HOUSE BILL NO. 2048 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE TERRY.
4234H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal sections 162.081 and 162.083, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to special administrative boards for unaccredited school districts.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 162.081 and 162.083, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections 2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 162.081 and 162.083, to read as follows: 162.081. 1. Whenever any school district in this state fails or refuses in any school 2 year to provide for the minimum school term required by section 163.021 or is classified 3 unaccredited, the state board of education shall, upon a district's initial classification or 4 reclassification as unaccredited: 5 (1) Review the governance of the district to establish the conditions under which the 6 existing school board shall continue to govern; or 7 (2) Determine the date the district shall lapse and determine an alternative governing 8 structure for the district as provided in this section. 9 2. If at the time any school district in this state shall be classified as unaccredited, the 10 department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct at least two public hearings 11 at a location in the unaccredited school district regarding the accreditation status of the school 12 district. The hearings shall provide an opportunity to convene community resources that may 13 be useful or necessary in supporting the school district as it attempts to return to accredited 14 status, continues under revised governance, or plans for continuity of educational services and 15 resources upon its attachment to a neighboring district. The department may request the 16 attendance of stakeholders and district officials to review the district's plan to return to 17 accredited status, if any; offer technical assistance; and facilitate and coordinate community
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 2048 2
18 resources. Such hearings shall be conducted at least twice annually for every year in which 19 the district remains unaccredited or provisionally accredited. 20 3. Upon classification of a district as unaccredited, the state board of education may: 21 (1) Allow continued governance by the existing school district board of education 22 under terms and conditions established by the state board of education; or 23 (2) [Lapse the corporate organization of all or part] Suspend the governing or 24 managing authority of the elected school board members of the unaccredited district and: 25 (a) Appoint a special administrative board for the operation of [all or part of] the 26 district. [If a special administrative board is appointed for the operation of a part of a school 27 district, the state board of education shall determine an equitable apportionment of state and 28 federal aid for the part of the district and the school district shall provide local revenue in 29 proportion to the weighted average daily attendance of the part.] The number of members of 30 the special administrative board shall [not] be [less than five, the majority] seven, four of 31 whom shall be residents of the district, provided that individuals possessing the 32 qualifications set forth in this paragraph are ready, willing, and able to serve. The 33 members of the special administrative board shall reflect the population characteristics of the 34 district and shall collectively possess strong experience in school governance, management 35 and finance, and leadership. One member shall be a certified public school teacher from 36 outside of the district or retired, one shall be a certified public school principal from 37 outside of the district or retired, one shall be a certified public school superintendent or 38 deputy or associate superintendent from outside of the district or retired, two shall be 39 parents who have been active with the Parent-Teacher Association or a similar 40 organization of the district, one shall be a college or university professor of educational 41 administration, and one shall hold a degree and be experienced in accounting or finance. 42 The special administrative board shall meet at least once per month. Each member of 43 the special administrative board shall receive a salary of five hundred dollars per month 44 and shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of duties 45 as a member of the special administrative board, with such funds to be paid from the 46 district's revenue. Each member of the special administrative board shall be appointed 47 to a term of three years and shall serve until a successor is appointed and qualified 48 unless sooner removed for good cause shown by the state board of education. Within 49 thirty days after the state board of education votes to appoint a member to the special 50 administrative board, if a member of the house of representatives whose district touches 51 the school district, in whole or in part, submits a request to the president pro tempore of 52 the senate, the appointment shall be subject to the advice and consent of the senate. The 53 [state board of education may appoint] members of the district's elected school board [to] 54 shall be ex officio, nonvoting members of the special administrative board[, but members of HB 2048 3
55 the elected school board shall not comprise more than forty-nine percent of the special 56 administrative board's membership] and may attend and have a voice in the meetings and 57 committees of the special administrative board. The residents of the district shall 58 continue to elect such ex officio members to the school board. Within fourteen days after 59 the appointment by the state board of education, the special administrative board shall 60 organize by the election of a president, vice president, secretary and a treasurer, with their 61 duties and organization as enumerated in section 162.301. The special administrative board 62 shall appoint a superintendent of schools to serve as the chief executive officer of the school 63 district[, or a subset of schools,] and to have all powers and duties of any other general 64 superintendent of schools in a seven-director school district. Any special administrative 65 board appointed under this section shall be responsible for the operation of the district [or part 66 of the district] until such time that the district is classified by the state board of education as 67 provisionally accredited for at least two successive academic years, after which time the state 68 board of education [may] shall provide for a transition pursuant to section 162.083; [or] 69 (b) Upon the failure of the district to be classified as provisionally or fully 70 accredited for at least two successive academic years, the state board of education shall 71 require the special administrative board to establish a specific plan and timeline for 72 achieving accreditation and determine an alternative governing structure for the district 73 including, at a minimum: 74 a. [A rationale for the decision to use an alternative form of governance and] In the 75 absence of the district's achievement of provisional or full accreditation, [the state board of 76 education shall] a review [and recertify the alternative form of governance] of the special 77 administrative board and a requirement for the special administrative board to appoint 78 a new superintendent of the school district every three years; 79 b. A method for the residents of the district to provide public comment after a stated 80 period of time or upon achievement of specified academic objectives; 81 c. Expectations for progress on academic achievement, which shall include an 82 anticipated time line for the district to reach full accreditation; and 83 d. Annual reports to the general assembly and the governor on the progress towards 84 accreditation of any district that has been declared unaccredited and is placed under [an 85 alternative form of] governance of a special administrative board, including a review of the 86 effectiveness of the [alternative governance] special administrative board; or 87 (c) Attach the territory of the lapsed district to another district or districts for school 88 purposes[; or 89 (d) Establish one or more school districts within the territory of the lapsed district, 90 with a governance structure specified by the state board of education, with the option of 91 permitting a district to remain intact for the purposes of assessing, collecting, and distributing HB 2048 4
92 property taxes, to be distributed equitably on a weighted average daily attendance basis, but to 93 be divided for operational purposes, which shall take effect sixty days after the adjournment 94 of the regular session of the general assembly next following the state board's decision unless 95 a statute or concurrent resolution is enacted to nullify the state board's decision prior to such 96 effective date]. 97 4. If a district remains under continued governance by the school board under 98 subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section and either has been unaccredited for three 99 consecutive school years and failed to attain accredited status after the third school year or has 100 been unaccredited for two consecutive school years and the state board of education 101 determines its academic progress is not consistent with attaining accredited status after the 102 third school year, [then] the state board of education shall proceed under subdivision (2) of 103 subsection 3 of this section in the following school year. 104 5. A special administrative board [or any other form of governance] appointed under 105 this section shall retain the authority granted to a board of education for the operation of the 106 lapsed school district under the laws of the state in effect at the time of the lapse and may 107 enter into contracts with accredited school districts or other education service providers in 108 order to deliver high-quality educational programs to the residents of the district. If a student 109 graduates while attending a school building in the district that is operated under a contract 110 with an accredited school district as specified under this subsection, the student shall receive 111 [his or her] such student's diploma from the accredited school district. The authority of the 112 special administrative board [or any other form of governance] appointed under this section 113 shall expire at the end of the third full school year following its appointment, unless extended 114 by the state board of education for no more than three full school years. No additional 115 extensions shall be granted. Governance of the school district shall be returned to the 116 elected board upon the expiration of the authority of the special administrative board. 117 If the lapsed district is reassigned, the governing board prior to lapse shall provide an 118 accounting of all funds, assets and liabilities of the lapsed district and transfer such funds, 119 assets, and liabilities of the lapsed district as determined by the state board of education. 120 Neither the special administrative board [nor any other form of governance] appointed under 121 this section nor its members or employees shall be deemed to be the state or a state agency for 122 any purpose, including section 105.711[,] et seq. The state of Missouri, its agencies and 123 employees shall be absolutely immune from liability for any and all acts or omissions relating 124 to or in any way involving the lapsed district, a special administrative board[, any other form 125 of governance] appointed under this section, or the members or employees of the lapsed 126 district[, a] or special administrative board[, or any other form of governance] appointed 127 under this section. Such immunities, and immunity doctrines as exist or may hereafter exist 128 benefitting boards of education, their members and their employees shall be available to the HB 2048 5
129 special administrative board [or any other form of governance] appointed under this section 130 and the members and employees of the special administrative board [or any other form of 131 governance] appointed under this section. 132 6. Neither the special administrative board [nor any other form of governance] 133 appointed under this section nor any district or other entity assigned territory, assets or funds 134 from a lapsed district shall be considered a successor entity for the purpose of employment 135 contracts, unemployment compensation payment pursuant to section 288.110, or any other 136 purpose. 137 7. If additional teachers are needed by a district as a result of increased enrollment 138 due to the annexation of territory of a lapsed or dissolved district, such district shall grant an 139 employment interview to any permanent teacher of the lapsed or dissolved district upon the 140 request of such permanent teacher. 141 8. In the event that a school district with an enrollment in excess of five thousand 142 pupils lapses, no school district shall have all or any part of such lapsed school district 143 attached without the approval of the board of the receiving school district. 144 9. If the state board of education reasonably believes that a school district is unlikely 145 to provide for the minimum school term required by section 163.021 because of financial 146 difficulty, the state board of education may, prior to the start of the school term: 147 (1) Allow continued governance by the existing district school board under terms and 148 conditions established by the state board of education; or 149 (2) Lapse the corporate organization of the district and implement one of the options 150 available under subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this section. 151 10. The provisions of subsection 9 of this section shall not apply to any district solely 152 on the basis of financial difficulty resulting from paying tuition and providing transportation 153 for transfer students under sections 167.895 and 167.898. 162.083. 1. [The state board of education may appoint additional members to any 2 special administrative board appointed under section 162.081. 3 2. The state board of education may set a final term of office for any member of a 4 special administrative board, after which a successor member shall be elected by the voters of 5 the district. 6 (1) All final terms of office for members of the special administrative board 7 established under this section shall expire on June thirtieth. 8 (2) The election of a successor member shall occur on the general municipal election 9 day immediately prior to the expiration of the final term of office. 10 (3) The election shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the election laws 11 applicable to the school district. HB 2048 6
12 3.] Nothing in this section shall be construed as barring an otherwise qualified 13 member of the special administrative board from standing for an elected term on the board. 14 [4.] 2. No later than six full school years following appointment of the special 15 administrative board, on a date set by the state board of education, any district operating 16 under the governance of a special administrative board shall return to local governance, and 17 continue operation as a school district as otherwise authorized by law. ✔
Statutes affected: