HB 320 -- LAPSE OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS

SPONSOR:  Muschany

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Elementary
and Secondary Education by a vote of 13 to 2.

This bill creates a mechanism to prevent a school district from
moving back and forth between unaccredited and provisionally
accredited status.  If a school district that has been classified
as unaccredited within the past five years and has become
provisionally accredited should lose its provisional
accreditation, it will lapse on June 30 or at a later date
determined by the State Board of Education.

Changes are also made to the required hearing on the plans for
continuing the educational process after lapse, which must be
held at least 60 days before the district lapses.  A special
administrative board, which may be appointed by the state board
to monitor an unaccredited district, is also given standing to
enjoin school board actions that might result in wastage of
assets.  The state board is given the option of permitting a
lapsed district to continue to operate under its existing
governance structure pursuant to terms and conditions the board
establishes.  A prohibition on attaching a lapsed district with
more than 5,000 pupils to another district without the approval
of the board of the receiving school district is removed.

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

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that it is possible for a district
that has been designated unaccredited and then achieved
provisional accreditation to linger in provisionally accredited
status without making progress.  The bill imposes a time line to
keep a district progressing, rather than marginally improving but
never moving out of a provisionally accredited status.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Muschany; and
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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