FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 693
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MAY.
2639S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 160.400, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to charter
schools in metropolitan school districts.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 160.400, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 160.400, 2
to read as follows:3
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 , provided that: 5
(a) A charter school that was not established in a 6
metropolitan school district prior to August 28, 2025, shall 7
be ineligible to operate in a metropol itan school district 8
on August 28, 2025, or on any day thereafter, 9
notwithstanding any provision of this section to the 10
contrary; and 11
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this 12
subdivision shall not apply to: 13
a. The renewal of an existing charter contract 14
pursuant to the provisions of section 160.405; or 15
b. The transfer of sponsorship of a charter school in 16
accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of 17
education; 18 SB 693 2
(2) In an urban school district containing most or al l 19
of a city with a population greater than three hundred fifty 20
thousand inhabitants; 21
(3) In a school district that has been classified as 22
unaccredited by the state board of education; 23
(4) In a school district that has been classified as 24
provisionally accredited by the state board of education and 25
has received scores on its annual performance report 26
consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited 27
or unaccredited for three consecutive school years beginning 28
with the 2012-13 accreditation year under the following 29
conditions: 30
(a) The eligibility for charter schools of any school 31
district whose provisional accreditation is based in whole 32
or in part on financial stress as defined in sections 33
161.520 to 161.529, or on fina ncial hardship as defined by 34
rule of the state board of education, shall be decided by a 35
vote of the state board of education during the third 36
consecutive school year after the designation of provisional 37
accreditation; and 38
(b) The sponsor is limited to the local school board 39
or a sponsor who has met the standards of accountability and 40
performance as determined by the department based on 41
sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 167.349 and properly 42
promulgated rules of the department; 43
(5) In a school district located within a county with 44
more than one hundred fifty thousand but fewer than two 45
hundred thousand inhabitants, provided that the provisions 46
of subsections 15 to 18 of section 160.415 shall not apply 47
to any charter school operat ed in such county; or 48
(6) In a school district that has been accredited 49
without provisions, sponsored only by the local school 50 SB 693 3
board; provided that no board with a current year enrollment 51
of one thousand five hundred fifty students or greater shal l 52
permit more than thirty -five percent of its student 53
enrollment to enroll in charter schools sponsored by the 54
local board under the authority of this subdivision, except 55
that this restriction shall not apply to any school district 56
that subsequently becomes eligible under subdivision (3) or 57
(4) of this subsection or to any district accredited without 58
provisions that sponsors charter schools prior to having a 59
current year student enrollment of one thousand five hundred 60
fifty students or greater. 61
3. Except as further provided in subsection 4 of this 62
section, the following entities are eligible to sponsor 63
charter schools: 64
(1) The school board of the district in any district 65
which is sponsoring a charter school as of August 27, 2012, 66
as permitted under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection 2 of 67
this section, the special administrative board of a 68
metropolitan school district during any time in which powers 69
granted to the district's board of education are vested in a 70
special administrati ve board, or if the state board of 71
education appoints a special administrative board to retain 72
the authority granted to the board of education of an urban 73
school district containing most or all of a city with a 74
population greater than three hundred fif ty thousand 75
inhabitants, the special administrative board of such school 76
district; 77
(2) A public four-year college or university with an 78
approved teacher education program that meets regional or 79
national standards of accreditation; 80
(3) A community college, the service area of which 81
encompasses some portion of the district; 82 SB 693 4
(4) Any private four-year college or university with 83
an enrollment of at least one thousand students, with its 84
primary campus in Missouri, and with an approved tea cher 85
preparation program; 86
(5) Any two-year private vocational or technical 87
school designated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization 88
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and 89
accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with its 90
primary campus in Missouri; 91
(6) The Missouri charter public school commission 92
created in section 160.425. 93
4. Changes in a school district's accreditation status 94
that affect charter schools shall be addressed as follows, 95
except for the district s described in subdivisions (1) and 96
(2) of subsection 2 of this section: 97
(1) As a district transitions from unaccredited to 98
provisionally accredited, the district shall continue to 99
fall under the requirements for an unaccredited district 100
until it achieves three consecutive full school years of 101
provisional accreditation; 102
(2) As a district transitions from provisionally 103
accredited to full accreditation, the district shall 104
continue to fall under the requirements for a provisionally 105
accredited district until it achieves three consecutive full 106
school years of full accreditation; 107
(3) In any school district classified as unaccredited 108
or provisionally accredited where a charter school is 109
operating and is sponsored by an entity other than the local 110
school board, when the school district becomes classified as 111
accredited without provisions, a charter school may continue 112
to be sponsored by the entity sponsoring it prior to the 113 SB 693 5
classification of accredited without provisions and shall 114
not be limited to the local school board as a sponsor. 115
A charter school operating in a school district identified 116
in subdivision (1), (2), or (5) of subsection 2 of this 117
section may be sponsored by any of the entities identified 118
in subsection 3 of this sec tion, irrespective of the 119
accreditation classification of the district in which it is 120
located. A charter school in a district described in this 121
subsection whose charter provides for the addition of grade 122
levels in subsequent years may continue to add levels until 123
the planned expansion is complete to the extent of grade 124
levels in comparable schools of the district in which the 125
charter school is operated. 126
5. The mayor of a city not within a county may request 127
a sponsor under subdivision (2), (3 ), (4), (5), or (6) of 128
subsection 3 of this section to consider sponsoring a 129
"workplace charter school", which is defined for purposes of 130
sections 160.400 to 160.425 as a charter school with the 131
ability to target prospective students whose parent or 132
parents are employed in a business district, as defined in 133
the charter, which is located in the city. 134
6. No sponsor shall receive from an applicant for a 135
charter school any fee of any type for the consideration of 136
a charter, nor may a sponsor condi tion its consideration of 137
a charter on the promise of future payment of any kind. 138
7. The charter school shall be organized as a Missouri 139
nonprofit corporation incorporated pursuant to chapter 355. 140
The charter provided for herein shall constitute a contract 141
between the sponsor and the charter school. 142
8. As a nonprofit corporation incorporated pursuant to 143
chapter 355, the charter school shall select the method for 144 SB 693 6
election of officers pursuant to section 355.326 based on 145
the class of corporation selected. Meetings of the 146
governing board of the charter school shall be subject to 147
the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.030. 148
9. A sponsor of a charter school, its agents and 149
employees are not liable for any acts or omissions of a 150
charter school that it sponsors, including acts or omissions 151
relating to the charter submitted by the charter school, the 152
operation of the charter school and the performance of the 153
charter school. 154
10. A charter school may affiliate with a four -year 155
college or university, including a private college or 156
university, or a community college as otherwise specified in 157
subsection 3 of this section when its charter is granted by 158
a sponsor other than such college, university or community 159
college. Affiliation status recognizes a relationship 160
between the charter school and the college or university for 161
purposes of teacher training and staff development, 162
curriculum and assessment development, use of physical 163
facilities owned by or rented on behalf of the college or 164
university, and other similar purposes. A university, 165
college or community college may not charge or accept a fee 166
for affiliation status. 167
11. The expenses associated with sponsorship of 168
charter schools shall be defrayed by the depart ment of 169
elementary and secondary education retaining one and five - 170
tenths percent of the amount of state and local funding 171
allocated to the charter school under section 160.415, not 172
to exceed one hundred twenty -five thousand dollars, adjusted 173
for inflation. The department of elementary and secondary 174
education shall remit the retained funds for each charter 175
school to the school's sponsor, provided the sponsor remains 176 SB 693 7
in good standing by fulfilling its sponsorship obligations 177
under sections 160.400 t o 160.425 and 167.349 with regard to 178
each charter school it sponsors, including appropriate 179
demonstration of the following: 180
(1) Expends no less than ninety percent of its charter 181
school sponsorship funds in support of its charter school 182
sponsorship program, or as a direct investment in the 183
sponsored schools; 184
(2) Maintains a comprehensive application process that 185
follows fair procedures and rigorous criteria and grants 186
charters only to those developers who demonstrate strong 187
capacity for establishing and operating a quality charter 188
school; 189
(3) Negotiates contracts with charter schools that 190
clearly articulate the rights and responsibilities of each 191
party regarding school autonomy, expected outcomes, measures 192
for evaluating success or failure, performance consequences 193
based on the annual performance report, and other material 194
terms; 195
(4) Conducts contract oversight that evaluates 196
performance, monitors compliance, informs intervention and 197
renewal decisions, and ensures auton omy provided under 198
applicable law; and 199
(5) Designs and implements a transparent and rigorous 200
process that uses comprehensive data to make merit -based 201
renewal decisions. 202
12. Sponsors receiving funds under subsection 11 of 203
this section shall be required to submit annual reports to 204
the joint committee on education demonstrating they are in 205
compliance with subsection 17 of this section. 206
13. No university, college or community college shall 207
grant a charter to a nonprofit corporation if a n employee of 208 SB 693 8
the university, college or community college is a member of 209
the corporation's board of directors. 210
14. No sponsor shall grant a charter under sections 211
160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 without ensuring that a 212
criminal background check a nd family care safety registry 213
check are conducted for all members of the governing board 214
of the charter schools or the incorporators of the charter 215
school if initial directors are not named in the articles of 216
incorporation, nor shall a sponsor renew a charter without 217
ensuring a criminal background check and family care safety 218
registry check are conducted for each member of the 219
governing board of the charter school. 220
15. No member of the governing board of a charter 221
school shall hold any office or employment from the board or 222
the charter school while serving as a member, nor shall the 223
member have any substantial interest, as defined in section 224
105.450, in any entity employed by or contracting with the 225
board. No board member shall be an empl oyee of a company 226
that provides substantial services to the charter school. 227
All members of the governing board of the charter school 228
shall be considered decision -making public servants as 229
defined in section 105.450 for the purposes of the financial 230
disclosure requirements contained in sections 105.483, 231
105.485, 105.487, and 105.489. 232
16. A sponsor shall develop the policies and 233
procedures for: 234
(1) The review of a charter school proposal including 235
an application that provides sufficient i nformation for 236
rigorous evaluation of the proposed charter and provides 237
clear documentation that the education program and academic 238
program are aligned with the state standards and grade -level 239
expectations, and provides clear documentation of effective 240 SB 693 9
governance and management structures, and a sustainable 241
operational plan; 242
(2) The granting of a charter; 243
(3) The performance contract that the sponsor will use 244
to evaluate the performance of charter schools. Charter 245
schools shall meet cur rent state academic performance 246
standards as well as other standards agreed upon by the 247
sponsor and the charter school in the performance contract; 248
(4) The sponsor's intervention, renewal, and 249
revocation policies, including the conditions under wh ich 250
the charter sponsor may intervene in the operation of the 251
charter school, along with actions and consequences that may 252
ensue, and the conditions for renewal of the charter at the 253
end of the term, consistent with subsections 8 and 9 of 254
section 160.405; 255
(5) Additional criteria that the sponsor will use for 256
ongoing oversight of the charter; and 257
(6) Procedures to be implemented if a charter school 258
should close, consistent with the provisions of subdivision 259
(15) of subsection 1 of section 160.405. 260
The department shall provide guidance to sponsors in 261
developing such policies and procedures. 262
17. (1) A sponsor shall provide timely submission to 263
the state board of education of all data necessary to 264
demonstrate that the sponsor is in material compliance with 265
all requirements of sections 160.400 to 160.425 and section 266
167.349. The state board of education shall ensure each 267
sponsor is in compliance with all requirements under 268
sections 160.400 to 160.425 and 167.349 for each charter 269
school sponsored by any sponsor. The state board shall 270
notify each sponsor of the standards for sponsorship of 271 SB 693 10
charter schools, delineating both what is mandated by 272
statute and what best practices dictate. The state board 273
shall evaluate sponsors to determine compliance with these 274
standards every three years. The evaluation shall include a 275
sponsor's policies and procedures in the areas of charter 276
application approval; required charter agreement terms and 277
content; sponsor performance evaluation an d compliance 278
monitoring; and charter renewal, intervention, and 279
revocation decisions. Nothing shall preclude the department 280
from undertaking an evaluation at any time for cause. 281
(2) If the department determines that a sponsor is in 282
material noncompliance with its sponsorship duties, the 283
sponsor shall be notified and given reasonable time for 284
remediation. If remediation does not address the compliance 285
issues identified by the department, the commissioner of 286
education shall conduct a public he aring and thereafter 287
provide notice to the charter sponsor of corrective action 288
that will be recommended to the state board of education. 289
Corrective action by the department may include withholding 290
the sponsor's funding and suspending the sponsor's au thority 291
to sponsor a school that it currently sponsors or to sponsor 292
any additional school until the sponsor is reauthorized by 293
the state board of education under section 160.403. 294
(3) The charter sponsor may, within thirty days of 295
receipt of the notice of the commissioner's recommendation, 296
provide a written statement and other documentation to show 297
cause as to why that action should not be taken. Final 298
determination of corrective action shall be determined by 299
the state board of education base d upon a review of the 300
documentation submitted to the department and the charter 301
sponsor. 302 SB 693 11
(4) If the state board removes the authority to 303
sponsor a currently operating charter school under any 304
provision of law, the Missouri charter public school 305
commission shall become the sponsor of the school. 306
18. If a sponsor notifies a charter school of closure 307
under subsection 8 of section 160.405, the department of 308
elementary and secondary education shall exercise its 309
financial withholding authorit y under subsection 12 of 310
section 160.415 to assure all obligations of the charter 311
school shall be met. The state, charter sponsor, or 312
resident district shall not be liable for any outstanding 313
liability or obligations of the charter school. 314