FIRSTREGULARSESSION
HOUSEBILLNO.1393
103RDGENERALASSEMBLY
INTRODUCEDBYREPRESENTATIVEHURLBERT.
2756H.01I JOSEPHENGLER,ChiefClerk
ANACT
Toamendchapter162,RSMo,byaddingtheretoonenewsectionrelatingtoreleasedtime
courses.
BeitenactedbytheGeneralAssemblyofthestateofMissouri,asfollows:
SectionA.Chapter162,RSMo,isamendedbyaddingtheretoonenewsection,tobe
2knownassection162.059,toreadasfollows:
162.059.1.Thissectionshallbeknownandmaybecitedasthe"Missouri
2ReleasedTimeEducationAct".
3 2.Asusedinthissection,thefollowingtermsmean:
4 (1)"Parent",aparent,legalguardian,orotherpersonhavingcontrol,custody,
5orchargeofchild;
6 (2)"Releasedtimecourse",acourseinreligiousinstructiontaughtbyan
7independentsponsoringentitythatastudentisexcusedfromschooltoattend;
8 (3)"Schooldistrict",thesamedefinitionasinsection160.011.
9 3.Aschooldistrictshalladoptapolicyasprovidedinthissectiontoexcusea
10studentfromschooltoattendareleasedtimecourse.Suchpolicyshallnotinterfere
11withtheabilityofastudent'sparenttorequestoraccessareleasedtimecourseforthe
12student.
13 4.Aschooldistrictshall,upontherequestofastudent'sparent,excuseastudent
14underitsjurisdictionfromschooltoattendareleasedtimecourseforatleastonehour
15perweekbutnotmorethanfivehoursperweekifthefollowingrequirementsaremet:
16 (1)Thestudent'sparentgiveswrittenconsentforthestudenttoattendthe
17releasedtimecourse;
EXPLANATION—Matterenclosedinbold-facedbrackets[thus] intheabovebillisnotenactedandis
intendedtobeomittedfromthelaw.Matterinbold-facetypeintheabovebillisproposedlanguage. 18 (2)Theentitysponsoringthereleasedtimecoursemaintainsattendancerecords
19andmakesthemavailabletotheschooldistrictthestudentattends;
20 (3)Transportationtoandfromtheplaceofinstructionincluding,butnotlimited
21to,transportationforstudentswithdisabilities,isthecompleteresponsibilityofthe
22sponsoringentity,parent,orstudent;
23 (4)Thesponsoringentitymakesprovisionsforandassumesliabilityforthe
24studentwhileunderthecontrolofthesponsoringentity;
25 (5)Noschooldistrictmoneysotherthandeminimisadministrativecostsare
26expendedinprovidingthereleasedtimecourse;
27 (6)Releasedtimecoursesshallnotbeheldonschooldistrictpropertyunless
28permittedunderaneutralpolicyofequalaccessopeningschooldistrictpropertyforuse
29bycommunitygroups;and
30 (7)Thestudentassumesresponsibilityforanymissedschoolwork.
31 5.Notwithstandinganyotherprovisionoflawtothecontrary,anyperiodfor
32whichastudentisexcusedtoattendareleasedtimecourseshallbeconsideredasthe
33studentattendingthepublicschoolfromwhichthestudentisexcusedforthepurposes
34ofcalculatingstateaidforsuchschoolandsatisfyingattendancerequirements.
35 6.Noprovisionofthissectionshallbeconstruedtodenyareleasedtimecourse
36orthesponsoringentityequalaccesstomoneys,benefits,orservicesthattheschool
37districtprovidesormakesavailabletocommunitygroupsorotherindependententities.
38 7.(1)Aschooldistrictshalladoptapolicythatawardsacademiccreditforthe
39completionofareleasedtimecourseandrecognizesthecreditsofanindependently
40accreditedproviderofreleasedtimecourses.
41 (2)Indetermininghowmuchcredittoawardforcompletionofsuchacourse,
42theschooldistrictshallevaluatethecoursebasedonpurelysecularcriteriathatare
43substantiallythesamecriteriausedtoevaluatesimilarcoursesforpurposesof
44determininghowmuchcredittoawardforsuchcourse.Thedecisiontoawardcredit
45forareleasedtimecourseshallbeneutralto,andshallnotinvolveanytestfor,religious
46contentordenominationalaffiliation.
47 (3)Forpurposesofthissection,secularcriteriainclude,butarenotlimitedto,
48thefollowing:
49 (a)Thenumberofhoursofclassroominstructiontime;
50 (b)Areviewofthecoursesyllabusthatreflectscourserequirementsand
51materialsused;
52 (c)Themethodsofassessmentusedinthecourse;and
53 (d)Thequalificationsofthecourseinstructor.
HB1393 2 54 8.Anypersonororganizationaggrievedbyaviolationofthissectionmaybring
55anactionagainsttheschooldistrictresponsiblefortheviolationandseekappropriate
56reliefincluding,butnotlimitedto,injunctiverelief,monetarydamages,reasonable
57attorney'sfees,andcourtcosts.
âś”
HB1393 3