HCSHB607--SALARIESFORTEACHERS(Lewis)
COMMITTEEOFORIGIN:SpecialCommitteeonIntergovernmental
Affairs
GRADELEVELEQUIVALENCE(Section160.518and160.522)
Thebilldefines"Grade-levelequivalence",ametricdevelopedand
usedbytheDepartmentofElementaryandSecondaryEducation(DESE)
oranonprofit3rdparty,toshowastudent'sproximitytodoing
grade-levelworkforgradesthreetoeight.
Thisbillidentifiesanddescribestheperformancelevel
descriptorsas:advanced,proficient,gradelevel,basic,andbelow
basic,withspecifiedcharacteristics foreachlevel.Theschool
accountability reportcardmustprovideeachstudent'sgrade-level
equivalenceasmeasuredonthestatewideassessment. Datarelating
tothegrade-levelequivalencemustbesearchableonabuilding-by-
building,school-by-school,district-by-district,andstatewide
level.Thedatamustdisplayapercentageofstudentsatgrade
leveloraboveforeachlevel,providedthatnodatawilldisclose
personalidentification ofanystudentexcepttoastudent's
parent.
ADULTHIGHSCHOOLAGEANDTRANSFERSTUDENTS(Sections160.2700,
160.2705,and160.2710)
Thebillchangestheageforenrollmentforadulthighschoolsin
thestatefrom21to18yearsofage.Astudentwhotransfersfrom
alocaleducationagencytoanadulthighschoolwillbeconsidered
atransferstudentandnotadropoutstudentbytheStateforthe
purposesofthecompilingandtrackingdropoutrates.
MISSOURICOURSEACCESSANDVIRTUALSCHOOLPROGRAM(Section161.670
and163.044)
Currently,schooldistrictswithanaveragedailyattendanceof350
orlessstudentsqualifyforadditionalfunding. Thisbillremoves
fromtheaveragedailyattendancecountanynonresidentstudents
enrolledinthevirtualschoolprogramintheschooldistricts.
Thebillspecifiesthatanyvirtualschoolorprogramthatispart
oftheMissouriCourseAccessandVirtualSchoolProgrammay
administeranystatewideassessmentvirtually. Thisbilloutlines
requirementsforvirtualassessments,includingthemonitoringof
studentsviaacameraandthemaintainingastudent-to-proctor
ratiothatistargetedat10tooneorlower. SALARIESFORTEACHERS'MASTERSDEGREES(Sections163.045and
163.172)
Thisbillclarifieslanguagerelatingtoadditionalfundingfor
teachersalariesthatdistrictsreceiveifthedistricthasa
schoolcalendarwith169schooldays.Theclarificationprovided
allowsforinclementweatherorauthorizedreductionstothenumber
ofdaysthedistrictmustbeinsessiontoqualifyforthefunding
(Section163.045RSMo).
Thebillmodifiestheminimumteachersalarytoremovethe
requirementthatateacher'smaster'sdegreemustbeinanacademic
teachingfielddirectlyrelatedtotheteacher'sassignment.
(Section163.172).
SCHOOLTUITIONANDAID(Section167.151)
Beginningwiththe2025-26schoolyear,thisbillexpandswhocan
qualifyforatuitionwaiverandstateaidqualificationandallows
anychildwhoseparentisacontractororregularemployeeofa
nonresidentschooldistricttoattendtheschooldistrictwithout
payingtuitionandtocountasaresidentpupilforthepurposeof
stateaid.
Thebillrequirestheparentofthenondistrictstudenttoprovide
specifiedinformationandthecontractororemployeemusthave
workedaminimumnumberofdays,nottoexceed60,forthestudent
tobeeligible. Theresidentdistrictorthenonresidentdistrict
isnotresponsibleforprovidingtransportation andiftheparent
ofthestudentnolongerworksattheschool,thestudentis
allowedtocompletetheschoolyear.
ZERO-TOLERANCEPOLICIES(Section167.167)
Thisbillrequiresschooldistrictstoprohibitanyzero-tolerance
disciplinarypolicy.Zero-tolerancedisciplinethatresultsinan
automaticdisciplinaryconsequencewithoutreviewingeachpupilin
acase-by-casemannerisprohibited.
TEACHERSOFTOMORROW(Section168.021)
ThebillauthorizestheStateBoardofEducationtoissuea
MissouriteachingcertificateforindividualscertifiedbyTeachers
ofTomorrowwithverificationoftheirabilitytoworkwith
childrenwith60contacthoursintheclassroom.
TEACHEREXTERNSHIPPROGRAM(Section168.025) Thebillrepealsthesunsetprovisionfortheteacherexternship
programthatexpiredAugust28th,2024.
SUBSTITUTETEACHINGRETIREMENTAUTHORIZATION(Section168.036)
Currently,theauthorizationforteachersthatareretiredto
substituteteachwithoutadiscontinuance oftheteacher's
retirementbenefitissettoexpirein2025.
Thisbillextendstheauthorizationuntil2030
THREE-CUEINGSYSTEM(Section170.014)
Thebillprohibitsschooldistrictsfromusingathree-cueing
systemtoteachstudentstoread.A"three-cueingsystem"is
definedasanymodelofteachingstudentstoreadbasedonmeaning,
structureandsyntax,andvisualcues,alsoknownas"MSV".MSV
maybeincludedtoimproveknowledge,addcontext,andincrease
orallanguageandvocabularytosupportcomprehensionaslongas
thestrategiesarenotusedtoteachwordreading.
TEACHERRECRUITMENTANDRETENTIONSCHOLARSHIPS(Section173.232)
ThisbillmodifiesthecurrentTeacherRecruitmentandRetention
StateScholarshipProgramtoallowforscholarshipstocover
educationcostsrelatedtoteacherpreparationinadditionto
tuition. Ifthemaximumamountofscholarshipsorappropriated
fundsarenotdistributedtheDepartmentwilluseanyremaining
moneystoawardadditionalscholarshipsfortuitioncostsand
educationalcostsrelatedtoteacherpreparation. Thestudent
must:beattendingafour-yearcollegeoruniversitylocatedin
Missouri;intheirfinalsemesterofastate-approved
baccalaureate-levelteacherpreparationprogram;andarestudent
teaching.
TheDepartmentwilldeterminetheamountofeachscholarship
awardedbasedonanequaldistributionofremainingmoneysamong
allstudentseligibleunderthissubdivision. Noamountgranted
canexceedtheamountoftuitionchargedtoaMissouriresidentat
theUniversityofMissouri-Columbiaforattendanceforone
semester.
Thebillalsoremovesarequirementthatschooldistrictspay25%
ofthecostforanyscholarshiprecipientthatwashiredbythe
district
SCHOOLCONSTRUCTIONBIDDING(Section177.086) Currently,anyschooldistrictauthorizingtheconstructionof
facilitieswhichmayexceedanexpenditureof$50,000mustpublicly
advertiseforbidsonthecontract.
Thebillexemptsschooldistrictswhichutilizeacooperative
procurementprocess,stateprocurementservices,orother
purchasingprocessesauthorizedbystateorfederallaw.