EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 266
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR FITZWATER.
0642S.02P KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 161.670, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
assessment of virtual school students.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 161.670, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 161.6 70, 2
to read as follows:3
161.670. 1. Notwithstanding any other law, prior to 1
July 1, 2007, the state board of education shall establish 2
the "Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program" to 3
serve school-age students residing in the state. The 4
Missouri course access and virtual school program shall 5
offer nonclassroom-based instruction in a virtual setting 6
using technology, intranet, or internet methods of 7
communication. Any student under the age of twenty -one in 8
grades kindergarten thro ugh twelve who resides in this state 9
shall be eligible to enroll in the Missouri course access 10
and virtual school program pursuant to subsection 3 of this 11
section. 12
2. (1) For purposes of calculation and distribution 13
of state school aid, students enrolled in the Missouri 14
course access and virtual school program shall be included 15 SS SB 266 2
in the student enrollment of the school district in which 16
the student is enrolled under the relevant provisions of 17
subsection 3 of this section for such enrollment. Student 18
attendance for full-time virtual program students shall only 19
be included in any district pupil attendance calculation 20
under chapter 163 using current -year pupil attendance for 21
such full-time virtual program pupils. For the purpose of 22
calculating average daily attendance in full -time virtual 23
programs under this section, average daily attendance shall 24
be defined as the quotient or the sum of the quotients 25
obtained by dividing the total number of hours attended in a 26
term by enrolled pupils bet ween the ages of five and twenty - 27
one by the actual number of hours that the program was in 28
session in that term, and the provisions of section 162.1250 29
shall not apply to such funding calculation. Such 30
calculation shall be generated by the virtual pro vider and 31
provided to the host district for submission to the 32
department of elementary and secondary education. Such 33
students may complete their instructional activities, as 34
defined in subsection 4 of this section, during any hour of 35
the day and during any day of the week. The hours attended 36
for each enrolled pupil shall be documented by the pupil's 37
weekly progress in the educational program according to a 38
process determined by the virtual program and published 39
annually in the virtual program's e nrollment handbook or 40
policy. To the average daily attendance of the following 41
school term shall be added the full -time equivalent average 42
daily attendance of summer school students. In the case of 43
a host school district enrolling one or more full -time 44
virtual school students, such enrolling district shall, as 45
part of its monthly state allocation, receive no less under 46
the state aid calculation for such students than an amount 47 SS SB 266 3
equal to the state adequacy target multiplied by the 48
weighted average daily attendance of such full -time 49
students. Students residing in Missouri and enrolled in a 50
full-time virtual school program operated by a public 51
institution of higher education in this state shall be 52
counted for a state aid calculation by the depart ment, and 53
the department shall pay, from funds dedicated to state 54
school aid payments made under section 163.031, to such 55
institution an amount equal to the state adequacy target 56
multiplied by the weighted average daily attendance of such 57
full-time students. 58
(2) The Missouri course access and virtual school 59
program shall report to the district of residence the 60
following information about each student served by the 61
Missouri course access and virtual school program: name, 62
address, eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, 63
limited English proficiency status, special education needs, 64
and the number of courses in which the student is enrolled. 65
The Missouri course access and virtual school program shall 66
promptly notify the resident district when a student 67
discontinues enrollment. A "full-time equivalent student" 68
is a student who is enrolled in the instructional equivalent 69
of six credits per regular term. Each Missouri course 70
access and virtual school program course shall count as one 71
class and shall generate that portion of a full -time 72
equivalent that a comparable course offered by the school 73
district would generate. 74
(3) Pursuant to an education services plan and 75
collaborative agreement under subsection 3 of this section, 76
full-time equivalent students may be allowed to use a 77
physical location of the resident school district for all or 78
some portion of ongoing instructional activity, and the 79 SS SB 266 4
enrollment plan shall provide for reimbursement of costs of 80
the resident district fo r providing such access pursuant to 81
rules promulgated under this section by the department. 82
(4) In no case shall more than the full -time 83
equivalency of a regular term of attendance for a single 84
student be used to claim state aid. Full-time equivalent 85
student credit completed shall be reported to the department 86
of elementary and secondary education in the manner 87
prescribed by the department. Nothing in this section shall 88
prohibit students from enrolling in additional courses under 89
a separate agreement that includes terms for paying tuition 90
or course fees. 91
(5) A full-time virtual school program serving full - 92
time equivalent students shall be considered an attendance 93
center in the host school district and shall participate in 94
the statewide assessment system as defined in section 95
160.518. The academic performance of students enrolled in a 96
full-time virtual school program shall be assigned to the 97
designated attendance center of the full -time virtual school 98
program and shall be conside red in like manner to other 99
attendance centers. The academic performance of any student 100
who disenrolls from a full -time virtual school program and 101
enrolls in a public school or charter school shall not be 102
used in determining the annual performance rep ort score of 103
the attendance center or school district in which the 104
student enrolls for twelve months from the date of 105
enrollment. 106
(6) For the purposes of this section, a public 107
institution of higher education operating a full -time 108
virtual school program shall be subject to all requirements 109
applicable to a host school district with respect to its 110
full-time equivalent students. 111 SS SB 266 5
3. (1) A student who resides in this state may enroll 112
in Missouri course access and virtual school program cours es 113
of his or her choice as a part of the student's annual 114
course load each school year, with any costs associated with 115
such course or courses to be paid by the school district or 116
charter school if: 117
(a) The student is enrolled full -time in a public 118
school, including any charter school; and 119
(b) Prior to enrolling in any Missouri course access 120
and virtual school program course, a student has received 121
approval from his or her school district or charter school 122
through the procedure described under subdivision (2) of 123
this subsection. 124
(2) Each school district or charter school shall adopt 125
a policy that delineates the process by which a student may 126
enroll in courses provided by the Missouri course access and 127
virtual school program that is substantially similar to the 128
typical process by which a district student would enroll in 129
courses offered by the school district and a charter school 130
student would enroll in courses offered by the charter 131
school. The policy may include consultation with the 132
school's counselor and may include parental notification or 133
authorization. The policy shall ensure that available 134
opportunities for in -person instruction are considered prior 135
to moving a student to virtual courses. The policy shall 136
allow for continuous enrollment throughout the school year. 137
If the school district or charter school disapproves a 138
student's request to enroll in a course or courses provided 139
by the Missouri course access and virtual school program, 140
the reason shall be provid ed in writing and it shall be for 141
good cause. Good cause justification to disapprove a 142
student's request for enrollment in a course shall be a 143 SS SB 266 6
determination that doing so is not in the best educational 144
interest of the student, and shall be consistent with the 145
determination that would be made for such course request 146
under the process by which a district student would enroll 147
in a similar course offered by the school district and a 148
charter school student would enroll in a similar course 149
offered by the charter school, except that the determination 150
may consider the suitability of virtual courses for the 151
student based on prior participation in virtual courses by 152
the student. Appeals of any course denials under this 153
subsection shall be considered und er a policy that is 154
substantially similar to the typical process by which 155
appeals would be considered for a student seeking to enroll 156
in courses offered by the school district and a charter 157
school student seeking to enroll in courses offered by the 158
charter school. 159
(3) For students enrolled in any Missouri course 160
access and virtual school program course in which costs 161
associated with such course are to be paid by the school 162
district or charter school as described under this 163
subdivision, the school district or charter school shall pay 164
the content provider directly on a pro rata monthly basis 165
based on a student's completion of assignments and 166
assessments. If a student discontinues enrollment, the 167
district or charter school may stop making mo nthly payments 168
to the content provider. No school district or charter 169
school shall pay, for any one course for a student, more 170
than the market necessary costs but in no case shall pay 171
more than fourteen percent of the state adequacy target, as 172
defined under section 163.011, as calculated at the end of 173
the most recent school year for any single, year -long course 174 SS SB 266 7
and no more than seven percent of the state adequacy target 175
as described above for any single semester equivalent course. 176
(4) (a) A student who lives in this state may enroll 177
in a virtual program of their choice as provided in this 178
subdivision, and the provisions of subdivisions (1) to (3) 179
of this subsection shall not apply to such enrollment in a 180
full-time virtual program. Each host school district 181
operating a full-time virtual program under this section 182
shall adopt, operate and implement an enrollment policy as 183
specified by the provisions of this subdivision. The 184
student, the student's parent or guardian if the student is 185
not considered homeless, the virtual program, the host 186
district, and the resident district shall collaborate in 187
good faith to implement the enrollment policy regarding the 188
student's enrollment, and the resident school district and 189
the host school distri ct may mutually agree that the 190
resident district shall offer or continue to offer services 191
for the student under an agreement that includes financial 192
terms for reimbursement by the host school district for the 193
necessary costs of the resident school dis trict providing 194
such services. An enrollment policy specified under this 195
subsection shall: 196
a. Require a student's parent or guardian, if the 197
student is not considered homeless, to apply for enrollment 198
in a full-time virtual program directly with the virtual 199
program; 200
b. Specify timelines for timely participation by the 201
virtual program, the host district, and resident district; 202
provided that the resident district shall provide any 203
relevant information and input on the enrollment within te n 204
business days of notice from the virtual program of the 205
enrollment application; 206 SS SB 266 8
c. Include a survey of the reasons for the student's 207
and parent's interests in participating in the virtual 208
program; 209
d. Include consideration of available opp ortunities 210
for in-person instruction prior to enrolling a student in a 211
virtual program; 212
e. Evaluate requests for enrollment based on meeting 213
the needs for a student to be successful considering all 214
relevant factors; 215
f. Ensure that, for any enrolling student with a 216
covered disability, an individualized education program and 217
a related services agreement, in cases where such agreement 218
is needed, are created to provide all services required to 219
ensure a free and appropriate public education, including 220
financial terms for reimbursement by the host district for 221
the necessary costs of any virtual program, school district, 222
or public or private entity providing all or a portion of 223
such services; 224
g. Require the virtual program to determine whether an 225
enrolling student will be admitted, based on the enrollment 226
policy, in consideration of all relevant factors and provide 227
the basis for its determination and any service plan for the 228
student, in writing, to the student, the student's parent or 229
guardian, the host district, and the resident district; and 230
h. Provide a process for reviewing appeals of 231
decisions made under this subdivision. 232
(b) The department shall publish an annual report 233
based on the enrollments and enrollment sur veys conducted 234
under this subdivision that provides data at the statewide 235
and district levels of sufficient detail to allow analysis 236
of trends regarding the reasons for participation in the 237
virtual program at the statewide and district levels; 238 SS SB 266 9
provided that no such survey results will be published in a 239
manner that reveals individual student information. The 240
department shall also include, in the annual report, data at 241
the statewide and district levels of sufficient detail to 242
allow detection and ana lysis of the racial, ethnic, and 243
socio-economic balance of virtual program participation 244
among schools and districts at the statewide and district 245
levels, provided that no such survey results will be 246
published in a manner that reveals individual studen t 247
information. 248
(5) In the case of a student who is a candidate for A+ 249
tuition reimbursement and taking a virtual course under this 250
section, the school shall attribute no less than ninety -five 251
percent attendance to any such student who has complet ed 252
such virtual course. 253
(6) The Missouri course access and virtual school 254
program shall ensure that individual learning plans designed 255
by certified teachers and professional staff are developed 256
for all students enrolled in more than two full -time course 257
access program courses or a full -time virtual school. 258
(7) Virtual school programs shall monitor individual 259
student success and engagement of students enrolled in their 260
program and, for students enrolled in virtual courses on a 261
part-time basis, the virtual school program shall provide 262
regular student progress reports for each student at least 263
four times per school year to the school district or charter 264
school, provide the host school district and the resident 265
school district ongoing acc ess to academic and other 266
relevant information on student success and engagement, and 267
shall terminate or alter the course offering if it is found 268
the course is not meeting the educational needs of the 269
students enrolled in the course. 270 SS SB 266 10
(8) The department of elementary and secondary 271
education shall monitor the aggregate performance of 272
providers and make such information available to the public 273
under subsection 11 of this section. 274
(9) Pursuant to rules to be promulgated by the 275
department of elementary and secondary education, when a 276
student transfers into a school district or charter school, 277
credits previously gained through successful passage of 278
approved courses under the Missouri course access and 279
virtual school program shall be accepte d by the school 280
district or charter school. 281
(10) Pursuant to rules to be promulgated by the 282
department of elementary and secondary education, if a 283
student transfers into a school district or charter school 284
while enrolled in a Missouri course acce ss and virtual 285
school program course or full -time virtual school, the 286
student shall continue to be enrolled in such course or 287
school. 288
(11) Nothing in this section shall prohibit home 289
school or FPE school students, private school students, or 290
students wishing to take additional courses beyond their 291
regular course load from enrolling in Missouri course access 292
and virtual school program courses under an agreement that 293
includes terms for paying tuition or course fees. 294
(12) Nothing in this subsection shall require any 295
school district, charter school, virtual program, or the 296
state to provide computers, equipment, or internet access to 297
any student unless required under the education services 298
plan created for an eligible student under subdivi sion (4) 299
of this subsection or for an eligible student with a 300
disability to comply with federal law. An education 301
services plan may require an eligible student to have access 302 SS SB 266 11
to school facilities of the resident school district during 303
regular school hours for participation and instructional 304
activities of a virtual program under this section, and the 305
education services plan shall provide for reimbursement of 306
the resident school district for such access pursuant to 307
rules adopted by the department un der this section. 308
(13) The authorization process shall provide for 309
continuous monitoring of approved providers and courses. 310
The department shall revoke or suspend or take other 311
corrective action regarding the authorization of any course 312
or provider no longer meeting the requirements of the 313
program. Unless immediate action is necessary, prior to 314
revocation or suspension, the department shall notify the 315
provider and give the provider a reasonable time period to 316
take corrective action to avoid revocation or suspension. 317
The process shall provide for periodic renewal of 318
authorization no less frequently than once every three years. 319
(14) Courses approved as of August 28, 2018, by the 320
department to participate in the Missouri virtual 321
instruction program shall be automatically approved to 322
participate in the Missouri course access and virtual school 323
program, but shall be subject to periodic renewal. 324
(15) Any online course or virtual program offered by a 325
school district or charter sch ool, including those offered 326
prior to August 28, 2018, which meets the requirements of 327
section 162.1250 shall be automatically approved to 328
participate in the Missouri course access and virtual school 329
program. Such course or program shall be subject to 330
periodic renewal. A school district or charter school 331
offering such a course or virtual school program shall be 332
deemed an approved provider. 333 SS SB 266 12
(16) A host district may contract with a provider to 334
perform any required services involved with delive ring a 335
full-time virtual education. 336
4. (1) As used in this subsection, the term 337
"instructional activities" means classroom -based or 338
nonclassroom-based activities that a student shall be 339
expected to complete, participate in, or attend during any 340
given school day, such as: 341
(a) Online logins to curricula or programs; 342
(b) Offline activities; 343
(c) Completed assignments within a particular program, 344
curriculum, or class; 345
(d) Testing; 346
(e) Face-to-face communications or meet ings with 347
school staff; 348
(f) Telephone or video conferences with school staff; 349
(g) School-sanctioned field trips; or 350
(h) Orientation. 351
(2) A full-time virtual school shall submit a 352
notification to the parent or guardian of any stude nt who is 353
not consistently engaged in instructional activities and 354
shall provide regular student progress reports for each 355
student at least four times per school year. 356
(3) Each full-time virtual school shall develop, 357
adopt, and post on the school 's website a policy setting 358
forth the consequences for a student who fails to complete 359
the required instructional activities. Such policy shall 360
state, at a minimum, that if a student fails to complete the 361
instructional activities after receiving a not ification 362
under subdivision (2) of this subsection, and after 363
reasonable intervention strategies have been implemented, 364
that the student shall be subject to certain consequences 365 SS SB 266 13
which may include disenrollment from the school. Prior to 366
any disenrollment, the parent or guardian shall have the 367
opportunity to present any information that the parent deems 368
relevant, and such information shall be considered prior to 369
any final decision. 370
(4) If a full-time virtual school disenrolls a student 371
under subdivision (3) of this subsection, the school shall 372
immediately provide written notification to such student's 373
school district of residence. The student's school district 374
of residence shall then provide to the parents or guardian 375
of the student a writ ten list of available educational 376
options and promptly enroll the student in the selected 377
option. Any student disenrolled from a full -time virtual 378
school shall be prohibited from reenrolling in the same 379
virtual school for the remainder of the school y ear. 380
5. School districts or charter schools shall inform 381
parents of their child's right to participate in the 382
program. Availability of the program shall be made clear in 383
the parent handbook, registration documents, and featured on 384
the home page of the school district or charter school's 385
website. 386
6. The department shall: 387
(1) Establish an authorization process for course or 388
full-time virtual school providers that includes multiple 389
opportunities for submission each year; 390
(2) Pursuant to the time line established by the 391
department, authorize course or full -time virtual school 392
providers that: 393
(a) Submit all necessary information pursuant to the 394
requirements of the process; and 395
(b) Meet the criteria described in subdi vision (3) of 396
this subsection; 397 SS SB 266 14
(3) Review, pursuant to the authorization process, 398
proposals from providers to provide a comprehensive, full - 399
time equivalent course of study for students through the 400
Missouri course access and virtual school program . The 401
department shall ensure that these comprehensive courses of 402
study align to state academic standards and that there is 403
consistency and compatibility in the curriculum used by all 404
providers from one grade level to the next grade level; 405
(4) Within thirty days of any denial, provide a 406
written explanation to any course or full -time virtual 407
school providers that are denied authorization; 408
(5) Allow a course or full -time virtual school 409
provider denied authorization to reapply at any point in the 410
future. 411
7. The department shall publish the process 412
established under this section, including any deadlines and 413
any guidelines applicable to the submission and 414
authorization process for course or full -time virtual school 415
providers on its website. 416
8. If the department determines that there are 417
insufficient funds available for evaluating and authorizing 418
course or full-time virtual school providers, the department 419
may charge applicant course or full -time virtual school 420
providers a fee up to, but no greater than, the amount of 421
the costs in order to ensure that evaluation occurs. The 422
department shall establish and publish a fee schedule for 423
purposes of this subsection. 424
9. Except as specified in this section and as may be 425
specified by rule of the state board of education, the 426
Missouri course access and virtual school program shall 427
comply with all state laws and regulations applicable to 428
school districts, including but not limited to the Missouri 429 SS SB 266 15
school improvement program (MSIP), annual performance report 430
(APR), teacher certification, curriculum standards, audit 431
requirements under chapter 165, access to public records 432
under chapter 610, and school accountability report cards 433
under section 160.522. Teachers and administ rators employed 434
by a virtual provider shall be considered to be employed in 435
a public school for all certification purposes under chapter 436
168. 437
10. The department shall submit and publicly publish 438
an annual report on the Missouri course access and virtual 439
school program and the participation of entities to the 440
governor, the chair and ranking member of the senate 441
education committee, and the chair and ranking member of the 442
house of representatives elementary and secondary education 443
committee. The report shall at a minimum include the 444
following information: 445
(1) The annual number of unique students participating 446
in courses authorized under this section and the total 447
number of courses in which students are enrolled in; 448
(2) The number of authorized providers; 449
(3) The number of authorized courses and the number of 450
students enrolled in each course; 451
(4) The number of courses available by subject and 452
grade level; 453
(5) The number of students enrolled in courses broken 454
down by subject and grade level; 455
(6) Student outcome data, including completion rates, 456
student learning gains, student performance on state or 457
nationally accepted assessments, by subject and grade level 458
per provider. This outcome data shall be publ ished in a 459
manner that protects student privacy; 460
(7) The costs per course; 461 SS SB 266 16
(8) Evaluation of in-school course availability 462
compared to course access availability to ensure gaps in 463
course access are being addressed statewide. 464
11. (1) The department shall be responsible for 465
creating the Missouri course access and virtual school 466
program catalog providing a listing of all courses 467
authorized and available to students in the state, detailed 468
information, including costs per course, about the courses 469
to inform student enrollment decisions, and the ability for 470
students to submit their course enrollments. 471
(2) On or before January 1, 2023, the department shall 472
publish on its website, and distribute to all school 473
districts and charter schools in this state, a guidance 474
document that details the options for virtual course access 475
and full-time virtual course access for all students in the 476
state. The guidance document shall include a complete and 477
readily understood description of the applicable enrollment 478
processes including the opportunity for students to enroll 479
and the roles and responsibilities of the student, parent, 480
virtual provider, school district or districts, and charter 481
schools, as appropriate. The guidance document shal l be 482
distributed in written and electronic form to all school 483
districts, charter schools, and virtual providers. School 484
districts and charter schools shall provide a copy of the 485
guidance document to every pupil and parent or legal 486
guardian of every pupil enrolled in the district or charter 487
school at the beginning of each school year and upon 488
enrollment for every pupil enrolling at a different time of 489
the school year. School districts and charter schools shall 490
provide a readily viewable link to th e electronic version of 491
the guidance document on the main page of the district's or 492
charter school's website. 493 SS SB 266 17
12. Any virtual school or program may administer any 494
statewide assessment required pursuant to the provisions of 495
section 160.518, except for college readiness or workforce 496
readiness assessments provided by a national college and 497
career readiness assessment provider, in a virtual setting 498
that aligns with the student's regular academic 499
instruction. Any administration of a virtual statew ide 500
assessment shall meet the following conditions: 501
(1) The assessment shall be administered to the 502
student at an assigned date and time; 503
(2) The assessment shall be administered during a 504
synchronous assessment session initiated and managed by an 505
employee of the virtual school; 506
(3) The student shall be monitored by an assessment 507
proctor via a camera for the duration of the assessment. If 508
the assessment platform does not allow for integrated camera 509
proctoring, the student shall use two devices during the 510
assessment. The first device shall be used to take the 511
assessment and the second device shall have a functioning 512
camera and be used to monitor the student during the 513
assessment. However, if the assessment platform allows for 514
the proctor to view the student and background, then a 515
second device shall not be required; 516
(4) The virtual school or program shall make every 517
reasonable effort to maintain a student assessment taker to 518
assessment proctor ratio of ten to one or low er; 519
(5) The student shall not exit the assessment platform 520
until instructed to do so by the assigned assessment 521
proctor; and 522
(6) The student's submission of the completed 523
assessment shall be verified by the assessment administrator. 524 SS SB 266 18
13. The state board of education through the 525
rulemaking process and the department of elementary and 526
secondary education in its policies and procedures shall 527
ensure that multiple content providers and learning 528
management systems are allowed, ensure digit al content 529
conforms to accessibility requirements, provide an easily 530
accessible link for providers to submit courses or full -time 531
virtual schools on the Missouri course access and virtual 532
school program website, and allow any person, organization, 533
or entity to submit courses or full -time virtual schools for 534
approval. No content provider shall be allowed that is 535
unwilling to accept payments in the amount and manner as 536
described under subdivision (3) of subsection 3 of this 537
section or does not meet performance or quality standards 538
adopted by the state board of education. 539
[13.] 14. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term 540
is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the 541
authority delegated in this section shall become effective 542
only if it complies with and is subject to all of the 543
provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 544
536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and 545
if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 546
pursuant to chapter 536 to revie w, to delay the effective 547
date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently 548
held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking 549
authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 550
2006, shall be invalid and void. 551