HCS SCS SB 1225 & 1226 -- ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

SPONSOR:  Mayer (Muschany)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Student Achievement by a vote of 5 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding elementary and
secondary education.  In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Removes an exception for expedited hearings making a
five-day notice applicable to all special education due process
hearings and clarifies that the designee of the responsible
public agency must sign any placement agreement reached at a
resolution session or preliminary meeting and that the agency,
usually the local school district, must identify a designee who
has the authority to bind the agency;

(2)  Revises the procedure for filling vacancies on a school
board to require a special election, rather than the selection of
a replacement by the school board or county commission;

(3)  Requires school districts to publish detailed financial
information on the total compensation package of their
superintendents and assistant superintendents;

(4)  Requires the educational needs of a child under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile or family court to be considered by
the child's family support team and to assume that a full
six-hour school day is warranted.  The substitute contains
provisions regarding referrals for special education services and
covers three different scenarios for the education of children in
licensed residential care facilities.  Children who do not have
an individualized education program whose plan of treatment
supports attendance at a public school will be provided a full
day of school through the residential treatment facility if they
are suspended from school or otherwise demonstrate educational
failure.  School districts and treatment facilities that expect
the local schools to provide education to their clients are
required to work together to develop a general plan to provide
services under a variety of circumstances and to verify their
support of the plan annually;

(5)  Specifies the circumstances under which differential pay for
teachers may be permitted; and

(6)  Establishes the Teacher Bill of Rights Act which requires
teacher associations to get written consent for payroll deduction
for political purposes.  The substitute specifies the consent
form, the records that must be kept, and restrictions on dues or
fees.  Copies of the records are not subject to the Open Meetings
and Records Law, commonly known as the Sunshine Law, and a
teacher's rights may not be waived.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2009, FY 2010, and
FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the federal regulations on due
process for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act have
been revised, so the state laws must also be revised to
correspond to the changes.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Muschany; and
Missouri National Education Association.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:13 pm