HOUSE BILL NO. 1704 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTENSEN.
4620H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 160.518, 160.522, and 161.092, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to responsibilities of the department of elementary and secondary education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 160.518, 160.522, and 161.092, RSMo, are repealed and three 2 new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 160.518, 160.522, and 161.092, 3 to read as follows: 160.518. 1. (1) Sections 160.518, 160.522, and 161.092 shall be known and may 2 be cited as the "Education Freedom Act". 3 (2) Consistent with the provisions contained in section 160.526, the state board of 4 education shall develop, modify, and revise, as necessary, a statewide summative assessment 5 system that [provides maximum flexibility for local school districts to determine the degree to 6 which students in the public schools of the state are proficient in the knowledge, skills, and 7 competencies adopted by such board pursuant to section 160.514] satisfies the pupil testing 8 mandates in effect under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Pub. L. 114-95), as 9 amended, for each school year. 10 (3) Results from the assessment created under this subsection shall be used only 11 for the purposes of complying with the requirements of such federal law and 12 determining performance districts under sections 163.011 and 163.031 and for no other 13 purpose. 14 (4) Results from such assessments shall not be used to classify school districts 15 and charter schools.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1704 2
16 [(2) (a) The statewide assessment system shall assess problem solving, analytical 17 ability, evaluation, creativity, and application ability in the different content areas and shall be 18 performance-based to identify what students know, as well as what they are able to do, and 19 shall enable teachers to evaluate actual academic performance. 20 (b) The statewide assessment system shall neither promote nor prohibit rote 21 memorization and shall not include existing versions of tests approved for use pursuant to the 22 provisions of section 160.257, nor enhanced versions of such tests. 23 (3) After the state board of education adopts and implements academic performance 24 standards as required under section 161.855, the state board of education shall develop and 25 adopt a standardized assessment instrument under this section based on the academic 26 performance standards adopted under section 161.855. 27 (4) The statewide assessment system shall measure, where appropriate by grade level, 28 a student's knowledge of academic subjects including, but not limited to, reading skills, 29 writing skills, mathematics skills, world and American history, forms of government, 30 geography and science. 31 2. The statewide assessment system shall only permit the academic performance of 32 students in each school in the state to be tracked against prior academic performance in the 33 same school. 34 3. (1) The state board of education shall suggest, but not mandate, criteria for a 35 school to demonstrate that its students learn the knowledge, skills and competencies at 36 exemplary levels worthy of imitation by students in other schools in the state and nation. 37 (2) Exemplary levels shall be measured by the statewide assessment system 38 developed pursuant to subsection 1 of this section, or until said statewide assessment system 39 is available, by indicators approved for such use by the state board of education. 40 (3) The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the commissioner of 41 education may, upon request of the school district, present a plan for the waiver of rules and 42 regulations to any such school, to be known as "Outstanding Schools Waivers", consistent 43 with the provisions of subsection 4 of this section. 44 4. (1) For any school that meets the criteria established by the state board of 45 education for three successive school years pursuant to the provisions of subsection 3 of this 46 section, by August first following the third such school year, the commissioner of education 47 shall present a plan to the superintendent of the school district in which such school is located 48 for the waiver of rules and regulations to promote flexibility in the operations of the school 49 and to enhance and encourage efficiency in the delivery of instructional services. 50 (2) The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the plan presented to 51 the superintendent shall provide a summary waiver, with no conditions, for the pupil testing 52 requirements pursuant to section 160.257, in the school. HB 1704 3
53 (3) Further, the provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the plan shall 54 detail a means for the waiver of requirements otherwise imposed on the school related to the 55 authority of the state board of education to classify school districts pursuant to subdivision (9) 56 of section 161.092 and such other rules and regulations as determined by the commissioner of 57 education, excepting such waivers shall be confined to the school and not other schools in the 58 district unless such other schools meet the criteria established by the state board of education 59 consistent with subsection 3 of this section and the waivers shall not include the requirements 60 contained in this section and section 160.514. 61 (4) Any waiver provided to any school as outlined in this subsection shall be void on 62 June thirtieth of any school year in which the school fails to meet the criteria established by 63 the state board of education consistent with subsection 3 of this section. 64 5. The score on any assessment test developed pursuant to this section or this chapter 65 of any student for whom English is a second language shall not be counted until such time as 66 such student has been educated for three full school years in a school in this state, or in any 67 other state, in which English is the primary language.] 68 2. School districts and charter schools shall create, purchase, or adopt a local 69 assessment system. 70 3. The local assessment system shall be: 71 (1) Authentic to student discipline-specific learning, experience, and the 72 demonstration of performance-based learning; 73 (2) Related to curricula taught in the school; 74 (3) Evaluated and graded in a manner that provides students and teachers with 75 meaningful feedback that can be used for academic improvement; 76 (4) Developed in consultation with building-level administrators, teachers, 77 students, parents, and the community; and 78 (5) Available for demonstration and community inspection. 79 [6.] 4. (1) (a) The state board of education shall identify or, if necessary, establish 80 one or more developmentally appropriate alternate assessments for students who receive 81 special educational services, as that term is defined pursuant to section 162.675. 82 (b) In the development of such alternate assessments, the state board shall establish 83 an advisory panel consisting of a majority of active special education teachers residing in 84 Missouri and other education professionals as appropriate to research available assessment 85 options. 86 (c) The advisory panel shall attempt to identify preexisting developmentally 87 appropriate alternate assessments but shall, if necessary, develop alternate assessments and 88 recommend one or more alternate assessments for adoption by the state board. HB 1704 4
89 (d) The state board shall consider the recommendations of the advisory council in 90 establishing such alternate assessment or assessments. 91 (2) Any student who receives special educational services, as that term is defined 92 pursuant to section 162.675, shall be assessed by an alternate assessment established pursuant 93 to this subsection upon a determination by the student's individualized education program 94 team that such alternate assessment is more appropriate to assess the student's knowledge, 95 skills and competencies than the assessment developed pursuant to subsection 1 of this 96 section. 97 (3) The alternate assessment shall evaluate the student's independent living skills, 98 which include how effectively the student addresses common life demands and how well the 99 student meets standards for personal independence expected for someone in the student's age 100 group, sociocultural background, and community setting. 101 [7.] 5. The state board of education shall also develop recommendations regarding 102 alternate assessments for any military dependent who relocates to Missouri after the 103 commencement of a school term, in order to accommodate such student while ensuring that 104 he or she is proficient in the knowledge, skills, and competencies adopted under section 105 160.514. 106 [8.] 6. (1) As used in this subsection, the following terms mean: 107 (a) "Department", the department of elementary and secondary education; 108 (b) "Grade-level equivalence", a metric developed for grades three to eight and used 109 by the department to show a student's proximity to doing grade-level work; 110 (c) "Parent", a parent, guardian, custodian, or other person with authority to act on 111 behalf of a student. 112 (2) Grade-level equivalence, as developed and used under this subsection, shall 113 consist of a student's knowledge of academic subjects by grade level and performance-level 114 descriptors indicating whether such student is ready for the next grade or level of education. 115 Such performance-level descriptors shall consist of the following: 116 (a) Advanced, which shall indicate that such student: 117 a. Demonstrates superior performance on challenging grade-level subject matter; 118 b. Is above such student's current grade or level of education; and 119 c. Is ready for, at a minimum, the next grade or level of education; 120 (b) Proficient, which shall indicate that such student: 121 a. Demonstrates mastery over all appropriate grade-level standards and has 122 introductory-level knowledge for the next grade or level of education; 123 b. May be above such student's current grade or level of education in some areas; and 124 c. Is ready for the next grade or level of education; 125 (c) Grade level, which shall indicate that such student: HB 1704 5
126 a. Demonstrates mastery over appropriate grade-level subject matter; 127 b. Is at such student's current grade or level of education; and 128 c. May be ready, with appropriate reinforcement, for the next grade or level of 129 education; 130 (d) Basic, which shall indicate that such student: 131 a. Demonstrates partial mastery of the essential knowledge and skills appropriate to 132 such student's grade or level of education; 133 b. May not be at such student's current grade or level of education; and 134 c. May not be ready, without appropriate remediation, for the next grade or level of 135 education; and 136 (e) Below basic, which shall indicate that such student: 137 a. Has failed to perform, at a minimum, at the limited knowledge level necessary for 138 such student's grade or level of education; 139 b. Is not at such student's current grade or level of education; and 140 c. Has been determined to be at the specific lower grade or level of education 141 measured by and listed in such student's statewide assessment score. 142 (3) (a) Such grade-level equivalence shall be determined at the same time each 143 student's academic performance is measured by the statewide assessment system developed 144 under this section. 145 (b) Such grade-level equivalence shall be provided at the same time such student's 146 statewide assessment score is reported to such student or such student's parent. 147 (4) (a) Data related to grade-level equivalence shall be searchable on a building-by- 148 building, school-by-school, district-by-district, and statewide basis on the department's school 149 accountability report card developed under section 160.522. 150 (b) Data related to grade-level equivalence shall display the percentage of students 151 whose performance-level descriptor is grade level or above on a building-by-building, school- 152 by-school, district-by-district, and statewide basis. 153 (c) No data related to grade-level equivalence shall be disclosed in any form that 154 allows the personal identification of any student to any individual or entity except such 155 student or such student's parent. 156 (5) The provisions of subsection 2 of section 160.514 shall not apply to the 157 development of the grade-level equivalence metric. 158 (6) The department may choose a third-party nonprofit entity to develop the grade- 159 level equivalence metric. 160.522. 1. [The department of elementary and secondary education shall produce or 2 cause to be produced, at least annually, a school accountability report card for each public 3 school district, each public school building in a school district, and each charter school in the HB 1704 6
4 state. The report card shall be designed to satisfy state and federal requirements for the 5 disclosure of statistics about students, staff, finances, academic achievement, and other 6 indicators. The purpose of the report card shall be to provide educational statistics and 7 accountability information for parents, taxpayers, school personnel, legislators, and the print 8 and broadcast news media in a standardized, easily accessible form] School districts and 9 charter schools shall provide public reporting of information on an annual basis as 10 provided in this section. The school district and charter school reports shall be made 11 publicly available on a data dashboard on the website of the school district or charter 12 school and separately shared with the department of elementary and secondary 13 education. 14 2. [(1) The department of elementary and secondary education shall develop a 15 standard form for the school accountability report card. 16 (2)] The information reported shall include, but not be limited to, the following 17 information reported by each school district or charter school: 18 [(a)] (1) The [most recent] accreditation [rating] status; 19 [(b)] (2) Enrollment; 20 [(c)] (3) Rates of pupil attendance; 21 [(d)] (4) High school dropout rate and graduation rate; 22 [(e)] (5) The number and rate of suspensions of ten days or longer and expulsions of 23 pupils; 24 [(f)] (6) The district or charter school ratio of students to administrators and students 25 to classroom teachers; 26 [(g)] (7) The average years of experience of professional staff and advanced degrees 27 earned; 28 [(h)] (8) Student achievement and grade-level equivalence data as measured through 29 the statewide and local assessment [system] systems developed pursuant to section 160.518; 30 [(i)] (9) Student scores on the ACT, along with the percentage of graduates taking the 31 test; 32 [(j)] (10) Average teachers' and administrators' salaries compared to the state 33 averages; 34 [(k)] (11) Average per-pupil current expenditures for the district or charter school as a 35 whole and by attendance center as reported to the department of elementary and secondary 36 education; 37 [(l)] (12) The adjusted tax rate of the district or charter school; 38 [(m)] (13) The assessed valuation of the district; 39 [(n)] (14) The percentage of the district or charter school operating budget received 40 from state, federal, and local sources; HB 1704 7
41 [(o)] (15) The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch; 42 [(p)] (16) Data on the percentage of students continuing their education in 43 postsecondary programs; 44 [(q)] (17) Information about the job placement rate for students who complete district 45 or charter school vocational education programs; 46 [(r)] (18) Whether the school district or charter school currently has a state-approved 47 gifted education program; and 48 [(s)] (19) The percentage and number of students who are currently being served in 49 the district's or charter school's state-approved gifted education program. 50 3. The report card shall permit the disclosure of data on a school-by-school basis, but 51 the reporting shall not be personally identifiable to any student or education professional in 52 the state. 53 4. [The report card shall identify each school or attendance center that has been 54 identified as a priority school under sections 160.720 and 161.092. The report also shall 55 identify attendance centers that have been categorized under federal law as needing 56 improvement or requiring specific school improvement strategies. 57 5.] The report card shall not limit or discourage other methods of public reporting and 58 accountability by local school districts and charter schools. Districts and charter schools 59 shall provide information included in the report card to parents, community members, and the 60 print and broadcast news media[, and legislators] by December first annually or as soon 61 thereafter as the information is available to the district or charter school, giving preference to 62 methods that incorporate the reporting into substantive official communications such as 63 student report cards. The school district or charter school shall provide a printed copy of the 64 district-level or school-level report card to any patron upon request and shall make reasonable 65 efforts to supply businesses such as, but not limited to, real estate and employment firms with 66 copies or other information about the reports so that parents and businesses from outside the 67 district who may be contemplating relocation have access. 68 [6.] 5. For purposes of completing and distributing the annual report card as 69 prescribed in this section, a school district may include the data from a charter school located 70 within such school district, provided the local board of educatio