.1224) Before enrolling in a nonresident LEA, a student with certain special educational needs, English as a second language (ESL) needs, or who is identified as a gifted child shall be provided the same process that exists for a resident student moving into the nonresident LEA. The nonresident LEA, parent, or both shall have the opportunity to reevaluate the student to determine what comparable special educational services may be required or what programs or services for which the student may be eligible. A nonresident LEA is responsible for providing a free appropriate education to the student and shall provide the same or substantially similar services as a resident student would receive. Before enrolling in the nonresident LEA, if necessary, a transferring student and parent shall be provided the opportunity to develop a new or amended IEP, individualized family service plan, or 504 plan, or to evaluate the ESL, gifted, or dyslexia programs and services provided by the nonresident LEA. The nonresident LEA shall provide the student and parent with prior written notice documenting the services that the nonresident LEA determines appropriate to meet the student's needs. The nonresident LEA shall offer the transferring student 10 business days to accept or decline the acceptance of the nonresident LEA. LEAs that are served by a special school district shall execute a form agreement prepared by DESE with such special school district regarding finance, staffing, and other relevant items prior to participating in open enrollment. An LEA and a special school district may choose to modify such form agreement, but no modifications shall delay the LEA's participating in open enrollment. A nonresident LEA shall make reasonable accommodations to address the needs of incoming transferring students and to provide such students with equal access to a free appropriate public education. These provisions shall not be construed to preclude a nonresident LEA from adding additional staff, services, or programs, or to preclude the nonresident LEA from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure proper placement of a transferring student. AUTHORIZED EXEMPTIONS (Section 167.1225) A student may participate in open enrollment if such student's transfer does not cause the resident LEA to conflict with a provision of an enforceable desegregation court order or a court-approved desegregation plan. An LEA may annually declare an exemption from the program if the LEA is subject to such court order or plan, as provided in the act. Any LEA declaring such exemption shall notify DESE of such before November 1st of the preceding school year. The act sets forth certain exemptions from open enrollment for students who qualify for transfers under current law and for LEAs that receive transfer students under such provisions. If a student transfers from a resident LEA that is a K-8 school district to another school district for any of grades 6-8, the resident LEA shall pay tuition to the nonresident LEA upon the student's promotion to 9th grade as provided in current law. For any student who transfers to a nonresident LEA that is a K-8 school district, the K-8 school district shall not be considered such student's resident LEA for any purpose after the student completes 8th grade or upon the student's transfer out of the K-8 school district before completing 8th grade. ANNUAL REPORTING AND AUDITING (Section 167.1229) DESE shall collect and report data annually from school LEAs on the number of applications and study the effects of transfers under the act. DESE shall consider, as part of its study, the maximum number of transfers and exemptions for both resident and nonresident LEAs for up to two years to determine if a significant racially segregative impact has occurred in any LEA. The report shall be submitted annually before December 1st to the Joint Committee on Education, the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Senate Committee on Education. DESE shall annually make a random selection of 10% of the LEAs participating in the open enrollment program and audit each selected LEA's transfers approved or denied under policies adopted by the school board. If DESE determines that a selected LEA is improperly implementing and administering the transfer process, DESE may withhold any state aid provided to the LEA until the LEA corrects the transfer process improprieties identified by the audit. This act is substantially similar to provisions in SS/SCS/HCS/HB 711 (2025) and HCS#2/SS/SB 266 (2025), and is similar to HB 2604 (2026), SB 1051 (2024), HCS/HB 1989 (2024), SCS/SB 5 (2023), SB 1010 (2022), HB 1814 (2022), and HS/HCS/HB 543 (2021). OLIVIA SHANNON