| 1 | 1 | | |
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| 2 | 2 | | FIRST REGULAR SESSION |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE BILL NO. 177 |
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| 4 | 4 | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 5 | 5 | | INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NURRENBERN. |
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| 6 | 6 | | 0421S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | To amend chapter 160, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to charter schools. |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Section A. Chapter 160, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1 |
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| 12 | 12 | | one new section, to be known as section 160.426, to read as 2 |
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| 13 | 13 | | follows:3 |
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| 14 | 14 | | 160.426. 1. Beginning August 28, 2025, no charter 1 |
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| 15 | 15 | | school shall be eligible to operate in this state without 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | the state board of education's issuance of a certificate of 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | need for such charter school as provided in this section. 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | 2. A certificate of need shall be required only for 5 |
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| 19 | 19 | | proposed charter schools that are not established as of 6 |
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| 20 | 20 | | August 28, 2025, and shall not be required for: 7 |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) The renewal of a charter contract pursuan t to the 8 |
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| 22 | 22 | | provisions of section 160.405; or 9 |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) The transfer of sponsorship of a charter school in 10 |
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| 24 | 24 | | accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of 11 |
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| 25 | 25 | | education. 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 3. This section shall not be construed to exempt a 13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | charter school from the requirements of section 160.405 or 14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | any other applicable state or federal law or regulation. 15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | 4. The charter school certificate of need application 16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | shall consist of a written certification, including 17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | supporting documentation, submitted by the gover ning board 18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | of the school district or the governing body of the city or 19 SB 177 2 |
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| 33 | 33 | | county in which the proposed charter school would be 20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | located, affirming that the following conditions apply to 21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | the school district in which the proposed charter school 22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | would be operated: 23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) Consumer demand for alternative educational 24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | options exceeds supply; 25 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) The school district's attendance area contains 26 |
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| 40 | 40 | | sufficient economies of scale to ensure both an adequate 27 |
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| 41 | 41 | | supply of high quality teachers and a sufficient numbe r of 28 |
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| 42 | 42 | | potential students in order for the proposed charter school 29 |
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| 43 | 43 | | to succeed without detrimentally impacting the school 30 |
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| 44 | 44 | | district's ability to provide a free public education for 31 |
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| 45 | 45 | | students who enroll in the school district. For purposes of 32 |
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| 46 | 46 | | this subdivision, "economies of scale" shall mean the 33 |
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| 47 | 47 | | capacity to reduce costs and increase efficiency as student 34 |
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| 48 | 48 | | enrollment numbers change; and 35 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (3) The proposed charter school is likely to: 36 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (a) Alleviate economic and racial inequities across 37 |
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| 51 | 51 | | the school district's attendance centers; 38 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (b) Improve students' academic achievement and test 39 |
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| 53 | 53 | | scores; 40 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (c) Reduce student-teacher ratios across the school 41 |
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| 55 | 55 | | district; 42 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (d) Result in a more efficient education service 43 |
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| 57 | 57 | | delivery system without superflu ous duplication of services; 44 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (e) Limit the number of schooling disruptions faced by 45 |
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| 59 | 59 | | children and families; and 46 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (f) Address family priorities that are not strictly 47 |
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| 61 | 61 | | educational in nature, including, but not limited to, 48 |
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| 62 | 62 | | safety, convenience, tra nsportation time, neighborhood 49 |
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| 63 | 63 | | walkability, and school culture. 50 SB 177 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | 5. The state board of education shall review each 51 |
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| 65 | 65 | | charter school certificate of need application and either 52 |
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| 66 | 66 | | approve or disapprove each application within one hundred 53 |
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| 67 | 67 | | twenty calendar days of receipt. If the board determines 54 |
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| 68 | 68 | | that the information provided in the application is factual 55 |
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| 69 | 69 | | and based on sound data and reasoning, the board shall 56 |
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| 70 | 70 | | consider the conditions of this subsection to be satisfied, 57 |
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| 71 | 71 | | and the board shall approve such ap plication. If the board 58 |
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| 72 | 72 | | determines that the information provided in the application 59 |
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| 73 | 73 | | is not factual and based on sound data and reasoning, the 60 |
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| 74 | 74 | | board shall disapprove the application and provide to the 61 |
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| 75 | 75 | | applicant written documentation of the reasons why the 62 |
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| 76 | 76 | | application was not approved. 63 |
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| 77 | 77 | | |
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