Establishes provisions relating to the participation of elementary and secondary school students in nontraditional educational settings

(Missouri Course Access & Virtual School Program, Expands FLEX Schools, DESE shall monitor performance and promulgate rules, compusory attendance)

AN ACT To repeal sections 161.670, 162.996, 162.1250, 166.700, 167.031, 167.061, 167.071, 167.600, 167.619, 210.167, 210.211, 211.031, and 452.375, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof thirteen new sections relating to participation of elementary and secondary school students in educational settings, with penalty provisions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows: Section A. Sections 161.670, 162.996, 162.1250, 166.700, 167.031, 167.061, 2 167.071, 167.600, 167.619, 210.167, 210.211, 211.031, and 452.375, RSMo, are repealed and 3 thirteen new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 161.670, 162.996, 4 162.1250, 166.700, 167.031, 167.061, 167.600, 167.619, 167.790, 210.167, 210.211, 5 211.031, and 452.375, to read as follows: 161.670. 1. Notwithstanding any other law, prior to July 1, 2007, the state board of 2 education shall establish the "Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program" to serve 3 school-age students residing in the state. The Missouri course access and virtual school 4 program shall offer nonclassroom-based instruction in a virtual setting using technology, 5 intranet, or internet methods of communication. Any student under the age of twenty-one in 6 grades kindergarten through twelve who resides in this state shall be eligible to enroll in the 7 Missouri course access and virtual school program pursuant to subsection 3 of this section. 8 2. (1) For purposes of calculation and distribution of state school aid, students 9 enrolled in the Missouri course access and virtual school program shall be included in the 10 student enrollment of the school district in which the student is enrolled under subsection 3 of 11 this section; provided that any such student attendance for full-time virtual program students 12 shall only be included in any district pupil attendance calculation under chapter 163 and any EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1905 2 13 charter school pupil attendance calculation under section 160.415, using current-year pupil 14 attendance for such full-time virtual program pupils; and further provided that in the case of a 15 host school district enrolling one or more full-time virtual school students, such enrolling 16 district shall receive no less under the state aid calculation for such students than an amount 17 equal to the state adequacy target multiplied by the weighted average daily attendance of such 18 full-time students. Students residing in Missouri and enrolled in a full-time virtual school 19 program operated by a public institution of higher education in this state shall be counted for a 20 state aid calculation by the department, and the department shall pay, from funds dedicated to 21 state school aid payments made under section 163.031, to such institution an amount equal to 22 the state adequacy target multiplied by the weighted average daily attendance of such full- 23 time students. 24 (2) The Missouri course access and virtual school program shall report to the district 25 of residence the following information about each student served by the Missouri course 26 access and virtual school program: name, address, eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, 27 limited English proficiency status, special education needs, and the number of courses in 28 which the student is enrolled. The Missouri course access and virtual school program shall 29 promptly notify the resident district when a student discontinues enrollment. A "full-time 30 equivalent student" is a student who is enrolled in the instructional equivalent of six credits 31 per regular term. Each Missouri course access and virtual school program course shall count 32 as one class and shall generate that portion of a full-time equivalent that a comparable course 33 offered by the school district would generate. 34 (3) Pursuant to an education services plan and collaborative agreement under 35 subsection 3 of this section, full-time equivalent students may be allowed to use a physical 36 location of the resident school district for all or some portion of ongoing instructional activity, 37 and the enrollment plan shall provide for reimbursement of costs of the resident district for 38 providing such access pursuant to rules promulgated under this section by the department. 39 (4) In no case shall more than the full-time equivalency of a regular term of 40 attendance for a single student be used to claim state aid. Full-time equivalent student credit 41 completed shall be reported to the department of elementary and secondary education in the 42 manner prescribed by the department. Nothing in this section shall prohibit students from 43 enrolling in additional courses under a separate agreement that includes terms for paying 44 tuition or course fees. 45 (5) A full-time virtual school program serving full-time equivalent students shall be 46 considered an attendance center in the host school district and shall participate in the 47 statewide assessment system as defined in section 160.518. The academic performance of 48 students enrolled in a full-time virtual school program shall be assigned to the designated 49 attendance center of the full-time virtual school program and shall be considered in like HB 1905 3 50 manner to other attendance centers. The academic performance of any student who disenrolls 51 from a full-time virtual school program and enrolls in a public school or charter school shall 52 not be used in determining the annual performance report score of the attendance center or 53 school district in which the student enrolls for twelve months from the date of enrollment. 54 (6) For the purposes of this section, a public institution of higher education operating 55 a full-time virtual school program shall be subject to all requirements applicable to a host 56 school district with respect to its full-time equivalent students. 57 3. (1) A student who resides in this state may enroll in Missouri course access and 58 virtual school program courses of his or her choice as a part of the student's annual course 59 load each school year, with any costs associated with such course or courses to be paid by the 60 school district or charter school if: 61 (a) The student is enrolled full-time in a public school, including any charter school; 62 and 63 (b) Prior to enrolling in any Missouri course access and virtual school program 64 course, a student has received approval from his or her school district or charter school 65 through the procedure described under subdivision (2) of this subsection. 66 (2) Each school district or charter school shall adopt a policy that delineates the 67 process by which a student may enroll in courses provided by the Missouri course access and 68 virtual school program that is substantially similar to the typical process by which a district 69 student would enroll in courses offered by the school district and a charter school student 70 would enroll in courses offered by the charter school. The policy may include consultation 71 with the school's counselor and may include parental notification or authorization. The policy 72 shall ensure that available opportunities for in-person instruction are considered prior to 73 moving a student to virtual courses. The policy shall allow for continuous enrollment 74 throughout the school year. If the school district or charter school disapproves a student's 75 request to enroll in a course or courses provided by the Missouri course access and virtual 76 school program, the reason shall be provided in writing and it shall be for good cause. Good 77 cause justification to disapprove a student's request for enrollment in a course shall be a 78 determination that doing so is not in the best educational interest of the student, and shall be 79 consistent with the determination that would be made for such course request under the 80 process by which a district student would enroll in a similar course offered by the school 81 district and a charter school student would enroll in a similar course offered by the charter 82 school, except that the determination may consider the suitability of virtual courses for the 83 student based on prior participation in virtual courses by the student. Appeals of any course 84 denials under this subsection shall be considered under a policy that is substantially similar to 85 the typical process by which appeals would be considered for a student seeking to enroll in  HB 1905 4 86 courses offered by the school district and a charter school student seeking to enroll in courses 87 offered by the charter school. 88 (3) For students enrolled in any Missouri course access and virtual school program 89 course in which costs associated with such course are to be paid by the school district or 90 charter school as described under this subdivision, the school district or charter school shall 91 pay the content provider directly on a pro rata monthly basis based on a student's completion 92 of assignments and assessments. If a student discontinues enrollment, the district or charter 93 school may stop making monthly payments to the content provider. No school district or 94 charter school shall pay, for any one course for a student, more than the market necessary 95 costs but in no case shall pay more than fourteen percent of the state adequacy target, as 96 defined under section 163.011, as calculated at the end of the most recent school year for any 97 single, year-long course and no more than seven percent of the state adequacy target as 98 described above for any single semester equivalent course. 99 (4) For students enrolling in a full-time virtual program, the department of elementary 100 and secondary education shall adopt a policy that delineates the process by which a student 101 who lives in this state may enroll in a virtual program of their choice as provided in this 102 subdivision. Each host school district operating a full-time virtual program under this section 103 shall operate and implement the state enrollment policy, subject to the provisions of this 104 subdivision. The policy shall: 105 (a) Require the good faith collaboration of the student, the student's parent or 106 guardian if the student is not considered homeless, the virtual program, the host district, and 107 the resident district; 108 (b) Specify timelines for timely participation by the virtual program, the host district, 109 and resident district; provided that the resident district shall provide any relevant information 110 and input on the enrollment within ten business days of notice from the virtual program of the 111 enrollment application; 112 (c) Include a survey of the reasons for the student's and parent's interests in 113 participating in the virtual program; 114 (d) Include consideration of available opportunities for in-person instruction prior to 115 enrolling a student in a virtual program; 116 (e) Evaluate requests for enrollment based on meeting the needs for a student to be 117 successful considering all relevant factors; 118 (f) Ensure that, for any enrolling student, an education services plan and collaborative 119 agreement is created to provide all services required to ensure a free and appropriate public 120 education, including financial terms for reimbursement by the host district for the necessary 121 costs of any virtual program, school district, or public or private entity providing all or a 122 portion of such services;  HB 1905 5 123 (g) Require the virtual program to determine whether an enrolling student will be 124 admitted, based on the enrollment policy, in consideration of all relevant factors and provide 125 the basis for its determination and any service plan for the student, in writing, to the student, 126 the student's parent or guardian, the host district, and the resident district; 127 (h) Provide a process for reviewing appeals of decisions made under this subdivision; 128 and 129 (i) Require the department to publish an annual report based on the enrollments and 130 enrollment surveys conducted under this subdivision that provides data at the statewide and 131 district levels of sufficient detail to allow analysis of trends regarding the reasons for 132 participation in the virtual program at the statewide and district levels; provided that no such 133 survey results will be published in a manner that reveals individual student information. The 134 department shall also include, in the annual report, data at the statewide and district levels of 135 sufficient detail to allow detection and analysis of the racial, ethnic, and socio-economic 136 balance of virtual program participation among schools and districts at the statewide and 137 district levels, provided that no such survey results will be published in a manner that reveals 138 individual student information. 139 (5) In the case of a student who is a candidate for A+ tuition reimbursement and 140 taking a virtual course under this section, the school shall attribute no less than ninety-five 141 percent attendance to any such student who has completed such virtual course. 142 (6) The Missouri course access and virtual school program shall ensure that 143 individual learning plans designed by certified teachers and professional staff are developed 144 for all students enrolled in more than two full-time course access program courses or a full- 145 time virtual school. 146 (7) Virtual school programs shall monitor individual student success and engagement 147 of students enrolled in their program, provide regular student progress reports for each student 148 at least four times per school year to the school district or charter school, provide the host 149 school district and the resident school district ongoing access to academic and other relevant 150 information on student success and engagement, and shall terminate or alter the course 151 offering if it is found the course or full-time virtual school is not meeting the educational 152 needs of the students enrolled in the course. 153 (8) The department of elementary and secondary education shall monitor the 154 aggregate performance of providers and make such information available to the public under 155 subsection 11 of this section. 156 (9) Pursuant to rules to be promulgated by the department of elementary and 157 secondary education, when a student transfers into a school district or charter school, credits 158 previously gained through successful passage of approved courses under the Missouri course 159 access and virtual school program shall be accepted by the school district or charter school.  HB 1905 6 160 (10) Pursuant to rules to be promulgated by the department of elementary and 161 secondary education, if a student transfers into a school district or charter school while 162 enrolled in a Missouri course access and virtual school program course or full-time virtual 163 school, the student shall continue to be enrolled in such course or school. 164 (11) Nothing in this section shall prohibit students receiving instruction at a home 165 school [students] or FLEX school, as defined in section 167.031, private school students, or 166 students wishing to take additional courses beyond their regular course load from enrolling in 167 Missouri course access and virtual school program courses under an agreement that includes 168 terms for paying tuition or course fees. 169 (12) Nothing in this subsection shall require any school district, charter school, virtual 170 program, or the state to provide computers, equipment, or internet access to any student 171 unless required under the education services plan created for an eligible student under 172 subdivision (4) of this subsection or for an eligible student with a disability to comply with 173 federal law. An education services plan may require an eligible student to have access to 174 school facilities of the resident school district during regular school hours for participation 175 and instructional activities of a virtual program under this section, and the education services 176 plan shall provide for reimbursement of the resident school district for such access pursuant to 177 rules adopted by the department under this section. 178 (13) The authorization process shall provide for continuous monitoring of approved 179 providers and courses. The department shall revoke or suspend or take other corrective action 180 regarding the authorization of any course or provider no longer meeting the requirements of 181 the program. Unless immediate action is necessary, prior to revocation or suspension, the 182 department shall notify the provider and give the provider a reasonable time period to take 183 corrective action to avoid revocation or suspension. The process shall provide for periodic 184 renewal of authorization no less frequently than once every three years. 185 (14) Courses approved as of August 28, 2018, by the department to participate in the 186 Missouri virtual instruction program shall be automatically approved to participate in the 187 Missouri course access and virtual school program, but shall be subject to periodic renewal. 188 (15) Any online course or virtual program offered by a school district or charter 189 school, including those offered prior to August 28, 2018, which meets the requirements of 190 section 162.1250 shall be automatically approved to participate in the Missouri course access 191 and virtual school program. Such course or program shall be subject to periodic renewal. A 192 school district or charter school offering such a course or virtual school program shall be 193 deemed an approved provider. 194 4. (1) As used in this subsection, the term "instructional activities" means classroom- 195 based or nonclassroom-based activities that a student shall be expected to complete, 196 participate in, or attend during any given school day, such as:  HB 1905 7 197 (a) Online logins to curricula or programs; 198 (b) Offline activities; 199 (c) Completed assignments within a particular program, curriculum, or class; 200 (d) Testing; 201 (e) Face-to-face communications or meetings with school staff; 202 (f) Telephone or video conferences with school staff; 203 (g)