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
SENATE BILL NO. 398
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BROWN (26).
1375S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 160.400 and 160.425, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections
relating to charter schools.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 160.400 and 160.425, RSMo, are 1
repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be 2
known as sections 160.400, 160.422, and 160.425, to read as 3
follows:4
160.400. 1. A charter school is an independent public 1
school. 2
2. [Except as further provided in subsection 4 of this 3
section,] Charter schools may be operated only: 4
(1) In a metropolitan school district; 5
(2) In an urban school district containing most or all 6
of a city with a population greater than three hundred fifty 7
thousand inhabitants; 8
(3) In a school district that has been classified as 9
unaccredited by the state board of education; 10
(4) In a school district that has been classified as 11
provisionally accredited by the state board of education and 12
has received scores on its annual performance report 13
consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited 14
or unaccredited for three consecut ive school years beginning 15
with the 2012-13 accreditation year under the following 16
conditions: 17 SB 398 2
(a) The eligibility for charter schools of any school 18
district whose provisional accreditation is based in whole 19
or in part on financial stress as defi ned in sections 20
161.520 to 161.529, or on financial hardship as defined by 21
rule of the state board of education, shall be decided by a 22
vote of the state board of education during the third 23
consecutive school year after the designation of provisional 24
accreditation; and 25
(b) The sponsor is limited to the local school board 26
or a sponsor who has met the standards of accountability and 27
performance as determined by the department based on 28
sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 and properly 29
promulgated rules of the department; 30
(5) In a school district located within a county with 31
more than one hundred fifty thousand but fewer than two 32
hundred thousand inhabitants, provided that the provisions 33
of subsections 15 to 18 of section 160.41 5 shall not apply 34
to any charter school operated in such county; [or] 35
(6) In a school district located within a county with 36
a charter form of government; 37
(7) In any municipality with a population greater than 38
thirty thousand; or 39
(8) In a school district that has been accredited 40
without provisions, sponsored only by the local school 41
board; provided that no board with a current year enrollment 42
of one thousand five hundred fifty students or greater shall 43
permit more than thirty -five percent of its student 44
enrollment to enroll in charter schools sponsored by the 45
local board under the authority of this subdivision, except 46
that this restriction shall not apply to any school district 47
that subsequently becomes eligible under subdivision (3) or 48
(4) of this subsection or to any district accredited without 49 SB 398 3
provisions that sponsors charter schools prior to having a 50
current year student enrollment of one thousand five hundred 51
fifty students or greater. 52
3. [Except as further provided in subsection 4 of this 53
section,] The following entities are eligible to sponsor 54
charter schools: 55
(1) The school board of the district in any district 56
which is sponsoring a charter school as of August 27, 2012, 57
as permitted under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection 2 of 58
this section, the special administrative board of a 59
metropolitan school district during any time in which powers 60
granted to the district's board of education are vested in a 61
special administrative board, or if the state board of 62
education appoints a special administrative board to retain 63
the authority granted to the board of education of an urban 64
school district containing most or all of a city with a 65
population greater than three hundred fifty thousand 66
inhabitants, the special administrative board of such school 67
district; 68
(2) A public four-year college or university with an 69
approved teacher education program that meets regional or 70
national standards of accreditation; 71
(3) A community college, the service area of which 72
encompasses some portion of the district; 73
(4) Any private four-year college or university with 74
an enrollment of at least one thousand students, with its 75
primary campus in Missouri, and with an approved teacher 76
preparation program; 77
(5) Any two-year private vocational or technical 78
school designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization 79
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and 80 SB 398 4
accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with its 81
primary campus in Missouri; 82
(6) The Missouri charter public school commission 83
created in section 160.425. 84
4. [Changes in a school district's accreditation 85
status that affect charter schools shall be addressed as 86
follows, except for the districts described in subdivisions 87
(1) and (2) of subsection 2 of this section: 88
(1) As a district transitions from unaccredited to 89
provisionally accredited, the district shall continue to 90
fall under the requirements for an unaccredited district 91
until it achieves three consecutive ful l school years of 92
provisional accreditation; 93
(2) As a district transitions from provisionally 94
accredited to full accreditation, the district shall 95
continue to fall under the requirements for a provisionally 96
accredited district until it achieves t hree consecutive full 97
school years of full accreditation; 98
(3) In any school district classified as unaccredited 99
or provisionally accredited where a charter school is 100
operating and is sponsored by an entity other than the local 101
school board, when the school district becomes classified as 102
accredited without provisions, a charter school may continue 103
to be sponsored by the entity sponsoring it prior to the 104
classification of accredited without provisions and shall 105
not be limited to the local school board as a sponsor. 106
A charter school operating in a school district identified 107
in subdivision (1), (2), or (5) of subsection 2 of this 108
section may be sponsored by any of the entities identified 109
in subsection 3 of this section, irrespective of the 110
accreditation classification of the district in which it is 111 SB 398 5
located. A charter school in a district described in this 112
subsection whose charter provides for the addition of grade 113
levels in subsequent years may continue to add levels until 114
the planned expansion is complete to the extent of grade 115
levels in comparable schools of the district in which the 116
charter school is operated. 117
5. The mayor of a city not within a county may request 118
a sponsor under subdivision (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of 119
subsection 3 of this section to consider sponsoring a 120
"workplace charter school", which is defined for purposes of 121
sections 160.400 to 160.425 as a charter school with the 122
ability to target prospective students whose parent or 123
parents are employed in a busine ss district, as defined in 124
the charter, which is located in the city. 125
6.] No sponsor shall receive from an applicant for a 126
charter school any fee of any type for the consideration of 127
a charter, nor may a sponsor condition its consideration of 128
a charter on the promise of future payment of any kind. 129
[7.] 5. The charter school shall be organized as a 130
Missouri nonprofit corporation incorporated pursuant to 131
chapter 355. The charter provided for herein shall 132
constitute a contract between the s ponsor and the charter 133
school. 134
[8.] 6. As a nonprofit corporation incorporated 135
pursuant to chapter 355, the charter school shall select the 136
method for election of officers pursuant to section 355.326 137
based on the class of corporation selected. Meetings of the 138
governing board of the charter school shall be subject to 139
the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.030. 140
[9.] 7. A sponsor of a charter school, its agents and 141
employees are not liable for any acts or omissions of a 142
charter school that it sponsors, including acts or omissions 143 SB 398 6
relating to the charter submitted by the charter school, the 144
operation of the charter school and the performance of the 145
charter school. 146
[10.] 8. A charter school may affiliate with a four - 147
year college or university, including a private college or 148
university, or a community college as otherwise specified in 149
subsection 3 of this section when its charter is granted by 150
a sponsor other than such college, university or community 151
college. Affiliation status recognizes a relationship 152
between the charter school and the college or university for 153
purposes of teacher training and staff development, 154
curriculum and assessment development, use of physical 155
facilities owned by or rented on behalf of the college or 156
university, and other similar purposes. A university, 157
college or community college may not charge or accept a fee 158
for affiliation status. 159
[11.] 9. The expenses associated with sponsorship of 160
charter schools shall be defrayed by the department of 161
elementary and secondary education retaining one and five - 162
tenths percent of the amount of state and local funding 163
allocated to the charter school under section 160.415, not 164
to exceed one hundred twenty -five thousand dollars, adjusted 165
for inflation. The department of elementary and secondary 166
education shall remit the retained funds for each charter 167
school to the school's sponsor, provided the sponsor remains 168
in good standing by fulfilling its sponsorship obligations 169
under sections 160.400 to 16 0.425 and 167.349 with regard to 170
each charter school it sponsors, including appropriate 171
demonstration of the following: 172
(1) Expends no less than ninety percent of its charter 173
school sponsorship funds in support of its charter school 174 SB 398 7
sponsorship program, or as a direct investment in the 175
sponsored schools; 176
(2) Maintains a comprehensive application process that 177
follows fair procedures and rigorous criteria and grants 178
charters only to those developers who demonstrate strong 179
capacity for establishing and operating a quality charter 180
school; 181
(3) Negotiates contracts with charter schools that 182
clearly articulate the rights and responsibilities of each 183
party regarding school autonomy, expected outcomes, measures 184
for evaluating success or failure, performance consequences 185
based on the annual performance report, and other material 186
terms; 187
(4) Conducts contract oversight that evaluates 188
performance, monitors compliance, informs intervention and 189
renewal decisions, and ensures autonomy provided under 190
applicable law; and 191
(5) Designs and implements a transparent and rigorous 192
process that uses comprehensive data to make merit -based 193
renewal decisions. 194
[12.] 10. Sponsors receiving funds under subsection 195
[11] 9 of this section shall be required to submit annual 196
reports to the joint committee on education demonstrating 197
they are in compliance with subsection [17] 15 of this 198
section. 199
[13.] 11. No university, college or community college 200
shall grant a charter to a nonprofi t corporation if an 201
employee of the university, college or community college is 202
a member of the corporation's board of directors. 203
[14.] 12. No sponsor shall grant a charter under 204
sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 without ensuring 205
that a criminal background check and family care safety 206 SB 398 8
registry check are conducted for all members of the 207
governing board of the charter schools or the incorporators 208
of the charter school if initial directors are not named in 209
the articles of incorporation, nor shall a sponsor renew a 210
charter without ensuring a criminal background check and 211
family care safety registry check are conducted for each 212
member of the governing board of the charter school. 213
[15.] 13. No member of the governing board of a 214
charter school shall hold any office or employment from the 215
board or the charter school while serving as a member, nor 216
shall the member have any substantial interest, as defined 217
in section 105.450, in any entity employed by or contracting 218
with the board. No board member shall be an employee of a 219
company that provides substantial services to the charter 220
school. All members of the governing board of the charter 221
school shall be considered decision -making public servants 222
as defined in section 105.450 for th e purposes of the 223
financial disclosure requirements contained in sections 224
105.483, 105.485, 105.487, and 105.489. 225
[16.] 14. A sponsor shall develop the policies and 226
procedures for: 227
(1) The review of a charter school proposal including 228
an application that provides sufficient information for 229
rigorous evaluation of the proposed charter and provides 230
clear documentation that the education program and academic 231
program are aligned with the state standards and grade -level 232
expectations, and provi des clear documentation of effective 233
governance and management structures, and a sustainable 234
operational plan; 235
(2) The granting of a charter; 236
(3) The performance contract that the sponsor will use 237
to evaluate the performance of charter schoo ls. Charter 238 SB 398 9
schools shall meet current state academic performance 239
standards as well as other standards agreed upon by the 240
sponsor and the charter school in the performance contract; 241
(4) The sponsor's intervention, renewal, and 242
revocation policies, including the conditions under which 243
the charter sponsor may intervene in the operation of the 244
charter school, along with actions and consequences that may 245
ensue, and the conditions for renewal of the charter at the 246
end of the term, consistent with subsections 8 and 9 of 247
section 160.405; 248
(5) Additional criteria that the sponsor will use for 249
ongoing oversight of the charter; and 250
(6) Procedures to be implemented if a charter school 251
should close, consistent with the provisions of subdivis ion 252
(15) of subsection 1 of section 160.405. 253
The department shall provide guidance to sponsors in 254
developing such policies and procedures. 255
[17.] 15. (1) A sponsor shall provide timely 256
submission to the state board of education of all data 257
necessary to demonstrate that the sponsor is in material 258
compliance with all requirements of sections 160.400 to 259
160.425 and section 167.349. The state board of education 260
shall ensure each sponsor is in compliance with all 261
requirements under sections 160.40 0 to 160.425 and 167.349 262
for each charter school sponsored by any sponsor. The state 263
board shall notify each sponsor of the standards for 264
sponsorship of charter schools, delineating both what is 265
mandated by statute and what best practices dictate. The 266
state board shall evaluate sponsors to determine compliance 267
with these standards every three years. The evaluation 268
shall include a sponsor's policies and procedures in the 269 SB 398 10
areas of charter application approval; required charter 270
agreement terms and content; sponsor performance evaluation 271
and compliance monitoring; and charter renewal, 272
intervention, and revocation decisions. Nothing shall 273
preclude the department from undertaking an evaluation at 274
any time for cause. 275
(2) If the department det ermines that a sponsor is in 276
material noncompliance with its sponsorship duties, the 277
sponsor shall be notified and given reasonable time for 278
remediation. If remediation does not address the compliance 279
issues identified by the department, the commissio ner of 280
education shall conduct a public hearing and thereafter 281
provide notice to the charter sponsor of corrective action 282
that will be recommended to the state board of education. 283
Corrective action by the department may include withholding 284
the sponsor's funding and suspending the sponsor's authority 285
to sponsor a school that it currently sponsors or to sponsor 286
any additional school until the sponsor is reauthorized by 287
the state board of education under section 160.403. 288
(3) The charter sponsor may, within thirty days of 289
receipt of the notice of the commissioner's recommendation, 290
provide a written statement and other documentation to show 291
cause as to why that action should not be taken. Final 292
determination of corrective action shall be deter mined by 293
the state board of education based upon a review of the 294
documentation submitted to the department and the charter 295
sponsor. 296
(4) If the state board removes the authority to 297
sponsor a currently operating charter school under any 298
provision of law, the Missouri charter public school 299
commission shall become the sponsor of the school. 300 SB 398 11
[18.] 16. If a sponsor notifies a charter school of 301
closure under subsection 8 of section 160.405, the 302
department of elementary and secondary education s hall 303
exercise its financial withholding authority under 304
subsection 12 of section 160.415 to assure all obligations 305
of the charter school shall be met. The state, charter 306
sponsor, or resident district shall not be liable for any 307
outstanding liability or obligations of the charter school. 308
160.422. 1. Any city not within a county shall not 1
adopt, enforce, impose, or administer an ordinance, local 2
policy, or local resolution that prohibits property sold, 3
leased, or transferred by t he city not within a county from 4
being used for any lawful educational purpose by a charter 5
school. 6
2. Any city not within a county shall not impose, 7
enforce, or apply any deed restriction that expressly, or by 8
its operation, prohibits property s old, leased, or 9
transferred by the city not within a county from being used 10
for any lawful educational purpose by a charter school. Any 11
deed restriction or affirmative use deed restriction that 12
affirmatively allows for only one or more specified uses or 13
purposes that do not include any educational use or purpose 14
is prohibited under this section. Any deed restriction or 15
affirmative use deed restriction in effect on the effective 16
date of this section that prohibits or does not permit 17
property previously used for any educational purpose from 18
being used for any future educational purpose is void. 19
3. If any city not within a county offers property of 20
the city not within a county for sale, lease, or rent, the 21
city not within a county shall not refuse to sell, lease, or 22
rent the property to a charter school solely because the 23
charter school intends to use the property for an 24 SB 398 12
educational purpose, if the intent of the charter school is 25
to use the property for a lawful educational purpose. If 26
the city not within a county offers property of the city not 27
within a county for sale, lease, or rent, the city not 28
within a county is not required to sell, lease, or rent the 29
property to a charter school solely because the charter 30
school intends to us e the property for an educational 31
purpose. 32
4. Any ordinance, policy, regulation, deed, or 33
contract made in violation of this section shall be void 34
from its inception. 35
160.425. 1. The "Missouri Charter Public School 1
Commission" is hereby created with the authority to sponsor 2
high quality charter schools throughout the state of 3
Missouri. 4
2. The commission shall consist of nine members 5
appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and 6
consent of the senate. No more than five of the members 7
shall be of the same political party. No more than two 8
members shall be from the same congressional district. The 9
term of office of each member shall be four years, except 10
those of the members first appointed, of which three shall 11
be appointed for a term of one year, two for a term of two 12
years, two for a term of three years, and two for a term of 13
four years. At the expiration of the term of each member, 14
the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the 15
senate, shall appoint a successor. 16
3. The appointees to the commission shall be selected 17
as follows: 18
(1) One member selected by the governor from a slate 19
of three recommended by the commissioner of education; 20 SB 398 13
(2) One member selected by the govern or from a slate 21
of three recommended by the commissioner of higher education; 22
(3) One member selected by the governor from a slate 23
of three recommended by the president pro tempore of the 24
senate; 25
(4) One member selected by the governor from a slate 26
of three recommended by the speaker of the house of 27
representatives; and 28
(5) Five additional members appointed by the governor, 29
one of whom shall be selected from a slate of three nominees 30
recommended by the Missouri School Boards Associa tion. 31
4. Members appointed to the commission shall 32
collectively possess strong experience and expertise in 33
governance, management and finance, school leadership, 34
assessment, curriculum and instruction, and education law. 35
All members of the commi ssion shall have demonstrated 36
understanding of and commitment to charter schooling as a 37
strategy for strengthening public education. 38
5. The commission shall annually elect a chairperson 39
and vice chairperson, who shall act as chairperson in his or 40
her absence. The commission shall meet at the call of the 41
chairperson. The chairperson may call meetings at such 42
times as he or she deems advisable and shall call a meeting 43
when requested to do so by three or more members of the 44
commission. Members of the commission are not eligible to 45
receive compensation. 46
6. The commission may approve proposed charters for 47
its sponsorship under sections 160.400 to 160.425 and shall: 48
(1) Comply with all of the requirements applicable to 49
sponsors under sections 160.400 to 160.425; 50
(2) Exercise sponsorship over charters approved by the 51
commission under sections 160.400 to 160.425, including 52 SB 398 14
receipt of sponsorship funding under subsection [11] 9 of 53
section 160.400. Sponsorship funding due to th e commission 54
shall be deposited to the credit of the charter public 55
school commission revolving fund created pursuant to this 56
section. 57
7. Charter schools sponsored by the commission shall 58
comply with all of the requirements applicable to charter 59
schools under sections 160.400 to 160.425. 60
8. The commission shall conduct its business in 61
accordance with chapter 610. 62
9. The department of elementary and secondary 63
education shall provide start -up funding for the commission 64
to operate. The commission shall reimburse the department's 65
costs from any funds it receives as sponsor under section 66
160.400. 67
10. The commission is authorized to receive and expend 68
gifts, grants, and donations of any kind from any public or 69
private entity to carry out the purposes of sections 160.400 70
to 160.425, subject to the terms and conditions under which 71
they are given, provided that all such terms and conditions 72
are permissible under law. 73
11. There is hereby created in the state treasury the 74
"Charter Public School Commission Revolving Fund", which 75
shall consist of moneys collected under this section. The 76
state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund. In 77
accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state 78
treasurer may approve disbursem ents. Notwithstanding the 79
provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys 80
remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not 81
revert to the credit of the general revenue fund. The state 82
treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner 83
as other funds are invested. Subject to appropriation, 84 SB 398 15
moneys in the fund shall be used solely for the 85
administration of this section. 86