HCS HB 1040 -- EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY

SPONSOR:  Cunningham (86)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Education
by a vote of 24 to 0.

ASSESSMENTS AND ACCREDITATION

By June 30, 2006, the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education will align assessment performance standards to levels
that meet, but do not exceed, those used in the National
Assessment of Educational Progress and make other changes
necessary to meet federal requirements; and by July 1, 2006, the
department will revise its accreditation standards to permit
process and resource standard waivers consistent with academic
performance profiles.  The accreditation scoring rubric must not
require points for the Parents as Teachers Program, although
deficiencies may be noted as an area of concern and must reward
districts that use instructional technology to accomplish their
advanced placement goals.  The substitute permits districts to
develop incentives or supplementary work as a consequence of a
student's performance on the statewide assessments.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

The substitute clarifies that the nepotism provisions of the
Missouri Constitution apply to school districts.  Districts
serving the same students, such as K-8 districts and the
districts that provide high schools to those districts, must make
a good-faith effort to coordinate their school calendars.

OTHER PROVISIONS

The department must seek feedback on its rules and regulations
and give priority to the review of existing regulations that
could be relaxed in hard economic times, as defined in the
substitute, without affecting student achievement.  The Division
of Family Services cannot meet with a child in the same school or
child care facility where abuse is alleged to have occurred.
Currently, the division cannot meet with a child at any school or
child care facility.  This provision contains an emergency
clause.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the changes to the performance
standards on the state assessments will help make comparisons
from state to state more accurate and should help ease full
implementation of the No Child Left Behind Program.  The
correction to the procedure that the Division of Family Services
must follow should help make it easier to interview an abused
child under circumstances that are less threatening to the child
without creating liability for the school district.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Cunningham (86);
Missouri State Teachers Association; Dr. Mark Enderle, Fulton
Public Schools Superintendent; Missouri School Boards
Association; Missouri National Education Association; School
Administrators' Coalition; and Missouri Federation of Teachers.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that changes to the
district policy on student participation remain stated in
permissive rather than mandatory language.  It is unclear how
changes to the assessment and accreditation procedures will
affect school districts because of the statutory requirement that
revisions to the Missouri School Improvement Program cannot be
implemented for two years.

Testifying against the bill was Olin Parks, Pemiscot Public
School Superintendent.

Becky DeNeve, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 23, 2004 at 11:14 am