HB 2896 — Modifies provisions relating to the governing bodies of certain public institutions of higher education

(2) Each approved program provider shall meet all of the following qualifications:

SS SCS HB 2896 4 (a) Be an accredited high school diploma-granting entity;

(b) Have a minimum of two years of experience providing adult dropout recovery services;

(c) Provide academic skill intake assessments and transcript evaluations to each student.

Such academic skill intake assessments may be administered in person or online;

(d) Develop a learning plan for each student that integrates graduation requirements and career goals;

(e) Provide a course catalog that includes all courses necessary to meet graduation requirements;

(f) Offer remediation opportunities in literacy and numeracy, as applicable;

(g) Offer employability skills certification, as applicable;

(h) Offer career pathways coursework, as applicable;

(i) Ability to provide preparation for industry-recognized credentials or stackable credentials, a technical skills assessment, or a combination thereof;

and (j) Offer career placement services, as applicable.

(3) Upon confirmation by the department that an interested program provider meets all of the qualifications listed in subdivision (2) of this subsection, an interested program provider shall become an approved program provider.

4.

(1) The department shall announce the approved program providers before October sixteenth annually, with authorization for the approved program providers to begin enrolling students before November fifteenth annually.

(2) Approved program providers shall maintain approval without reapplying annually if the approved program provider has not been removed from the approved program provider list under this section.

5.

All approved program providers shall comply with requirements as provided by the department to ensure:

(1) An accurate accounting of a student's accumulated credits toward a high school diploma;

(2) An accurate accounting of credits necessary to complete a high school diploma;

and (3) The provision of coursework aligned to the academic performance standards of the state.

6.

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the department shall pay an amount as set by the department to approved program providers for the following milestones provided by the approved program provider:

(a) Completion of each half unit of high school credit;

(b) Attainment of an employability skills certification;

SS SCS HB 2896 5 (c) Attainment of an industry-recognized credential, technical skills assessment, or stackable credential requiring no more than fifty hours of training;

(d) Attainment of an industry-recognized credential or stackable credential requiring at least fifty-one but no more than one hundred hours of training;

(e) Attainment of an industry-recognized credential or stackable credential requiring more than one hundred hours of training;

and (f) Attainment of an accredited high school diploma.

(2) No approved program provider shall receive funding for a student under this section if the approved program provider receives federal or state funding or private tuition for that student.

No approved program provider shall charge student fees of any kind including, but not limited to, textbook fees, tuition fees, lab fees, or participation fees unless the student chooses to obtain additional education offered by the approved program provider that is not included in the state-funded program.

(3) Payments made under this subsection shall be subject to an appropriation made to the department for such purposes.

7.

(1) Approved program providers shall submit monthly invoices to the department before the eleventh calendar day of each month for milestones met in the previous calendar month.

(2) The department shall pay approved program providers in the order in which invoices are submitted until all available funds are exhausted.

(3) The department shall provide a written update to approved program providers by the last calendar day of each month.

The update shall include the aggregate total dollars that have been paid to approved program providers to date and the estimated number of enrollments still available for the program year.

8.

Before July sixteenth of each year, each provider shall report the following metrics to the department for each individual cohort, on a cohort-by-cohort basis:

(1) The total number of students who have been funded through the program;

(2) The total number of credits earned;

(3) The total number of employability skills certifications issued;

(4) The total number of industry-recognized credentials, stackable credentials, and technical skills assessments earned for each tier of funding;

(5) The total number of graduates;

(6) The average cost per graduate once the stipulated time to make such a calculation has passed;

and (7) The graduation rate once the stipulated time to make such a calculation has passed.

SS SCS HB 2896 6 9.

(1) Before September sixteenth of each year, each approved program provider shall conduct and submit to the department the aggregate results of a survey of each individual cohort, on a cohort-by-cohort basis, who graduated from the program of the approved program provider under this section.

The survey shall be conducted in the year after the year in which the individuals graduate and the next four consecutive years.

(2) The survey shall include at least the following data collection elements for each year the survey is conducted:

(a) The individual's employment status, including whether the individual is employed full time or part time;

(b) The individual's hourly wages;

(c) The individual's access to employer-sponsored health care;

and (d) The individual's postsecondary enrollment status, including whether the individual has completed a postsecondary certificate or degree program.

10.

(1) Beginning at the end of the second fiscal year of the program, the department shall review data from each approved program provider to ensure that each is achieving minimum program performance standards including, but not limited to:

(a) A minimum fifty percent average graduation rate per cohort;

and (b) An average cost per graduate per cohort of seven thousand dollars or less.

(2) Any approved program provider that fails to meet the minimum program performance standards described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be placed on probationary status for the remainder of the fiscal year by the department.

(3) Any approved program provider that fails to meet the minimum program performance standards described in subdivision (1) of this subsection for two consecutive years shall be removed from the approved program provider list by the department.

11.

(1) No approved program provider shall discriminate against a student on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexuality, gender, or age.

(2) If an approved program provider determines that a student would be better served by participating in a different program, the approved program provider may refer the student to the state's adult basic education services.

12.

(1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Workforce Diploma Program Fund", which shall consist of any grants, gifts, donations, bequests, or moneys appropriated under this section.

The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund.

In accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state treasurer may approve disbursements.

The fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, moneys in the fund shall be used solely as provided in this section.

SS SCS HB 2896 7 (2) 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.

(3) 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.

13.

The director of the department may promulgate all necessary rules and regulations for the administration of this section.

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.

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, 2022, shall be invalid and void.

14.

[Under section 23.253 of the Missouri sunset act:

(1) The provisions of the new program authorized under this section shall automatically sunset six years after August 28, 2022, unless reauthorized by an act of the general assembly;

and (2) If such program is reauthorized, the program authorized under this section shall automatically sunset twelve years after the effective date of the reauthorization of this section;

and (3) This section shall terminate on September first of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the program authorized under this section is sunset.

15.] If any provision of this section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such determination shall not affect the provisions or applications of the remainder of this act which may be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end the provisions of this section are severable.

SS SCS HB 2896 8 2.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 174.050 to the contrary, the board of regents of Northwest Missouri State University shall be composed of nine members, eightEXPLANATION of— whomMatter shallenclosed bein votingbold-faced membersbrackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and oneis whointended shallto be aomitted nonvotingfrom member.the law.

Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.

HB 2896 2 eight of whom shall be voting members and one who shall be a nonvoting member.

[3.]2.[3.] 2.

[4.]3.[4.] 3.

Except as provided in subsections 2, [6] 3, and [7] 4 of this section, the governing board of the University of Central Missouri, Missouri State University, Missouri Southern State University, Missouri Western State University, and of each other public institution of higher education which, through the procedures established in subdivision (8) or (9) of section 173.030, is charged with a statewide mission shall be a board of governors consisting of eight members, composed of seven voting members and one nonvoting member SS SCS HB 2896 9 as provided in sections 174.453 and 174.455, who shall be appointed by the governor of Missouri, by and with the advice and consent of the senate.

The appointed members of HB 2896 3 the board of regents serving on the date of the statutory mission change shall become members of the board of governors on the effective date of the statutory mission change and serve until the expiration of the terms for which such members were appointed.

[At least one but no more than two voting members shall be appointed to the board from each congressional district, and] OfEvery member of the nineboard votingshall membersbe appointeda tocitizen of the board,United noStates, fewerand thana sevenresident membersof shallthis eachstate befor residentsat ofleast differenttwo congressionalyears districtsprior ofto thisthe state;member's appointment.

provided that no more than one member shall be appointed from any one congressional district.

In addition to the seven members appointed to represent different congressional districts, two members shall be appointed at-large and shall not be required to reside in a congressional district not otherwise represented on the board.

Every member of the board shall be a citizen of the United States, and a resident of this state for at least two years prior to the member's appointment.

No more than four voting members shall reside in the county in which the institution's principal administrative office is located.

Should the boundaries of any congressional districts be altered in a manner that displaces a member of the board of governors of Missouri State University from the SS SCS HB 2896 10 congressional district from which the member was appointed, the member shall be allowed to serve the remainder of the term for which the member was appointed.

HB 2896 4 [7.] 4.

SS SCS HB 2896 11 (3)] Not more than four voting members shall be selected who reside in the county in which the institution's principal administrative office is located;

HB 2896 5 (1) Five voting members shall be selected from any of the following counties:

SS SCS HB 2896 12 Not more than four voting governors shall belong to any one political party.

No person shall be appointed a curator who shall not be a citizen of the United States and who shall not have been a resident of the state of Missouri two years next HB 2896 6 prior to his or her appointment.

178.530.

1.

The state board of education shall establish standards and annually inspect, as a basis for approval, all public prevocational, vocational schools, State Technical College of Missouri, departments and classes receiving state or federal moneys for giving training in agriculture, industrial, home economics and commercial subjects and all schools, departments and classes receiving state or federal moneys for the preparation of teachers and supervisors of such subjects.

The public prevocational and vocational schools, State Technical College of Missouri, departments, and classes, and the training schools, departments and classes are entitled to the state or federal moneys so long as they are approved by the state board of education, as to site, plant, equipment, qualifications of teachers, admission of pupils, courses of study and methods of instruction.

All disbursements of state or federal moneys for the benefit of the approved prevocational and vocational schools, State Technical College of Missouri, departments and classes shall be made semiannually.

The school board of each approved school or the governing body of State Technical College of Missouri shall file a report with the state board of education at the times and in the form that the state board requires.

Upon receipt of a satisfactory report, the state board of education shall certify to the commissioner of administration for [his] the commissioner's approval the amount of the state and federal moneys due the school district or State Technical College of Missouri.

The amount due the school district shall be certified by the commissioner of administration and proper warrant therefor shall be issued to the district treasurer or State Technical College of Missouri.

2.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, the state board of education shall establish standards for agricultural education that may be adopted by a private school accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education as an accreditor of private schools that wishes to provide quality vocational programming outside the requirements of, but consistent with, the federal Vocational Education Act.

Such SS SCS HB 2896 13 standards shall be sufficient to qualify a private school to apply to the state chapter for approval of a local chapter of a federally chartered national agricultural education association on a form developed for that purpose by the department of elementary and secondary education without eligibility to receive state or federal funding for agricultural vocational education.

The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to create eligibility for a private school to receive state or federal funding for agricultural vocational education, but shall not prohibit a private school from receiving state or federal funds for which such private school would otherwise be eligible for agricultural vocational education.

Any such private school shall reimburse the department annually for the cost of oversight and maintenance of the program.

3.

(1) The department of elementary and secondary education, through its agricultural education section, shall be authorized to establish a [pilot] program, beginning in the [2020-21] 2027-28 school year, to provide for agricultural education in elementary schools in the state.

[The purpose of the pilot program shall be to determine whether and how to implement an elementary agricultural education program statewide.] (2) (a) The department, through its employees who work in the agricultural education section, [is authorized to select from among applications submitted by the public elementary schools a minimum of sixteen public elementary schools for participation in the pilot program.

The department] shall develop [an application] a process for public elementary schools to [apply to] participate in the [pilot] program.

(b) The local school board for each elementary school [selected] that elects to be in the [pilot] program shall agree to implement and fully fund an elementary agricultural education program in such school and [to continue to provide such elementary agricultural education program for a period no shorter than three years.

The local school district] may employ an agricultural education teacher to provide such program for the elementary school.

(3) The department, through its employees who work in the agricultural education section, [and local school districts] shall [collaborate to] establish [the] instructional [model] models for [each] the elementary agricultural education program in conjunction and collaboration with Missouri agricultural commodity groups and organizations that promote and support Missouri agriculture.

Such instructional [model] models shall be grade-appropriate and include instruction in an organized classroom, collaborative learning experiences through investigation and inquiry, including laboratory and site-based learning activities, and personal, leadership, and career development opportunities.

(4) The department, through its agricultural education section, shall provide for a program evaluation regarding the success and impact of the [pilot] program [upon completion of the third year of the pilot program] and shall report the results of such evaluation [to the SS SCS HB 2896 14 relevant house and senate committees on agriculture and education] on the department's website.

4.

The department shall maintain an adequate number of full-time employees, certified in agricultural education and distributed regionally throughout the state, to provide accountability for program delivery of agricultural education, to continue to develop and maintain pertinent agricultural education instructional models and standards, to assist local school districts on matters related to agricultural education, and to coordinate regional and statewide activities supporting K-12 agricultural education programming.

5.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require public elementary schools to participate in the [pilot] program.

6.

The requirements of section 160.514 shall not apply to the provisions of this section.