HCS HB 297 -- SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT CARDS

SPONSOR:  Cunningham, 86 (Pearce)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass by consent" by the Committee on
Elementary and Secondary Education by a vote of 14 to 0.

Currently, school districts are required to produce an annual
accountability report card for each school building, distribute
copies to the households with students, and make copies available
to other members of the public upon request.  This substitute
transfers the responsibility for producing the report card to the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, specifying that
there will be report cards for each district, each public school
building in a district, and each charter school.  The report card
will be designed to satisfy federal and state statistical
disclosure requirements about academic achievement, finances,
staff, and other indicators.

The substitute makes changes to the contents of the report card
and clarifies existing requirements.  The requirement to report
participation rates in several programs and activities is
removed.  The report card must disclose each school that has been
identified as a priority school under state law or as needing
improvement or requiring specific improvement measures under
federal law.  Districts must provide the report card information
by December 1, or as soon as it is ready, and give preference to
distribution methods that will include the information with other
important information, such as student report cards.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2006, FY 2007, and
FY 2008.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that if the Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education (DESE) generates the reports instead of
the district, it will save districts time and effort.  Most of
the items being dropped from the existing requirements are ones
that DESE does not collect or does not have available in a useful
form.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Pearce; Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education; Missouri State Teachers
Association; Missouri School Boards' Association; Missouri
National Education Association; Missouri School Administrators
Coalition; Missouri Association of Career and Technical
Educators; Missouri Press Association; Missouri Broadcasters
Association; and Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas
City.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Becky DeNeve, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:18 pm