HCS HB 1817 -- ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PERFORMANCE AND PRIORITY SCHOOLS
(Franklin)

This substitute requires the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education to identify high-achieving schools as
performance schools and specify the waivers of rule applicable to
those schools.  Schools or districts that are academically
deficient, unaccredited or provisionally accredited, or that
achieve none of the student performance standards established for
accreditation will be identified as priority schools and must
submit an accountability compliance statement that identifies
areas of deficiency and provides a strategy to address the
deficiencies and must disclose the deficiencies on the school
report card.  These schools must also enforce their discipline
policies.  The substitute allows the St. Louis city district,
which has a desegregation settlement academic improvement plan,
to submit that plan for review so that elements that occur in the
accountability compliance plan and the desegregation academic
improvement plan can be reviewed by the department to prevent
duplication of effort.

The strategy for improvement of priority schools must, among
other requirements, align curricula to address deficiencies;
develop individual academic agreements for any student not
receiving special education services who scores at the lowest
level of proficiency on the statewide assessments and require
such students in grades 9 to 11 to retake the assessment; focus
professional development funds on the areas of greatest academic
need; improve teacher and administrator effectiveness; and
reallocate resources.  The academic agreement spells out the
responsibilities of the student, teacher, administrator, and
parent or other adult who takes educational responsibility and
requires the parent to make a good faith effort to meet with the
teacher, who is given the authority to call for a review of the
agreement when necessary.

Plans to improve teacher and administrator effectiveness exempt
individuals who meet any of several requirements, including
national board certification, mentors in approved programs, and
those who achieve qualifying scores in professional assessments.
Nonexempt individuals must complete a mentoring program, a
training program for assessment scorers, or work toward national
board certification.  Resource reallocation programs must include
one of a number of specified elements, such as extended learning
time, smaller learning communities, or home visits by teachers.
A schedule for submission of the accountability compliance
statements is set out in the substitute, and the department may
withhold state aid from districts that do not meet the standards
and timelines for the statements established by the substitute.
Enforcement of the portion of the substitute relating to priority
schools and school districts depends upon full funding of the
school aid formula.

FISCAL NOTE:  Cost to General Revenue of $86,400 in FY 2003, FY
2004, and FY 2005.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:02 am