Missouri 2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 971 — Establishes provisions relating to student transfers to nonresident districts

Last action — Informal Calendar S Bills for Perfection

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 01, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

The bill allows students to transfer to nonresident school districts starting July 1, 2028.

This bill creates the Public School Open Enrollment Act, enabling students from charter or resident schools to transfer to a nonresident district. Participation requires resolutions from local education agencies each year, and transfers will be limited initially but can increase over time.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families will need to navigate transfer applications and procedures for their children's education choices.
  • Students: This bill gives you the opportunity to attend a different school district starting in 2028.

Summary

SCS/SBs 971 & 906 - This act establishes the "Public School Open Enrollment Act" to enable students to transfer from their charter school or resident school district ("resident local education agency" or "LEA") to a nonresident LEA. (Section 167.1200) No student shall be enrolled under the Public School Open Enrollment Act before July 1, 2028. (Section 167.1230) TRANSFER POLICY AND PARTICIPATION (Section 167.1205) Any student in kindergarten to grade 12 may attend school in a nonresident LEA participating in the open enrollment program. Before November 1st of each year, each charter school or school district, defined as a "local education agency" or "LEA", shall adopt a resolution stating whether the LEA intends to participate in the program by receiving transferring students during the subsequent school year. LEAs may restrict the number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA to 3% of the previous school year's enrollment. After the 2028-29 school year, an LEA's maximum number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA shall increase by 1% for every two consecutive school years that the LEA is at the transfer maximum, up to a potential maximum of 5% of the previous school year's enrollment. For purposes of calculating the transfer maximum, a transferring student shall be counted as enrolled in the resident LEA if, in the school year before the year of transfer, the student was enrolled in a school other than a public school, attended an FPE school, as such term is defined in current law, or moved to Missouri from another state and has not yet enrolled in school. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shall develop and maintain an online resource that allows a nonresident LEA to ensure that such LEA does not accept a transfer application if doing so would cause the transferring student's resident LEA to exceed the transfer maximum established in the act. The online resource shall additionally provide a searchable public database of the number of transfers offered in each participating LEA, listing allowable transfers for each building, grade level, classroom, and program in an LEA. LEAs shall not be required to add teachers, staff, or classrooms to accommodate transfer applicants. DESE or an entity skilled in policy development shall develop a model open enrollment transfer policy as outlined in the act, including specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications. All LEAs that participate in open enrollment shall adopt a policy that defines the term "insufficient classroom space," taking into account future population growth and establishing standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications. The standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications may include the capacity of the school, the availability of classroom space, and any class-size limitation. An LEA may use projections to determine class-size limitations. The standards shall include a statement that priority shall be given to any applicant who has a sibling who is already enrolled in the nonresident LEA. The standards shall not include a consideration of an applicant's academic achievement, athletic ability, disabilities, English proficiency level, or previous disciplinary proceedings, except that any suspension or expulsion from another LEA shall be included. LEAs receiving transferring students shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, disability, or whether the student is homeless or a migrant. A nonresident LEA shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another LEA and award a diploma to a transferring student if the student meets the nonresident LEA's graduation requirements. The governing body of each LEA shall cause certain information about the open enrollment program, such as application deadlines and procedures, to be posted on the LEA's website and in the student handbook. Students who wish to attend a nonresident LEA that has an academic or competitive entrance process shall furnish proof that they meet the admission requirements of the nonresident LEA. A nonresident LEA may deny a transfer to a student who, in the most recent school year, has been suspended from school two or more times or who has been suspended or expelled for an act of school violence, as described in the act. A student whose transfer is initially precluded under this provision may, upon the approval of the nonresident LEA, be permitted to transfer as a probationary student, subject to no further disruptive behavior. A student who is denied a transfer due to disciplinary issues has the right to an in-person meeting with the nonresident LEA's superintendent, as provided in the act. LEAs shall develop common standards for determining disruptive behavior that shall include criteria established in current law. High school students who participate in open enrollment shall be ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics during the first 365 days of enrollment in a nonresident LEA, with exceptions outlined in the act. APPLYING FOR TRANSFER (Section 167.1210) A student who applies for a transfer under the act may accept only one transfer per school year. A student who accepts such a transfer shall commit to attend and take all courses through the nonresident LEA for at least two school years. The student may meet with the superintendent of the nonresident LEA to be released from such commitment if extenuating circumstances arise or if the student's resident LEA changes. A transferring student shall not enroll as a full-time student in the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program. A student who transfers to a nonresident LEA and then returns to the resident LEA shall complete a full semester in the resident LEA before applying for another transfer. A transferring student with a school attendance rate below 80% for any quarter shall be notified of such rate, and if such student's attendance rate in the subsequent quarter does not reach at least 90%, the student's transfer and eligibility to attend the nonresident LEA may be voided by the LEA. A student who transfers to a nonresident LEA may complete all remaining school years in the nonresident LEA without reapplying each year. Any sibling of a student enrolled in a nonresident LEA may enroll in the same nonresident LEA if the LEA has the capacity and the sibling has no discipline issues, as provided in the act. The transferring student or the student's parent is responsible for the transportation of the student to and from the boundaries of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled. Nonresident LEAs shall provide transportation within the boundaries of the LEA, but charter schools that do not currently provide transportation services are exempt from this requirement. Transportation costs shall included in the nonresident LEA's calculation for transportation reimbursement under current law. For the purposes of determining federal and state aid, a student who transfers to a nonresident school district LEA shall be counted as a resident of the nonresident LEA. For a student transferring to a nonresident charter school LEA, state aid for such student shall be determined by multiplying the weighted average daily attendance of such transferring student by the state adequacy target and multiplying this product by the dollar-value modifier, as the terms "weighted average daily attendance", "state adequacy target", and "dollar-value modifier" are defined in current law, and certain provisions of state law providing for state aid payments to charter schools shall not apply to such calculation. For purposes of payment to special school districts, a transferring student receiving services from a special school district shall be counted as a resident pupil of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled. If a student receives 50% or more of such student's instruction from the special school district, the special school district shall receive all funding which would otherwise be paid to the nonresident LEA for such student. The provisions of the act shall not be construed to relieve any resident LEA of its responsibility to pay toward the cost of the education of children who receive special educational services or attend the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled, as provided in current law. PARENT PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE FUND (Sections 167.1211 and 167.1212) The act establishes the "Parent Public School Choice Fund". Appropriations to the fund shall be used to supplement state aid payments to LEAs that participate in the open enrollment program and reimburse nonresident LEAs for the costs of providing special educational services for students with an IEP, as provided in the act. DESE shall annually evaluate the availability and use of moneys from the fund and, if necessary, request additional funds by a specific line item appropriation as part of the legislative budget process. NUMBER OF TRANSFER STUDENTS (Section 167.1215) Before November 1st annually, each LEA shall publish and notify DESE of the number of transfer students the LEA is willing to receive for the following school year, delineated by building, grade, classroom, or program, if such criteria for acceptance have been set by the LEA. An LEA shall not be required to accept any transfer students above this published number. A special school district shall consult with each partner school district and, before November 1st annually, shall notify DESE of the number of likely available spots for special education services at each partner school district, as provided in the act. The online resource created by DESE shall include a waiting list for applications to nonresident LEAs. The online resource shall notify each applicant that the applicant's transfer application may be subject to placement on such waiting list if the number of transfer applications exceeds the number of available transfers. The act sets forth a priority order for acceptance of applications from the waiting list. A parent of a student on the waiting list shall be informed by DESE of the details of the operation of the list and whether the parent will be required to refile an application for open enrollment in order to remain on the waiting list. APPLICATION PROCESS (Section 167.1220) The parent of a student seeking a transfer shall submit an application to DESE between November 15th and January 1st of the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester, as provided in the act. No more than five transfer applications per school year shall be submitted for any student. Upon receiving an application, DESE shall assign a unique identifying number to the application. On or before January 15th, DESE shall conduct a lottery of eligible applications to determine which student transfers DESE will approve for submission to the nonresident LEAs, subject to conditions set forth in the act, and shall also notify each nonresident LEA of applications that DESE has approved for transfer. The governing body of the nonresident LEA shall request from all schools attended by the student within the last 12 months certain records relating to the transfer, including special education records, discipline records, and records of behavioral risk assessments. An LEA that receives such a request for records shall respond to the request within five business days. Any official to whom such information is disclosed shall comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Nonresident LEAs shall review and make a determination on transfer applications received from DESE within 10 business days, as provided in the act. If a nonresident LEA rejects an application, DESE shall submit the next application on the waiting list to the nonresident LEA for consideration. Before March 1st of the school year preceding the school year in which a student seeks to enroll in a nonresident LEA, the nonresident LEA's superintendent shall notify DESE as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected through the online resource created by DESE. Within three business days of sending notifications to the resident and nonresident LEAs, DESE shall notify the parent as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected, as provided in the act. If an application is rejected, DESE's notification shall state the nonresident LEA's reason for the rejection. If an application is accepted, DESE shall state in its notification a reasonable deadline before which the student shall enroll, along with instructions for renewing enrollment each year. DESE shall also notify the resident LEA of the student's participation. DESE shall further notify the student and the student's parent of the opportunity to participate in an anonymous survey provided by DESE regarding all reasons for the student's and parent's interest in participating in the open enrollment program. DESE shall publish an annual report based on the survey results, providing aggregate data of sufficient detail to allow analysis of trends regarding the reasons for participation in the open enrollment program at the statewide, regional, and local levels. The annual report shall also include detection and analysis of the impact of the program on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic balance among schools and LEAs. No such survey results shall be published in a manner that would allow for the identification of data attributable to a specific LEA or that reveals information regarding a group of five or fewer students. DESE shall privately share data specific to each LEA with each LEA prior to publishing the annual report. If a student declines enrolling in the nonresident LEA, provided the nonresident LEA still has capacity to accept additional students, DESE shall send the LEA the next application on the waiting list for consideration. No additional open enrollment transfer applications shall be sent by DESE or approved by a nonresident LEA after April 15th of the school year immediately preceding the school year of enrollment. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND GIFTED CHILDREN (Section 167.1224) Before enrolling in a nonresident LEA, a student with certain special educational needs, English as a second language (ESL) needs, or who is identified as a gifted child shall be provided the same process that exists for a resident student moving into the nonresident LEA. The nonresident LEA, parent, or both shall have the opportunity to reevaluate the student to determine what comparable special educational services may be required or what programs or services for which the student may be eligible. A nonresident LEA is responsible for providing a free appropriate education to the student and shall provide the same or substantially similar services as a resident student would receive. Before enrolling in the nonresident LEA, if necessary, a transferring student and parent shall be provided the opportunity to develop a new or amended IEP, individualized family service plan, or 504 plan, or to evaluate the ESL, gifted, or dyslexia programs and services provided by the nonresident LEA. The nonresident LEA shall provide the student and parent with prior written notice documenting the services that the nonresident LEA determines appropriate to meet the student's needs. The nonresident LEA shall offer the transferring student 10 business days to accept or decline the acceptance of the nonresident LEA. LEAs that are served by a special school district shall execute a form agreement prepared by DESE with such special school district regarding finance, staffing, and other relevant items prior to participating in open enrollment. An LEA and a special school district may choose to modify such form agreement, but no modifications shall delay the LEA's participating in open enrollment. A nonresident LEA shall make reasonable accommodations to address the needs of incoming transferring students and to provide such students with equal access to a free appropriate public education. These provisions shall not be construed to preclude a nonresident LEA from adding additional staff, services, or programs, or to preclude the nonresident LEA from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure proper placement of a transferring student. AUTHORIZED EXEMPTIONS (Section 167.1225) A student may participate in open enrollment if such student's transfer does not cause the resident LEA to conflict with a provision of an enforceable desegregation court order or a court-approved desegregation plan. An LEA may annually declare an exemption from the program if the LEA is subject to such court order or plan, as provided in the act. Any LEA declaring such exemption shall notify DESE of such before November 1st of the preceding school year. The act sets forth certain exemptions from open enrollment for students who qualify for transfers under current law and for LEAs that receive transfer students under such provisions. If a student transfers from a resident LEA that is a K-8 school district to another school district for any of grades 6-8, the resident LEA shall pay tuition to the nonresident LEA upon the student's promotion to 9th grade as provided in current law. For any student who transfers to a nonresident LEA that is a K-8 school district, the K-8 school district shall not be considered such student's resident LEA for any purpose after the student completes 8th grade or upon the student's transfer out of the K-8 school district before completing 8th grade. ANNUAL REPORTING AND AUDITING (Section 167.1229) DESE shall collect and report data annually from school LEAs on the number of applications and study the effects of transfers under the act. DESE shall consider, as part of its study, the maximum number of transfers and exemptions for both resident and nonresident LEAs for up to two years to determine if a significant racially segregative impact has occurred in any LEA. The report shall be submitted annually before December 1st to the Joint Committee on Education, the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Senate Committee on Education. DESE shall annually make a random selection of 10% of the LEAs participating in the open enrollment program and audit each selected LEA's transfers approved or denied under policies adopted by the school board. If DESE determines that a selected LEA is improperly implementing and administering the transfer process, DESE may withhold any state aid provided to the LEA until the LEA corrects the transfer process improprieties identified by the audit. This act is substantially similar to provisions in SS/SCS/HCS/HB 711 (2025) and HCS#2/SS/SB 266 (2025), and is similar to HB 2604 (2026), SB 1051 (2024), HCS/HB 1989 (2024), SCS/SB 5 (2023), SB 1010 (2022), HB 1814 (2022), and HS/HCS/HB 543 (2021). OLIVIA SHANNON

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

978 added · 1113 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of Bill SB 971 has made some significant changes by repealing old sections of the law and introducing thirteen new sections specifically concerning the admission of nonresident students. This includes the addition of a detailed definition of "behavioral threat assessment," which outlines how schools should evaluate students showing harmful behaviors. These changes are important because they aim to improve school safety and clarify the process for nonresident student admissions, which can enhance educational opportunities for students who move between districts.

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SECOND REGULAR SESSION SENATE BILLNO.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILLS NOS.
971 103RD GENERALASSEMBLY INTRODUCED BY SENATOR TRENT.
971 & 906 103RD GENERALASSEMBLY 4698S.02C KRISTINAMARTIN, Secretary ANACT To repeal sections 167.020 and 167.151, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof thirteen new sections relating to admission of nonresident students, with penalty provisions.
4698S.01I KRISTINAMARTIN, Secretary ANACT To repeal sections 160.410, 160.415, 162.081, 167.132, 167.151, 167.241, 167.895, and 167.898, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof seven new sections relating to admission of nonresident students.
Sections 160.410, 160.415, 162.081, 167.132, 167.151, 167.241, 167.895, and 167.898, RSMo, are repealed and seven new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 160.410, 160.415, 162.081, 167.151, 167.241, 167.895, and 167.898, to read as follows:
Sections 167.020 and 167.151, RSMo, are repealed and thirteen new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 167.020, 167.151, 167.1200, 167.1205, 167.1210, 167.1211, 167.1212, 167.1215, 167.1220, 167.1224, 167.1225, 167.1229, and 167.1230, to read as follows:
160.410.
167.020.
A charter school shall enroll:
As used in this section and in section 167.022, the following terms mean:
(1) All pupils resident in the district in which it operates;
(1) "Behavioral threat assessment", records associated with an evaluation of a student who has shown or demonstrated:
(2) Nonresident pupils eligible to attend a district's school under an urban voluntary transfer program;
(a) Homicidal or suicidal ideation;
(3) Nonresident pupils who transfer [from an unaccredited district] under section 167.895, [provided that the charter school is an approved charter school, as defined in section 167.895, and] subject to all other provisions of section 167.895;
(b) Planning an attack on a school, other students, faculty, staff, or administration;
(4) In the case of a charter school whose mission includes student drop-out prevention or recovery, any nonresident pupil from the same or an adjacent county who resides in a residential care facility, a transitional EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.
or (c) Behavior that puts students, faculty, staff, or administration at risk for harm;
SB 971 2 living group home, or an independent living program whose last school of enrollment is in the school district where the charter school is established, who submits a timely application;
(2) "Homeless child" or "homeless youth", a person less than twenty-one years of age who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including a child or youth who:
and (5) In the case of a workplace charter school, any student eligible to attend under subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection whose parent is employed in the business district, who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building.
EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.
The configuration of a business district shall be set forth in the charter and shall not be construed to create an undue advantage for a single employer or small number of employers.
SCS SBs 971 & 906 2 (a) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
is living in motels, hotels, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
is living in emergency or transitional shelters;
is abandoned in hospitals;
or is awaiting foster care placement;
(b) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
(c) Is living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
and (d) Is a migratory child or youth who qualifies as homeless because the child or youth is living in circumstances described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subdivision;
(3) "Personal safety plan", an agreement based upon the findings of the behavioral threat assessment record between the school and the students' parents or guardians, or between the school and the student if the student is emancipated or an unaccompanied youth as defined in section 210.121, that:
(a) Stipulates rules for attendance at the school;
(b) Provides benchmarks that allow for the student to be released from the personal safety plan over time;
and (c) Provides immediate access to a trusted adult for the student with the personal safety plan.
If capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit a timely application, the charter school shall have an admissions process that assures all applicants of an equal chance of gaining admission and does not discriminate based on parents' ability to pay fees or tuition except that:
(1) In order to register a pupil, the pupil or the parent or legal guardian of the pupil [or the pupil himself or herself] shall provide, at the time of registration, one of the following:
(1) A charter school may establish a geographical area around the school whose residents will receive a preference for enrolling in the school, provided that such preferences do not result in the establishment of racially or socioeconomically isolated schools and provided such preferences conform to policies and guidelines established by the state board of education;
SCS SBs 971 & 906 3 [(1)] (a) Proof of residency in the district.
(2) A charter school may also give a preference for admission of children whose siblings attend the school or whose parents are employed at the school or in the case of a workplace charter school, a child whose parent is employed in the business district or at the business site of such school;
Except as otherwise provided in section 167.151, the term "residency" shall mean that a person both physically resides within a school district and is domiciled within that district or, in the case of a private school student suspected of having a disability under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.
SB 971 3 (3) Charter schools may also give a preference for admission to high-risk students, as defined in subdivision (5) of subsection 2 of section 160.405, when the school targets these students through its proposed mission, curriculum, teaching methods, and services;
Section 1411 et seq., as amended, that the student attends private school within that district.
(4) A charter school may also give a preference for admission to students who will be eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program in the upcoming school year.
The domicile of a minor child shall be the domicile of a parent, military guardian pursuant to a military-issued guardianship or court-appointed legal guardian.
For instances in which the family of a student living in Missouri co-locates to live with other family members or live in a military family support community because one or both of the child's parents are stationed or deployed out of state or deployed within Missouri under active duty orders under Title 10 or Title 32 of the United States Code, the student may attend the school district in which the family member's residence or family support community is located.
If the active duty orders expire during the school year, the student may finish the school year in that district;
[(2)] (b) Proof that the person registering the student has requested a waiver under subsection 3 of this section within the last forty-five days;
or [(3)] (c) Proof that one or both of the child's parents are being relocated to the state of Missouri under military orders.
(2) In instances where there is reason to suspect that admission of the pupil will create an immediate danger to the safety of other pupils and employees of the district, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee may SCS SBs 971 & 906 4 convene a hearing within five working days of the request to register and determine whether or not the pupil may register.
A charter school shall not limit admission based on race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, income level, except as allowed under subdivision (4) of subsection 2 of this section, proficiency in the English language or athletic ability, but may limit admission to pupils within a given age group or grade level.
Any person subject to the requirements of subsection 2 of this section may request a waiver from the district board of any of those requirements on the basis of hardship or good cause.
Charter schools may limit admission based on gender only when the school is a single- gender school.
Under no circumstances shall athletic ability be a valid basis of hardship or good cause for the issuance of a waiver of the requirements of subsection 2 of this section.
Students of a charter school who have been enrolled for a full academic year shall be counted in the performance of the charter school on the statewide assessments in that calendar year, unless otherwise exempted as English language learners.
The district board or committee of the board appointed by the president and which shall have full authority to act in lieu of the board shall convene a hearing as soon as possible, but no later than forty-five days after receipt of the waiver request made under this subsection or the waiver request shall be granted.
For purposes of this subsection, "full academic year" means the last Wednesday in September through the administration of the Missouri assessment program test without transferring out of the school and re-enrolling.
The district board or committee of the board may grant the request for a waiver of any requirement of subsection 2 of this section.
The district board or committee of the board may also reject the request for a waiver in which case the pupil shall not be allowed to register.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of a district board or committee of the board on a request for a waiver under this subsection may appeal such decision to the circuit court in the county where the school district is located.
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A charter school shall make available for public inspection, and provide upon request, to the parent, guardian, or other custodian of any school-age pupil resident in the district in which the school is located the following information:
Any person who knowingly submits false information to satisfy any requirement of subsection 2 of this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
(1) The school's charter;
(2) The school's most recent annual report card published according to section 160.522;
SB 971 4 (3) The results of background checks on the charter school's board members;
and (4) If a charter school is operated by a management company, a copy of the written contract between the governing board of the charter school and the educational management organization or the charter management organization for services.
The charter school may charge reasonable fees, not to exceed the rate specified in section 610.026 for furnishing copies of documents under this subsection.
When a student attending a charter school who is a resident of the school district in which the charter school is located moves out of the boundaries of such school district, the student may complete the current semester and shall be considered a resident student.
In addition to any other penalties authorized by law, a district board may file a civil action to recover, from the parent, military guardian or legal guardian of the pupil, the costs of school attendance for any pupil who was enrolled at a school in the district and whose parent, SCS SBs 971 & 906 5 military guardian or legal guardian filed false information to satisfy any requirement of subsection 2 of this section.
The student's parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for the student's transportation to and from the charter school.
If a change in school district boundary lines occurs under section 162.223, 162.431, 162.441, or 162.451, or by action of the state board of education under section 162.081, including attachment of a school district's territory to another district or dissolution, such that a student attending a charter school prior to such change no longer resides in a school district in which the charter school is located, then the student may complete the current academic year at the charter school.
Subsection 2 of this section shall not apply to a pupil who is a homeless child or youth, or a pupil attending a school not in the pupil's district of residence as a participant in an interdistrict transfer program established under a court-ordered desegregation program, a pupil who is a ward of the state and has been placed in a residential care facility by state officials, a pupil who has been placed in a residential care facility due to a mental illness or developmental disability, a pupil attending a school pursuant to sections 167.121 and 167.151 or sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, a pupil placed in a residential facility by a juvenile court, a pupil with a disability identified under state eligibility criteria if the student is in the district for reasons other than accessing the district's educational program, or a pupil attending a regional or cooperative alternative education program or an alternative education program on a contractual basis.
The student shall be considered a resident student.
The student's parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for the student's transportation to and from the charter school.
The provisions of sections 167.018 and 167.019 concerning foster children's educational rights are applicable to charter schools.
Within two business days of enrolling a pupil, the school official enrolling a pupil, including any special education pupil, shall request those records required by district policy for student transfer, discipline records required by subsection 9 of section 160.261 from all schools previously attended by the pupil within the last twelve months, and records of any behavioral threat assessments and personal safety plans of the pupil created by the local education agency if the student is currently subject to an active personal safety plan or has been subject to a personal safety plan in the previous twelve months.
SB 971 5 160.415.
Any school district that receives a request for such records from another school district enrolling a pupil that had SCS SBs 971 & 906 6 previously attended a school in such district shall respond to such request within five business days of receiving the request.
1.
School districts may report or disclose education records to law enforcement and juvenile justice authorities if the disclosure concerns law enforcement's or juvenile justice authorities' ability to effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student whose records are released.
For the purposes of calculation and distribution of state school aid under section 163.031, pupils enrolled in a charter school shall be included in the pupil enrollment of the school district within which each pupil resides.
The officials and authorities to whom such information is disclosed must comply with applicable restrictions set forth in 20 U.S.C.
Each charter school shall report the eligibility for free and reduced price lunch, special education, or limited English proficiency status, as well as eligibility for categorical aid, of pupils resident in a school district who are enrolled in the charter school to the school district in which those pupils reside.
Section 1232g(b)(1)(E), as amended.
The charter school shall report the average daily attendance data, free and reduced price lunch count, special education pupil count, and limited English proficiency pupil count to the state department of elementary and secondary education.
Each charter school shall promptly notify the state department of elementary and secondary education and the pupil's school district when a pupil discontinues enrollment at a charter school.
2.
Except as provided in subsections 3 and 4 of this section, the aid payments for charter schools shall be as described in this subsection.
(1) A school district having one or more resident pupils attending a charter school shall pay to the charter school an annual amount equal to the product of the charter school's weighted average daily attendance and the state adequacy target, multiplied by the dollar value modifier for the district, plus local tax revenues per weighted average daily attendance from the incidental and teachers' funds in excess of the performance levy as defined in section 163.011 plus all other state aid attributable to such pupils.
(2) The district of residence of a pupil attending a charter school shall also pay to the charter school any SB 971 6 other federal or state aid that the district receives on account of such pupil.
(3) If the department overpays or underpays the amount due to the charter school, such overpayment or underpayment shall be repaid by the charter school or credited to the charter school in twelve equal payments in the next fiscal year.
(4) The amounts provided pursuant to this subsection shall be prorated for partial year enrollment for a pupil.
(5) A school district shall pay the amounts due pursuant to this subsection as the disbursal agent and no later than twenty days following the receipt of any such funds.
The department of elementary and secondary education shall pay the amounts due when it acts as the disbursal agent within five days of the required due date.
3.
A workplace charter school shall receive payment for each eligible pupil as provided under subsection 2 of this section, except that if the pupil is not a resident of the district and is participating in a voluntary interdistrict transfer program, the payment for such pupils shall be the same as provided under section 162.1060.
4.
A charter school that has declared itself as a local educational agency shall receive from the department of elementary and secondary education an annual amount equal to the product of the charter school's weighted average daily attendance and the state adequacy target, multiplied by the dollar value modifier for the district, plus local tax revenues per weighted average daily attendance from the incidental and teachers funds in excess of the performance levy as defined in section 163.011 plus all other state aid attributable to such pupils.
If a charter school declares itself as a local educational agency, the department of SB 971 7 elementary and secondary education shall, upon notice of the declaration, reduce the payment made to the school district by the amount specified in this subsection and pay directly to the charter school the annual amount reduced from the school district's payment.
5.
If a school district fails to make timely payments of any amount for which it is the disbursal agent, the state department of elementary and secondary education shall authorize payment to the charter school of the amount due pursuant to subsection 2 of this section and shall deduct the same amount from the next state school aid apportionment to the owing school district.
If a charter school is paid more or less than the amounts due pursuant to this section, the amount of overpayment or underpayment shall be adjusted equally in the next twelve payments by the school district or the department of elementary and secondary education, as appropriate.
Any dispute between the school district and a charter school as to the amount owing to the charter school shall be resolved by the department of elementary and secondary education, and the department's decision shall be the final administrative action for the purposes of review pursuant to chapter 536.
During the period of dispute, the department of elementary and secondary education shall make every administrative and statutory effort to allow the continued education of students in their current charter school setting.
6.
The charter school and a local school board may agree by contract for services to be provided by the school district to the charter school.
The charter school may contract with any other entity for services.
Such services may include but are not limited to food service, custodial service, maintenance, management assistance, curriculum SB 971 8 assistance, media services and libraries and shall be subject to negotiation between the charter school and the local school board or other entity.
Documented actual costs of such services shall be paid for by the charter school.
7.
In the case of a proposed charter school that intends to contract with an education service provider for substantial educational services or management services, the request for proposals shall additionally require the charter school applicant to:
(1) Provide evidence of the education service provider's success in serving student populations similar to the targeted population, including demonstrated academic achievement as well as successful management of nonacademic school functions, if applicable;
(2) Provide a term sheet setting forth the proposed duration of the service contract;
roles and responsibilities of the governing board, the school staff, and the service provider;
scope of services and resources to be provided by the service provider;
performance evaluation measures and time lines;
compensation structure, including clear identification of all fees to be paid to the service provider;
methods of contract oversight and enforcement;
investment disclosure;
and conditions for renewal and termination of the contract;
(3) Disclose any known conflicts of interest between the school governing board and proposed service provider or any affiliated business entities;
(4) Disclose and explain any termination or nonrenewal of contracts for equivalent services for any other charter school in the United States within the past five years;
SB 971 9 (5) Ensure that the legal counsel for the charter school shall report directly to the charter school's governing board;
and (6) Provide a process to ensure that the expenditures that the education service provider intends to bill to the charter school shall receive prior approval of the governing board or its designee.
A charter school may enter into contracts with community partnerships and state agencies acting in collaboration with such partnerships that provide services to students and their families linked to the school.
If one or both of a child's parents are being relocated to the state of Missouri under military orders, a school district shall allow remote registration of the student and shall not require the student or the parent or legal guardian of the student [or the student himself or herself] to physically appear at a location within the district to register the student.
9.
Proof of residency, as described in this section, shall not be required at the time of the remote registration but shall be required within ten days of the student's attendance in the school district.
A charter school shall be eligible for transportation state aid pursuant to section 163.161 and shall be free to contract with the local district, or any other entity, for the provision of transportation to the students of the charter school.
10.
(1) The proportionate share of state and federal resources generated by students with disabilities or staff serving them shall be paid in full to charter schools enrolling those students by their school district where such enrollment is through a contract for services described in this section.
The proportionate share of money generated under other federal or state categorical aid programs shall be directed to charter schools serving such students eligible for that aid.
(2) A charter school shall provide the special services provided pursuant to section 162.705 and may provide the special services pursuant to a contract with a school district or any provider of such services.
11.
A charter school shall not charge tuition or impose fees that a school district is prohibited from charging or imposing[, except that a charter school may SB 971 10 receive tuition payments from districts in the same or an adjoining county for nonresident students who transfer to an approved charter school, as defined in section 167.895, from an unaccredited district].
12.
A charter school is authorized to incur debt in anticipation of receipt of funds.
A charter school may also borrow to finance facilities and other capital items.
A school district may incur bonded indebtedness or take other measures to provide for physical facilities and other capital items for charter schools that it sponsors or contracts with.
Except as otherwise specifically provided in sections 160.400 to 160.425, upon the dissolution of a charter school, any liabilities of the corporation will be satisfied through the procedures of chapter 355.
A charter school shall satisfy all its financial obligations within twelve months of notice from the sponsor of the charter school's closure under subsection 8 of section 160.405.
After satisfaction of all its financial obligations, a charter school shall return any remaining state and federal funds to the department of elementary and secondary education for disposition as stated in subdivision (17) of subsection 1 of section 160.405.
The department of elementary and secondary education may withhold funding at a level the department determines to be adequate during a school's last year of operation until the department determines that school records, liabilities, and reporting requirements, including a full audit, are satisfied.
13.
Charter schools shall not have the power to acquire property by eminent domain.
14.
The governing board of a charter school is authorized to accept grants, gifts or donations of any kind and to expend or use such grants, gifts or donations.
A SB 971 11 grant, gift or donation shall not be accepted by the governing board if it is subject to any condition contrary to law applicable to the charter school or other public schools, or contrary to the terms of the charter.
15.
In addition to any state aid remitted to charter schools under this section, the department of elementary and secondary education shall remit to any charter school an amount equal to the weighted average daily attendance of the charter school multiplied by the difference of:
(1) The amount of state aid and local aid per weighted average daily attendance received by the school district in which the charter school is located, not including any funds remitted to charter schools in the district.
For the purposes of this subdivision, the weighted average daily attendance of the school district shall not include the weighted average daily attendance of the charter schools located in the district;
and (2) The amount of state aid and local aid per weighted average daily attendance of the charter school received by the charter school.
16.
Charter schools may adjust weighted average daily attendance pursuant to section 163.036.
17.
When calculating the amounts in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection 15 of this section, the department shall utilize the most current data to which the department has access.
18.
For the purposes of subsection 15 of this section:
(1) The definitions contained in section 163.011, shall apply;
(2) The term "local aid" shall mean all local and county revenue received, including, but not limited to, the following:
SB 971 12 (a) Property taxes and delinquent taxes;
(b) Merchants' and manufacturers' tax revenues;
(c) Financial institutions' tax revenues;
(d) City sales tax revenue, including city sales tax collected in any city not within a county;
(e) Payments in lieu of taxes;
and (f) Revenues from state-assessed railroad and utilities tax;
(3) The term local aid shall not be construed to include:
(a) Charitable contributions, gifts, and grants made to school districts;
(b) Interest earnings of school districts and student fees paid to school districts;
(c) Debt service authorized by a public vote for the purpose of making payments on a bond issuance of a school district;
(d) Proposition C revenues received for school purposes from the school district trust fund under section 163.087;
or (e) Any other funding solely intended for a particular school district or their respective employees, schools, foundations, or organizations;
(4) The term "state aid" shall mean any revenues received pursuant to this section and sections 163.043 and 163.087.
19.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, subsections 15 to 18 of this section shall be applicable to charter schools operated only in the following school districts, provided that no such school district shall be located in a county with more than one hundred SB 971 13 fifty thousand but fewer than two hundred thousand inhabitants:
(1) In a metropolitan school district;
(2) In an urban school district containing most or all of a city with more than four hundred thousand inhabitants and located in more than one county;
(3) In a school district that has been classified as unaccredited by the state board of education;
(4) In a school district that has been classified as provisionally accredited by the state board of education and has received scores on its annual performance report consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited or unaccredited for three consecutive school years beginning with the 2012-13 accreditation year under the conditions described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision (4) of subsection 2 of section 160.400;
or (5) In a school district that has been accredited without provisions, sponsored only by the local school board under the conditions described in subdivision (6) of subsection 2 of section 160.400.
20.
(1) The members of the governing board of a charter school shall be residents of the state of Missouri.
(2) Any current member of a governing board of a charter school who does not meet the requirements in subdivision (1) of this subsection may complete their term.
Such individual shall not be renominated as a member of the governing board on which he or she sits.
21.
(1) Any charter school management company operating a charter school in the state shall be a nonprofit corporation incorporated pursuant to chapter 355.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if a charter school is operated by a charter SB 971 14 school management company, all laws and regulations that apply to employees of such charter school shall apply to the actions of any employees of the management company while they are conducting any work relating to the direct decision- making of the operation of such charter school.
22.
Beginning July 1, 2023, the provisions of section 160.995 shall be applicable to charter schools.
23.
Each charter school shall publish its annual performance report on the school's website in a downloadable format.
162.081.
1.
Whenever any school district in this state fails or refuses in any school year to provide for the minimum school term required by section 163.021 or is classified unaccredited, the state board of education shall, upon a district's initial classification or reclassification as unaccredited:
(1) Review the governance of the district to establish the conditions under which the existing school board shall continue to govern;
or (2) Determine the date the district shall lapse and determine an alternative governing structure for the district.
2.
If at the time any school district in this state shall be classified as unaccredited, the department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct at least two public hearings at a location in the unaccredited school district regarding the accreditation status of the school district.
The hearings shall provide an opportunity to convene community resources that may be useful or necessary in supporting the school district as it attempts to return to accredited status, continues under revised governance, or plans for continuity of educational services and resources SB 971 15 upon its attachment to a neighboring district.
The department may request the attendance of stakeholders and district officials to review the district's plan to return to accredited status, if any;
offer technical assistance;
and facilitate and coordinate community resources.
Such hearings shall be conducted at least twice annually for every year in which the district remains unaccredited or provisionally accredited.
3.
Upon classification of a district as unaccredited, the state board of education may:
(1) Allow continued governance by the existing school district board of education under terms and conditions established by the state board of education;
or (2) Lapse the corporate organization of all or part of the unaccredited district and:
(a) Appoint a special administrative board for the operation of all or part of the district.
If a special administrative board is appointed for the operation of a part of a school district, the state board of education shall determine an equitable apportionment of state and federal aid for the part of the district and the school district shall provide local revenue in proportion to the weighted average daily attendance of the part.
The number of members of the special administrative board shall not be less than five, the majority of whom shall be residents of the district.
The members of the special administrative board shall reflect the population characteristics of the district and shall collectively possess strong experience in school governance, management and finance, and leadership.
The state board of education may appoint members of the district's elected school board to the special administrative board, but members of the elected school SB 971 16 board shall not comprise more than forty-nine percent of the special administrative board's membership.
Within fourteen days after the appointment by the state board of education, the special administrative board shall organize by the election of a president, vice president, secretary and a treasurer, with their duties and organization as enumerated in section 162.301.
The special administrative board shall appoint a superintendent of schools to serve as the chief executive officer of the school district, or a subset of schools, and to have all powers and duties of any other general superintendent of schools in a seven-director school district.
Any special administrative board appointed under this section shall be responsible for the operation of the district or part of the district until such time that the district is classified by the state board of education as provisionally accredited for at least two successive academic years, after which time the state board of education may provide for a transition pursuant to section 162.083;
or (b) Determine an alternative governing structure for the district including, at a minimum:
a.
A rationale for the decision to use an alternative form of governance and in the absence of the district's achievement of full accreditation, the state board of education shall review and recertify the alternative form of governance every three years;
b.
A method for the residents of the district to provide public comment after a stated period of time or upon achievement of specified academic objectives;
c.
Expectations for progress on academic achievement, which shall include an anticipated time line for the district to reach full accreditation;
and SB 971 17 d.
Annual reports to the general assembly and the governor on the progress towards accreditation of any district that has been declared unaccredited and is placed under an alternative form of governance, including a review of the effectiveness of the alternative governance;
or (c) Attach the territory of the lapsed district to another district or districts for school purposes;
or (d) Establish one or more school districts within the territory of the lapsed district, with a governance structure specified by the state board of education, with the option of permitting a district to remain intact for the purposes of assessing, collecting, and distributing property taxes, to be distributed equitably on a weighted average daily attendance basis, but to be divided for operational purposes, which shall take effect sixty days after the adjournment of the regular session of the general assembly next following the state board's decision unless a statute or concurrent resolution is enacted to nullify the state board's decision prior to such effective date.
4.
If a district remains under continued governance by the school board under subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section and either has been unaccredited for three consecutive school years and failed to attain accredited status after the third school year or has been unaccredited for two consecutive school years and the state board of education determines its academic progress is not consistent with attaining accredited status after the third school year, then the state board of education shall proceed under subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this section in the following school year.
5.
A special administrative board or any other form of governance appointed under this section shall retain the SB 971 18 authority granted to a board of education for the operation of the lapsed school district under the laws of the state in effect at the time of the lapse and may enter into contracts with accredited school districts or other education service providers in order to deliver high-quality educational programs to the residents of the district.
If a student graduates while attending a school building in the district that is operated under a contract with an accredited school district as specified under this subsection, the student shall receive his or her diploma from the accredited school district.
The authority of the special administrative board or any other form of governance appointed under this section shall expire at the end of the third full school year following its appointment, unless extended by the state board of education.
If the lapsed district is reassigned, the governing board prior to lapse shall provide an accounting of all funds, assets and liabilities of the lapsed district and transfer such funds, assets, and liabilities of the lapsed district as determined by the state board of education.
Neither the special administrative board nor any other form of governance appointed under this section nor its members or employees shall be deemed to be the state or a state agency for any purpose, including section 105.711, et seq.
The state of Missouri, its agencies and employees shall be absolutely immune from liability for any and all acts or omissions relating to or in any way involving the lapsed district, a special administrative board, any other form of governance appointed under this section, or the members or employees of the lapsed district, a special administrative board, or any other form of governance appointed under this section.
Such immunities, and immunity doctrines as exist or may hereafter SB 971 19 exist benefitting boards of education, their members and their employees shall be available to the special administrative board or any other form of governance appointed under this section and the members and employees of the special administrative board or any other form of governance appointed under this section.
6.
Neither the special administrative board nor any other form of governance appointed under this section nor any district or other entity assigned territory, assets or funds from a lapsed district shall be considered a successor entity for the purpose of employment contracts, unemployment compensation payment pursuant to section 288.110, or any other purpose.
7.
If additional teachers are needed by a district as a result of increased enrollment due to the annexation of territory of a lapsed or dissolved district, such district shall grant an employment interview to any permanent teacher of the lapsed or dissolved district upon the request of such permanent teacher.
8.
In the event that a school district with an enrollment in excess of five thousand pupils lapses, no school district shall have all or any part of such lapsed school district attached without the approval of the board of the receiving school district.
9.
If the state board of education reasonably believes that a school district is unlikely to provide for the minimum school term required by section 163.021 because of financial difficulty, the state board of education may, prior to the start of the school term:
(1) Allow continued governance by the existing district school board under terms and conditions established by the state board of education;
or SB 971 20 (2) Lapse the corporate organization of the district and implement one of the options available under subdivision (2) of subsection 3 of this section.
10.
The provisions of subsection 9 of this section shall not apply to any district solely on the basis of financial difficulty resulting from paying [tuition] costs associated with the provision of special education and related services and providing transportation for transfer students under sections 167.895 and 167.898.
and (c) Sections 167.121, 167.131, [167.132,] 167.895, and 168.151.
and (c) Sections 167.121, 167.131, 167.132, 167.895, and 168.151;
and sections 167.1200 to 167.1230.
Orphan children, children with only one parent living, and children whose parents do not contribute to their support - if the children are between the ages of six and twenty years and are unable to pay tuition - may attend the schools of any district in the state in which they have a permanent or temporary home without paying a tuition fee.
Orphan children, children with only one parent living, and children whose parents do not contribute to their support - if the children are between the ages of six SCS SBs 971 & 906 7 and twenty years and are unable to pay tuition - may attend the schools of any district in the state in which they have a permanent or temporary home without paying a tuition fee.
except that any individual who owns real estate of which eighty acres or more are used for SB 971 21 agricultural purposes and upon which such individual's residence is situated may send such individual's children to public school in any school district in which a part of such real estate, contiguous to that upon which such individual's residence is situated, lies and shall not be charged tuition therefor;
except that any individual who owns real estate of which eighty acres or more are used for agricultural purposes and upon which such individual's residence is situated may send such individual's children to public school in any school district in which a part of such real estate, contiguous to that upon which such individual's residence is situated, lies and shall not be charged tuition therefor;
For purposes of this subdivision, "residential real property" shall not include any multifamily residential property which exceeds four units.
For purposes of this subdivision, "residential real property" shall not SCS SBs 971 & 906 8 include any multifamily residential property which exceeds four units.
Such owner or beneficiary shall also present proof of the owner's or trust's annual payment of at least two thousand dollars of school taxes levied on the real property specified in this SB 971 22 subdivision within such school district and ownership of the specified real property for not less than the immediately preceding four consecutive years.
Such owner or beneficiary shall also present proof of the owner's or trust's annual payment of at least two thousand dollars of school taxes levied on the real property specified in this subdivision within such school district and ownership of the specified real property for not less than the immediately preceding four consecutive years.
If notification is not received, such children shall attend the school in which the majority of such individual's property lies.
If notification is not SCS SBs 971 & 906 9 received, such children shall attend the school in which the majority of such individual's property lies.
If a pupil is attending school in a district other than the district of residence and the pupil's parent is teaching in the school district or is a regular employee of SB 971 23 the school district which the pupil is attending, then the district in which the pupil attends school shall allow the pupil to attend school upon payment of tuition in the same manner in which the district allows other pupils not entitled to free instruction to attend school in the district.
If a pupil is attending school in a district other than the district of residence and the pupil's parent is teaching in the school district or is a regular employee of the school district which the pupil is attending, then the district in which the pupil attends school shall allow the pupil to attend school upon payment of tuition in the same manner in which the district allows other pupils not entitled to free instruction to attend school in the district.
(a) "Contractor", an individual who devotes at least twenty paid hours per week fulfilling employment requirements or providing services to or for the benefit of a school district or charter school, or public school employer in such district or charter school in any job title or position that is covered for an employee with such job title or in such position by a retirement system created under chapter 169 under a contract between such individual or such individual's employer and such school district, charter school, or public school;
(a) "Contractor", an individual who devotes at least twenty paid hours per week fulfilling employment requirements or providing services to or for the benefit of a school district or charter school, or public school employer in such district or charter school in any job title or position that is covered for an employee with such job title or in such position by a retirement system created SCS SBs 971 & 906 10 under chapter 169 under a contract between such individual or such individual's employer and such school district, charter school, or public school;
(2) (a) For the 2025-26 school year and all subsequent school years, a school district or charter school SB 971 24 may, if approved by a majority vote of the members of the school board of the school district or governing board of the charter school, adopt a policy to admit a child whose parent is a contractor or regular employee of a school district other than the child's school district of residence, a public school in such district, or a charter school, and, if such a policy is adopted, such child may attend school in such nonresident school district or charter school.
(2) (a) For the 2025-26 school year and all subsequent school years, a school district or charter school may, if approved by a majority vote of the members of the school board of the school district or governing board of the charter school, adopt a policy to admit a child whose parent is a contractor or regular employee of a school district other than the child's school district of residence, a public school in such district, or a charter school, and, if such a policy is adopted, such child may attend school in such nonresident school district or charter school.
(c) Such child shall be considered a resident pupil of such nonresident district or charter school under the definition of average daily attendance in section 163.011, except that for a student attending a nonresident charter school, the charter school shall receive a state aid payment in an amount determined by multiplying the charter school's weighted average daily attendance of such transferring student enrolled in the charter school by the state adequacy target and multiplying this product by the dollar-value modifier for the district in which the charter school is located, and the provisions of section 160.415 shall not apply to any nonresident student attending a charter school.
(c) Such child shall be considered a resident pupil of such nonresident district or charter school under the definition of average daily attendance in section 163.011, except that for a student attending a nonresident charter school, the charter school shall receive a state aid payment in an amount determined by multiplying the charter school's weighted average daily attendance of such transferring SCS SBs 971 & 906 11 student enrolled in the charter school by the state adequacy target and multiplying this product by the dollar-value modifier for the district in which the charter school is located, and the provisions of section 160.415 shall not apply to any nonresident student attending a charter school.
(d) If such child wishes to attend a school within the nonresident district or charter school that is a magnet SB 971 25 school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance process that has admissions requirements, the child's parent shall furnish proof that the child meets the admissions requirements for such school in order to attend.
(d) If such child wishes to attend a school within the nonresident district or charter school that is a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance process that has admissions requirements, the child's parent shall furnish proof that the child meets the admissions requirements for such school in order to attend.
(5) If the parent of a nonresident child attending school under this subsection ceases to be a contractor or regular employee of a school district or charter school, the child may complete the school year as provided under the provisions of this subsection.
(5) If the parent of a nonresident child attending school under this subsection ceases to be a contractor or SCS SBs 971 & 906 12 regular employee of a school district or charter school, the child may complete the school year as provided under the provisions of this subsection.
167.241.
167.1200.
Except as otherwise provided under this section, transportation for pupils whose tuition the district of residence is required to pay by section 167.131 or who are assigned as provided in section 167.121 shall be provided by the district of residence.
Sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall be known and may be cited as the "Public School Open Enrollment Act".
In the case of pupils covered by section 167.131, the district of residence shall be required to provide transportation only to school districts accredited by the SB 971 26 state board of education pursuant to the authority of the state board of education to classify schools as established in section 161.092, and those school districts designated by the board of education of the district of residence.
As used in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, the following terms mean:
3.
(1) "Department", the department of elementary and secondary education;
[(1) For purposes of this subsection, "approved charter school" has the same meaning given to the term under section 167.895.
(2) "Local education agency" or "LEA", any school district and any charter school that has declared itself a local education agency;
(2)] For pupils [covered by] transferring to another school district or charter school pursuant to the provisions of section 167.895, the district of residence shall be required to provide transportation only to school districts or [approved] charter schools designated by the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee.
(3) "Nonresident local education agency" or "nonresident LEA", a local education agency other than a transferring student's resident LEA;
For such pupils [covered by section 167.895], the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall designate at least one [accredited] school district or [approved] charter school to which the district of residence shall provide transportation.
(4) "Parent", a transferring student's parent, guardian, or other person having custody or care of the student;
If the designated district or charter school reaches full student capacity and is unable to receive additional students, the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall designate at least one additional [accredited] school district or [approved] charter school to which the district of residence shall provide transportation.
(5) "Resident local education agency" or "resident LEA", the local education agency in which the transferring student resides, or in the case of a transferring student who is subject to joint legal custody or joint physical custody awarded by a court, the residence designated as the address of the student for educational purposes, or in the case of a student who attends a charter school, such charter school;
167.895.
(6) "Sibling", each of two or more children having a parent in common by blood, adoption, marriage, or foster care;
(7) "Socioeconomic status", the income level of a student or the student's family, which shall be measured by SCS SBs 971 & 906 13 whether a student or the student's family meets the financial eligibility criteria for free and reduced price meals offered under federal guidelines;
(8) "Transferring student", a child who transfers to a nonresident LEA through a public school open enrollment program under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 and who:
(a) Is beginning kindergarten in the child's resident LEA;
(b) Is a student enrolled in a school or a local education agency in kindergarten to grade twelve who immediately prior to transferring has been enrolled in a local education agency in the student's resident LEA;
(c) Was enrolled in a school other than a school in a local education agency;
(d) Was attending an FPE school, as such term is defined in section 167.013;
or (e) Has moved to this state from another state and has not yet enrolled in a school;
(9) "Transfer year", the school year in which a transferring student attends school in a nonresident LEA.
167.1205.
For purposes of this section and section 167.898, the following terms mean:
A public school open enrollment program is established to enable a child beginning kindergarten or a student in kindergarten to grade twelve to attend a school in a nonresident LEA subject to the limitations under section 167.1225.
(1) ["Approved charter school", a charter school that has existed for less than three years or a charter school with a three-year average score consistent with a classification of accredited without provisions on its annual performance report] "Charter school", an independent SB 971 27 public school established pursuant to the provisions of sections 160.400 to 160.425;
Such program is designed to improve quality instructional and educational programs by providing opportunities including, but not limited to, the following:
(2) ["Attendance center", a public school building, public school buildings, or part of a public school building that offers education in a grade or grades not higher than the twelfth grade and that constitutes one unit for accountability and reporting purposes for the department of elementary and secondary education;
(1) Increasing parental involvement for students whose parents work in other LEAs;
(3) "Available receiving district", a school district able to receive transfer students under this section;
(2) Providing access to instructional programs and classes that are not available in the resident LEA;
(4)] "Receiving district", a school district receiving transfer students under this section;
and SCS SBs 971 & 906 14 (3) Offering parents the opportunity to select curriculum options that align with the parents' personal beliefs.
[(5)] (3) "Sending district", a school district from which students are transferring to a receiving district or [approved] charter school, as allowed under this section.
(1) Any student may transfer to another public school [in the student's district of residence if such student is enrolled in and has attended, for the full semester immediately prior to requesting the transfer, an attendance center:
(1) LEAs shall not be required to participate in the public school open enrollment program by receiving transferring students.
(a) That is located within an unaccredited district;
(2) (a) Each LEA shall, before November first of each year, adopt a resolution by a majority vote of the governing body of the LEA that states whether the LEA will or will not participate in the public school open enrollment program created in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 by receiving transferring students in the school year beginning on July first of the following year.
and (b) That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited] pursuant to the provisions of this section beginning in the 2027-28 school year and in all subsequent school years.
(b) If an LEA participates in the public school open enrollment program, the LEA shall receive transferring students for the full school year in which the LEA participates.
However, no such transfer shall result in a class size and assigned enrollment in a receiving school that exceeds the standards for class size and assigned enrollment as promulgated in the Missouri school improvement program's resource standards.
(3) (a) An LEA may restrict the number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 in each school year to the maximum of three percent of the previous school year's enrollment for the LEA;
If the student chooses to attend a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a SB 971 28 competitive entrance process within his or her district of residence that has admissions requirements, the student shall meet the admissions requirements in order to attend.
except that, after the 2028-29 school year, the maximum number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA shall increase by one percent for every two consecutive school years the LEA is at its maximum number of students who may transfer out of the LEA pursuant to this paragraph.
(2) The school board of each [unaccredited] school district shall determine the capacity at each [of the district's attendance centers that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited] grade level and each school, and shall accept all transfer students who apply and are assigned to the school district as provided in section 167.898 so long as there is capacity in the requested grade level and school.
The maximum percentage of students who may transfer from a resident LEA to a nonresident LEA shall be capped at five percent of the previous school year's enrollment for the resident LEA.
The district's school board shall be responsible for coordinating transfers within the district as allowed under this subsection, and school board policies governing transfers shall not discriminate against any student on the basis of his or her residential address, academic performance, athletic ability, disability, race, ethnicity, sex, or free and reduced price lunch status.
(b) A student seeking to transfer to a nonresident LEA shall be eligible to transfer under sections 167.1200 to SCS SBs 971 & 906 15 167.1230 and shall count as part of the enrollment for such student's resident LEA for the purposes of the transfer maximum described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision if, in the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to transfer, such student:
(3) The school board of each [unaccredited] school district shall [annually] report to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee the number of available slots in [attendance centers within the district that have annual performance report scores consistent with a classification of accredited] each grade level and each school, the number of students who request to transfer within the district, and the number of such transfer requests that are granted and denied by July 15, 2027, and by the first day of each month thereafter.
The department of elementary and secondary education shall publish and update the capacity of each district's grade levels and schools on its website.
SB 971 29 3.
[(1) Any student who is eligible to transfer within his or her district under subsection 2 of this section but who is unable to do so due to a lack of capacity in the attendance centers in his or her district of residence may apply to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee to transfer to:
(a) An attendance center:
That is located within an accredited district that is located in the same or an adjoining county;
Was enrolled in a school other than an LEA;
and b.
b.
That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited;
Was attending an FPE school, as such term is defined in section 167.013;
or (b) An approved charter school located in another district in the same or an adjoining county.
or c.
(2) A student who is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade at an attendance center:
Has moved to this state from another state and has not yet enrolled in a school.
(a) That is located within an unaccredited district;
(4) (a) The department shall develop and maintain an online resource to facilitate applications for a public school open enrollment transfer as described in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230.
(b) That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited;
Such resource shall enable a nonresident LEA to ensure that the LEA does not accept a transfer application if the acceptance of such transfer application would cause the transferring student's resident LEA to exceed the transfer maximum for the preceding school year.
and (c) That offers classes above the second grade level may apply to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee for a transfer to a school described under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision (1) of this subsection if he or she resides in the attendance area of the attendance center described under this subdivision on March first preceding the school year of first attendance.
(b) The online resource shall provide a searchable public database of the number of transfers offered in each participating LEA.
A student who does not apply by March first for enrollment in any school year after the 2019-20 school year shall be required to enroll and attend the attendance center described under this subdivision for one semester to become eligible.
The database shall list allowable transfer numbers published under section 167.1215 for each LEA for each school building, grade level, classroom, and program.
SB 971 30 (3)] If a student who is eligible to transfer under this [subsection] section chooses to apply to attend a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance process that has admissions requirements, the student shall furnish proof that he or she meets the admissions requirements.
3.
[(4) Any student who does not maintain residency in the attendance area of his or her attendance center in the district of residence shall lose eligibility to transfer.
Sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall not be construed to require an LEA to add teachers, staff, or classrooms or to in any way exceed the requirements and standards established by the nonresident LEA.
(5) Except as provided under subsection 7 of this section, any student who transfers but later withdraws shall lose eligibility to transfer.
(6) The transfer provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a district created under sections 162.815 to 162.840 or to any early childhood programs or early childhood special education programs.
(1) No student enrolled in and attending an attendance center that does not offer classes above the second grade level shall be eligible to transfer under this section.
(1) The department or another entity skilled in policy development shall develop a model policy for determining the number of transfers available under section SCS SBs 971 & 906 16 167.1215 and establishing specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications.
(2) No student who is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade at an attendance center that does not offer classes above the second grade level shall be eligible to transfer under this section.
(2) Upon adoption of a resolution to participate in the open enrollment program, the governing body of each LEA shall, by resolution, adopt a policy that defines the term "insufficient classroom space" for that LEA and which may account for future population growth of the community in which the LEA is located.
The policy shall also establish the specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications.
(3) The specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications shall account for future population growth of the community in which the LEA is located and may include, but shall not be limited to:
(a) The capacity of a school building, grade level, class, or program;
(b) The availability of classroom space in each school building;
(c) Any class-size limitation.
An LEA may use projections when determining class-size limitations;
(d) The ratio of students to classroom teachers;
(e) The LEA's projected enrollment;
and (f) Any characteristics of specific programs affected by additional or fewer students attending because of transfers under the public school open enrollment program, provided that special education programs shall not be considered under this paragraph.
(4) The specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications shall include a statement that priority shall be given to an applicant who has a sibling who:
(a) Is already enrolled in the nonresident LEA;
or SCS SBs 971 & 906 17 (b) Has made an application for enrollment in the same nonresident LEA.
(5) The specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications shall not include an applicant's:
(a) Academic achievement;
(b) Athletic or other extracurricular ability;
(c) Disabilities;
(d) English proficiency level;
or (e) Previous disciplinary proceedings, except that any suspension or expulsion from another LEA shall be included.
(6) An LEA receiving transferring students shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, disability, or whether the student is homeless or a migrant.
(1) (a) No provisionally accredited district shall be eligible to receive transfer students.
A nonresident LEA shall:
(b) Except as provided under paragraph (c) of this subdivision, no attendance center that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited shall be eligible to receive transfer students.
(1) Accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another LEA to a transferring student;
SB 971 31 (c) A transfer student who chooses to attend an attendance center that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited and that is located within his or her unaccredited district of residence shall be allowed to transfer to such attendance center if there is an available slot.
and (2) Award a diploma to a transferring student if the student meets the nonresident LEA's graduation requirements.
(2) (a) No unaccredited district shall be eligible to receive transfer students.
(b) No attendance center that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited shall be eligible to receive transfer students.
(3) No district or attendance center that has received two consecutive annual performance reports consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited for the years immediately preceding the year in which it seeks to enroll transfer students shall be eligible to receive any transfer students, irrespective of its state board of education classification designation;
except that, any student who was granted a transfer to such a district or attendance center prior to August 28, 2019 may remain enrolled in that district or attendance center.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 5 of this section, a student may transfer to an attendance center:
The governing body of each LEA shall cause the information about the public school open enrollment program to be posted on the LEA website and in the student handbook to inform parents of students of the:
(1) That is located within an unaccredited or provisionally accredited district;
(1) Availability of the program established under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230;
and (2) That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited if the attendance center applies for and is granted a waiver by the department of elementary and secondary education or SB 971 32 its designee to allow the attendance center to accept transfer students.
(2) Application deadline;
and (3) Requirements and procedures for resident and nonresident students to participate in the program.
If a receiving district becomes unaccredited or provisionally accredited, or if an approved charter school loses its status as an approved charter school, any students who previously transferred to the district or charter school shall receive the opportunity to remain enrolled in the district or charter school or to transfer to another district or approved charter school without losing their eligibility to transfer.
If a student wishes to attend a school within a nonresident LEA that is a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance SCS SBs 971 & 906 18 process that has admissions requirements, the student shall furnish proof that the student meets the admissions requirements in the application described under section 167.1220.
For a receiving district, no acceptance of a transfer student shall require any of the following actions, unless the board of education of the receiving district has approved the action:
A nonresident LEA may deny a transfer to a student who, in the most recent school year, has been suspended from school two or more times or who has been suspended for an act of school violence or expelled under subsection 2 of section 160.261.
(1) The hiring of additional classroom teachers;
A student whose transfer is initially precluded under this subsection may be permitted to transfer on a provisional basis as a probationary transfer student, subject to no further disruptive behavior, upon approval of the nonresident LEA's governing body.
(2) The construction of additional classrooms;
or (3) A class size and assigned enrollment in a receiving school that exceeds the standards for class size and assigned enrollment as promulgated in the Missouri school improvement program's resource standards.
(1) By July 15, 2019, the board of education of each available receiving district and the governing board of each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall set the number of transfer students the district or charter school is able to receive for the 2019-20 school year.
A student who is denied a transfer under subsection 8 of this section has the right to an in-person meeting with the nonresident LEA's governing body.
(2) By February first annually, the board of education of each available receiving district and the governing board of each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall set the number of transfer students the district or charter school is able to receive for the following school year.
The nonresident LEA shall develop common standards for determining disruptive behavior that shall include, but not be limited to, criteria under section 160.261.
SB 971 33 (3) An available receiving district or approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall publish the number set under this subsection and shall not be required to accept any transfer students under this section that would cause it to exceed the published number.
(1) Each available receiving district shall adopt a policy establishing a tuition rate for transfer students by February first annually.
(1) As used in this subsection, "school days of enrollment" does not include enrollment in summer school, and "varsity" means the highest level of competition offered by one school or LEA against the highest level of competition offered by an opposing school or LEA.
(2) Each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall adopt a policy establishing a tuition rate for transfer students by February first annually.
(2) (a) Except as provided in this paragraph, a student who participates in open enrollment for purposes of attending a grade in grades nine to twelve in an LEA other than the resident LEA is ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics for three hundred sixty-five days unless the student's case meets the standards under the following exceptions:
(3) A sending district shall pay the receiving district or the approved charter school the amount specified under section 167.132 for each transfer student.] 4.
SCS SBs 971 & 906 19 a.
Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 163 or federal calculations of military impact aid to the contrary, for the purposes of determining state and federal aid, a transfer student shall be counted as a resident of the receiving district in which the student is enrolled.
If the transfer does not involve undue influence and is not for athletic reasons, a student may be eligible immediately at the school of the student's choice upon first entering when:
Tuition shall not be charged to any student or to his or her parent or legal guardian.
(i) The student is promoted from grade six to grade seven;
[11.] 5.
(ii) The student is promoted from grade eight to grade nine and the student is eligible in all other respects;
A student whose transfer application has been denied by a receiving district shall have the right to appeal the decision of the receiving district to the department of elementary and secondary education.
or (iii) The student completes the highest grade in an elementary school that is not a part of a system supporting a high school and the student is eligible in all other respects;
The appeal shall be taken within fifteen days after the decision of the [department] receiving district and may be taken by filing notice of appeal with the department.
or b.
Such appeal shall be heard as provided in chapter 536.
If a student transfers schools under circumstances that do not meet the athletic eligibility requirements under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, such student may be granted eligibility to participate in interscholastic athletics as hereinafter restricted if the student qualifies under the following terms and conditions:
SB 971 34 [12.
(i) A student whose name has been included on a school eligibility roster at any level for a given sport during the twelve calendar months preceding the date of such transfer shall be eligible only for subvarsity competition in such sport for three hundred sixty-five days after the date of transfer.
If an unaccredited district becomes classified as provisionally accredited or accredited without provisions by the state board of education, or if an attendance center within an unaccredited district improves its annual performance report score from a score that is consistent with a classification of unaccredited to a score that is consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited or accredited, any resident student of the unaccredited district who has transferred to an approved charter school or to an accredited district in the same or an adjoining county, as allowed under subsection 3 of this section, shall be permitted to continue his or her educational program in the receiving district or charter school through the completion of middle school, junior high school, or high school, whichever occurs first;
A student may have unrestricted eligibility in all other sports in which such student's name has not appeared on a school eligibility roster;
except that, a student who attends any school serving students through high school graduation but starting at grades lower than ninth grade shall be permitted to complete high school in the school to which he or she has transferred.
(ii) A student who has attended an LEA that does not sponsor interscholastic athletics but who has participated in organized nonschool competition during the twelve calendar months preceding the date of such transfer shall be eligible only for subvarsity competition in such sport for three hundred sixty-five days after the date of transfer.
13.] 6.
A SCS SBs 971 & 906 20 student may have unrestricted eligibility in all other sports in which such student did not participate;
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection [10] 4 of this section, if [costs associated with the provision of special education and related services to a student with a disability exceed the tuition amount established under this section, the unaccredited district shall remain responsible for paying the excess cost to the receiving district.
or (iii) Eligibility may be granted as described in item (i) of this subparagraph if the athletic eligibility is approved by the principals of both the resident and nonresident LEAs and if there is no athletic purpose involved in the transfer.
If] the receiving district is a component district of a special school district, the [unaccredited] sending district, including any metropolitan school district, shall contract with the special school district for the entirety of the costs to provide special education and related services, excluding transportation in accordance with this section.
The student shall be ineligible for all sports for three hundred sixty-five days after the date of transfer if either or both principals decline to approve athletic eligibility.
The special school district SB 971 35 may contract with [an unaccredited] a sending district, including any metropolitan district, for the provision of transportation of a student with a disability or the [unaccredited] sending district may provide transportation on its own.
(b) Nothing in this section or section 167.1210 shall prevent a statewide athletic association that provides oversight for athletic or activity eligibility for students from imposing a stricter penalty upon any transferring student who is determined to have been unduly influenced to participate in or not to participate in the public school open enrollment program outlined in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230.
[14.] 7.
167.1210.
A special school district shall continue to provide special education and related services, with the exception of transportation under this section, to a student with a disability transferring [from an attendance center with an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited that is within a component district to an attendance center with an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited that is within the same or a different component district] to another school within the special school district.
[15.] 8.
If [any] the sending district is a metropolitan school district [is classified as unaccredited], it shall remain responsible for the provision of special education and related services, including transportation, to students with disabilities.
A special school district in an adjoining county to a metropolitan school district may contract with the metropolitan school district for the reimbursement of special education services under sections 162.705 and 162.710 provided by the special school district for transfer students who are residents of the [unaccredited] sending district.
[16.] 9.
Regardless of whether transportation is identified as a related service within a student's individualized education program, a receiving district that is not part of a special school district shall not be responsible for providing transportation to a student transferring under this section.
[An unaccredited] A SB 971 36 sending district may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district under sections 162.705 and 162.710 for transportation of students with disabilities.
[17.] 10.
If the sending district is a seven-director school district or urban school district [is classified as unaccredited], it may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district in the same or an adjoining county for the reimbursement of special education and related services under sections 162.705 and 162.710 provided by the receiving district for transfer students who are residents of the [unaccredited] sending district.
167.898.
(1) By July 15, [2019] 2027, and by [January first annually] the first day of each month thereafter, each [accredited] school district[, any portion of which is located in the same county as or in an adjoining county to an unaccredited district,] shall report to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee the number of available enrollment slots by grade level and school.
A student who applies to enroll in multiple nonresident LEAs and accepts a public school open enrollment program transfer to a nonresident LEA shall accept only one such transfer per school year.
(2) [By July 15, 2019, and by January first annually, each unaccredited district shall report to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee the number of available enrollment slots in the schools of its district that have received annual performance report scores consistent with a classification of accredited.
(3)] By July 15, [2019] 2027, and by [January first annually] the first day of each month thereafter, each [approved] charter school [that is eligible to receive transfer students under section 167.895] shall report to the department of elementary and secondary education or its SB 971 37 designee the number of available enrollment slots by grade level.
The department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall make information and assistance available to parents or guardians who intend to transfer their child to [an accredited] a receiving district or [to an approved] charter school as described under section 167.895.
(1) A student who accepts a public school open enrollment program transfer to a nonresident LEA shall commit to attend and take all courses through the nonresident LEA for at least two school years.
The student may meet with the governing body of the nonresident LEA to be released from such commitment if extenuating circumstances arise or if the student's resident LEA changes.
A transferring student shall not enroll in the Missouri course access and virtual school program as a full- SCS SBs 971 & 906 21 time equivalent student, as such term is defined in subsection 2 of section 161.670.
(2) If a transferring student returns to the student's resident LEA, the student's transfer shall be void and the student shall reapply if the student seeks a future public school open enrollment program transfer.
No transferring student who returns to the student's resident LEA shall reapply for a future transfer under this subdivision until after the student has been enrolled in and completed a full school semester in a school in the student's resident LEA.
(3) A transferring student with a school attendance percentage rate below eighty percent for any one quarter shall be notified of such rate and if such student's attendance rate in the subsequent quarter does not reach at least ninety percent, the student's transfer and eligibility to attend the nonresident LEA may be voided by the LEA.
The parent or guardian of a student who intends to transfer his or her child to [an accredited] a receiving district or [to an approved] charter school as described under section 167.895 for enrollment in that district or charter school in any school year after the [2019-20] 2026- 27 school year shall send initial notification to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee by [March first for enrollment in the subsequent school year] August 1, 2027, and by the first day of each month thereafter, for enrollment in any subsequent month.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a transferring student attending school in a nonresident LEA may complete all remaining school years in the nonresident LEA without reapplying each school year.
(2) A sibling of a transferring student who continues enrollment in a nonresident LEA may enroll in or continue enrollment in that nonresident LEA if the LEA has the capacity to accept the sibling without adding teachers, staff, or classrooms or exceeding the regulations and standards established by law or the policy of the nonresident LEA and the sibling has no discipline issues as described in section 167.1205.
The department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall assign those students who seek to transfer to [an accredited] a receiving district or [to an approved] charter school as described under section 167.895.
(1) The transferring student or the student's parent is responsible for the transportation of the student to and from the boundaries of the nonresident LEA where the student is enrolled.
When assigning transfer students to [approved] charter schools, the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall coordinate with each [approved] charter school and its admissions process if capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who submit a timely application.
The nonresident LEA shall be SCS SBs 971 & 906 22 responsible for the transportation of nonresident students participating in the open enrollment program within the boundaries of the nonresident LEA in which the school is located.
[An approved] A charter school shall not be required to institute a lottery procedure for determining the admission of resident students.
(2) A nonresident LEA shall either establish a bus stop location or utilize an existing bus stop location to provide transportation services to students participating in the open enrollment program.
The department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall give first priority to students who live in SB 971 38 the same household with any family member within the first or second degree of consanguinity or affinity who already attends a school with an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited and who apply to attend the same school.
Costs incurred for transportation services within the boundaries of a nonresident LEA for students participating in the open enrollment program shall be included in the nonresident LEA's calculation for reimbursement for state aid as provided in section 163.161, provided that nothing in this subsection shall be considered when calculating the efficiency of a nonresident LEA pursuant to the provisions of section 163.161.
If insufficient grade- appropriate enrollment slots are available for a student to be able to transfer, the student shall receive first priority the following [school year] month.
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a nonresident charter school LEA shall be required to provide transportation services pursuant to this subsection only if such charter school LEA provides transportation services to resident students.
The department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall consider the following factors in assigning school districts and charter schools:
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require charter school LEAs to begin offering transportation services if such services are not currently provided.
(1) The student's or parent's choice of the receiving school district or charter school;
(2) The best interests of the student;
(3) The availability of transportation funding, as provided under section 167.241;
and (4) Distance and travel time to a receiving school.
The department of elementary and secondary education or its designee shall not consider student academic performance, free and reduced price lunch status, or athletic ability in assigning a student to a school.
The parent or guardian may make an application for a specific building assignment within the district or [approved] charter school.
Final building assignment shall be determined by the receiving school district or [approved] charter school.
(1) The department of elementary and secondary education or its designee may deny a transfer to a student who in the most recent school year has been suspended from school two or more times or who has been suspended for an act of school violence under subsection 2 of section 160.261.
Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 160, chapter 163, or federal calculations of military impact aid to the contrary, for the purposes of determining state and federal aid, a transferring student shall be counted as a resident pupil of the nonresident school district LEA in which the student is enrolled, and for a student transferring to a nonresident charter school LEA, the charter school shall receive a state aid payment in an SCS SBs 971 & 906 23 amount determined by multiplying the charter school's weighted average daily attendance of such transferring student by the state adequacy target and multiplying this product by the dollar-value modifier for the district in which the charter school is located, and the provisions of section 160.415 shall not apply to any state aid calculation for a transferring pupil who enrolls in a nonresident charter school LEA.
A student whose transfer is initially precluded SB 971 39 under this subsection may be permitted to transfer on a provisional basis as a probationary transfer student, subject to no further disruptive behavior, upon a statement from the student's current school that the student is not disruptive.
For purposes of this subsection, the terms "dollar-value modifier", "state adequacy target", and "weighted average daily attendance" shall have the same meaning as such terms are defined in section 163.011.
A student who is denied a transfer under this subsection has the right to an in-person meeting with an employee of the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee.
6.
(2) The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate rules to provide common standards for determining disruptive behavior that shall include, but not be limited to, criteria under section 160.261.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the purposes of payment to a special school district established pursuant to the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.996, a transferring student receiving services from a special school district shall be counted as a resident pupil of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled.
Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028.
If such student receives fifty percent or more of such student's instruction from the special school district, the special school district shall, in lieu of the nonresident LEA, receive all funding which would otherwise be paid to the nonresident LEA pursuant to the provisions of sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 for such student.
This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable, and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2019, shall be invalid and void.
7.
[167.132.
Nothing in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 shall be construed to relieve any resident LEA of its responsibility to pay any costs required under sections 162.705 or 162.740.
167.1211.
If a nonresident student receives special educational services and participates in the public school open enrollment program, the nonresident LEA shall receive reimbursement from the parent public school choice fund established in section 167.1212 for the costs of the special educational services for the student with an individualized SCS SBs 971 & 906 24 education program above the state and federal funds received for educating the student.
Such reimbursement shall not exceed three times the current expenditure per average daily attendance as calculated on the LEA annual secretary of the board report for the year in which expenditures are claimed.
167.1212.
For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Parent Public School Choice Fund", which shall consist of appropriations made by the general assembly to provide moneys for the public school open enrollment program.
(1) "Receiving approved charter school", an approved charter school, as defined under section 167.895, receiving transfer students under section 167.895;
The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund.
(2) "Receiving district", a school district receiving transfer students under section 167.895;
In accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state treasurer may approve disbursements.
(3) "Sending district", a school district from which students are transferring to a SB 971 40 receiving district or approved charter school, as allowed under section 167.895;
The fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, moneys in the fund shall be used solely as provided in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230.
(4) "State adequacy target", the same meaning given to the term under section 163.011.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the tuition rate paid by a sending district to the receiving district or the receiving approved charter school for transfer students shall be the lesser of:
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund.
(1) The tuition rate set by the receiving district or the receiving approved charter school under the policy adopted in accordance with section 167.895;
3.
or (2) The state adequacy target plus the average sum produced per child by the local tax effort above the state adequacy target of the sending district.] ✓
The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner as other funds are invested.
Any interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be credited to the fund.
4.
Moneys appropriated to and deposited in the fund shall be used to supplement, not supplant, state aid distributed to LEAs under chapter 160 or chapter 163 and shall be used solely to compensate LEAs that participate in the public school open enrollment program established in sections 167.1200 to 167.1230.
5.
The department shall annually evaluate the availability and use of moneys from the fund.
If the department determines that additional moneys are needed to SCS SBs 971 & 906 25 fulfill the purposes of this section, the department shall, as part of the legislative budget process, annually request such moneys by a specific line item appropriation.
167.1215.
1.
Before November first annually, each LEA shall set the number of transfer students the LEA is willing to receive for the following school year under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230.
The LEA may create criteria for the acceptance of students including, but not limited to, the number of students by building, grade, classroom, or program.
2.
(1) Each LEA shall publish the number set under this section, notify the department of such number, and shall not accept any transfer students under this section who would cause the LEA to exceed the published number.
(2) The LEA shall delineate such published number by building, grade, classroom, or program if such criteria for acceptance have been set by the LEA.
3.
Before November first annually, a special school district established pursuant to the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.996 shall consult with each partner school district regarding resources and capabilities for providing special education services for transferring students in each partner school district.
In addition to the partner school district's reporting obligations, the special school district shall notify the department of the number of likely available spots for special education services at each partner school district.
Such notification shall include the number of likely available spots at school buildings operated by the special school district.
Such numbers shall be reported and published by building, grade, classroom, or program.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, all participating LEAs shall comply with all state and federal laws, SCS SBs 971 & 906 26 regulations, and other requirements regarding the provision of special education services.
4.
(1) The online resource created and maintained by the department as described in section 167.1205 shall include a waiting list for applications to nonresident LEAs if a transfer cannot be accepted because the number of transfers applied for exceeds the number of transfers available.
The online resource shall notify each applicant that the applicant's transfer application may be subject to placement on such waiting list if such transfer application is included in a number of transfer applications that exceeds the number of transfers available.
(2) Applications on the waiting list may be given priority for acceptance in the following order and may include other options for priority acceptance:
(a) Siblings of students already enrolled in the LEA;
(b) Children of an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States;
(c) Children of LEA employees;
(d) Students who had previously attended school in the LEA but whose parents have moved out of the LEA;
and (e) Students whose parents present an employment circumstance for which an open enrollment transfer would be in the student's best interest.
(3) A parent of a student on the waiting list shall be informed by the department of the details of the operation of the list and whether the parent will be required to refile a timely application for open enrollment in order to remain on the waiting list.
167.1220.
1.
(1) If a student seeks to attend a school in a nonresident LEA under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, the student's parent shall submit an application:
SCS SBs 971 & 906 27 (a) To the department, using the online resource described in section 167.1205, beginning on November fifteenth in the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident LEA;
(b) On a form approved by the department that contains the student's necessary information for enrollment in another LEA;
and (c) Before January first of the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester at the nonresident LEA.
(2) No more than five transfer applications per school year shall be submitted for any student.
2.
Upon receiving an application under subsection 1 of this section, the department shall assign a unique identifying number to the application.
3.
On or before January fifteenth, the department shall:
(1) Conduct a lottery of eligible applications to determine which student transfers will be approved, subject to the conditions for approval under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230;
and (2) Notify the nonresident LEA of such applications that the department has approved for transfer.
4.
(1) The governing body of the nonresident LEA shall request from all schools previously attended by the student within the last twelve months including the student's resident LEA, if applicable:
(a) Those records required by LEA policy for student transfer, including any applicable special education records;
(b) Those discipline records required by subsection 9 of section 160.261;
and SCS SBs 971 & 906 28 (c) Records of any behavioral risk assessment completed on the student.
(2) An LEA that receives a request for such records from another LEA enrolling a student that had previously attended a school in such LEA shall respond to such request within five business days of receiving the request.
(3) The officials and authorities to whom such information is disclosed shall comply with applicable restrictions set forth in 20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g(b)(1)(E), as amended.
5.
(1) The governing body of the nonresident LEA shall within ten business days:
(a) Review each application as received from the department;
(b) Determine whether such LEA shall accept or reject such application based on the standards in the LEA's policy for open enrollment under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230 adopted by the governing body and a review of records provided under subsection 4 of this section;
and (c) Inform the department of such determination.
(2) Provided the nonresident LEA has additional seats available for transfer students pursuant to such LEA's policy adopted in accordance with the provisions of section 167.1205, if the nonresident LEA rejects an application, the department shall send the next application on the waiting list to the nonresident LEA for consideration.
6.
(1) (a) Before March first of the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to enroll in a nonresident LEA under sections 167.1200 to 167.1230, the nonresident LEA's governing body shall notify the department as to whether the student's application has been SCS SBs 971 & 906 29 accepted or rejected through the online resource created under section 167.1205.
(b) Within three business days after sending notifications to the resident LEA and the nonresident LEA, the department shall notify the parent whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected by the nonresident LEA.
The notification shall be sent electronically and by first-class mail to the address on the application.
(2) If the application is rejected, the department's notification shall state the receiving nonresident LEA's reason for the rejection.
(3) If the application is accepted, the department shall state in the notification:
(a) A reasonable deadline before which the student shall enroll in the nonresident LEA and after which the acceptance notification is void;
and (b) Instructions for the procedures established for enrollment of students with special needs as provided in section 167.1224 in the nonresident LEA.
(4) If the application is accepted, the department shall notify:
(a) The resident LEA of the student's participation;
and (b) The student and the student's parent of the opportunity to participate in an anonymous survey provided by the department regarding all reasons for the student's and parent's interest in participating in the public school open enrollment program.
7.
The department shall publish an annual report based on the anonymous survey conducted under subdivision (4) of subsection 6 of this section that provides aggregate data of sufficient detail to allow analysis of trends regarding the SCS SBs 971 & 906 30 reasons for participation in the public school open enrollment program at the statewide, regional, and local levels.
In such annual report, the department shall also include aggregate data of sufficient detail to allow detection and analysis of the impact of the public school open enrollment program on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic balance among schools and LEAs at the statewide, regional, and local levels.
No such survey results published under this subsection shall be published in a manner that would allow for the identification of data attributable to a specific LEA or that reveals information regarding a group of five or fewer students.
The department shall privately share data specific to each LEA with each LEA prior to publishing the annual report.
8.
(1) If a student declines enrolling in the nonresident LEA, the department shall send the LEA the next application on the LEA's waiting list for consideration.
(2) Upon receiving such next application, the nonresident LEA shall follow the procedures in subsection 5 of this section.
9.
No additional open enrollment transfer applications shall be sent by the department or approved by a nonresident LEA after April fifteenth of the school year immediately preceding the school year of enrollment.
167.1224.
1.
Before enrollment in a nonresident LEA, a student with any of the following who is notified by the department that such student is accepted for a transfer to a nonresident LEA shall be provided the same process that exists for a resident student moving into the nonresident LEA:
(1) An individualized education program, or IEP, as such term is defined in 20 U.S.C.
Section 1401, as amended;
SCS SBs 971 & 906 31 (2) An individualized family service plan, or IFSP, as such term is defined in 20 U.S.C.
Section 1401, as amended;
(3) A 504 plan created under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C.
Section 794, as amended;
(4) A placement in an English as a second language (ESL) program;
(5) An identification as a gifted child eligible for a program or service under section 162.720;
or (6) A diagnosis of dyslexia, as such term is defined in section 633.420.
2.
The nonresident LEA, parent, or both shall have the opportunity to reevaluate such student to determine what comparable services may be required under section 162.700 or the special education programs or services for which such student may be eligible.
3.
The nonresident LEA is responsible for providing a free appropriate public education to the student.
4.
The nonresident LEA shall provide the same or substantially similar services as a resident student would receive, as applicable.
5.
Before choosing to enroll in the nonresident LEA, if necessary, the student and parent shall be provided the opportunity to develop a new or amended IEP, IFSP, or 504 plan or to evaluate the ESL, gifted, or dyslexia programs and services provided by the nonresident LEA.
6.
The nonresident LEA shall provide the student and parent with prior written notice documenting the services and supports that the nonresident LEA determines appropriate to meet the student's needs.
The nonresident LEA shall offer the transferring student ten business days to accept or decline the acceptance of the nonresident LEA.
SCS SBs 971 & 906 32 7.
Any LEA participating in the public school open enrollment program that is served by a special school district established under sections 162.670 to 162.996 shall execute a form agreement prepared by the department with such special school district regarding finance, staffing, and other relevant items relating to any students requiring special education services prior to participating in open enrollment.
An LEA and a special school district may choose to modify such form agreement, but no such modifications shall inhibit or delay the LEA's participating in the public school open enrollment program.
8.
In compliance with the requirements of federal and state laws, the nonresident LEA shall make reasonable accommodations and modifications to address the needs of incoming transferring students and to provide such transferring students with equal access to a free appropriate public education.
9.
This section shall not be construed to preclude a nonresident LEA from adding additional staff, services, or programs not already being offered by the nonresident LEA unless the nonresident LEA elects to or from performing subsequent evaluations, when appropriate, to ensure proper placement of a transferring student after enrollment.
167.1225.
1.
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Action History

  1. Informal Calendar S Bills for Perfection

  2. Bill Placed on Informal Calendar

  3. Reported from S Education Committee w/SCS

  4. SCS Voted Do Pass (w/SCS SBs 971 & 906) Education Committee (4698S.02C)

  5. Hearing Conducted S Education Committee

  6. Hearing Cancelled S Education Committee

  7. Second Read and Referred S Education Committee

  8. S First Read

  9. Prefiled

Sponsors

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 198 not signed on

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Co-sponsors (0)

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Subjects

civil-rights education
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 971 do?
SCS/SBs 971 & 906 - This act establishes the "Public School Open Enrollment Act" to enable students to transfer from their charter school or resident school district ("resident local education agency" or "LEA") to a nonresident LEA. (Section 167.1200) No student shall be enrolled under the Public School Open Enrollment Act before July 1, 2028. (Section 167.1230) TRANSFER POLICY AND PARTICIPATION (Section 167.1205) Any student in kindergarten to grade 12 may attend school in a nonresident LEA participating in the open enrollment program. Before November 1st of each year, each charter school or school district, defined as a "local education agency" or "LEA", shall adopt a resolution stating whether the LEA intends to participate in the program by receiving transferring students during the subsequent school year. LEAs may restrict the number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA to 3% of the previous school year's enrollment. After the 2028-29 school year, an LEA's maximum number of students who may transfer to a nonresident LEA shall increase by 1% for every two consecutive school years that the LEA is at the transfer maximum, up to a potential maximum of 5% of the previous school year's enrollment. For purposes of calculating the transfer maximum, a transferring student shall be counted as enrolled in the resident LEA if, in the school year before the year of transfer, the student was enrolled in a school other than a public school, attended an FPE school, as such term is defined in current law, or moved to Missouri from another state and has not yet enrolled in school. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shall develop and maintain an online resource that allows a nonresident LEA to ensure that such LEA does not accept a transfer application if doing so would cause the transferring student's resident LEA to exceed the transfer maximum established in the act. The online resource shall additionally provide a searchable public database of the number of transfers offered in each participating LEA, listing allowable transfers for each building, grade level, classroom, and program in an LEA. LEAs shall not be required to add teachers, staff, or classrooms to accommodate transfer applicants. DESE or an entity skilled in policy development shall develop a model open enrollment transfer policy as outlined in the act, including specific standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications. All LEAs that participate in open enrollment shall adopt a policy that defines the term "insufficient classroom space," taking into account future population growth and establishing standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications. The standards for acceptance and rejection of transfer applications may include the capacity of the school, the availability of classroom space, and any class-size limitation. An LEA may use projections to determine class-size limitations. The standards shall include a statement that priority shall be given to any applicant who has a sibling who is already enrolled in the nonresident LEA. The standards shall not include a consideration of an applicant's academic achievement, athletic ability, disabilities, English proficiency level, or previous disciplinary proceedings, except that any suspension or expulsion from another LEA shall be included. LEAs receiving transferring students shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, disability, or whether the student is homeless or a migrant. A nonresident LEA shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another LEA and award a diploma to a transferring student if the student meets the nonresident LEA's graduation requirements. The governing body of each LEA shall cause certain information about the open enrollment program, such as application deadlines and procedures, to be posted on the LEA's website and in the student handbook. Students who wish to attend a nonresident LEA that has an academic or competitive entrance process shall furnish proof that they meet the admission requirements of the nonresident LEA. A nonresident LEA may deny a transfer to a student who, in the most recent school year, has been suspended from school two or more times or who has been suspended or expelled for an act of school violence, as described in the act. A student whose transfer is initially precluded under this provision may, upon the approval of the nonresident LEA, be permitted to transfer as a probationary student, subject to no further disruptive behavior. A student who is denied a transfer due to disciplinary issues has the right to an in-person meeting with the nonresident LEA's superintendent, as provided in the act. LEAs shall develop common standards for determining disruptive behavior that shall include criteria established in current law. High school students who participate in open enrollment shall be ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletics during the first 365 days of enrollment in a nonresident LEA, with exceptions outlined in the act. APPLYING FOR TRANSFER (Section 167.1210) A student who applies for a transfer under the act may accept only one transfer per school year. A student who accepts such a transfer shall commit to attend and take all courses through the nonresident LEA for at least two school years. The student may meet with the superintendent of the nonresident LEA to be released from such commitment if extenuating circumstances arise or if the student's resident LEA changes. A transferring student shall not enroll as a full-time student in the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program. A student who transfers to a nonresident LEA and then returns to the resident LEA shall complete a full semester in the resident LEA before applying for another transfer. A transferring student with a school attendance rate below 80% for any quarter shall be notified of such rate, and if such student's attendance rate in the subsequent quarter does not reach at least 90%, the student's transfer and eligibility to attend the nonresident LEA may be voided by the LEA. A student who transfers to a nonresident LEA may complete all remaining school years in the nonresident LEA without reapplying each year. Any sibling of a student enrolled in a nonresident LEA may enroll in the same nonresident LEA if the LEA has the capacity and the sibling has no discipline issues, as provided in the act. The transferring student or the student's parent is responsible for the transportation of the student to and from the boundaries of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled. Nonresident LEAs shall provide transportation within the boundaries of the LEA, but charter schools that do not currently provide transportation services are exempt from this requirement. Transportation costs shall included in the nonresident LEA's calculation for transportation reimbursement under current law. For the purposes of determining federal and state aid, a student who transfers to a nonresident school district LEA shall be counted as a resident of the nonresident LEA. For a student transferring to a nonresident charter school LEA, state aid for such student shall be determined by multiplying the weighted average daily attendance of such transferring student by the state adequacy target and multiplying this product by the dollar-value modifier, as the terms "weighted average daily attendance", "state adequacy target", and "dollar-value modifier" are defined in current law, and certain provisions of state law providing for state aid payments to charter schools shall not apply to such calculation. For purposes of payment to special school districts, a transferring student receiving services from a special school district shall be counted as a resident pupil of the nonresident LEA in which the student is enrolled. If a student receives 50% or more of such student's instruction from the special school district, the special school district shall receive all funding which would otherwise be paid to the nonresident LEA for such student. The provisions of the act shall not be construed to relieve any resident LEA of its responsibility to pay toward the cost of the education of children who receive special educational services or attend the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled, as provided in current law. PARENT PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE FUND (Sections 167.1211 and 167.1212) The act establishes the "Parent Public School Choice Fund". Appropriations to the fund shall be used to supplement state aid payments to LEAs that participate in the open enrollment program and reimburse nonresident LEAs for the costs of providing special educational services for students with an IEP, as provided in the act. DESE shall annually evaluate the availability and use of moneys from the fund and, if necessary, request additional funds by a specific line item appropriation as part of the legislative budget process. NUMBER OF TRANSFER STUDENTS (Section 167.1215) Before November 1st annually, each LEA shall publish and notify DESE of the number of transfer students the LEA is willing to receive for the following school year, delineated by building, grade, classroom, or program, if such criteria for acceptance have been set by the LEA. An LEA shall not be required to accept any transfer students above this published number. A special school district shall consult with each partner school district and, before November 1st annually, shall notify DESE of the number of likely available spots for special education services at each partner school district, as provided in the act. The online resource created by DESE shall include a waiting list for applications to nonresident LEAs. The online resource shall notify each applicant that the applicant's transfer application may be subject to placement on such waiting list if the number of transfer applications exceeds the number of available transfers. The act sets forth a priority order for acceptance of applications from the waiting list. A parent of a student on the waiting list shall be informed by DESE of the details of the operation of the list and whether the parent will be required to refile an application for open enrollment in order to remain on the waiting list. APPLICATION PROCESS (Section 167.1220) The parent of a student seeking a transfer shall submit an application to DESE between November 15th and January 1st of the school year before the school year in which the student seeks to begin the fall semester, as provided in the act. No more than five transfer applications per school year shall be submitted for any student. Upon receiving an application, DESE shall assign a unique identifying number to the application. On or before January 15th, DESE shall conduct a lottery of eligible applications to determine which student transfers DESE will approve for submission to the nonresident LEAs, subject to conditions set forth in the act, and shall also notify each nonresident LEA of applications that DESE has approved for transfer. The governing body of the nonresident LEA shall request from all schools attended by the student within the last 12 months certain records relating to the transfer, including special education records, discipline records, and records of behavioral risk assessments. An LEA that receives such a request for records shall respond to the request within five business days. Any official to whom such information is disclosed shall comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Nonresident LEAs shall review and make a determination on transfer applications received from DESE within 10 business days, as provided in the act. If a nonresident LEA rejects an application, DESE shall submit the next application on the waiting list to the nonresident LEA for consideration. Before March 1st of the school year preceding the school year in which a student seeks to enroll in a nonresident LEA, the nonresident LEA's superintendent shall notify DESE as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected through the online resource created by DESE. Within three business days of sending notifications to the resident and nonresident LEAs, DESE shall notify the parent as to whether the student's application has been accepted or rejected, as provided in the act. If an application is rejected, DESE's notification shall state the nonresident LEA's reason for the rejection. If an application is accepted, DESE shall state in its notification a reasonable deadline before which the student shall enroll, along with instructions for renewing enrollment each year. DESE shall also notify the resident LEA of the student's participation. DESE shall further notify the student and the student's parent of the opportunity to participate in an anonymous survey provided by DESE regarding all reasons for the student's and parent's interest in participating in the open enrollment program. DESE shall publish an annual report based on the survey results, providing aggregate data of sufficient detail to allow analysis of trends regarding the reasons for participation in the open enrollment program at the statewide, regional, and local levels. The annual report shall also include detection and analysis of the impact of the program on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic balance among schools and LEAs. No such survey results shall be published in a manner that would allow for the identification of data attributable to a specific LEA or that reveals information regarding a group of five or fewer students. DESE shall privately share data specific to each LEA with each LEA prior to publishing the annual report. If a student declines enrolling in the nonresident LEA, provided the nonresident LEA still has capacity to accept additional students, DESE shall send the LEA the next application on the waiting list for consideration. No additional open enrollment transfer applications shall be sent by DESE or approved by a nonresident LEA after April 15th of the school year immediately preceding the school year of enrollment. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND GIFTED CHILDREN (Section 167.1224) Before enrolling in a nonresident LEA, a student with certain special educational needs, English as a second language (ESL) needs, or who is identified as a gifted child shall be provided the same process that exists for a resident student moving into the nonresident LEA. The nonresident LEA, parent, or both shall have the opportunity to reevaluate the student to determine what comparable special educational services may be required or what programs or services for which the student may be eligible. A nonresident LEA is responsible for providing a free appropriate education to the student and shall provide the same or substantially similar services as a resident student would receive. Before enrolling in the nonresident LEA, if necessary, a transferring student and parent shall be provided the opportunity to develop a new or amended IEP, individualized family service plan, or 504 plan, or to evaluate the ESL, gifted, or dyslexia programs and services provided by the nonresident LEA. The nonresident LEA shall provide the student and parent with prior written notice documenting the services that the nonresident LEA determines appropriate to meet the student's needs. The nonresident LEA shall offer the transferring student 10 business days to accept or decline the acceptance of the nonresident LEA. LEAs that are served by a special school district shall execute a form agreement prepared by DESE with such special school district regarding finance, staffing, and other relevant items prior to participating in open enrollment. An LEA and a special school district may choose to modify such form agreement, but no modifications shall delay the LEA's participating in open enrollment. A nonresident LEA shall make reasonable accommodations to address the needs of incoming transferring students and to provide such students with equal access to a free appropriate public education. These provisions shall not be construed to preclude a nonresident LEA from adding additional staff, services, or programs, or to preclude the nonresident LEA from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure proper placement of a transferring student. AUTHORIZED EXEMPTIONS (Section 167.1225) A student may participate in open enrollment if such student's transfer does not cause the resident LEA to conflict with a provision of an enforceable desegregation court order or a court-approved desegregation plan. An LEA may annually declare an exemption from the program if the LEA is subject to such court order or plan, as provided in the act. Any LEA declaring such exemption shall notify DESE of such before November 1st of the preceding school year. The act sets forth certain exemptions from open enrollment for students who qualify for transfers under current law and for LEAs that receive transfer students under such provisions. If a student transfers from a resident LEA that is a K-8 school district to another school district for any of grades 6-8, the resident LEA shall pay tuition to the nonresident LEA upon the student's promotion to 9th grade as provided in current law. For any student who transfers to a nonresident LEA that is a K-8 school district, the K-8 school district shall not be considered such student's resident LEA for any purpose after the student completes 8th grade or upon the student's transfer out of the K-8 school district before completing 8th grade. ANNUAL REPORTING AND AUDITING (Section 167.1229) DESE shall collect and report data annually from school LEAs on the number of applications and study the effects of transfers under the act. DESE shall consider, as part of its study, the maximum number of transfers and exemptions for both resident and nonresident LEAs for up to two years to determine if a significant racially segregative impact has occurred in any LEA. The report shall be submitted annually before December 1st to the Joint Committee on Education, the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Senate Committee on Education. DESE shall annually make a random selection of 10% of the LEAs participating in the open enrollment program and audit each selected LEA's transfers approved or denied under policies adopted by the school board. If DESE determines that a selected LEA is improperly implementing and administering the transfer process, DESE may withhold any state aid provided to the LEA until the LEA corrects the transfer process improprieties identified by the audit. This act is substantially similar to provisions in SS/SCS/HCS/HB 711 (2025) and HCS#2/SS/SB 266 (2025), and is similar to HB 2604 (2026), SB 1051 (2024), HCS/HB 1989 (2024), SCS/SB 5 (2023), SB 1010 (2022), HB 1814 (2022), and HS/HCS/HB 543 (2021). OLIVIA SHANNON
Who sponsors SB 971?
SB 971 is sponsored by Curtis Trent.
What is the current status of SB 971?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 01, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
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