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Missouri Senate Bill SB70

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB70 Compare Versions

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22 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
33 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
44 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
55 SENATE BILL NO. 70
66 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
77 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GREGORY (15).
88 1176S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
99 AN ACT
1010 To repeal sections 160.410, 163.161, 167.020, and 167.151, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof
1111 thirteen new sections relating to admission of nonresident pupils, with existing penalty
1212 provisions.
1313
1414 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1515 Section A. Sections 160.410, 163.161, 167.020, and 1
1616 167.151, RSMo, are repealed and thirteen new sections enacted 2
1717 in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 160.410, 163.161, 3
1818 167.020, 167.151, 167.1200, 167.1205, 167.1210, 167.1211, 4
1919 167.1212, 167.1215, 167.1220, 167.1225, and 167.1230, to read 5
2020 as follows:6
2121 160.410. 1. A charter school shall enroll: 1
2222 (1) All pupils resident in the district in which it 2
2323 operates; 3
2424 (2) Nonresident pupils eligible to attend a district's 4
2525 school under an urban voluntary transfer program; 5
2626 (3) Nonresident pupils who transfer from an 6
2727 unaccredited district under section 167.895, provided that 7
2828 the charter school is an approved charter school, as defined 8
2929 in section 167.895, and subject to all other provisions of 9
3030 section 167.895; 10
3131 (4) In the case of a charter school whose mission 11
3232 includes student drop-out prevention or recovery, any 12
3333 nonresident pupil from the same or an adjacent county who 13
3434 resides in a residential care facility, a transitional 14 SB 70 2
3535 living group home, or an independent living program whose 15
3636 last school of enrollment is in the school district where 16
3737 the charter school is established, who submits a timely 17
3838 application; [and] 18
3939 (5) In the case of a workplace charter school, any 19
4040 student eligible to attend under subdivision (1) or (2) of 20
4141 this subsection whose parent is employed in th e business 21
4242 district, who submits a timely application, unless the 22
4343 number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, 23
4444 class, grade level or building. The configuration of a 24
4545 business district shall be set forth in the charter and 25
4646 shall not be construed to create an undue advantage for a 26
4747 single employer or small number of employers ; and 27
4848 (6) Nonresident pupils who transfer pursuant to 28
4949 sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 . 29
5050 2. If capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils 30
5151 who submit a timely application, the charter school shall 31
5252 have an admissions process that assures all applicants of an 32
5353 equal chance of gaining admission and does not discriminate 33
5454 based on parents' ability to pay fees or tuition except that: 34
5555 (1) A charter school may establish a geographical area 35
5656 around the school whose residents will receive a preference 36
5757 for enrolling in the school, provided that such preferences 37
5858 do not result in the establishment of racially or 38
5959 socioeconomically isolated schools and provided su ch 39
6060 preferences conform to policies and guidelines established 40
6161 by the state board of education; 41
6262 (2) A charter school may also give a preference for 42
6363 admission of children whose siblings attend the school or 43
6464 whose parents are employed at the school or in the case of a 44
6565 workplace charter school, a child whose parent is employed 45 SB 70 3
6666 in the business district or at the business site of such 46
6767 school; 47
6868 (3) Charter schools may also give a preference for 48
6969 admission to high-risk students, as defined in subd ivision 49
7070 (5) of subsection 2 of section 160.405, when the school 50
7171 targets these students through its proposed mission, 51
7272 curriculum, teaching methods, and services; 52
7373 (4) A charter school may also give a preference for 53
7474 admission to students who will be eligible for the free and 54
7575 reduced price lunch program in the upcoming school year. 55
7676 3. A charter school shall not limit admission based on 56
7777 race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, income level, 57
7878 except as allowed under subdivision (4) of subse ction 2 of 58
7979 this section, proficiency in the English language or 59
8080 athletic ability, but may limit admission to pupils within a 60
8181 given age group or grade level. Charter schools may limit 61
8282 admission based on gender only when the school is a single - 62
8383 gender school. Students of a charter school who have been 63
8484 enrolled for a full academic year shall be counted in the 64
8585 performance of the charter school on the statewide 65
8686 assessments in that calendar year, unless otherwise exempted 66
8787 as English language learners. For purposes of this 67
8888 subsection, "full academic year" means the last Wednesday in 68
8989 September through the administration of the Missouri 69
9090 assessment program test without transferring out of the 70
9191 school and re-enrolling. 71
9292 4. A charter school shall make available for public 72
9393 inspection, and provide upon request, to the parent, 73
9494 guardian, or other custodian of any school -age pupil 74
9595 resident in the district in which the school is located the 75
9696 following information: 76
9797 (1) The school's charter; 77 SB 70 4
9898 (2) The school's most recent annual report card 78
9999 published according to section 160.522; 79
100100 (3) The results of background checks on the charter 80
101101 school's board members; and 81
102102 (4) If a charter school is operated by a management 82
103103 company, a copy of the w ritten contract between the 83
104104 governing board of the charter school and the educational 84
105105 management organization or the charter management 85
106106 organization for services. The charter school may charge 86
107107 reasonable fees, not to exceed the rate specified in secti on 87
108108 610.026 for furnishing copies of documents under this 88
109109 subsection. 89
110110 5. When a student attending a charter school who is a 90
111111 resident of the school district in which the charter school 91
112112 is located moves out of the boundaries of such school 92
113113 district, the student may complete the current semester and 93
114114 shall be considered a resident student. The student's 94
115115 parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for the 95
116116 student's transportation to and from the charter school. 96
117117 6. If a change in school dist rict boundary lines 97
118118 occurs under section 162.223, 162.431, 162.441, or 162.451, 98
119119 or by action of the state board of education under section 99
120120 162.081, including attachment of a school district's 100
121121 territory to another district or dissolution, such that a 101
122122 student attending a charter school prior to such change no 102
123123 longer resides in a school district in which the charter 103
124124 school is located, then the student may complete the current 104
125125 academic year at the charter school. The student shall be 105
126126 considered a resident student. The student's parent or 106
127127 legal guardian shall be responsible for the student's 107
128128 transportation to and from the charter school. 108 SB 70 5
129129 7. The provisions of sections 167.018 and 167.019 109
130130 concerning foster children's educational rights are 110
131131 applicable to charter schools. 111
132132 163.161. 1. Any school district which makes provision 1
133133 for transporting pupils as provided in section 162.621 and 2
134134 sections 167.231 and 167.241 shall receive state aid for the 3
135135 ensuing year for such transport ation on the basis of the 4
136136 cost of pupil transportation services provided the current 5
137137 year. A district shall receive, pursuant to section 6
138138 163.031, an amount not greater than seventy -five percent of 7
139139 the allowable costs of providing pupil transportation 8
140140 services to and from school and to and from public 9
141141 accredited vocational courses, and shall not receive an 10
142142 amount per pupil greater than one hundred twenty -five 11
143143 percent of the state average approved cost per pupil 12
144144 transported the second preceding scho ol year, except when 13
145145 the state board of education determines that sufficient 14
146146 circumstances exist to authorize amounts in excess of the 15
147147 one hundred twenty-five percent of the state average 16
148148 approved cost per pupil transported the second previous year. 17
149149 2. The state board of education shall determine public 18
150150 school district route approval procedures to be used by each 19
151151 public school district board of education to approve all bus 20
152152 routes or portions of routes and determine the total miles 21
153153 each public school district needs for safe and cost - 22
154154 efficient transportation of the pupils and the state board 23
155155 of education shall determine allowable costs. No state aid 24
156156 shall be paid for the costs of transporting pupils living 25
157157 less than one mile from the school. However, if the state 26
158158 board of education determines that circumstances exist where 27
159159 no appreciable additional expenses are incurred in 28
160160 transporting pupils living less than one mile from school, 29 SB 70 6
161161 such pupils may be transported without increasing or 30
162162 diminishing the district's entitlement to state aid for 31
163163 transportation. 32
164164 3. State aid for transporting handicapped and severely 33
165165 handicapped students attending classes within the school 34
166166 district or in a nearby district under a contractual 35
167167 arrangement shall be paid in accordance with the provisions 36
168168 of section 163.031 and an amount equal to seventy -five 37
169169 percent of the additional cost of transporting handicapped 38
170170 and severely handicapped students above the average per 39
171171 pupil cost of transporting all stu dents of the district 40
172172 shall be apportioned pursuant to section 163.031 where such 41
173173 special transportation is approved in advance by the 42
174174 department of elementary and secondary education. State aid 43
175175 for transportation of handicapped and severely handicapp ed 44
176176 children in a special school district shall be seventy -five 45
177177 percent of allowable costs as determined by the state board 46
178178 of education which may for sufficient reason authorize 47
179179 amounts in excess of one hundred twenty -five percent of the 48
180180 state average approved cost per pupil transported the second 49
181181 previous year. In no event shall state transportation aid 50
182182 exceed seventy-five percent of the total allowable cost of 51
183183 transporting all pupils eligible to be transported; provided 52
184184 that no district shall re ceive reduced reimbursement for 53
185185 costs of transportation of handicapped and severely 54
186186 handicapped children based upon inefficiency. 55
187187 4. No state transportation aid received pursuant to 56
188188 section 163.031 shall be used to purchase any school bus 57
189189 manufactured prior to April 1, 1977, that does not meet the 58
190190 federal motor vehicle safety standards. 59
191191 5. Any school district that operates magnet schools as 60
192192 part of a master desegregation settlement agreement shall 61 SB 70 7
193193 not be considered inefficient for purpose s of state aid for 62
194194 transportation of pupils attending such magnet schools and 63
195195 shall not receive a financial penalty for the magnet school 64
196196 transportation portion of the overall transportation budget 65
197197 as a result thereof. 66
198198 167.020. 1. As used in this section, the term 1
199199 "homeless child" or "homeless youth" shall mean a person 2
200200 less than twenty-one years of age who lacks a fixed, regular 3
201201 and adequate nighttime residence, including a child or youth 4
202202 who: 5
203203 (1) Is sharing the housing o f other persons due to 6
204204 loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; is 7
205205 living in motels, hotels, or camping grounds due to lack of 8
206206 alternative adequate accommodations; is living in emergency 9
207207 or transitional shelters; is abandoned in hospita ls; or is 10
208208 awaiting foster care placement; 11
209209 (2) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public 12
210210 or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a 13
211211 regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; 14
212212 (3) Is living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned 15
213213 buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or 16
214214 similar settings; and 17
215215 (4) Is a migratory child or youth who qualifies as 18
216216 homeless because the child or youth is living in 19
217217 circumstances described in subdivisions (1) to ( 3) of this 20
218218 subsection. 21
219219 2. (1) In order to register a pupil, the pupil or the 22
220220 parent or legal guardian of the pupil [or the pupil himself 23
221221 or herself] shall provide, at the time of registration, one 24
222222 of the following: 25
223223 [(1)] (a) Proof of residency in the district. Except 26
224224 as otherwise provided in section 167.151, the term 27 SB 70 8
225225 "residency" shall mean that a person both physically resides 28
226226 within a school district and is domiciled within that 29
227227 district or, in the case of a private school student 30
228228 suspected of having a disability under the Individuals With 31
229229 Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. Section [1412] 1411, 32
230230 et seq., as amended, that the student attends private school 33
231231 within that district. The domicile of a minor child shall 34
232232 be the domicile of a parent, military guardian pursuant to a 35
233233 military-issued guardianship or court -appointed legal 36
234234 guardian. For instances in which the family of a student 37
235235 living in Missouri co -locates to live with other family 38
236236 members or live in a military family s upport community 39
237237 because one or both of the child's parents are stationed or 40
238238 deployed out of state or deployed within Missouri under 41
239239 active duty orders under Title 10 or Title 32 of the United 42
240240 States Code, the student may attend the school district in 43
241241 which the family member's residence or family support 44
242242 community is located. If the active duty orders expire 45
243243 during the school year, the student may finish the school 46
244244 year in that district; 47
245245 [(2)] (b) Proof that the person registering the 48
246246 student has requested a waiver under subsection 3 of this 49
247247 section within the last forty -five days; or 50
248248 [(3)] (c) Proof that one or both of the child's 51
249249 parents are being relocated to the state of Missouri under 52
250250 military orders. 53
251251 (2) In instances where there is reason to suspect that 54
252252 admission of the pupil will create an immediate danger to 55
253253 the safety of other pupils and employees of the district, 56
254254 the superintendent or the superintendent's designee may 57
255255 convene a hearing within five working days of the request to 58
256256 register and determine whether or not the pupil may register. 59 SB 70 9
257257 3. Any person subject to the requirements of 60
258258 subsection 2 of this section may request a waiver from the 61
259259 district board of any of those requirements on the basis of 62
260260 hardship or good cause. Under no circumstances shall 63
261261 athletic ability be a valid basis of hardship or good cause 64
262262 for the issuance of a waiver of the requirements of 65
263263 subsection 2 of this section. The district board or 66
264264 committee of the board appointed by th e president and which 67
265265 shall have full authority to act in lieu of the board shall 68
266266 convene a hearing as soon as possible, but no later than 69
267267 forty-five days after receipt of the waiver request made 70
268268 under this subsection or the waiver request shall be 71
269269 granted. The district board or committee of the board may 72
270270 grant the request for a waiver of any requirement of 73
271271 subsection 2 of this section. The district board or 74
272272 committee of the board may also reject the request for a 75
273273 waiver in which case the pupil s hall not be allowed to 76
274274 register. Any person aggrieved by a decision of a district 77
275275 board or committee of the board on a request for a waiver 78
276276 under this subsection may appeal such decision to the 79
277277 circuit court in the county where the school district is 80
278278 located. 81
279279 4. Any person who knowingly submits false information 82
280280 to satisfy any requirement of subsection 2 of this section 83
281281 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 84
282282 5. In addition to any other penalties authorized by 85
283283 law, a district board may file a civil action to recover, 86
284284 from the parent, military guardian or legal guardian of the 87
285285 pupil, the costs of school attendance for any pupil who was 88
286286 enrolled at a school in the district and whose parent, 89
287287 military guardian or legal guardian filed false i nformation 90
288288 to satisfy any requirement of subsection 2 of this section. 91 SB 70 10
289289 6. Subsection 2 of this section shall not apply to a 92
290290 pupil who is a homeless child or youth, or a pupil attending 93
291291 a school not in the pupil's district of residence as a 94
292292 participant in an interdistrict transfer program established 95
293293 under a court-ordered desegregation program, a pupil who is 96
294294 a ward of the state and has been placed in a residential 97
295295 care facility by state officials, a pupil who has been 98
296296 placed in a residential c are facility due to a mental 99
297297 illness or developmental disability, a pupil attending a 100
298298 school pursuant to sections 167.121 and 167.151 or sections 101
299299 167.1200 to 167.1230 , a pupil placed in a residential 102
300300 facility by a juvenile court, a pupil with a disabil ity 103
301301 identified under state eligibility criteria if the student 104
302302 is in the district for reasons other than accessing the 105
303303 district's educational program, or a pupil attending a 106
304304 regional or cooperative alternative education program or an 107
305305 alternative education program on a contractual basis. 108
306306 7. Within two business days of enrolling a pupil, the 109
307307 school official enrolling a pupil, including any special 110
308308 education pupil, shall request those records required by 111
309309 district policy for student transfer and t hose discipline 112
310310 records required by subsection 9 of section 160.261 from all 113
311311 schools previously attended by the pupil within the last 114
312312 twelve months. Any school district that receives a request 115
313313 for such records from another school district enrolling a 116
314314 pupil that had previously attended a school in such district 117
315315 shall respond to such request within five business days of 118
316316 receiving the request. School districts may report or 119
317317 disclose education records to law enforcement and juvenile 120
318318 justice authorities if the disclosure concerns law 121
319319 enforcement's or juvenile justice authorities' ability to 122
320320 effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student whose 123 SB 70 11
321321 records are released. The officials and authorities to whom 124
322322 such information is disclosed must comp ly with applicable 125
323323 restrictions set forth in 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g(b)(1)(E) , 126
324324 as amended. 127
325325 8. If one or both of a child's parents are being 128
326326 relocated to the state of Missouri under military orders, a 129
327327 school district shall allow remote registratio n of the 130
328328 student and shall not require the student or the parent or 131
329329 legal guardian of the student [or the student himself or 132
330330 herself] to physically appear at a location within the 133
331331 district to register the student. Proof of residency, as 134
332332 described in this section, shall not be required at the time 135
333333 of the remote registration but shall be required within ten 136
334334 days of the student's attendance in the school district. 137
335335 167.151. 1. The school board of any district, in its 1
336336 discretion, may admit to the school pupils not entitled to 2
337337 free instruction and prescribe the tuition fee to be paid by 3
338338 them, except as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection 3 4
339339 of this section and in sections 167.121, 167.131, 167.132, 5
340340 and 167.895 and sections 167.1200 to 167.1230. 6
341341 2. Orphan children, children with only one parent 7
342342 living, and children whose parents do not contribute to 8
343343 their support-if the children are between the ages of six 9
344344 and twenty years and are unable to pay tuition -may attend 10
345345 the schools of any district in the state in which they have 11
346346 a permanent or temporary home without paying a tuition fee. 12
347347 3. (1) For all school years ending on or before June 13
348348 30, 2023, any individual who pays a school tax in any other 14
349349 district than that in which such individual resides may send 15
350350 such individual's children to any public school in the 16
351351 district in which the tax is paid and receive as a credit on 17
352352 the amount charged for tuition the amount of the school tax 18 SB 70 12
353353 paid to the district; except tha t any individual who owns 19
354354 real estate of which eighty acres or more are used for 20
355355 agricultural purposes and upon which such individual's 21
356356 residence is situated may send such individual's children to 22
357357 public school in any school district in which a part of such 23
358358 real estate, contiguous to that upon which such individual's 24
359359 residence is situated, lies and shall not be charged tuition 25
360360 therefor; so long as thirty -five percent of the real estate 26
361361 is located in the school district of choice. The school 27
362362 district of choice shall count the children in its average 28
363363 daily attendance for the purpose of distribution of state 29
364364 aid through the foundation formula. 30
365365 (2) For all school years beginning on or after July 1, 31
366366 2023, any current owner of residential real p roperty or 32
367367 agricultural real property or a named beneficiary of a trust 33
368368 that currently owns residential real property or 34
369369 agricultural real property and that pays a school tax in a 35
370370 district or districts other than the district in which such 36
371371 current owner or current beneficiary resides may send up to 37
372372 four of such owner's or beneficiary's children to a public 38
373373 school, excluding a charter school, in any district in which 39
374374 such owner or trust pays such school tax. For purposes of 40
375375 this subdivision, "resid ential real property" shall not 41
376376 include any multifamily residential property which exceeds 42
377377 four units. An owner or a named beneficiary of a trust that 43
378378 currently owns residential real property shall not be 44
379379 permitted under this subdivision to send their child to a 45
380380 district outside of the county in which they currently 46
381381 reside. Such owner or beneficiary shall send thirty days' 47
382382 written notice to all school districts involved specifying 48
383383 which school district each child will attend. Such owner or 49
384384 beneficiary shall also present proof of the owner's or 50 SB 70 13
385385 trust's annual payment of at least two thousand dollars of 51
386386 school taxes levied on the real property specified in this 52
387387 subdivision within such school district and ownership of the 53
388388 specified real property for not less than the immediately 54
389389 preceding four consecutive years. Neither the resident nor 55
390390 nonresident districts shall be responsible for providing 56
391391 transportation services under this subdivision. The school 57
392392 district attended shall count a child at tending under this 58
393393 subdivision in its average daily attendance for the purpose 59
394394 of distribution of state aid under chapter 163, except that 60
395395 such nonresident students shall not be counted in the 61
396396 district's average daily attendance for the purposes of 62
397397 determining eligibility for aid payments under section 63
398398 163.044. 64
399399 4. For any school year ending on or before June 30, 65
400400 2023, any owner of agricultural land who, pursuant to 66
401401 subsection 3 of this section, has the option of sending his 67
402402 children to the public schools of more than one district 68
403403 shall exercise such option as provided in this subsection. 69
404404 Such person shall send written notice to all school 70
405405 districts involved specifying to which school district his 71
406406 children will attend by June thirtieth in which such a 72
407407 school year begins. If notification is not received, such 73
408408 children shall attend the school in which the majority of 74
409409 his property lies. Such person shall not send any of his 75
410410 children to the public schools of any district other than 76
411411 the one to which he has sent notice pursuant to this 77
412412 subsection in that school year or in which the majority of 78
413413 his property lies without paying tuition to such school 79
414414 district. 80
415415 5. If a pupil is attending school in a district other 81
416416 than the district of residence and the pupil's parent is 82 SB 70 14
417417 teaching in the school district or is a regular employee of 83
418418 the school district which the pupil is attending, then the 84
419419 district in which the pupil attends school shall allow the 85
420420 pupil to attend school upon payment of tuition in the same 86
421421 manner in which the district allows other pupils not 87
422422 entitled to free instruction to attend school in the 88
423423 district. The provisions of this subsection shall apply 89
424424 only to pupils attending school in a district which has an 90
425425 enrollment in excess of thirteen thousand pupils and not in 91
426426 excess of fifteen thousand pupils and which district is 92
427427 located in a county with a charter form of government which 93
428428 has a population in excess of six hundred thousand persons 94
429429 and not in excess of ni ne hundred thousand persons. 95
430430 167.1200. 1. Sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall be 1
431431 known and may be cited as the "Public School Open Enrollment 2
432432 Act". 3
433433 2. As used in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, the 4
434434 following terms mean: 5
435435 (1) "Department", the department of elementary and 6
436436 secondary education; 7
437437 (2) "Diversity plan" or "voluntary diversity plan", a 8
438438 plan that is voluntarily adopted by a local school board to 9
439439 promote diversity and to avoid minority student isolation in 10
440440 the district; 11
441441 (3) "Nonresident district", a charter school or school 12
442442 district other than a transferring student's resident 13
443443 district; 14
444444 (4) "Parent", a transferring student's parent, 15
445445 guardian, or other person having custody or care of the 16
446446 student; 17
447447 (5) "Public school", any school for elementary or 18
448448 secondary education that is supported and maintained from 19 SB 70 15
449449 public funds and is conducted and operated within this state 20
450450 under the authority and supervision of a duly elected local 21
451451 board of education of the school district or a special 22
452452 administrative board appointed by the state board of 23
453453 education under section 162.081; 24
454454 (6) "Resident district", the school district in which 25
455455 the transferring student resides; 26
456456 (7) "Sibling", each of t wo or more children having a 27
457457 parent in common by blood, adoption, marriage, or foster 28
458458 care; 29
459459 (8) "Socioeconomic status", the income level of a 30
460460 student or the student's family, which shall be measured by 31
461461 whether a student or the student's family me ets the 32
462462 financial eligibility criteria for free and reduced price 33
463463 meals offered under federal guidelines; 34
464464 (9) "Superintendent", the superintendent of a school 35
465465 district, the superintendent or chief executive of a charter 36
466466 school, or the superintend ent's or chief executive's 37
467467 designee; 38
468468 (10) "Transferring student", a child beginning 39
469469 kindergarten in the child's resident district or a public 40
470470 school student in kindergarten to grade twelve who has been 41
471471 enrolled in and completed a full semester in a public school 42
472472 in the student's resident district and who transfers to a 43
473473 nonresident district through a public school open enrollment 44
474474 program under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230; 45
475475 (11) "Transfer year", the school year in which a 46
476476 transferring student attends school in a nonresident 47
477477 district. 48
478478 167.1205. 1. A public school open enrollment program 1
479479 is established to enable a child beginning kindergarten or a 2
480480 student in kindergarten to grade twelve to attend a school 3 SB 70 16
481481 in a nonresident district subject to the limitations under 4
482482 section 167.1225. 5
483483 2. School districts and charter schools shall not be 6
484484 required to participate in the public school open enrollment 7
485485 program. Each school district and charter school shall, on 8
486486 or before October first of each year, indicate whether the 9
487487 district or charter school will participate in the public 10
488488 school open enrollment program created in sections 167.1200 11
489489 to 167.1230 in the school year beginning on July first of 12
490490 the following year. If a school district or charter school 13
491491 participates in the public school open enrollment program, 14
492492 the district or charter school shall receive transferring 15
493493 students for the full school year in which the district or 16
494494 charter school participates. This subsection shall not be 17
495495 construed to prevent any student in a nonparticipating 18
496496 school district from transferring out of the 19
497497 nonparticipating district to a participating district or 20
498498 charter school as a transferring student. For the school 21
499499 years 2026-27 and 2027-28, a resident district may restrict 22
500500 the number of students who may transfer to a nonresident 23
501501 district under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 to a maximum of 24
502502 five percent of the previous school year's enrollment for 25
503503 the resident district. 26
504504 3. Sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall not be 27
505505 construed to require a nonresident district to add teachers, 28
506506 staff, or classrooms or to in any way exceed the 29
507507 requirements and standards established by existing law or 30
508508 the nonresident district. 31
509509 4. (1) The department shall develop a model policy 32
510510 for determining the number of transfers available under 33
511511 section 167.1215 and establishing specific standards for 34
512512 acceptance and rejection of transfer applications under 35 SB 70 17
513513 section 167.1230. Regardless of whether a nonresident 36
514514 district participates in the public school open enrollment 37
515515 program, the board of education of each school district and 38
516516 the governing body of each charter school shall, by 39
517517 resolution, adopt the department's model policy with any 40
518518 changes necessary for a particular district's or charter 41
519519 school's needs. 42
520520 (2) The model policy's determination of the number of 43
521521 transfers available shall require each school district and 44
522522 charter school to define the term "insufficient classroom 45
523523 space" for that district or charter school. 46
524524 (3) The specific standards for acceptance and 47
525525 rejection of transfer applications may include, but shall 48
526526 not be limited to: 49
527527 (a) The capacity of a school building, grade level, 50
528528 class, or program; 51
529529 (b) The availability of classroom space in each school 52
530530 building; 53
531531 (c) Any class size limitation; 54
532532 (d) The ratio of students to classroom teachers; 55
533533 (e) The district's or charter school's projected 56
534534 enrollment; and 57
535535 (f) Any characteristics of specific programs affected 58
536536 by additional or fewer students attending because of 59
537537 transfers under the public school open enrollment program. 60
538538 (4) The specific standards for acceptance and 61
539539 rejection of transfer applications shall include a statement 62
540540 that priority shall be given to an applicant who has a 63
541541 sibling who: 64
542542 (a) Is already enrolled in the nonresident district; or 65
543543 (b) Has made an application for enrollment in the same 66
544544 nonresident district. 67 SB 70 18
545545 (5) The specific standards for acce ptance and 68
546546 rejection of transfer applications shall not include an 69
547547 applicant's: 70
548548 (a) Academic achievement; 71
549549 (b) Athletic or other extracurricular ability; 72
550550 (c) Disabilities; 73
551551 (d) English proficiency level; or 74
552552 (e) Previous disciplinary proceedings; except that, 75
553553 any suspension or expulsion from another district shall be 76
554554 included. 77
555555 (6) A school district or charter school receiving 78
556556 transferring students shall not discriminate on the basis of 79
557557 gender, national origin, race, et hnicity, religion, or 80
558558 disability. 81
559559 5. A nonresident district shall: 82
560560 (1) Accept credits toward graduation that were awarded 83
561561 by another district to a transferring student; and 84
562562 (2) Award a diploma to a transferring student if the 85
563563 student meets the nonresident district's graduation 86
564564 requirements. 87
565565 6. The superintendent shall cause the information 88
566566 about the public school open enrollment program to be posted 89
567567 on the district or charter school website and in the student 90
568568 handbook to inform parents of students of the: 91
569569 (1) Availability of the program established under 92
570570 sections 167.1200 to 167.1230; 93
571571 (2) Application deadline; and 94
572572 (3) Requirements and procedures for resident and 95
573573 nonresident students to participate in the pro gram. 96
574574 7. If a student wishes to attend a school within a 97
575575 nonresident district that is a magnet school, an 98
576576 academically selective school, or a school with a 99 SB 70 19
577577 competitive entrance process that has admissions 100
578578 requirements, the student shall furnish p roof that the 101
579579 student meets the admissions requirements in the application 102
580580 described under section 167.1220. 103
581581 8. A nonresident district may deny a transfer to a 104
582582 student who, in the most recent school year, has been 105
583583 suspended from school two or mor e times or who has been 106
584584 suspended for an act of school violence or expelled under 107
585585 subsection 2 of section 160.261. A student whose transfer 108
586586 is initially precluded under this subsection may be 109
587587 permitted to transfer on a provisional basis as a 110
588588 probationary transfer student, subject to no further 111
589589 disruptive behavior, upon approval of the nonresident 112
590590 district's superintendent. 113
591591 9. A student who is denied a transfer under subsection 114
592592 8 of this section has the right to an in -person meeting with 115
593593 the nonresident district's superintendent. The nonresident 116
594594 district shall develop common standards for determining 117
595595 disruptive behavior that shall include, but not be limited 118
596596 to, criteria under section 160.261. 119
597597 10. Students shall not enroll in a nonre sident 120
598598 district under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 in any school 121
599599 year before school year 2026 -27. 122
600600 11. (1) As used in this subsection, "school days of 123
601601 enrollment" does not include enrollment in summer school, 124
602602 and "varsity" means the highest leve l of competition offered 125
603603 by one school or school district against the highest level 126
604604 of competition offered by an opposing school or school 127
605605 district. 128
606606 (2) (a) Except as provided in this paragraph, a 129
607607 student who participates in the public school op en 130
608608 enrollment program for purposes of transferring to a 131 SB 70 20
609609 nonresident district and attending a grade in grades nine to 132
610610 twelve is ineligible to participate in interscholastic 133
611611 athletics for three hundred sixty -five days unless the 134
612612 student's case meets the standards under the following 135
613613 exceptions: 136
614614 a. If the transfer does not involve undue influence 137
615615 and is not for athletic reasons, a student may be eligible 138
616616 immediately at the school of the student's choice upon first 139
617617 entering when: 140
618618 (i) The student is promoted from grade six to grade 141
619619 seven; 142
620620 (ii) The student is promoted from grade eight to grade 143
621621 nine and the student is eligible in all other respects; or 144
622622 (iii) The student completes the highest grade in an 145
623623 elementary school that is not a part of a system supporting 146
624624 a high school and the student is eligible in all other 147
625625 respects; or 148
626626 b. If a student transfers schools under circumstances 149
627627 that do not meet the requirements under sections 167.1200 to 150
628628 167.1230, such student may be granted eligibility to 151
629629 participate in interscholastic athletics as hereinafter 152
630630 restricted if the student qualifies under the following 153
631631 terms and conditions: 154
632632 (i) A student whose name has been included on a school 155
633633 eligibility roster at any level f or a given sport during the 156
634634 twelve calendar months preceding the date of such transfer 157
635635 shall be eligible only for subvarsity competition in such 158
636636 sport for three hundred sixty -five days after the date of 159
637637 transfer. A student may have unrestricted eligib ility in 160
638638 all other sports in which such student's name has not 161
639639 appeared on a school eligibility roster; 162 SB 70 21
640640 (ii) A student who has attended a school system that 163
641641 does not sponsor interscholastic athletics but who has 164
642642 participated in organized nonschoo l competition during the 165
643643 twelve calendar months preceding the date of such transfer 166
644644 shall be eligible only for subvarsity competition in such 167
645645 sport for three hundred sixty -five days after the date of 168
646646 transfer. A student may have unrestricted eligibili ty in 169
647647 all other sports in which such student did not participate; 170
648648 or 171
649649 (iii) Eligibility may be granted as described in item 172
650650 (i) of this subparagraph if the athletic eligibility is 173
651651 approved by the principals of both the resident and 174
652652 nonresident districts and if there is no athletic purpose 175
653653 involved in the transfer. The student shall be ineligible 176
654654 for all sports for three hundred sixty -five days after the 177
655655 date of transfer if either or both principals decline to 178
656656 approve athletic eligibility. 179
657657 (b) Nothing in this section or section 167.1210 shall 180
658658 prevent a statewide athletic association that provides 181
659659 oversight for athletic or activity eligibility for students 182
660660 from imposing a stricter penalty upon any transferring 183
661661 student who is determined to have been unduly influenced to 184
662662 participate in or not to participate in the public school 185
663663 open enrollment program outlined in sections 167.1200 to 186
664664 167.1230. 187
665665 167.1210. 1. A student who applies to enroll in 1
666666 multiple nonresident di stricts and accepts a public school 2
667667 open enrollment program transfer to a nonresident district 3
668668 shall accept only one such transfer per school year. 4
669669 2. (1) A student who accepts a public school open 5
670670 enrollment program transfer to a nonresident dis trict shall 6
671671 commit to attend and take all courses through the 7 SB 70 22
672672 nonresident district for at least one school year. At least 8
673673 one course per semester shall be delivered by the 9
674674 nonresident district in -seat. 10
675675 (2) If a transferring student returns to th e student's 11
676676 resident district, the student's transfer shall be void and 12
677677 the student shall reapply if the student seeks a future 13
678678 public school open enrollment program transfer. No 14
679679 transferring student who returns to the student's resident 15
680680 district shall reapply for a future transfer under this 16
681681 subdivision until after the student has been enrolled in and 17
682682 completed a full school semester in a public school in the 18
683683 student's resident district. 19
684684 3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this 20
685685 subsection, a transferring student attending school in a 21
686686 nonresident district may complete all remaining school years 22
687687 in the nonresident district without reapplying each school 23
688688 year. 24
689689 (2) A sibling of a transferring student who continues 25
690690 enrollment in a nonresident district may enroll in or 26
691691 continue enrollment in that nonresident district if the 27
692692 district has the capacity to accept the sibling without 28
693693 adding teachers, staff, or classrooms or exceeding the 29
694694 regulations and standards established by law or the resident 30
695695 district and the sibling has no discipline issues as 31
696696 described in section 167.1205. 32
697697 4. Except for a transferring student with a 33
698698 socioeconomic status that qualifies the student for 34
699699 transportation costs reimbursement under subsection 6 of 35
700700 this section, the transferring student or the student's 36
701701 parent is responsible for the transportation of the student 37
702702 to and from the school in the nonresident district where the 38
703703 student is enrolled, except that the nonresident district 39 SB 70 23
704704 may enter into an agreement with the student's parent that 40
705705 the parent may transport the student to an existing bus stop 41
706706 location convenient to the school district or charter school 42
707707 if the school district or charter school has capacity 43
708708 available on a bus serving th at location. If transportation 44
709709 is a related service on a student's individualized education 45
710710 program (IEP) and the student is a participant in the public 46
711711 school open enrollment transfer program, the nonresident 47
712712 district shall not be required to provide such 48
713713 transportation as a related service under the IEP if the 49
714714 nonresident district and the student's parent have entered 50
715715 into an agreement under this subsection. Such agreement 51
716716 shall contain a statement that the parent is waiving the 52
717717 transportation as a related service under the student's IEP. 53
718718 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapters 160 and 54
719719 163 to the contrary, for the purposes of determining state 55
720720 and federal aid, a transferring student shall be counted as 56
721721 a resident pupil of the nonr esident district in which the 57
722722 student is enrolled. 58
723723 6. (1) Any transferring student who qualifies for 59
724724 free and reduced price meals under federal guidelines and 60
725725 transfers to any nonresident district sharing a border with 61
726726 the student's resident dis trict, or the resident district in 62
727727 which the charter school is located, shall be reimbursed by 63
728728 the parent public school choice fund established in section 64
729729 167.1212 for the costs of transportation of the student as 65
730730 provided in this subsection. 66
731731 (2) The amount of transportation costs eligible for 67
732732 reimbursement shall be, rounded to the nearest dollar, the 68
733733 product obtained by multiplying: 69
734734 (a) The number of days the student attended school in 70
735735 the nonresident district; 71 SB 70 24
736736 (b) The number of miles in a single round trip between 72
737737 the student's residence and the nonresident district's 73
738738 nearest existing bus stop location; and 74
739739 (c) The mileage reimbursement rate of thirty -seven 75
740740 cents per mile. 76
741741 (3) The transferring student or the student' s parent 77
742742 shall keep a record of each instance of transporting the 78
743743 transferring student to and from the nonresident district's 79
744744 nearest existing bus stop location. 80
745745 (4) All reimbursements made under this subsection to a 81
746746 transferring student or the s tudent's parent shall be made 82
747747 quarterly. 83
748748 7. Nothing in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall be 84
749749 construed to relieve any resident district of its 85
750750 responsibility to pay any costs required under section 86
751751 162.705 or 162.740. 87
752752 167.1211. If a nonresident student receives special 1
753753 educational services and participates in the public school 2
754754 open enrollment program, the nonresident district shall 3
755755 receive reimbursement from the parent public school choice 4
756756 fund created in section 167.1212 for the costs of the 5
757757 special educational services for the student with an 6
758758 individualized education program above the state and federal 7
759759 funds received for educating the student. Such 8
760760 reimbursement shall not exceed three times the current 9
761761 expenditure per average daily attendance as calculated on 10
762762 the district's annual secretary of the board report for the 11
763763 year in which expenditures are claimed. 12
764764 167.1212. 1. There is hereby created in the state 1
765765 treasury the "Parent Public School Ch oice Fund", which shall 2
766766 consist of an appropriation by the general assembly of sixty 3
767767 million dollars and any additional appropriations made by 4 SB 70 25
768768 the general assembly. The state treasurer shall be 5
769769 custodian of the fund. In accordance with sections 30.17 0 6
770770 and 30.180, the state treasurer may approve disbursements. 7
771771 The fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, 8
772772 moneys in the fund shall be used solely as provided in 9
773773 sections 167.1200 to 167.1230. 10
774774 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of s ection 33.080 to 11
775775 the contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of 12
776776 the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the general 13
777777 revenue fund. 14
778778 3. The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund 15
779779 in the same manner as other funds are in vested. Any 16
780780 interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 17
781781 credited to the fund. 18
782782 4. Moneys appropriated to and deposited in the fund 19
783783 shall be used to supplement, not supplant, state aid 20
784784 distributed to school districts under chapter 163 and 21
785785 charter schools under section 160.415 and shall be used 22
786786 solely to compensate school districts and charter schools 23
787787 that participate in the public school open enrollment 24
788788 program established in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230. 25
789789 5. The department shall annually evaluate the 26
790790 availability and use of moneys from the fund. If the 27
791791 department determines that additional moneys are needed to 28
792792 fulfill the purposes of this section, the department shall, 29
793793 as part of the legislative budget process, annually r equest 30
794794 such moneys by a specific line item appropriation. 31
795795 167.1215. 1. Before October first annually, each 1
796796 school district and charter school shall set the number of 2
797797 transfer students the district or charter school is willing 3
798798 to receive for the following school year under sections 4
799799 167.1200 to 167.1230. The district or charter school may 5 SB 70 26
800800 create criteria for the acceptance of students including, 6
801801 but not limited to, the number of students by building, 7
802802 grade, classroom, or program. 8
803803 2. (1) Each school district and charter school shall 9
804804 publish the number set under this section, notify the 10
805805 department, if a school district, or their sponsor, if a 11
806806 charter school, of such number, and shall not be required to 12
807807 accept any transfer students under this section who would 13
808808 cause the district or charter school to exceed the published 14
809809 number. 15
810810 (2) The school district or charter school may report 16
811811 the total number of students the district or charter school 17
812812 is willing to receive and further delineate the number by 18
813813 building, grade, classroom, or program. 19
814814 3. (1) Each school district and charter school shall 20
815815 develop a method for the formation and operation of a 21
816816 waiting list for applications that cannot be accepted 22
817817 because the number of transfers applied for exceeds the 23
818818 number of transfers available. 24
819819 (2) Applications on the waiting list may be given 25
820820 priority for acceptance in the following order and may 26
821821 include other options for priority acceptance: 27
822822 (a) Siblings of students already enrolled in the 28
823823 district or charter school; 29
824824 (b) Children of an active duty member of the Armed 30
825825 Forces of the United States; 31
826826 (c) Children of school district or charter school 32
827827 employees; 33
828828 (d) Students who had previousl y attended school in the 34
829829 district but whose parents have moved out of the district; 35
830830 and 36 SB 70 27
831831 (e) Students whose parents present an employment 37
832832 circumstance for which an open enrollment transfer would be 38
833833 in the student's best interest. 39
834834 (3) A parent of a student on the waiting list shall be 40
835835 informed by the district or charter school of the details of 41
836836 the operation of the list and whether the parent will be 42
837837 required to refile a timely application for open enrollment 43
838838 in order to remain on the wait ing list. 44
839839 167.1220. 1. If a student seeks to attend a school in 1
840840 a nonresident district under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, 2
841841 the student's parent shall submit an application: 3
842842 (1) To the nonresident district, with a copy to the 4
843843 resident district; 5
844844 (2) On a form approved by the department that contains 6
845845 the student's necessary information for enrollment in 7
846846 another district; and 8
847847 (3) Postmarked before December first in the calendar 9
848848 year preceding the school year in whic h the student seeks to 10
849849 begin the fall semester at the nonresident district. 11
850850 2. A nonresident district that receives an application 12
851851 under subsection 1 of this section shall, upon receipt of 13
852852 the application, place a date and time stamp on the 14
853853 application that reflects the date and time the nonresident 15
854854 district received the application. 16
855855 3. As soon as possible after receiving an application, 17
856856 the superintendent of the nonresident district shall review 18
857857 and make a determination on each applicati on in the order in 19
858858 which the application was received by the nonresident 20
859859 district. Before accepting or rejecting an application, the 21
860860 superintendent shall determine whether one of the 22
861861 limitations under section 167.1225 applies to the 23
862862 application. 24 SB 70 28
863863 4. The superintendent of the nonresident district may 25
864864 accept an application. If the superintendent rejects an 26
865865 application, the superintendent shall present the rejected 27
866866 application with the superintendent's reasons for the 28
867867 rejection to the school bo ard or governing body of the 29
868868 charter school for review. The school board or governing 30
869869 body may accept or reject such application, but no rejection 31
870870 shall be final without a majority vote of the school board 32
871871 or governing body to confirm the superintende nt's rejection 33
872872 of the application. 34
873873 5. (1) As used in this subsection, "good cause" means: 35
874874 (a) A change in a student's residence due to a change 36
875875 in family residence; 37
876876 (b) A change in the state in which the family 38
877877 residence is located; 39
878878 (c) A change in a student's parent's marital status; 40
879879 (d) A guardianship or custody proceeding; 41
880880 (e) Placement in foster care; 42
881881 (f) Adoption; 43
882882 (g) Participation in a foreign exchange program; 44
883883 (h) Participation in a substance abuse or mental 45
884884 health treatment program; 46
885885 (i) A change in the status of a student's resident 47
886886 district such as removal of accreditation by the department, 48
887887 surrender of accreditation, or permanent closure of a 49
888888 nonpublic school; or 50
889889 (j) Revocation of a charter school contract as 51
890890 provided in state law. 52
891891 (2) On or after December first of the calendar year 53
892892 preceding the school year in which the student seeks to 54
893893 begin the fall semester at the nonresident district but 55
894894 before July first of su ch school year, or before the first 56 SB 70 29
895895 Monday in July if July first falls on a Saturday or Sunday, 57
896896 the parent shall send notification to the resident district 58
897897 and the nonresident district, on forms prescribed by the 59
898898 state board of education, that good cau se exists for failure 60
899899 to meet the December first deadline. The school board or 61
900900 governing body of a nonresident district may adopt a policy 62
901901 granting the superintendent the authority to approve 63
902902 applications submitted under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 64
903903 after the December first deadline. The school board or 65
904904 governing body of the nonresident district shall take action 66
905905 to approve the request if good cause exists. If the request 67
906906 is granted, the school board or governing body shall 68
907907 transmit a copy of t he form to the parent and the resident 69
908908 district within five days after school board or governing 70
909909 body action. A denial of a request by the board or 71
910910 governing body of a nonresident district is not subject to 72
911911 appeal. 73
912912 (3) If the good cause relates to a change in status of 74
913913 a student's resident district, a parent shall file such 75
914914 notification within forty -five days after the last school 76
915915 board or governing body action or within thirty days after 77
916916 the certification of the election, whichever is applic able 78
917917 to the circumstances. 79
918918 (4) If a resident district believes that a nonresident 80
919919 district is violating this subsection, the resident district 81
920920 may, within fifteen days after school board or governing 82
921921 body action by the nonresident district, submi t an appeal to 83
922922 the commissioner of education or, in the event of a charter 84
923923 school as the nonresident district, submit an appeal to a 85
924924 panel of three individuals selected by the Missouri charter 86
925925 public school commission. 87 SB 70 30
926926 (5) The commissioner of edu cation or the 88
927927 commissioner's designee or, in the case of a charter school, 89
928928 the three member panel selected by the Missouri charter 90
929929 public school commission, shall attempt to mediate the 91
930930 dispute to reach approval by both the resident school board 92
931931 and the nonresident school board or governing body of the 93
932932 charter school. If approval is not reached under mediation, 94
933933 the commissioner or the three member panel shall conduct a 95
934934 hearing and shall hear testimony from both the resident 96
935935 school board and the no nresident school board or governing 97
936936 body of the charter school. Within ten days following the 98
937937 hearing, the commissioner or the three member panel shall 99
938938 render a decision upholding or reversing the decision by the 100
939939 school board or governing body of the nonresident district. 101
940940 Within five days after the commissioner's or three member 102
941941 panel's decision, the school board or governing body may 103
942942 appeal the decision of the commissioner to the state board 104
943943 of education as provided in state law or may appeal the 105
944944 decision of the three member panel to the full board of the 106
945945 Missouri charter public school commission. 107
946946 6. (1) Before February first of the school year 108
947947 before the school year in which the transferring student 109
948948 seeks to enroll in a nonresident dis trict under sections 110
949949 167.1200 to 167.1230, the nonresident district's 111
950950 superintendent shall notify the parent and the resident 112
951951 district, in writing, as to whether the student's 113
952952 application has been accepted or rejected. The notification 114
953953 shall be sent by first-class mail to the address on the 115
954954 application. 116
955955 (2) If the application is rejected, the nonresident 117
956956 district's superintendent shall state in the notification 118
957957 letter the reason for the rejection. 119 SB 70 31
958958 (3) If the application is accepted, the nonresident 120
959959 district's superintendent shall state in the notification 121
960960 letter: 122
961961 (a) A reasonable deadline before which the student 123
962962 shall enroll in the nonresident district and after which the 124
963963 acceptance notification is void; and 125
964964 (b) Instructions for the procedures established by the 126
965965 nonresident district for renewing enrollment in the 127
966966 nonresident district each year. 128
967967 167.1225. 1. If sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 1
968968 conflict with a provision of an enforceable desegregation 2
969969 court order or a district's court -approved desegregation 3
970970 plan regarding the effects of past racial segregation in 4
971971 student assignment, the provisions of the order or plan 5
972972 shall govern. 6
973973 2. (1) A school district may annually declare an 7
974974 exemption from sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 if the school 8
975975 district is subject to a desegregation order or mandate of a 9
976976 federal court or agency remedying the effects of past racial 10
977977 segregation or subject to a settlement agreement remedying 11
978978 the effects of past raci al segregation. 12
979979 (2) An exemption declared by a board of education of a 13
980980 school district under subdivision (1) of this subsection is 14
981981 irrevocable for one year from the date the school district 15
982982 notifies the department of the declaration of exemption. 16
983983 (3) After each year of exemption, the board of 17
984984 education of a school district may elect to participate in 18
985985 the public school open enrollment program under sections 19
986986 167.1200 to 167.1230 if the school district's participation 20
987987 does not conflict with the school district's federal court - 21
988988 ordered desegregation program or settlement agreement 22
989989 remedying the effects of past racial segregation. 23 SB 70 32
990990 (4) A school district shall notify the department 24
991991 before April first if in the next school year the school 25
992992 district intends to: 26
993993 (a) Declare an exemption under subdivision (1) of this 27
994994 subsection; or 28
995995 (b) Resume participation after a period of exemption. 29
996996 (5) Annually before June first, the department shall 30
997997 report to each school district the ma ximum number of public 31
998998 school open enrollment program transfers for the school year 32
999999 to begin July first. 33
10001000 (6) If a student is unable to transfer because of the 34
10011001 limits under this subsection, the nonresident district shall 35
10021002 give the student priority for a transfer in the following 36
10031003 school year in the order that the nonresident district 37
10041004 receives notices of application under section 167.1220, as 38
10051005 evidenced by a notation made by the district on the 39
10061006 applications indicating the date and time of receipt. 40
10071007 3. Any resident or nonresident school district with an 41
10081008 approved diversity plan or voluntary diversity plan may deny 42
10091009 a transfer under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 if the school 43
10101010 district determines that the transfer conflicts with the 44
10111011 provisions of such diversity plan. The denial of a transfer 45
10121012 under this subsection shall be deemed a denial for good 46
10131013 cause. 47
10141014 4. (1) Any student who transfers to a nonresident 48
10151015 district under section 167.131, sections 162.1040 to 49
10161016 162.1061, or any section other than sections 167.1200 to 50
10171017 167.1230 shall not be subject to any requirements under 51
10181018 sections 167.1200 to 167.1230. 52
10191019 (2) Districts receiving transfer students or sending 53
10201020 transfer students to nonresident districts under section 54
10211021 167.131, sections 162. 1040 to 162.1061, or any section other 55 SB 70 33
10221022 than sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall not be subject to 56
10231023 any requirements under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 for 57
10241024 those transfer students. 58
10251025 5. A student transferring to a nonresident district 59
10261026 under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall not be considered 60
10271027 a transfer student under any law relating to another 61
10281028 transfer program or procedure that allows students to 62
10291029 transfer out of their resident districts. 63
10301030 167.1230. 1. A student whose applicat ion for a 1
10311031 transfer under section 167.1220 is rejected by the 2
10321032 nonresident district may appeal to the department to 3
10331033 reconsider the transfer in the case of a transfer request to 4
10341034 a school district. In the event of a transfer request to a 5
10351035 charter school, the student may appeal to a three member 6
10361036 panel selected by the Missouri Charter Public School 7
10371037 Association. 8
10381038 2. An appeal to the department or the three member 9
10391039 panel shall be in writing and shall be postmarked no later 10
10401040 than ten calendar days, exclu ding weekends and legal 11
10411041 holidays, after the student or the student's parent receives 12
10421042 a notice of rejection of the application under section 13
10431043 167.1220. 14
10441044 3. Contemporaneously with the filing of the written 15
10451045 appeal under subsection 2 of this section, t he student or 16
10461046 the student's parent shall also mail a copy of the written 17
10471047 appeal to the nonresident district's superintendent. 18
10481048 4. In the written appeal, the student or student's 19
10491049 parent shall state the basis for appealing the decision of 20
10501050 the nonresident district. 21
10511051 5. The student or the student's parent shall submit, 22
10521052 along with the written appeal, a copy of the notice of 23
10531053 rejection from the nonresident district. 24 SB 70 34
10541054 6. As part of the review process, the student or 25
10551055 student's parent may submit supporting documentation that 26
10561056 the transfer would be in the best educational, health, 27
10571057 social, or psychological interest of the student. 28
10581058 7. The nonresident district may submit in writing any 29
10591059 additional information, evidence, or arguments supporting 30
10601060 the district's rejection of the student's application by 31
10611061 mailing such response to the department or the three member 32
10621062 panel. Such response shall be postmarked no later than ten 33
10631063 days after the nonresident district receives the student's 34
10641064 or parent's appeal. 35
10651065 8. Contemporaneously with the filing of its response 36
10661066 under subsection 7 of this section, the nonresident district 37
10671067 shall also mail a copy of the response to the student or 38
10681068 student's parent. 39
10691069 9. If the department or the three member panel 40
10701070 overturns the determination of the nonresident district on 41
10711071 appeal, the department or the three member panel shall 42
10721072 notify the parent, the nonresident district, and the 43
10731073 resident district of the basis for the department's decision. 44
10741074 10. (1) The department shall collect data from school 45
10751075 districts and each charter school sponsor shall collect data 46
10761076 from the charter schools it sponsors on the number of 47
10771077 applications for student transfers under sections 167.1200 48
10781078 to 167.1230 and study the effects of pu blic school open 49
10791079 enrollment program transfers under sections 167.1200 to 50
10801080 167.1230. The department shall consider, as part of its 51
10811081 study, the maximum number of transfers and exemptions for 52
10821082 both resident and nonresident districts for up to two years 53
10831083 to determine if a significant racially segregative impact 54
10841084 has occurred to any school district. 55 SB 70 35
10851085 (2) Annually before October first, the department and 56
10861086 each sponsor shall report the department's and sponsor's 57
10871087 findings from the study of the data under su bdivision (1) of 58
10881088 this subsection to: 59
10891089 (a) The joint committee on education or any successor 60
10901090 committee; 61
10911091 (b) The house committee on elementary and secondary 62
10921092 education or any other education committee designated by the 63
10931093 speaker of the house of r epresentatives; and 64
10941094 (c) The senate committee on education or any other 65
10951095 education committee designated by the president pro tempore 66
10961096 of the senate. 67
10971097 11. The department shall annually make a random 68
10981098 selection of ten percent of the school district s and each 69
10991099 charter school sponsor shall make a random selection of at 70
11001100 least one charter school participating in the public school 71
11011101 open enrollment program under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230. 72
11021102 The audit shall be of each school's transfers approved or 73
11031103 denied under policies adopted by the school board or 74
11041104 governing body under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230. If the 75
11051105 department or charter school sponsor determines that a 76
11061106 selected school district or charter school is improperly 77
11071107 implementing and administeri ng the transfer process 78
11081108 established under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, the 79
11091109 department may withhold any state aid provided to the school 80
11101110 district under chapter 163 or section 160.415 until the 81
11111111 school district or charter school corrects the transfer 82
11121112 process improprieties identified by the department's audit. 83
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