FIRST REGULAR SESSION
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES MUSCHANY (Sponsor) AND CUNNINGHAM (86) (Co-sponsor).
Read 1st time January 25, 2005 and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 171.171, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to school credit.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 171.171, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 171.171, to read as follows:
171.171. 1. Work completed in schools accredited by the state board of education shall be given full credit in requirements for entrance to and classification in any government-sponsored or public higher or post-secondary educational institution supported in whole or in part by state appropriation.
2. When a student transfers into a public or government-sponsored school from any educational setting, including but not limited to an unaccredited public or any nonpublic school, or from a home school, the district shall provide the student and parent or guardian with a written explanation of the enrollment, credit issuance, grade level placement, and appeal process along with the board policy on these topics if the parent disagrees with the school's evaluation of the student's credits or placement. The district shall review the student's course work, achievement test scores, transcript, and any other performance data from his or her previous school, including any records kept pursuant to section 167.031, RSMo, to determine the issuing of course credits and grade level placement. If the district is unable to determine the credits earned or grade level placement based on the documentation provided, the district may administer some other proficiency assessment as set by school board policy. If the assessment selected by the district is not a recognized national or state assessment, course curricular objectives and competencies shall be provided to the student and parent or guardian prior to the test. Course credit shall be awarded based on a passing grade determined by what is considered passing to regularly enrolled students in the district. The district shall provide a determination of the course credits and grade level placement to the student and his or her parent or guardian within thirty calendar days of the request for enrollment and provision of course documentation by the student and parent or guardian or within thirty calendar days of the student's completion of the proficiency assessment.
3. Board of education policies for determining the issuance of credits and grade level placement of transfer students shall be reasonable and nondiscriminatory. Elective credit shall be awarded for course work not recognized as fulfilling the district curricular objectives but which meet the documentation requirements of this section or section 167.031, RSMo, as applicable. The district shall work with the student and the student's parents or guardian to determine the best grade level placement based on the credits earned and the student’s age, and devise a program of studies that, if completed, will earn a high school diploma.