This bill expands student transfer rights by allowing any student to move to a public school in a different district starting in the 2027-28 school year, removing previous restrictions that limited transfers only to students from unaccredited districts. School boards must report their capacity to accept transfers, and parents must notify the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to request transfers, which the department will then assign to available schools. The legislation eliminates tuition payments between districts for transfer students and counts them as residents of their new district for state and federal funding purposes. Districts must also provide transportation to designated receiving schools and handle special education responsibilities according to specific rules based on the type of sending and receiving districts.
SB 1641 allows students enrolled in private, home, or full-time virtual schools (defined as "eligible schools") to participate in public school extracurricular activities like sports, fine arts, and career programs under the same requirements as public school students. The bill prohibits public schools from blocking this participation solely because a student attends a private, home, or virtual school, provided the student meets standard criteria such as residency proof, health records, behavior standards, and financial obligations. Public schools cannot require these students to attend public school classes to join activities, though they may enforce existing rules for tryouts, rehearsals, or academic eligibility. The law also prevents schools from applying separate disciplinary policies to these students compared to public school attendees. This affects private/home/virtual school students seeking access to public school programs not offered at their own schools.
HB 3222 requires Missouri school districts and charter schools to immediately terminate an employee’s employment if they attempt to resign during an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with a student. The bill mandates that schools disclose substantiated findings of such misconduct to future employers when requested, ensuring transparency about a former employee’s history. It applies directly to school employees accused of sexual misconduct with students during active investigations and to school districts/charter schools handling employment references. The law aims to prevent employees under investigation from avoiding termination through resignation while ensuring future employers receive critical safety information.
HB 3235 modifies Missouri's education funding structure by replacing prior committee duties with a new scholarship program for public school students. It establishes eligibility criteria prioritizing students with disabilities (via IEPs), those qualifying for free/reduced lunch, military dependents, and others, with specific distribution order rules. Organizations administering scholarships must spend at least 90% of contributions on student accounts, limit administrative costs, and provide annual reports on test scores, graduation rates, and parent satisfaction. The bill also requires participating students to take state assessments and mandates transparency for state agencies tracking program outcomes.
HB 3310 establishes minimum requirements for school district calendars in most areas, mandating at least 169 school days (or 142 days for districts using a four-day week) and restricting start dates to no earlier than 14 days before the first Monday in September. It specifically excludes school districts operating charter schools from these rules, as outlined in the bill’s provisions. Violations could result in the state withholding 25% of a district’s state funding for each day of noncompliance. The bill also allows limited exemptions for unusual circumstances but does not apply to districts with year-round schedules or those operating charter schools.
SB 1777 - This act authorizes a low-performing school district to enter into a contract for the establishment of a "Public School Transformation Campus". If a school district is determined to be in the bottom five percent of scores on the Annual Performance Report (APR) or has a recent APR score consistent with an accreditation status of provisionally accredited or unaccredited, such district may contract with the governing body of a charter school that satisfies certain performance and financial criteria or another entity approved by the State Board of Education to operate a struggling school as a "transformation campus". A school district that enters into such a contract shall be exempt from certain state interventions that would normally apply to struggling schools or districts, such as the School Turnaround Act, special administrative boards, the lapse of an unaccredited district, or the transfer of students out of an unaccredited district. Before entering into a transformation contract, a district shall notify the Commissioner of Education of its intent to pursue the contract. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules concerning how and when this notification shall occur, including certain information provided in the act. The Commissioner shall notify the district within 60 days of receiving all required information whether the proposed contract is approved or rejected. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shall encourage approved entities to enter into such contracts with school districts. For accountability purposes during the first two years of a transformation, the transformation campus shall be evaluated with an alternate performance status and shall be publicly identified as a transformation campus. Following the first two years of transformation, the State Board of Education shall assign all performance ratings received by other public schools within the district to the transformation campus. DESE may provide, through state and federal funds where allowable, financial incentives to support transformations under this act. OLIVIA SHANNON
HB 3391 modifies rules for nonresident students attending public schools in Iowa. It allows certain property owners (including agricultural landowners paying school taxes in multiple districts) and school employees (contractors or regular employees) to send their children to schools in districts where they pay taxes or work, without tuition fees. Key provisions require property owners to pay at least $1,500 annually in school taxes for four years and submit written notice to districts, while school employees must work 20+ hours weekly. The bill also specifies that nonresident students under these provisions count toward school district enrollment for state aid calculations, excluding certain aid categories. These changes apply to school years beginning July 1, 2023, or later.
SB 1648 creates the "Missouri Charter Public School Commission" within the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to oversee charter schools. The commission, consisting of nine governor-appointed members with limits on political party representation and congressional districts, will review and approve new charter school applications and manage their sponsorship. Key mechanisms include establishing a dedicated "Charter Public School Commission Revolving Fund" for administrative costs, requiring members to have education expertise, and mandating that charter schools comply with existing state charter school laws. The bill directly affects charter schools seeking sponsorship and the state education department's oversight structure.
HB 3485 allows students attending private, home, or full-time virtual schools to participate in public school sports, fine arts, and other extracurricular activities if their own school does not offer those specific activities. Public schools must permit this participation without requiring students to attend public school classes or enroll in the public school. Students must provide residency proof, pass physicals for sports, follow the same conduct rules, and pay the same fees as public school students. The bill prohibits public schools from creating separate disciplinary or attendance rules for these students and prevents them from blocking participation based on a student’s school type.
SB 966 - This act requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to ensure that every public school and public charter school located in St. Louis City or St. Louis County conducts an annual safety assessment of such public school or public charter school. The Department of Public Safety (DPS), local law enforcement, and local emergency services shall provide reasonable assistance to public schools and public charter schools in order to implement the provisions of the act. The safety assessments shall include a consideration of each school's vulnerabilities to school shootings and intruders, with specific reference to the implementation of various safety procedures, policies, and tools specified in the act. Each public school and public charter school that conducts an annual safety assessment pursuant to the provisions of the act shall provide a report of the findings of the safety assessment to DESE. Based upon the findings of the safety assessments, DESE, in conjunction with DPS, shall provide to each public school and public charter school an annual report that summarizes such school's safety vulnerabilities, along with recommendations for mitigating such vulnerabilities. Such report shall also be provided to the General Assembly. A report created pursuant to the provisions of this act shall not be considered a public record under the Sunshine Law and shall not be available for public inspection. This act shall become effective July 1, 2028. This act is identical to SB 42 (2025) and similar to SCS/SB 1153 (2024) and HB 2398 (2024). OLIVIA SHANNON
