CCS HCS HB 1711 -- ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

SCHOOL FUNDING

This bill adds a definition of "district equalized assessed
valuation" to the definitions that are used in interpreting the
state school funding formula.  The definition averages a
district's assessed valuation from the first and second preceding
years.

The bill also revises the definition of "guaranteed tax base" to
encompass the average of the third and fourth preceding years,
instead of basing the amount on only the third preceding year, as
in current law.

A procedure is established to permit a school district that has a
delinquent single taxpayer who forms 10% or more of the
district's tax base to apply to the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education to deduct the taxpayer's assessed valuation
from its formula calculation and pay back any increased state aid
as delinquent taxes are received over a period of five years.

School districts may use the proceeds from refunding general
obligation bonds to pay the costs of issuance of the bonds.

Lee's Summit may not, without specific statutory authority, enact
any surcharge for the benefit of the school district.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is required
to identify high-achieving schools as performance schools and
specify the waivers of rule applicable to those schools.  Schools
or districts that are academically deficient, unaccredited or
provisionally accredited, or that achieve none of the student
performance standards established for accreditation:

(1)  Will be identified as priority schools;

(2)  Must submit an accountability compliance statement that
identifies areas of deficiency and provides a strategy to address
the deficiencies; and

(3)  Must disclose the deficiencies on the school report card.

A schedule for submission of the accountability compliance
statements is set out in the bill, and the department may
withhold state aid from districts that do not meet the standards
and timelines for the statements established by the bill.

The strategy for improvement of priority schools must, among
other requirements, align curricula to address deficiencies;
develop individual student plans for any student not receiving
special education services who scores at the lowest level of
proficiency on the statewide assessments and require these
students in grades 9 to 11 to retake the assessment; focus
professional development funds on the areas of greatest academic
need; improve teacher and administrator effectiveness; and
reallocate resources.  The student plan spells out the
responsibilities of the student, teacher, administrator, and
parent or other adult who takes educational responsibility and
requires the parent to make a good faith effort to meet with the
teacher.

Plans to improve teacher and administrator effectiveness must
exempt individuals who meet any of several requirements,
including national board certification, mentors in approved
programs, and those who achieve qualifying scores in professional
assessments.  Nonexempt individuals must complete a mentoring
program, a training program for assessment scorers, or work
toward national board certification.  Resource reallocation
programs must include one of a number of specified elements, such
as extended learning time, smaller learning communities, or home
visits by teachers.  Enforcement of the portion of the bill
relating to priority schools and school districts depends upon
achieving a specified level of funding of the school aid formula.

FAMILY LITERACY

Family literacy is defined, districts are permitted to create
family literacy programs and to use line 14 at-risk funding to
support them, and family literacy is made an area of critical
need.  Beginning in Fiscal Year 2005, 1.5% of line 14 funding
will be used to fund family literacy programs in unaccredited and
provisionally accredited school districts and academically
deficient schools.

TEACHERS

Out-of-state certified teachers with five years of experience and
an appropriate background check may receive provisional
certification, which will become permanent after five years of
teaching in Missouri.  The department must promulgate rules that
allow teaching assistants with appropriate experience who are
pursuing certification to bypass their practice teaching.

PHONICS

Districts are required to have reading programs for kindergarten
through grade three that are based on scientific research.  The
programs must contain five elements, one of which is phonics.
Explicit systematic phonics, as defined in the bill, is permitted
as part of the program.

ASSESSMENTS

For students who receive special education services, the State
Board of Education must, through a teacher panel, determine if
appropriate alternate assessments exist or, if not, create such
an assessment.  When it is determined by the student's
individualized education plan team that the alternative
assessment is more appropriate for the student, the student will
take the alternative assessment, which will address independent
living skills, detailed in the bill.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:02 am