HCSHB2652--SCHOOLACCREDITATION
SPONSOR: Haffner
COMMITTEEACTION:Voted"DoPasswithHCS"bytheStanding
CommitteeonElementaryandSecondaryEducationbyavoteof11to
3.
ThefollowingisasummaryoftheHouseCommitteeSubstituteforHB
2652.
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
growthaccountfornolessthan40%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).
Districts,publicelementaryorsecondaryschools,andcharter
schoolsthataredeterminedtobeinthebottom5%ofscoresonthe
annualperformancereportmustmailletterstotheparentsor
guardiansofeachstudentwithspecifiedinformationrelatingto
thestudentsoptions,andtheplansoftheschooltoimprove
academicproficiencyandgrowthgoalsinreadingandmathinthe
nextthreeyears(Section162.084).
Thebillexpandslanguagerelatingtothevisitingscholars
certificatetoallowcertificatestobeissuedtoindividuals
employedtofillvacantpositionsinhard-to-staffschoolsthatare
notcharterschoolsorsubjectareas(Section168.021).
Thebillallowsschooldistrictstoincludedifferentiated
placementofteachersonthesalaryscheduletoprovideincreased
compensationtorecruitandretainteachersinhard-to-staff
subjectareasandpublicschoolsthatarenotcharterschools
(Section168.110).
ThisbillissimilartoHCSHB942(2021).
Thefollowingisasummaryofthepublictestimonyfromthe
committeehearing. Thetestimonywasbasedontheintroduced
versionofthebill.
PROPONENTS: Supporterssaythatthisbillwillclarifythe
accreditationprocessinMissouriandholdschooldistricts
accountableforlowperformance. Alargemajorityofschoolsin
thestatehavebelowgradelevelperformanceinmathandEnglish
andthisshouldbeunacceptable. Thecurrentsystemrewards failingschoolsandprovidesover50%ofanaccreditationscoreon
areasthatarenotrelatedtostudentgrowthoracademic
performance. ThisbillwillrequirethatschoolsandDESEtake
studentacademicsintoaccountwhendeterminingaccreditation.
TestifyingforthebillwereRepresentative Haffner;Susan
Pendergrass;StaciLEngland;andDeanJohnson,QualitySchools
Coalition.
OPPONENTS: Thosewhoopposethebillsaythatthisbillseemsto
beawaytohurtpublicschoolsandthattherearenoprovisions
thattakeintoaccountsocioeconomicfactorslikeraciallydiverse
neighborhoods. Charterschooldistrictsdonothavetomeetthe
sameregulationsthatpublicschoolsdosothiswouldunfairly
provideanadvantagetothecharterschoolsandhurtpublic
schools.
TestifyingagainstthebillwereAmberBenge;Dava-LeighBrush;
DawnBanks;DorothyEHatch;EricHadley;SloanSheffieldCowell;
StephanieRittgers;TheresaLoeffler;TomFerri;TracyGrundy;
MissouriAssociationofSchoolAdministrators; MissouriNEA;Arnie
C.ACDienoff;JarrettPillsbury;MelissaJLohrmann;Nichole
Brinkmann;andSusanShumway.
Writtentestimonyhasbeensubmittedforthisbill.Thefull
writtentestimonycanbefoundunderTestimonyonthebillpageon
theHousewebsite.