Section 160.720

Title XI EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES

Chapter 160

Effective - 28 Aug 2002, 2 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  *160.720.  Performance schools designation — priority schools identified, criteria, accountability compliance statements submitted — deficiency strategies, content — resource allocation plans, elements of — rules — enforceability, exceptions. — 1. The department of elementary and secondary education shall identify for recognition by the governor schools demonstrating high student achievement to be designated as performance schools. In addition, the department of elementary and secondary education shall identify those waivers of administrative rule authorized under state law appropriate for the recognized school district or school. The department of elementary and secondary education shall endeavor to identify waivers of administrative rule that result in a meaningful reduction in administrative burden on the districts recognized in this section.

  2. The department of elementary and secondary education shall identify priority school districts and priority schools based upon the following criteria:

  (1) School attendance centers declared academically deficient by the state board of education as authorized by section 160.538;

  (2) School districts declared unaccredited or provisionally accredited by the state board of education pursuant to section 161.092, RSMo; or

  (3) School districts or school attendance centers that do not meet any of the accreditation standards on student performance established by the state board of education based upon the statewide assessment system authorized pursuant to section 160.518.

  3. The board of education of any priority school district or priority school shall submit, as a part of a comprehensive school improvement plan, an accountability compliance statement that shall:

  (1) Identify and analyze areas of deficiency in student performance by school, grade and academic content area;

  (2) Provide a comprehensive strategy for addressing these areas of deficiency;

  (3) Assure disclosure of these areas of deficiency in the school accountability report card required pursuant to section 160.522;

  (4) Permit a metropolitan district that is implementing a program of academic improvement in a school or schools identified pursuant to a settlement agreement for a desegregation lawsuit to submit the elements of the accountability compliance statement required in subdivisions (1) to (3) of this subsection for review for possible waiver solely in regard to the schools identified for academic improvement pursuant to the settlement agreement; provided, however, that the department of elementary and secondary education shall meet with any district covered by the provisions of this subdivision prior to the district submitting any element of an accountability compliance statement, so that the department may identify elements of the settlement agreement academic improvement plan that are substantially similar to the requirements contained in this section, and the department shall advise such district if, based on its review, any further plan or reporting of such plans or elements is required; and

  (5) Require school boards of each district to annually review the school discipline provisions contained in section 160.261, and sections 167.023, 167.026, 167.117, 167.161 to 167.171 and 167.335, RSMo, and ensure that the district's discipline policies are consistent with the above listed sections.

  4. The comprehensive strategy for addressing areas of deficiency required pursuant to this section shall address the following areas:

  (1) Align curriculum to address areas of deficiency in student achievement;

  (2) Develop, for any student who is not receiving special education services under an individualized education plan pursuant to sections 162.670 to 162.699, RSMo, who is performing at a level not determined or at the lowest level of proficiency in any subject area under the statewide assessment established pursuant to section 160.518, an individual performance plan in that subject area which shall:

  (a) Be developed by the teacher or teachers in consultation with the child's parent, guardian, or other adult responsible for the student's education;

  (b) Outline responsibilities for the student, parent, guardian, or other adult responsible for the student's education, teachers, and administrators in implementing the plan. Such plans shall not require the level of documentation and procedural complexities of an individualized education plan pursuant to sections 162.670 to 162.699, RSMo, but shall contain sufficient detail for all parties to understand their responsibilities in the implementation of the student's performance plan;

  (c) State that the student's parent, guardian, or other adult responsible for the student's education shall act in good faith to implement the student performance plan and make reasonable efforts to meet with the teacher when requested or required by the plan; and

  (d) Require those students performing at a level not determined or at the lowest level of proficiency in any subject area under the statewide assessment established pursuant to section 160.518 to be provided with additional instruction time and for students in grade nine to eleven to retake the assessment;

  (3) Focus state and local professional development funds on the areas of greatest academic need, including a statement relating to accessing the resources and services of the regional professional development center and support from state professional development funds;

  (4) Create programs to improve teacher and administrator effectiveness;

  (5) Establish school accountability councils consistent with the procedures stated in subsection 5 of section 160.538 or align any existing parent advisory council with the requirements of subsection 5 of section 160.538;

  (6) Develop a resource reallocation plan for the district; and

  (7) Consider the need to implement strategies pursuant to this subsection for feeder schools of any priority school.

  5. The school district shall include in any program for improvement of teacher and administrator effectiveness in an accountability compliance statement policies that will:

  (1) Require school administrators and teachers, including teachers who are provisionally or temporarily certified, to participate in one of the following programs of professional development:

  (a) A mentoring program meeting standards established by the state board of education or supervised by an individual previously designated by the department of elementary and secondary education as a regional resource teacher;

  (b) Successful completion of a training program for certification as a scorer under the statewide assessment program authorized pursuant to section 160.518; or

  (c) Enrollment and making adequate progress towards national board certification;

  (2) Provide one additional year of intensive professional development assistance to teachers and administrators who do not complete or make adequate progress in the professional development activities described in subdivision (1) of this subsection;

  (3) Exempt from the professional development requirements accountability compliance statement as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection any individual who:

  (a) Holds qualifying scores in the appropriate professional assessment as determined by the state board of education or who elects to take and receive a qualifying score of that assessment;

  (b) Holds national board certification;

  (c) Is certified as a scorer under the statewide assessment program;

  (d) Is designated by the department of elementary and secondary education as a regional resource teacher;

  (e) Serves as a mentor teacher for one school year in a program meeting standards adopted by the state board of education; or

  (f) Successfully completes an appropriate administrator academy program offered pursuant to section 168.407, RSMo.

  6. Any resource reallocation plan shall include at least one of the following elements:

  (1) Reduce class size in areas of academic concern;

  (2) Establish full-day kindergarten or preschool programs;

  (3) Establish after-school, tutoring and other programs offering extended time for learning;

  (4) Employ regional resource teachers designated by the department of elementary and secondary education or national board-certified teachers, along with appropriate salary enhancements for such teachers;

  (5) Establish programs of teacher home visitation to encourage parental support of student learning; and

  (6) Create "school within a school" programs to achieve smaller learning communities within priority schools.

  7. The state board of education shall establish by administrative rule standards to evaluate accountability compliance statements, based upon the following criteria:

  (1) An accountability compliance statement shall be submitted to the department of elementary and secondary education on or before August fifteenth following any school year in which a school district meets the criteria established under subsection 2 of this section;

  (2) The department of elementary and secondary education shall review and identify areas of deficiency in the plan within thirty days of receipt; and

  (3) Changes to the plan shall be forwarded to the department of elementary and secondary education within thirty days of notice to the district of the areas of deficiency.

  8. The department of elementary and secondary education shall withhold funds to be paid to the school district, as authorized in section 163.031, RSMo, until such time as the district submits an accountability compliance statement meeting the standards authorized pursuant to this section within the time lines established herein.

  9. The department of elementary and secondary education shall develop within three years of the adoption of this section a program of administrator mentoring focusing on the need of priority schools and priority school districts and meeting standards established by the state board of education.

  10. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo.

  11. In any school year in which the school funding formula has a proration factor on line 1(b) of less than 0.9, the provisions of subsections 2 to 9 of this section relating to priority schools and priority school districts shall not be enforced. For any school year in which funding of the school aid formula at the level stated in this subsection appears to be in doubt after all appropriations bills are truly agreed and finally passed, the house budget chair and the senate appropriations chair shall send a joint letter to the commissioner of education by August fifteenth, notifying the department of elementary and secondary education of the likelihood that funding would be below the limit stated in this subsection and requesting that the department not enforce subsections 2 to 9 of this section unless and until the department's calculations for the first "live" school aid payment of the school year show that the formula will have a proration factor on line 1(b) of no less than 0.9.

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(L. 2002 H.B. 1711)

*Revisor's note:

Invalidity of section 82.293 shall not affect the validity of this section, RSMo 82.293.