HB2652--SCHOOLACCREDITATION
SPONSOR: Haffner
Thisbillmodifiesthepublicschoolaccreditationandstatewide
assessmentsystem.Thebillallowsforthestatewideassessment
systemtotrackstudentperformancefromdifferentschoolsifa
studenthastransferredfromoneschooltoanother. Thebill
defines"attendancecenter"asanindividualpublicelementaryor
secondaryschool,anddirectstheStateBoardofEducation(SBE),
tocollectanddisseminateinformationontheattendancecenter
levelratherthanthecurrentoveralldistrictlevel.Thebill
addsraceandethnicitytotheannualreportingrequirements
currentlyestablished,andrequiresthatthereportinclude
improvementsuggestionstoberesearch-basedwithcitations.
ThebillexpandsontheSBEclassification andaccreditationrule
makingauthoritybyprovidingnewcategoriesofclassification with
specificmethodologyformakingaccreditationdeterminations.
Districtswith51%ormoreofthedistrict'sattendancecentersin
thebottom5%ofscoresontheannualperformancereportwillbe
classifiedasunaccreditedorprovisionallyaccreditedandonly
districtsinthetop10%willbeclassifiedasaccreditedwith
distinction.
ThisbillexpandsontheSBE'srulemakingauthorityforacademic
achievementandacademicperformancesbyrequiringthatacademic
growthaccountfornolessthan50%ofthetotalaccreditation
score,andprovidingfurtherinstructionforthecalculationof
performance. ThebillprovidestheSBEguidanceonnewrulemaking
authorityforlocaleducationagencies(LEA)thathaveattendance
centersthatbecomeunaccreditedandprovisionallyaccredited.
LEAsmustdevelopandsubmitaresearch-basedimprovementplan
developedinpartnershipwithindependentschoolimprovement
experts,parentsandteachers. Theplanmustbesubmittedtothe
schooldistrictorgoverningboardwithin120daysofreceivingthe
designationandmustincludethree-yeargoalsformathandreading
proficiencyasoutlinedinthebill.LEAsareencouragedto
developinnovationzonesandpartnerwithnonprofitorganizations
withexpertiseinschoolredesignandimprovement. Anyattendance
center,schooldistrict,orcharterschoolthatisclassifiedas
provisionallyaccreditedorunaccreditedshallinformallparents
ofstudentsoftheclassification, alongwithdetailsonstudent
optionsandfutureschoolimprovementplans.
Anyattendancecenterthatisacharterschoolandunaccreditedfor
fourconsecutiveyearsshallbereconstitutedinpartnershipwith
anaccreditedcharterorganizationorbeclosedandanyLEAshall
providestudentsattendinganyattendancecenterthathasbeen provisionallyaccreditedforfourconsecutiveyearstheoptionto
transfertoahigherperformingattendancecenterwithinthe
district.
TheDepartmentofElementaryandSecondaryEducation(DESE)shall
recognizeandpublishattendancecentersthatareaccreditedwith
distinctionanddemonstratesignificantacademicgrowth,andwill
displayonthedepartment'swebsitetheannualperformancereport
rating,therankingpercentageforeachschooldistrictand
attendancecenter,alongwiththeaccreditationstatus(Section
161.092RSMo).
Districtsandcharterschoolsthataredeterminedtobeinthe
bottom5%ofscoresontheannualperformancereportmustmail
letterstotheparentsorguardiansofeachstudentwithspecified
informationrelatingtothestudentsoptions,andtheplansofthe
schooltoimproveacademicproficiencyandgrowthgoalsinreading
andmathinthenextthreeyears(Section162.084).
Thebillexpandslanguagerelatingtothevisitingscholars
certificatetoallowcertificatestobeissuedtoindividuals
employedtofillvacantpositionsinhard-to-staffschoolsor
subjectareas(Section168.021).
Thebillallowsschooldistrictstoincludedifferentiated
placementofteachersonthesalaryscheduletoprovideincreased
compensationtorecruitandretainteachersinhard-to-staff
subjectareasandschools(Section168.110).
ThisbillissimilartoHCSHB942(2021).