Missouri Statute | Act | Code |Education And Libraries| US Code - US Statute

Any school board of the state of Missouri, when it deems it a
matter of public interest, may by two-thirds vote of its members join the
Missouri School Boards' Association and appoint one or more of its
members to attend meetings called by the association within the state of
Missouri. The school board may direct payment of the membership dues of
the association and of the actual and necessary expenses incurred by
members in attending the meetings called by the association from the
incidental fund of the district. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-1, A.L. 1977 H.B.
260)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.035)

Notwithstanding other sections of the school laws which provide
that members of school boards shall serve without compensation, the
school board of any school district in the state, upon adoption of a
resolution by the vote of a majority of all its members to authorize such
action, may expend school district funds to purchase insurance to
indemnify the members of the school board, individually, against loss for
damages for personal or bodily injury to a person, or for damage or loss
of property, caused by the negligent act, error, or omission of a member
when acting within the scope of his office. (L. 1977 S.B. 143)

1. Whenever (1) a seven-director school district is created out
of one or more school districts, or (2) the boundary lines of any
district are changed by the changing of the boundary lines of any city,
incorporated town, or school district, or (3) any part of any school
district is annexed to any other district or districts, the board of the
school district from which land has been taken and the school board of
the district to which land has been added, or which has been newly
created, shall make a just and proper adjustment and apportionment of all
school property, real and personal, including moneys and a like
apportionment of indebtedness, if any, to and among the school districts.
The adjustment and apportionment shall be made as of the date of the vote
of the electors effecting the annexation, change of boundaries or
creation.

2. In making the adjustment and apportionment of property and
indebtedness mentioned in subsection 1 of this section, the assessed
value of land acquired by or taken from the districts, as compared with
the assessed value of the other land in the districts, as well as the
value of the school grounds, together with the buildings thereon, and the
furniture and equipment therein, and any other school property in the
districts, shall be taken into consideration in determining the amount,
if any, that shall be paid by one district to another, or in apportioning
the indebtedness, if any, that shall be assumed and paid by any of the
districts. The adjustment and apportionment of property and indebtedness
shall be made by the school boards of the several districts concerned,
before or during the first school year after the boundaries are changed.
(L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-3, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.014)

Effective 4-17-92

If a school district is annexed to an existing district or
divided into two or more districts by a vote of the citizens, or is
dissolved under the lapse procedures in section 162.081, court action, or
any other authority of Missouri or federal laws, the successor school
district shall become responsible for ensuring access to continuation of
health insurance coverage for retired teachers and employees of the
district if the original district offers health insurance coverage to its
retirees at the time of its loss of corporate structure. If an original
district is divided into multiple successor districts, such
responsibility shall be assigned to the successor district with the
largest eligible pupil count in the most recently completed school year.
(L. 2004 S.B. 968 and S.B. 969)

1. If the school boards of the several districts cannot agree
upon an adjustment and apportionment of property and indebtedness as
provided in section 162.031, the board of either district may appeal to
the state board of education, which shall appoint three persons as a
board of arbitration to make an adjustment and apportionment of property
and indebtedness in accordance with section 162.031. The board of
arbitration may hold hearings after giving the affected districts
reasonable notice thereof before making its award. Each member of the
board of arbitration shall be paid fifty dollars per day by the district
instituting the appeal.

2. Any sum awarded by agreement of the school boards or by decision of a
board of arbitration to any school district shall be a legal and valid
claim in its favor and against the school district charged therewith. The
amount of indebtedness, if any, apportioned to any school district shall
be a legal and valid obligation. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-4, A.L. 1975 H.B.
945, A.L. 1983 H.B. 815, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.015)

Effective 4-17-92

(1974) The findings of fact of the board of arbitrators when made in
accordance with applicable law are not subject to review by either the
circuit or supreme court and the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo, do not
apply. Constitutionality of section upheld. State ex rel. Reorganized
School Dist. R-9 of Grundy Co. v. Windes (Mo.), 513 S.W.2d 385.

Special meetings of school boards may be held at the times fixed
by the board, or on the call of the president or of a majority of the
members of the board. Each member shall be notified of the time, place
and purpose of the meeting. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-5)

Any school district may, upon adoption of a resolution by a
majority of its entire board of directors, designate specific school
sponsored programs of instruction and extracurricular activities which
the board believes present unusual physical hazards to students involved
therein. Upon designating a hazardous program the board may authorize
expenditure of school funds to purchase hospitalization and medical
insurance covering students while engaged in the program, but said
purchases of insurance shall be limited to instances wherein it has been
determined by the board that the purchase of the same would constitute a
financial hardship to the person or persons responsible for the support
of the student. A school district purchasing insurance pursuant to this
section shall not be obliged to purchase insurance for all activities
which it may deem to be hazardous. All insurance under this section shall
be awarded on a bid basis. (L. 1972 H.B. 1066 § 1)

Each school district shall have on file a statement from a
medical examiner which indicates that the driver is physically qualified
to operate a school bus for the purpose of transporting pupils. Such
statement shall be made on an annual basis. The term "medical examiner"
includes, but is not limited to, doctors of medicine, doctors of
osteopathy, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and doctors
of chiropractic. For new drivers, such statement shall be on file prior
to the driver's initial operation of a school bus. This section shall
apply to drivers employed by the school district or under contract with
the school district. (L. 2005 H.B. 487 § 1)

Effective 7-6-05

On an annual basis, each school district shall provide training
in at least eight hours of duration to each school bus driver employed by
the school district or under contract with the school district. Such
training shall provide special instruction in school bus driving. (L.
2005 H.B. 487 § 2)

When the creation of a school district or a change in the
boundaries of an existing school district leaves the remaining part of a
district containing less than twenty children of school age or when the
remaining part of a district is left without a schoolhouse, the state
board of education shall order its annexation to an adjoining district.
The annexed territory shall become a part of the receiving district on
receipt by the secretary or clerk of the district of notice of annexation
from the state board of education. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-7, A.L. 1973 H.B.
158, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.167, 165.287, 165.685)

Effective 4-17-92

For the purposes of sections 162.071, 162.073, 162.152, 162.171,
162.181, 162.191, 162.201, 162.241, 162.261, 162.301, 162.311, 162.821
and 167.121, in those counties without a county commission, the following
words shall have the following meaning:

(1) "County clerk" shall mean the vice-chairman of the county legislature
or county council;

(2) "County commission" shall mean the county legislature or county
council;

(3) "Presiding commissioner of the county commission" shall mean the
chairman of the county legislature or county council. (L. 1979 H.B. 280 §
2)

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, RSMo, or is classified unaccredited for two successive
school years by the state board of education, its corporate organization
shall lapse. The corporate organization of any school district that is
classified as unaccredited shall lapse on June thirtieth of the second
full school year of such unaccredited classification after the school
year during which the unaccredited classification is initially assigned.
The territory theretofore embraced within any district that lapses
pursuant to this section or any portion thereof may be attached to any
district for school purposes by the state board of education; but no
school district, except a district classified as unaccredited pursuant to
section 163.023, RSMo, and section 160.538, RSMo, shall lapse where
provision is lawfully made for the attendance of the pupils of the
district at another school district that is classified as provisionally
accredited or accredited by the state board of education.

2. Prior to or at the time any school district in this state shall lapse,
but after the school district has been classified as unaccredited, the
department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a public
hearing at a location in the unaccredited school district. The purpose of
the hearing shall be to:

(1) Review any plan by the district to return to accredited status; or

(2) Offer any technical assistance that can be provided to the district.

3. Except as otherwise provided in section 162.1100, in a metropolitan
school district or an urban school district containing most or all of a
city with a population greater than three hundred fifty thousand
inhabitants and in any other school district if the local board of
education does not anticipate a return to accredited status, the state
board of education may appoint a special administrative board to
supervise the financial operations, maintain and preserve the financial
assets or, if warranted, continue operation of the educational programs
within the district or what provisions might otherwise be made in the
best interest of the education of the children of the district. The
special administrative board shall consist of two persons who are
residents of the school district, who shall serve without compensation,
and a professional administrator, who shall chair the board and shall be
compensated, as determined by the state board of education, in whole or
in part with funds from the district.

4. Upon lapse of the district, the state board of education may:

(1) Appoint a special administrative board, if such a board has not
already been appointed, and authorize the special administrative board to
retain the authority granted to a board of education for the operation of
all or part of the district;

(2) Attach the territory of the lapsed district to another district or
districts for school purposes; or

(3) Establish one or more school districts within the territory of the
lapsed district, with a governance structure consistent with the laws
applicable to districts of a similar size, 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.

The special administrative board may retain the 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.

5. The authority of the special administrative board 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 special administrative board 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.

6. Upon recommendation of the special administrative board, the state
board of education may assign the funds, assets and liabilities of the
lapsed district to another district or districts. Upon assignment, all
authority of the special administrative board shall transfer to the
assigned districts.

7. Neither the special administrative board 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, RSMo, or
any other purpose.

8. 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.

9. (1) The governing body of a school district, upon an initial
declaration by the state board of education that such district is
provisionally accredited, may, and, upon an initial declaration by the
state board of education that such district is unaccredited, shall
develop a plan to be submitted to the voters of the school district to
divide the school district if the district cannot attain accreditation
within three years of the initial declaration that such district is
unaccredited. In the case of such a district being declared unaccredited,
such plan shall be presented to the voters of the district before the
district lapses. In the case of such a district being declared
provisionally accredited, such plan may be presented before the close of
the current accreditation cycle.

(2) The plan may provide that the school district shall remain intact for
the purposes of assessing, collecting and distributing taxes for support
of the schools, and the governing body of the district shall develop a
plan for the distribution of such taxes equitably on a per-pupil basis if
the district selects this option.

(3) The makeup of the new districts shall be racially balanced as far as
the proportions of students allow.

(4) If a majority of the district's voters approve the plan, the state
board of education shall cooperate with the local board of education to
implement the plan, which may include use of the provisions of this
section to provide an orderly transition to new school districts and
achievement of accredited status for such districts.

10. 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. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-8, A.L. 1973
H.B. 158, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581, A.L. 1993 S.B. 380, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781,
A.L. 2005 S.B. 287)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.013)

*Effective 7-1-06

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, RSMo, or is classified unaccredited for two successive
school years by the state board of education, its corporate organization
shall lapse. The corporate organization of any school district that is
classified as unaccredited shall lapse on June thirtieth of the second
full school year of such unaccredited classification after the school
year during which the unaccredited classification is initially assigned.
The territory theretofore embraced within any district that lapses
pursuant to this section or any portion thereof may be attached to any
district for school purposes by the state board of education; but no
school district, except a district classified as unaccredited pursuant to
section 163.023, RSMo, and section 160.538, RSMo, shall lapse where
provision is lawfully made for the attendance of the pupils of the
district at another school district that is classified as provisionally
accredited or accredited by the state board of education.

2. Prior to or at the time any school district in this state shall lapse,
but after the school district has been classified as unaccredited, the
department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a public
hearing at a location in the unaccredited school district. The purpose of
the hearing shall be to:

(1) Review any plan by the district to return to accredited status; or

(2) Offer any technical assistance that can be provided to the district.

3. Except as otherwise provided in section 162.1100, in a metropolitan
school district or an urban school district containing most or all of a
city with a population greater than three hundred fifty thousand
inhabitants and in any other school district if the local board of
education does not anticipate a return to accredited status, the state
board of education may appoint a special administrative board to
supervise the financial operations, maintain and preserve the financial
assets or, if warranted, continue operation of the educational programs
within the district or what provisions might otherwise be made in the
best interest of the education of the children of the district. The
special administrative board shall consist of two persons who are
residents of the school district, who shall serve without compensation,
and a professional administrator, who shall chair the board and shall be
compensated, as determined by the state board of education, in whole or
in part with funds from the district.

4. Upon lapse of the district, the state board of education may:

(1) Appoint a special administrative board, if such a board has not
already been appointed, and authorize the special administrative board to
retain the authority granted to a board of education for the operation of
all or part of the district;

(2) Attach the territory of the lapsed district to another district or
districts for school purposes; or

(3) Establish one or more school districts within the territory of the
lapsed district, with a governance structure consistent with the laws
applicable to districts of a similar size, 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 per
eligible pupil 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.

The special administrative board may retain the 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.

5. The authority of the special administrative board 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 special administrative board 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.

6. Upon recommendation of the special administrative board, the state
board of education may assign the funds, assets and liabilities of the
lapsed district to another district or districts. Upon assignment, all
authority of the special administrative board shall transfer to the
assigned districts.

7. Neither the special administrative board 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, RSMo, or
any other purpose.

8. 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.

9. (1) The governing body of a school district, upon an initial
declaration by the state board of education that such district is
provisionally accredited, may, and, upon an initial declaration by the
state board of education that such district is unaccredited, shall
develop a plan to be submitted to the voters of the school district to
divide the school district if the district cannot attain accreditation
within three years of the initial declaration that such district is
unaccredited. In the case of such a district being declared unaccredited,
such plan shall be presented to the voters of the district before the
district lapses. In the case of such a district being declared
provisionally accredited, such plan may be presented before the close of
the current accreditation cycle.

(2) The plan may provide that the school district shall remain intact for
the purposes of assessing, collecting and distributing taxes for support
of the schools, and the governing body of the district shall develop a
plan for the distribution of such taxes equitably on a per pupil basis if
the district selects this option.

(3) The makeup of the new districts shall be racially balanced as far as
the proportions of students allow.

(4) If a majority of the district's voters approve the plan, the state
board of education shall cooperate with the local board of education to
implement the plan, which may include use of the provisions of this
section to provide an orderly transition to new school districts and
achievement of accredited status for such districts.

10. 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. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-8, A.L. 1973
H.B. 158, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581, A.L. 1993 S.B. 380, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.013)

*This section was amended by S.B. 287, 2005, effective 7-1-06. Consult
RSMo 2000 for existing section.

Any county clerk, county treasurer, school board member, officer
or employee, or other officer, who willfully neglects or refuses to
perform any duty imposed upon him by chapters 160 to 168, 170, 171, 177
and 178, RSMo, or who willfully violates any provision of these chapters,
is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by a fine
of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county
jail not to exceed one year. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-9, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.160, 165.651)

The state board of education shall establish within the
department of elementary and secondary education a section of district
reorganization. The state board, through the section of district
reorganization, shall advise and, upon request by any county commission,
cooperate with the various county commissions in making plans for the
enlargement and reorganization of school districts throughout the state
and shall provide the technical and advisory assistance in connection
therewith that, in the discretion of the board, will promote efficiency
in school administration and the improvement of educational opportunities
for the school children of the state. (L. 1979 H.B. 280)

The county commission may, from time to time, pursuant to the
provisions of section 161.152, RSMo, submit to the state board of
education specific plans for the reorganization of school districts of
the state. Each plan shall be in writing and shall include charts, maps
and statistical information necessary to document properly the plan for
the proposed reorganized districts and to provide a comparison of
existing districts with proposed reorganized districts. In recommending
prepared reorganization plans, the county commission may divide all
existing unreorganized districts and any reorganized district not
offering an approved program of work through the twelfth grade if
division is in the best interests of the children, and place any portion
in any proposed district, but each proposed district shall be composed of
contiguous territory. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-17, A.L. 1969 p. 260, A.L. 1979
H.B. 280)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.685)

(1968) Evidence sufficient for finding that county board of education's
action in dividing unreorganized districts was in best interest of
children. Swofford v. Chandler (A.), 432 S.W.2d 622.

Upon receipt of a plan for the reorganization of districts in
any county, the state board of education shall examine the plan. The
state board shall approve or disapprove the plan either in whole or in
part. If the plan includes any proposed district with territory in more
than one county, the state board shall designate the county containing
that portion of the proposed district which has the highest assessed
valuation as the county to which the district belongs. The county clerk
shall be notified of the state board's action within sixty days following
receipt of the plan by the state board. If the state board finds that the
reorganization plan is inadequate in whole or in part, it shall return
the plan to the county clerk with a full statement indicating the parts
thereof it has approved and its reasons for finding the plan or any part
inadequate. The county commission has sixty days to review the rejected
plan or parts thereof, make alterations, amendments and revisions as
deemed advisable and return the revised plan or part to the state board
for its action. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-18, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280, A.L. 1992
S.B. 470 & 497)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.677)

(1960) Where two plans for reorganization of the county submitted by the
county board had been disapproved by the state board, and election on a
third plan which had been disapproved would be enjoined and an election
on a proposed reorganization of part of the territory in the county
prepared by the state board would be ordered. Glasgow Sch. Dist. No. 60,
Howard Co. v. Marshall (A.), 333 S.W.2d 547.

(1962) Where four common school districts lying in one county had been
included in reorganization plans of that county and another and the
county boards were unable to agree as to their disposition, an
organizational problem common to both county boards was presented which
the state board had authority to determine, and on approval by the voters
of the plan approved by the state board, that district became lawfully
organized. State ex rel. Reorg. Sch. Dist. R-1 of Miller County v. Van
Landuyt (Mo.), 359 S.W.2d 773.

(1965) Fact that a school district came into being by reorganization
under §§ 165.657 to 165.707 does not militate against fact that it is a
town district. Shelby County R-IV School District v. Herman (Mo.), 392
S.W.2d 609

(1965) Section 165.010 was enacted in contemplation of §§ 165.657 to
165.707 and classifies public school districts organized under any of the
laws of the state into four classes (common, consolidated, town and
city). Sections 165.657 to 165.707 do not expressly, or by implication,
create a new fifth class of school districts, actually or by name. Shelby
County R-IV School District v. Herman (Mo.), 392 S.W.2d 609.

1. Within sixty days after receipt of approval by the state
board of education of the reorganization plan or part thereof, the county
clerk shall submit the question in each proposed school district wholly
within the county or which has been designated by the state board of
education as belonging to the county. The notices of the election shall
be signed by the presiding commissioner of the county commission and the
county clerk. The cost shall be paid from the incidental fund.

2. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

Shall the . . . . . . school district (and the . . . . . . school
district) be reorganized as a district?

3. A majority affirmative vote in each district to be affected* is
required for adoption of the proposed seven-director district. If the
plan is not adopted, no subsequent plan involving any part of the same
area may be submitted sooner than one year following the date of the
submission of the question at which the plan was defeated. (L. 1963 p.
200 § 3-19, A.L. 1972 S.B. 577, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280,
A.L. 1997 H.B. 521)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.680, 165.693)

*Original rolls contain the word "effected".

Not later than three days after the election as provided for in
section 162.191, the county clerk shall certify to the state board of
education the results of the election in each proposed seven-director
school district. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-20, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.683)

For purposes of determining the proposed tax rate when two or
more school districts are consolidating, the tax rate ceiling of the
consolidated district shall be determined by multiplying each district's
tax rate ceiling by its total assessed valuation, adding such products
and dividing the sum by the combined assessed valuation of the component
districts. (L. 1992 S.B. 581 § 1)

Effective 4-17-92

1. Board members initially elected or appointed under section
162.291, 162.459, 162.471, or 162.581 after August 28, 1993, in addition
to the qualifications prescribed in those sections, shall successfully
complete orientation and training requirements within one year of the
date of the election or appointment. The orientation and training shall
consist of at least sixteen hours with the cost of such training to be
paid by the district.

2. All programs providing the orientation and training required under the
provisions of this section shall be offered by a statewide association
organized for the benefit of members of boards of education or be
approved by the state board of education. (L. 1993 S.B. 380 § 13)

*Contingent expiration date. See section 143.107.

(1996) Contingent referendum provision was found to be an
unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority thereby making
section 143.107 void. Akin v. Director of Revenue, 934 S.W.2d 295
(Mo.banc).

If any public school district hosts a district-sponsored
Internet web site, that district shall post the following on such site:

(1) A current version of that district's policy manual and all related
documents; and

(2) A current version of that district's handbook, or, if the district
has more than one handbook, a current version of all of that district's
handbooks. (L. 2004 S.B. 968 and S.B. 969 § 3 merged with S.B. 1020, et
al. § 1)

A seven-director school district may be established by the
voters of

(1) Any city or town whose population is evenly divided by a school
district boundary line and which is not located in a county of the first
class;

(2) Any two or more adjacent seven-director school districts without
limitations as to size or enrollment. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-21, A.L. 1973
H.B. 158, A.L. 1985 H.B. 463)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.263, 165.267, 165.270, 165.273, 165.277,
165.280)

(1969) This section authorizes the creation of a six-director school
district by the combination of an existing district and a part of
another, and does not require that the new district be created only from
existing whole districts. State v. Milan C-II School District, Sullivan
County (Mo.), 446 S.W.2d 768.

(1974) This section not impliedly repealed by § 162.096 of S.B. 187 of
the 75th G.A. (1969), if petition was timely filed. State ex rel.
Johnston v. Mallory (A.), 510 S.W.2d 769.

The six-director school district shall hereafter be known as the
seven-director school district. (L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

1. When the voters of any one or more districts as authorized in
section 162.211, except those districts designated in subdivision (2)
thereof, desire to form a seven-director district, a petition signed by
at least ten percent in number of those voting for school board members
in the last annual school election in each district or one hundred
voters, whichever is the higher number, shall be filed with the state
board of education. On receipt of the petition, a representative of the
state department of education, designated by the commissioner of
education, shall visit the districts and determine the exact boundaries
of the proposed seven-director district. In determining these boundaries,
he shall so locate the boundary lines as will in his judgment form the
best possible seven-director district, having due regard also to the
welfare of adjoining districts.

2. Within sixty days after the receipt of the petition, the commissioner
of education shall submit the question to the voters of the proposed
district. The notice shall include a statement of the purpose together
with a plat of the proposed district. The state commissioner shall file a
copy of the petition and of the plat with the county clerk. The election
shall be conducted in the manner provided in section 162.191. (L. 1963 p.
200 § 3-22, A.L. 1969 p. 260, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.283)

1. When the voters in any two or more adjacent districts without
limitation as to size or enrollment desire to consolidate and form a new
district, a petition asking for an election upon the question of
consolidation shall be filed with the boards of education of the affected
districts; provided, however, that such petition shall be signed by ten
percent of those in each district who voted for school directors at the
last election in which such directors were elected, or one hundred
voters, whichever is the higher number.

2. As an alternative to the procedure in subsection 1 of this section,
two or more adjacent districts may, by a majority vote of each board of
education, call for an election upon the question of consolidation.

3. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

Shall the . . . . . . school district and the . . . . . . . school
district (and the . . . . . . school district) form a new district with a
tax rate ceiling of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . per one hundred dollars
of assessed valuation? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted
operating levy of the new school district is estimated to be . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . (amount) per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation.

4. The board of directors of each affected district shall cause the
question to be included on the ballot to be submitted to the voters in
each such district at the next election day. A plat of the proposed new
district shall be published and posted with the notices of election.

5. The results of the voting on the proposal in each district affected
shall be certified to the state commissioner of education by the
secretary of each board of education of each district or by such other
person or body charged with conducting such elections and, should the
majority of the votes cast in each affected district be in favor of the
proposal, the state commissioner shall declare the new district formed as
of July first following the submission of the question.

6. If the commissioner of education declares, before the closing date for
filing for the election of board members on the municipal election date,
that the new district is to be formed as of July first, no candidates
shall be certified by the districts involved in the consolidation and the
board members whose terms would otherwise have expired on that date shall
remain as board members until July first. In consolidation cases where
there is insufficient time from the date the commissioner of education
declares that the new district shall be formed as of July first and July
first to hold an election of board members, seven board members from the
boards of the consolidating districts shall be drawn by lot to serve
until the next election at which the new board of education can be
elected. The number of board members selected from one district shall not
exceed the quotient resulting from seven divided by the number of
districts consolidating rounded down to the nearest whole number plus
one. The commissioner of education or a designee shall supervise the
drawing, by lot, of the board members which shall be approved by the
state board of education. (L. 1969 p. 260, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1992
S.B. 581, A.L. 1997 H.B. 521)

If any proposed seven-director district does not receive the
required majority affirmative vote, the school districts constituting the
proposed new school district shall remain as they were prior to the
submission of the question. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-23, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.693)

If a proposal to form a district pursuant to the provisions of
sections 162.171 to 162.191, 162.211 and 162.221, or section 162.223
receives the required majority of the votes cast on the proposition, the
state board of education or the county commission, in the case of a
district formed pursuant to the provisions of sections 162.171 to 162.191
or 162.211 and 162.221, shall order an election in the district to be
held. This election shall be for the purpose of electing seven members to
serve on the school board of the district. Such election shall be held on
the next election day as provided under section 115.123, RSMo. The
election shall be conducted in the manner provided by section 162.371*. A
letter from the commissioner of education, delivered by certified mail to
the presiding commissioner of the county commission of the county to
which the district formed by provisions of section 162.223 is assigned
shall be the authority for the county commission to proceed with election
procedures in the same manner as they would be performed by the district
board of education were it in existence; but the costs of the election
shall be paid from the incidental fund of the new district. Two directors
shall be elected to serve until the next municipal election, two to serve
until the second municipal election, and two to serve until the third
municipal election. The seventh board member shall be elected to serve
until the municipal election during which the majority of school
districts elect three board members. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-24, A.L. 1969 p.
260, A.L. 1971 H.B. 468, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280, A.L.
1986 H.B. 1676, A.L. 1997 H.B. 521)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.687)

*See also chapter 115, RSMo.

Should the proposal to form a seven-director district in the
manner provided in section 162.223 receive the necessary favorable vote,
the terms of office of all directors and officers of each of the school
districts comprising the territory incorporated in the new seven-director
district shall cease on July first following the submission of the
question, at which time such directors and officers shall deliver to the
board of the newly formed school district all property, records, books
and papers belonging to the component districts. On such date, all funds
to the credit of the districts incorporated in the new seven-director
district shall be transferred to the credit of the treasurer of the
seven-director district, who shall make settlement therefor as provided
by section 165.101, RSMo. The new district shall faithfully perform all
existing contracts and assume all legal obligations of the component
districts. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-25, A.L. 1969 p. 260, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971,
A.L. 1992 S.B. 581)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.690)

Effective 4-17-92

1. The government and control of a seven-director school
district, other than an urban district, is vested in a board of education
of seven members, who hold their office for three years, except as
provided in section 162.241, and until their successors are duly elected
and qualified. Any vacancy occurring in the board shall be filled by the
remaining members of the board; except that if there are more than two
vacancies at any one time, the county commission upon receiving written
notice of the vacancies shall fill the vacancies by appointment. The
person appointed shall hold office until the next municipal election,
when a director shall be elected for the unexpired term.

2. No seven-director, urban, or metropolitan school district board of
education shall hire a spouse of any member of such board for a vacant or
newly created position unless the position has been advertised pursuant
to board policy and the superintendent of schools submits a written
recommendation for the employment of the spouse to the board of
education. The names of all applicants as well as the name of the
applicant hired for the position are to be included in the board minutes.

3. The provisions of article VII, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution
apply to school districts. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-26, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158,
A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280, A.L. 2003 S.B. 686, A.L. 2004
S.B. 968 and S.B. 969)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.317)

In all seven-director districts, including urban districts, when
directors are to be elected for terms of different lengths, each
candidate shall declare for a term of a specific number of years and the
different terms shall be voted upon as separate propositions. (L. 1963 p.
200 § 3-28)

The voters of each seven-director district other than urban
districts shall, at municipal elections, elect two directors who are
citizens of the United States and resident taxpayers of the district, who
have resided in this state for one year next preceding their election or
appointment, and who are at least twenty-four years of age. (L. 1963 p.
200 § 3-29, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.313)

1. Within fourteen days after the election of the first school
board in each seven-director district, other than an urban district, and
within fourteen days after each annual election, the board shall meet.
The newly elected members shall qualify by taking the oath of office
prescribed by article VII, section 11, of the Constitution of Missouri.

2. The board shall organize by the election of a president and vice
president, and the board shall, on or before the fifteenth day of July of
each year, elect a secretary and a treasurer, who shall enter upon their
respective duties on the fifteenth day of July. The secretary and
treasurer may be or may not be members of the board. No compensation
shall be granted to either the secretary or the treasurer until his
report and settlement are made and filed or published as the law directs.

3. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of
business, but no contract shall be let, person employed, bill approved or
warrant ordered unless a majority of the whole board votes therefor. (L.
1963 p. 200 § 3-30, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280, A.L. 1992
S.B. 581, A.L. 2003 S.B. 136)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.320)

1. For the purposes of this section, "attendance" shall be
defined as actual, physical attendance at the board meeting until all of
the business of the board has been completed unless a member is excused
by a majority of the board. This subsection shall not apply to
seven-director districts.

2. Any member of the school board of a seven-director district, including
urban districts, failing to attend the meetings of the board for three
consecutive regular meetings, unless excused by the board for reasons
satisfactory to the board, shall be deemed to have vacated the seat; and
the secretary of the board shall certify that fact to the board. The
vacancy shall be filled as other vacancies occurring in the board. (L.
1983 H.B. 815, A.L. 1992 S.B. 485)

1. The board of education of a seven-director district at its
first meeting shall adopt and enter of record the name of the district
and shall notify the clerk of the county commission of the name so
adopted. The name adopted shall comply with any applicable regulations of
the state board of education.

2. The board shall keep a common seal with which to attest its official
acts. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-31, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1979 H.B. 280)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.263, 165.323, A.L. 1961 p. 353)

1. The board of education of any seven-director district may
change the name of the district by unanimous consent of the members of
the board, the name to comply with any applicable regulations of the
state board of education, after first giving notice of the change by
publication in some newspaper published in the county in which the
district is located. The notice shall be published once a week for at
least three consecutive weeks. The first publication shall be made not
less than three weeks prior to the date upon which the board proposes to
make the change of name, and the last publication shall be made not more
than seven days prior to that date. However, if a petition signed by
twenty voters residing within the district is filed with the board on or
before the date specified in the notice protesting against the change of
name then the proposed change of name shall be presented as a question at
the next municipal election. If the question is assented to by a majority
of the voters of the district voting on the question, the board of
education shall declare the change of name to be in effect.

2. The changing of the name of the school district under this section
shall in no way change its classification or have any effect upon its
contracts, indebtedness, existence, or other rights and liabilities. (L.
1963 p. 200 § 3-32, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.265)

The annual election in seven-director districts, except urban
districts, shall be held on municipal election days. (L. 1963 p. 200 §
3-34, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.330)

In any urban school district in a city having a population of
more than three hundred thousand or in any seven-director school district
located wholly within a city having a population of more than two hundred
thousand and less than seven hundred thousand, or in any seven-director
school district in a county having a population of more than seven
hundred thousand the election authority in which the district is located
shall conduct any or all school elections held in the district. (L. 1963
p. 200 § 3-48 and p. 344 § 165.465, A.L. 1965 p. 281, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130,
A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.465)

The secretary of the board of education, who shall record the
certification of the results of the election and, by order of the board,
shall issue certificates of election to the person entitled thereto; and
the results of all other propositions submitted must be reported to the
secretary of the board, and by him duly entered upon the district
records. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-36, A.L. 1967 p. 237, A.L. 1969 S.B. 136,
A.L. 1977 H.B. 328, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 111.255, 165.330)

All district special elections shall be conducted in accordance
with section 162.371. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-37, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

No member of any board of education of a seven-director
district, any portion of which is located in a first class county, shall
hold any office or employment of profit from the board while a member
thereof. No member of any board of education of a seven-director
district, any portion of which is located in a county of the second,
third or fourth class, shall, except as provided in sections 105.450 to
105.458, RSMo, hold any office or employment of profit from the board
while a member thereof. The secretary and treasurer, if not members of
the board, may receive reasonable compensation for their services. (L.
1963 p. 200 § 3-38, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1989 H.B. 493)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.360)

The treasurer, before entering upon the discharge of his duties,
shall enter into a bond to the state of Missouri, with two or more
sureties, to be approved by the board, conditioned that he will render a
faithful and just account of all money that comes into his hands as
treasurer, and otherwise perform the duties of his office according to
law. The bond shall be filed with the secretary of the board. The
treasurer shall be the custodian of all school moneys derived from
taxation for school purposes in the district until paid out on the order
of the board, and on breach of the conditions of the bond, the secretary
of the board, or any resident of the school district, may cause suit to
be brought thereon. The suit shall be prosecuted in the name of the state
of Missouri, at the relation and to the use of the proper school
district. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-39, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1070)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.337)

The board of any district may retain counsel when necessary to
the exercise of its powers. In all school districts in this state which
contain one or more cities or towns having a total population of thirty
thousand inhabitants or over the school board may employ an attorney on a
retainer basis whenever the board finds it necessary to do so and may
prescribe his duties, compensation and term of office, which shall not
exceed one year. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-40)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.363)

1. Whenever, by reason of the extension of the limits of any
city or town, such limits extend beyond the boundaries of a
seven-director school district, the extension of the limits shall only
apply to the boundary limits of the city or town. Seven-director school
district boundary lines shall remain the same as before the extension of
the limits of the city or town.

2. The provisions of this section shall become effective on August 1,
1984. (L. 1983 H.B. 815 §§ 4, A)

Effective 8-1-84

1. When it is necessary to change the boundary lines between
seven-director school districts, in each district affected, ten percent
of the voters by number of those voting for school board members in the
last annual school election in each district may petition the district
boards of education in the districts affected, regardless of county
lines, for a change in boundaries. The question shall be submitted at the
next general municipal election.

2. The voters shall decide the question by a majority vote of those who
vote upon the question. If assent to the change is given by each of the
various districts voting, each voting separately, the boundaries are
changed from that date.

3. If one of the districts votes against the change and the other votes
for the change, the matter may be appealed to the state board of
education, in writing, within fifteen days of the submission of the
question by either one of the districts affected, or in the above event
by a majority of the signers of the petition requesting a vote on the
proposal. At the first meeting of the state board following the appeal, a
board of arbitration composed of three members, none of whom shall be a
resident of any district affected, shall be appointed. In determining
whether it is necessary to change the boundary line between
seven-director districts, the board of arbitration shall base its
decision upon the following:

(1) The presence of school-aged children in the affected area;

(2) The presence of actual educational harm to school-aged children,
either due to a significant difference in the time involved in
transporting students or educational deficiencies in the district which
would have its boundary adversely affected; and

(3) The presence of an educational necessity, not of a commercial benefit
to landowners or to the district benefitting for the proposed boundary
adjustment.

4. Within twenty days after notification of appointment, the board of
arbitration shall meet and consider the necessity for the proposed
changes and shall decide whether the boundaries shall be changed as
requested in the petition or be left unchanged, which decision shall be
final. The decision by the board of arbitration shall be rendered not
more than thirty days after the matter is referred to the board. The
chairman of the board of arbitration shall transmit the decision to the
secretary of each district affected who shall enter the same upon the
records of his district and the boundaries shall thereafter be in
accordance with the decision of the board of arbitration. The members of
the board of arbitration shall be allowed a fee of fifty dollars each, to
be paid at the time the appeal is made by the district taking the appeal
or by the petitioners should they institute the appeal.

5. If the board of arbitration decides that the boundaries shall be left
unchanged, no new petition for the same, or substantially the same,
boundary change between the same districts shall be filed until after the
expiration of two years from the date of the municipal election at which
the question was submitted to the voters of the districts. (L. 1963 p.
200 § 3-42, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1983 H.B. 815,
A.L. 1997 H.B. 628, A.L. 2003 S.B. 686)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.294)

1. If any school district desires to be attached to one or more
adjacent seven-director school districts for school purposes, upon the
receipt of a petition setting forth such fact, signed either by voters of
the district equal in number to ten percent of those voting in the last
school election at which school board members were elected or by a
majority of the voters of the district, whichever is the lesser, the
school board of the district desiring to be so attached shall submit the
question to the voters.

2. As an alternative to the procedure in subsection 1 of this section, a
seven-director district may, by a majority vote of its board of
education, propose a plan to the voters of the district to attach the
district to one or more adjacent seven-director districts and call for an
election upon the question of such plan.

3. A plat of the proposed changes to all affected districts shall be
published and posted with the notice of election.

4. The question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

Shall the ...... school district be annexed to the .......... school
districts effective the ............. day of ............., .......?

5. If a majority of the votes cast in the district proposing annexation
favor annexation, the secretary shall certify the fact, with a copy of
the record, to the board of the district and to the boards of the
districts to which annexation is proposed; whereupon the boards of the
seven-director districts to which annexation is proposed shall meet to
consider the advisability of receiving the district or a portion thereof,
and if a majority of all the members of each board favor annexation, the
boundary lines of the seven-director school districts from the effective
date shall be changed to include the district, and the board shall
immediately notify the secretary of the district which has been annexed
of its action.

6. Upon the effective date of the annexation, all indebtedness, property
and money on hand belonging thereto shall immediately pass to the
seven-director school district. If the district is annexed to more than
one district, the provisions of sections 162.031 and 162.041 shall apply.
(L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-43, p. 341 and p. 342 § 165.300, A.L. 1965 p. 282 §
165.300, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1992 S.B. 581)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.300)

Effective 4-17-92

Upon petition of at least ten percent of those voting in the
last school election at which school board members were elected or one
hundred voters, whichever is greater, filed with the board, the question
of dissolving a seven-director district shall be submitted to the voters
at a municipal election and if a majority of the voters voting thereon
vote in favor of dissolution, the district shall be dissolved and the
same territory included in the district may be annexed as provided by
section 162.081. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-44, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1992
S.B. 581)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.310)

Effective 4-17-92

1. Notwithstanding other provisions of law to the contrary, the
school board of each school district designated in the statutes as a
seven-director, seven-director or urban school district, except an urban
district containing the greater part of a city of more than three hundred
thousand inhabitants, shall consist of seven members. At the first
election for members of the school board in each of such districts after
January 1, 1993, and each three years thereafter, three members of the
school board shall be elected; except, no school district composed of
seven members as of January 1, 1993, shall be required to modify its
schedule of electing board members.

2. Provisions of law applicable to seven-director, seven-director and
urban school districts, except those which conflict with the provisions
of this section, shall apply to and govern the school districts
designated in subsection 1 of this section. (L. 1984 H.B. 1456 & 1197,
A.L. 1992 S.B. 581, A.L. 1994 S.B. 442)

Each urban school district is a body corporate known as "The
School District of ....." (in which title the name of the city and any
further designation that is required by regulations of the state board of
education shall be inserted), possessing the same corporate powers and
being governed by the same general laws as other seven-director school
districts, except as otherwise provided by law. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-45)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.377)

The government and control of an urban school district is vested
in a board of seven directors, except that in urban districts containing
the greater part of a city of more than three hundred thousand
inhabitants the board shall be composed of nine directors. Each director
shall be a voter of the district, who has resided within this state for
one year next preceding his election or appointment and who is at least
twenty-four years of age. All directors, except as otherwise provided in
section 162.481, hold their offices for six years and until their
successors are duly elected and qualified. All vacancies occurring in the
board shall be filled by appointment by the board as soon as practicable,
and the person appointed shall hold his office until the next school
board election, when his successor shall be elected for the remainder of
the unexpired term. The power of the board to perform any official duty
during the existence of a vacancy continues unimpaired thereby. (L. 1963
p. 200 § 3-46, A.L. 1967 p. 232, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971,
A.L. 1992 H.B. 1425 merged with S.B. 470 & 497, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1272)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.380)

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all elections
of school directors in urban districts shall be held biennially at the
same times and places as municipal elections.

2. In any urban district which includes all or the major part of a city
which first obtained a population of more than seventy-five thousand
inhabitants by reason of the 1960 federal decennial census, elections of
directors shall be held on municipal election days of even-numbered
years. The directors of the prior district shall continue as directors of
the urban district until their successors are elected as herein provided.
On the first Tuesday in April, 1964, four directors shall be elected, two
for terms of two years to succeed the two directors of the prior district
who were elected in 1960 and two for terms of six years to succeed the
two directors of the prior district who were elected in 1961. The
successors of these directors shall be elected for terms of six years. On
the first Tuesday in April, 1968, two directors shall be elected for
terms to commence on November 5, 1968, and to terminate on the first
Tuesday in April, 1974, when their successors shall be elected for terms
of six years. No director shall serve more than two consecutive six-year
terms after October 13, 1963.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4 of this section,
hereafter when a seven-director district becomes an urban district, the
directors of the prior seven-director district shall continue as
directors of the urban district until the expiration of the terms for
which they were elected and until their successors are elected as
provided in this subsection. The first biennial school election for
directors shall be held in the urban district at the time provided in
subsection 1 which is on the date of or subsequent to the expiration of
the terms of the directors of the prior district which are first to
expire, and directors shall be elected to succeed the directors of the
prior district whose terms have expired. If the terms of two directors
only have expired, the directors elected at the first biennial school
election in the urban district shall be elected for terms of six years.
If the terms of four directors have expired, two directors shall be
elected for terms of six years and two shall be elected for terms of four
years. At the next succeeding biennial election held in the urban
district, successors for the remaining directors of the prior
seven-director district shall be elected. If only two directors are to be
elected they shall be elected for terms of six years each. If four
directors are to be elected, two shall be elected for terms of six years
and two shall be elected for terms of two years. After seven directors of
the urban district have been elected under this subsection, their
successors shall be elected for terms of six years.

4. In any school district in any city with a population of one hundred
thousand or more inhabitants which is located within a county of the
first classification that adjoins no other county of the first
classification, or any school district which becomes an urban school
district by reason of the 2000 federal decennial census, elections shall
be held annually at the same times and places as general municipal
elections for all years where one or more terms expire, and the terms
shall be for three years and until their successors are duly elected and
qualified for all directors elected on and after August 28, 1998. (L.
1963 p. 200 § 3-47 and p. 343 § 1, A.L. 1969 p. 265, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971,
A.L. 1998 H.B. 1272, A.L. 2001 H.B. 660)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.383)

1. Directors for urban school districts, other than those
districts containing the greater part of a city of over one hundred
thirty thousand inhabitants, may be nominated by petition to be filed
with the secretary of the board and signed by a number of voters in the
district equal to ten percent of the total number of votes cast for the
director receiving the highest number of votes cast at the next preceding
biennial election.

2. This section shall not be construed as providing the sole method of
nominating candidates for the office of school director in urban
districts which do not contain the greater part of a city of over three
hundred thousand inhabitants.

3. A director for any urban school district containing a city of greater
than one hundred thirty thousand inhabitants and less than three hundred
thousand inhabitants may be nominated as an independent candidate by
filing with the secretary of the board a petition signed by five hundred
registered voters of such school district. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-49, A.L.
1965 p. 283, A.L. 1967 p. 232, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1987 H.B. 463)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.470)

1. In all urban districts containing the greater part of the
population of a city which has more than three hundred thousand
inhabitants the terms of the members of the board of directors in office
in 1967 shall continue until the end of the respective terms to which
each of them has been elected to office and in each case thereafter until
the next school election be held and until their successors, then
elected, are duly qualified as provided in this section.

2. In each urban district designated in subsection 1, the election
authority of the city in which the greater portion of the school district
lies, and of the county if the district includes territory not within the
city limits, shall serve ex officio as a redistricting commission. The
commission shall on or before November 1, 1969, divide the school
district into six subdistricts, all subdistricts being of compact and
contiguous territory and as nearly equal in the number of inhabitants as
practicable and thereafter the board shall redistrict the district into
subdivisions as soon as practicable after each United States decennial
census. In establishing the subdistricts each member shall have one vote
and a majority vote of the total membership of the commission is required
to make effective any action of the commission.

3. School elections for the election of directors shall be held on
municipal election days in each even-numbered year. At the election in
1970, one member of the board of directors shall be elected by the voters
of each subdistrict. The seven candidates, one from each of the
subdistricts, who receive a plurality of the votes cast by the voters of
that subdistrict shall be elected and the at-large candidate receiving a
plurality of the at-large votes shall be elected. In addition to other
qualifications prescribed by law, each member elected from a subdistrict
must be a resident of the subdistrict from which he is elected. The
subdistricts shall be numbered from one to six and the directors elected
from subdistricts one, three and five shall hold office for terms of two
years and until their successors are elected and qualified, and the
directors elected from subdistricts two, four and six shall hold office
for terms of four years and until their successors are elected and
qualified. Every two years thereafter a member of the board of directors
shall be elected for a term of four years and until his successor is
elected and qualified from each of the three subdistricts having a member
on the board of directors whose term expires in that year. Those members
of the board of directors who were in office in 1967 shall, when their
terms of office expire, be succeeded by the members of the board of
directors elected from subdistricts. In addition to the directors elected
by the voters of each subdistrict, additional directors shall be elected
at large by the voters of the entire school district as follows: In 1970
one director at large shall be elected for a two-year term. In 1972 one
director at large shall be elected for a four-year term. In 1974 two
at-large directors shall be elected for a four-year term and thereafter
in alternative elections one director shall be elected for a four-year
term and then two directors shall be elected for a four-year term, so
that from and after the 1970 election the board of directors not
including those members who were in office in 1967 shall consist of seven
members until the 1974 election and thereafter the board shall consist of
nine members. In those years in which one at-large director is to be
elected each voter may vote for one candidate and the candidate receiving
a plurality of votes cast shall be elected. In those years in which two
at-large directors are to be elected each voter may vote for two
candidates and the two receiving the largest number of votes cast shall
be elected.

4. The six candidates, one from each of the subdistricts, who receive a
plurality of the votes cast by the voters of that subdistrict and the
at-large candidates receiving a plurality of the at-large votes shall be
elected. The name of no candidate for nomination shall be printed on the
ballot unless the candidate has at least sixty days prior to the election
filed a declaration of candidacy with the secretary of the board of
directors containing the signatures of at least two hundred fifty
registered voters who are residents of the subdistrict within which the
candidate for nomination to a subdistrict office resides, and in case of
at-large candidates the signatures of at least five hundred registered
voters. The election authority shall determine the validity of all
signatures on declarations of candidacy.

5. In any election either for at-large candidates or candidates elected
by the voters of subdistricts, if there are more than two candidates, a
majority of the votes are not required to elect but the candidate having
a plurality of the votes if there is only one office to be filled and the
candidates having the highest number of votes, if more than one office is
to be filled, shall be elected.

6. The names of all candidates shall appear upon the ballot without party
designation and in the order of the priority of the times of filing their
petitions of nomination. No candidate may file both at large and from a
subdistrict and the names of all candidates shall appear only once on the
ballot, nor may any candidate file more than one declaration of
candidacy. All declarations shall designate the candidate's residence and
whether the candidate is filing at large or from a subdistrict and the
numerical designation of the subdistrict or at-large area.

7. The provisions of all sections relating to seven-director school
districts shall also apply to and govern urban districts in cities of
more than three hundred thousand inhabitants, to the extent applicable
and not in conflict with the provisions of those sections specifically
relating to such urban districts.

8. Vacancies which occur on the school board between the dates of
election shall be filled by majority vote of the remaining members of the
school board to serve until the time of the next regular school board
election. Subdistrict director vacancies shall be filled by appointment
of a resident of the subdistrict in which the vacancy occurs. (L. 1967 p.
232, A.L. 1969 p. 265, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

The secretary of the board of directors shall lay the results
before the board and record the same, and under the direction of the
board shall issue certificates of election to the parties entitled
thereto. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-50, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.467)

Except as provided in laws specifically applicable to urban
districts the board in any urban district shall perform the same duties
and be subject to the same restrictions and liabilities as the school
boards of other school districts acting under the general school laws of
the state. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum for the
transaction of business. No contract shall be let, teacher employed, bill
approved or warrant ordered unless a majority of the board shall vote
therefor, but this provision does not apply to the reemployment of any
teacher. It shall provide and keep a corporate seal. (L. 1963 p. 200 §
3-51)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.387)

Within ten days after the biennial election in any urban
district, the board shall meet, the duly elected members be qualified and
the board organized by the election of a president, vice president,
secretary and treasurer. The secretary and treasurer may or may not be
members of the board. The term of office of the secretary and treasurer
shall be for two years and until their successors are elected and
qualified. But either of them may be removed by the board for cause. (L.
1963 p. 200 § 3-52)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.390)

The secretary of the board of each urban district shall keep a
record of the proceedings of the board; he shall also keep a record of
all warrants drawn upon the treasurer, showing the date and amount of
each, in whose favor and upon what account it was drawn, and shall also
keep a register of the bonded indebtedness of the school district; he
shall also perform other duties required of him by the board, and shall
safely keep all bonds or other papers entrusted to his care. He shall,
before entering upon his duties, execute a bond to the school district in
the penal sum of not less than five thousand dollars, the amount thereof
to be fixed by the board, with at least two sureties, to be approved by
the board. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-53)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.397)

The treasurer of each urban district, before entering upon the
discharge of his duties as such, shall enter into a bond to the state of
Missouri with two or more sureties, approved by the board, conditioned
that he will render a faithful and just account of all moneys that come
into his hands as treasurer, and otherwise perform the duties of his
office according to law and shall file the bond with the secretary of the
board. On breach of any of the conditions of the bond, the board, or the
president or the secretary thereof, or any resident of the school
district, may cause suit to be brought thereon, in the name of the state
of Missouri, at the relation and to the use of the school district. (L.
1963 p. 200 § 3-54, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1070)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.407)

The treasurer and secretary of each urban district shall receive
as full compensation for their services salaries fixed by the board
before their election; but no compensation shall be paid to either the
secretary or treasurer while they are in default in the making, filing or
publishing of their reports and settlements, as the law directs. (L. 1963
p. 200 § 3-55, A.L. 1967 p. 232)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.463)

There may be established for a period of not less than one year
nor more than three years within each urban school district with a
reported dropout rate in excess of forty percent, an ad hoc committee of
thirteen to twenty members on dropout prevention. The committee shall be
composed of school personnel, parents, students and community members.
The committee members shall be selected by the superintendent and
president of the school board with input from community organizations,
the parent organizations of the district and student organizations of the
district. (L. 1990 S.B. 740 § 36)

Every city in this state, not within a county, together with the
territory now within its limits, or which may in the future be included
by any change thereof, constitutes a single metropolitan school district,
and is a body corporate. Except as otherwise provided in section 162.621,
the supervision and government of public schools and public school
property therein is vested in a board, to be known as "The Board of
Education of ....." (in which title the name of the city shall be
inserted). The board of education, by and in that name, may sue and be
sued, purchase, receive, hold and sell property, and, except as otherwise
provided in section 162.621, do all things necessary to accomplish the
purpose for which the school district is organized. All titles to
property granted to the city by the United States or this state for
school purposes, and the title to all school lands and other property of
every kind, is vested in the board of education established by this law.
(L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-57, A.L. 1965 p. 275, A.L. 1967 p. 238, A.L. 1998
S.B. 781)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.563)

1. The members of the board of education shall be elected from
the city, as provided in section 162.601, on a general ticket, and shall
be at least twenty-four years of age, citizens and residents of the city,
and shall have been residents and citizens for at least three years
immediately preceding their election. They shall not hold any office,
except that of notary public, in the city or state, nor be interested in
any contract with or claim against the board, either directly or
indirectly. If at any time after the election of any member of the board
he becomes interested in any contract with or claim against the board,
either directly or indirectly, or as agent or employee of any individual,
firm or corporation, which is so interested, he shall thereupon be
disqualified to continue as a member of the board, and shall continue to
be so disqualified during the remainder of the term for which he was
elected.

2. Every member of the board, before assuming the duties of his office,
shall take oath before a circuit or associate circuit judge of the city,
which oath shall be kept of record in the office of the board, that he
possesses all the qualifications required by this section, and that he
will not, while serving as a member of the board, become interested in
any contract with or claim against the board, directly or indirectly, or
as agent or employee of any individual, firm or corporation which is so
interested, and that he will not be influenced, during his term of
office, by any consideration except that of merit and fitness in the
appointment of officers and the engagement of employees.

3. No compensation shall be paid to the members of the board, but they
are exempt from service as election officers during the term of office.
(L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-58, A.L. 1976 S.B. 821, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1978
H.B. 1634, A.L. 1989 S.B. 127, et al., A.L. 1998 S.B. 781)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.567)

1. The board shall organize by electing a president, vice
president, and secretary from its members. The board of education, as
soon as practicable after its organization, shall appoint a
superintendent of schools.

2. On an annual basis, the board of education shall reorganize by
electing a president, vice president, and secretary from its members.

3. If the board determines, by vote of a majority of its members, that
the superintendent of schools is unable to perform his duties as required
by section 168.211, RSMo, or if the office of the superintendent is
vacant, the board shall appoint an acting superintendent to serve during
the period of the disability of the superintendent or the vacancy in the
office thereof. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-59, A.L. 1967 p. 238, A.L. 1985 H.B.
379)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.570)

1. Elected members of the board in office on August 28, 1998,
shall hold office for the length of term for which they were elected, and
any members appointed pursuant to section 162.611 to fill vacancies left
by elected members in office on August 28, 1998, shall serve for the
remainder of the term to which the replaced member was elected.

2. No board members shall be elected at the first municipal election in
an odd-numbered year next following August 28, 1998.

3. Three board members shall be elected at the second municipal election
in an odd-numbered year next following August 28, 1998, to serve
four-year terms.

4. Four board members shall be elected at the third municipal election in
an odd-numbered year next following August 28, 1998, and two of such
members shall be elected to four-year terms and two of such members shall
be elected to three-year terms. For the two members elected at the
municipal election in 2006, the terms of such members shall expire after
their successors are elected and qualified pursuant to subsection 6 of
this section.

5. Beginning with the fourth municipal election in an odd-numbered year
next following August 28, 1998, and at each succeeding municipal election
in a year during which board member terms expire, there shall be elected
members of the board of education, who shall assume the duties of their
office at the first regular meeting of the board of education after their
election, and who shall hold office for four years, and until their
successors are elected and qualified.

6. For the two board members who are elected at the municipal election in
2006, their successors thereafter shall be elected at the general
election in the year in which their terms expire.

7. Members of the board of directors shall be elected to represent seven
subdistricts. The subdistricts shall be established by the state board of
education to be compact, contiguous and as nearly equal in population as
practicable. The subdistricts shall be revised by the state board of
education after each decennial census and at any other time the state
board determines that the district's demographics have changed
sufficiently to warrant redistricting.

8. A member shall reside in and be elected in the subdistrict which the
member is elected to represent. Subdistrict 1 shall be comprised of wards
1, 2, 22 and 27. Subdistrict 2 shall be comprised of wards 3, 4, 5 and
21. Subdistrict 3 shall be comprised of wards 18, 19, 20 and 26.
Subdistrict 4 shall be comprised of wards 6, 7, 17 and 28. Subdistrict 5
shall be comprised of wards 9, 10, 11 and 12. Subdistrict 6 shall be
comprised of wards 13, 14, 16 and 25. Subdistrict 7 shall be comprised of
wards 8, 15, 23 and 24. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-60, A.L. 1976 S.B. 821, A.L.
1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1988 H.B. 1242 Revision, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781, A.L.
1999 H.B. 889, A.L. 2003 H.B. 511 merged with S.B. 686, A.L. 2005 S.B.
302)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.573)

A separate nomination petition shall be filed for each candidate
for the office of member of the board and shall be accompanied by a
filing fee of one hundred dollars and shall be filed in the office of the
board of election commissioners of the city of St. Louis. (L. 1976 S.B.
821, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1995 H.B. 484, et al.)

Any member failing to attend the meetings of the board for three
consecutive regular meetings, unless excused by the board for reasons
satisfactory to the board, shall be deemed to have vacated his seat; and
the secretary of the board shall certify that fact to the mayor. The
secretary shall likewise certify to the mayor any other vacancy occurring
in the board. Any vacancy shall be filled by the mayor by appointment for
the remainder of the term. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-61, A.L. 1999 H.B. 889)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.570, 165.577)

Effective 7-9-99

1. The board of education shall have general and supervising
control, government and management of the public schools and public
school property of the district in the city and shall exercise generally
all powers in the administration of the public school system therein. The
board of education has all the powers of other school districts under the
laws of this state except as herein provided and shall perform all duties
required by general laws of school districts so far as they are
applicable to the public school affairs of the city and are consistent
with this law. It shall appoint the officers, agents and employees it
deems necessary and proper and fix their compensation. The board of
education may:

(1) Make, amend and repeal rules and bylaws for its meetings and
proceedings, for the government, regulation and management of the public
schools and school property in the city, for the transaction of its
business, and the examination, qualification and employment of teachers,
which rules and bylaws are binding on the board of education and all
parties dealing with it until formally repealed;

(2) Fix the time of its meetings;

(3) Provide for special and standing committees;

(4) Levy taxes authorized by law for school purposes;

(5) Invest the funds of the district;

(6) Purchase and hold all property, real and personal, deemed by it
necessary for the purposes of public education;

(7) Build and construct improvements for such purposes, and sell the same;

(8) Provide for the gratuitous transportation of pupils to and from
schools in cases where by reason of special circumstances pupils are
required to attend schools at unusual distances from their residences.

2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the powers granted in
subsection 1 of this section shall be vested, in the manner provided in
section 162.1100, in the special administrative board of the transitional
school district containing the city not within a county if the school
district loses its accreditation from the state board of education.
Thereafter, such powers shall immediately revert to the board of
directors of the school district for any period of time for which no
transitional school district containing the city not within a county is
in existence. The board of directors of the school district shall, at all
times, retain auditing and public reporting powers. (L. 1963 p. 200 §
3-62, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781)

(Source: RSMo 1959 §§ 165.580, 165.640)

There is hereby established in the metropolitan school district
a pilot program of multiyear teacher-student groupings. The program shall
be implemented in no fewer than ten schools in the district and shall be
implemented for no less than five consecutive years in each of such
schools and in at least six classrooms in each of such schools.
Pupil-teacher ratios in such classrooms shall not exceed twenty-five to
one. The program shall seek to improve student learning by providing a
long-term relationship between the student and a particular teacher. The
board shall develop a plan for grade-level groups throughout which
participating classes shall maintain the same group of students with the
same teacher for multiyear periods. The grade-level groups shall include
at least two grade levels and shall not exceed four grade levels in the
same group. The plan shall provide for voluntary participation by
students. The board shall establish a policy and a procedure to review
and act upon requests by a student or the parent of a student that the
student be transferred to a different class with a different teacher. All
policies and plans established by the board pursuant to this section*
shall be subject to review and approval of the state board of education.
(L. 1998 S.B. 781)

*Word "subsection" appears in original rolls.

1. The circuit court of the city has jurisdiction over the
members of the board of education and its officers to require them to
account for their official conduct in the management and disposition of
the funds, property and business committed to their charge; to order,
decree and compel payment by them to the public school fund of all sums
of money, and of the value of all property which may have been improperly
retained by them, or transferred to others, or which may have been lost
or wasted by any violation of their duties or abuse of their powers as
such members or officers of the board; to suspend any member or officer
from exercising his office, whensoever it appears that he has abused his
trust or become disqualified; to remove any member or officer upon proof
or conviction of gross misconduct or disqualification for his office; to
restrain and prevent any alienation of property of the public schools by
members or officers, in cases where it is threatened, or there is good
reason to apprehend that it is intended to be made in fraud of the rights
and interests of the public schools.

2. The jurisdiction conferred by this section shall be exercised as in
ordinary cases upon petition, filed by or at the instance of any member
or officer of the board, or at the instance of any ten citizens and
householders of the city who join in the petition, verified by the
affidavit of at least one of them. The petition shall be heard in a
summary manner after ten days' notice in writing to the member or officer
complained of; and an appeal shall lie from the judgment of the circuit
court as in other causes, and shall be speedily determined; but an appeal
does not operate under any condition as a supersedeas of a judgment of
suspension or removal from office. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-63)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.583)

(1960) Evidence justified removal of respondent from office of president
of board of education for gross misconduct on ground he had directed
board's employees to work on house owned by relatives and directed
payment of employees from public funds and appeal would not be dismissed
because respondent's term of office had expired when case was argued
since whether alleged conduct constituted gross misconduct was matter of
public importance and controversy still existed as to whether respondent
should repay certain sums to board. Antoine v. McCaffery (A.), 335 S.W.2d
474.

1. In metropolitan districts, the treasurer shall exercise a
general supervision over the fiscal affairs of the public schools of the
city, the collection and payment of funds to the school depositaries, and
the disbursement of all revenues and moneys belonging to the board. He
shall deposit daily in the designated depositaries of the board all money
collected or received by him for the board. He shall see that no
liability is incurred or expenditure made without due authority of law,
and that the appropriations are not overdrawn. He shall have supervision
of all invested property of the board. He shall be the custodian of all
securities, documents, title papers, books of record and other papers
belonging to the board, other than books of record of board proceedings.
He shall furnish a statement of receipts and disbursements at the times
that the rules of the board provide, and at the end of the fiscal year he
shall make to the superintendent of schools and the board a full and
comprehensive report of its financial affairs for the preceding year. He
shall give bond as the board requires, but not less than fifty thousand
dollars.

2. The treasurer shall be the general accountant of the board and shall
preserve in his office all accounts, vouchers and contracts pertaining to
school affairs. He shall examine and audit all accounts and demands
against the board and certify their correctness. He shall require
settlement of accounts to be verified by affidavit whenever he deems
proper. He shall keep accounts and shall make available budget and cost
information as requested by the superintendent of schools and the board
of education.

3. The treasurer shall exercise his duties and responsibilities under the
administrative supervision and direction of the superintendent of schools
and subject to the rules, regulations and policies of the board of
education. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-64, A.L. 1967 p. 238)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.620)

CROSS REFERENCES: Bi-state development agency, bonds of, investment in
authorized, RSMo 70.377 Multinational banks, securities and obligations
of, investment in, when, RSMo 409.950 Savings accounts in insured savings
and loan associations, investment in authorized, RSMo 369.194

All testimony taken upon any investigation made by the board, or
in any proceedings before the board for the removal of any officer or
employee of the board, or in any investigation made by any committee of
the board, shall be under oath, which oath may be administered by the
secretary, the treasurer, or any officer authorized to administer oaths.
(L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-65, A.L. 1967 p. 238)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.647)

The board of education shall, as soon as practicable after the
close of each school year, cause to be printed and published a report of
the condition of the public schools under its charge, and of all the
property under its control, with a full and accurate account of all the
receipts and expenditures of the board during the preceding year, and of
the condition of all investments. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-66)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.650)

1. The provisions of this section shall be known and may be
cited as the "St. Louis Students' Bill of Rights".

2. For the purposes of this section, "district" means a metropolitan
school district, as defined in section 160.011, RSMo.

3. Each district shall reinstitute the basic kindergarten through eighth
grade* system of grade schools within the district.

4. Every child within the district of the appropriate age and appropriate
aptitude for discipline and openness to instruction shall have the right
to attend a basic kindergarten through eighth grade school.

5. Every child within the district shall have the right to attend such
school closest to such child's home.

6. Every child within the district shall have the right to transfer to
any other such school within the district.

7. The district shall have the right to transport children to relieve
overcrowding. Transportation to relieve overcrowding shall be performed
in such a manner as to fill in school seats in buildings that have
surplus seats, but shall not be permitted to displace any child who has
elected to attend the school located closest to such child's home.

8. The per pupil expenditure of funds for the cost of education shall be
equalized to the greatest extent possible, with appropriate variation
allowable in order to accommodate the special remedial needs of children
who test below grade level and the needs of gifted children.

9. Schools for gifted children with accelerated academic programs shall
be established and evenly distributed across the district. The district
shall have the right to transport children to and from schools for the
gifted. Children who attend schools for the gifted shall have the right
to attend such school which is located closest to such child's home and
shall have the right to transfer to or attend any other school for the
gifted within the district.

10. The provisions of the St. Louis students' bill of rights shall only
become effective upon approval by a majority of the voters of the city of
St. Louis voting thereon. The governing board of the transitional
district established pursuant to section 162.1100 may conduct a legal
analysis of the program enumerated in this section, shall publish any
such analysis and make the analysis available to the public and shall
propose, to the extent that the program is consistent with the Missouri
and United States Constitutions, place before the voters of the city of
St. Louis no later than March 15, 1999, a proposal to implement the
program. If approved by a majority of such voters, the program shall be
implemented consistent with the Missouri and United States Constitutions.

11. The proposal shall be submitted substantially as follows:

Shall the St. Louis School District reinstitute the basic kindergarten
through eighth grade neighborhood school system within the district and
be required to permit students to attend the school closest to their home?

[ ] YES [ ] NO (L. 1998 S.B. 781 § 1)

*Word "grade" does not appear in original rolls.

In order to fully implement section 1(a) of article IX,
constitution of Missouri, 1945, providing for the establishment and
maintenance of free public schools for gratuitous instruction of all
persons in this state within ages not in excess of twenty-one years as
prescribed by law, it is hereby declared the policy of the state of
Missouri to provide or to require public schools to provide to all
handicapped and severely handicapped children within the ages prescribed
herein, as an integral part of Missouri's system of gratuitous education,
a free appropriate education consistent with the provisions set forth in
state and federal regulations implementing the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq. and any
amendments thereto. The need of such children for early recognition,
diagnosis and intensive educational services leading to more successful
participation in home, employment and community life is recognized. The
timely implementation of this policy is declared to be an integral part
of the policy of this state. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 1, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2023)

As used in sections 162.670 to 162.995, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms mean:

(1) "Gifted children", children who exhibit precocious development of
mental capacity and learning potential as determined by competent
professional evaluation to the extent that continued educational growth
and stimulation could best be served by an academic environment beyond
that offered through a standard grade level curriculum;

(2) "Handicapped children", children under the age of twenty-one years
who have not completed an approved high school program and who, because
of mental, physical, emotional or learning problems, require special
educational services;

(3) "Severely handicapped children", handicapped children under the age
of twenty-one years who meet the eligibility criteria for state schools
for severely handicapped children, identified in state regulations that
implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;

(4) "Special educational services", programs designed to meet the needs
of handicapped or severely handicapped children and which include, but
are not limited to, the provision of diagnostic and evaluation services,
student and parent counseling, itinerant, homebound and referral
assistance, organized instructional and therapeutic programs,
transportation, and corrective and supporting services. (L. 1973 H.B. 474
§ 2, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2023, A.L.
2005 S.B. 287)

CROSS REFERENCE:

Surrogate parent, definitions for handicapped and severely handicapped,
RSMo 162.997

1. No child may be denied services provided by sections 162.670
to 162.999 because of such child's disabling condition.

2. To the maximum extent appropriate, disabled and severely disabled
children shall be educated along with children who do not have
disabilities and shall attend regular classes, except that in the case of
a disability resulting in violent behavior which causes a substantial
likelihood of injury to the student or others, the school district shall
initiate procedures consistent with state and federal law to remove the
child to a more appropriate placement. Special classes, separate
schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the
regular educational environment shall occur only when the nature or
severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular
classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be
achieved satisfactorily. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 3, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1151, A.L.
1996 H.B. 1301 & 1298, A.L. 2003 H.B. 655)

The state board of education shall adopt, after at least one
public hearing has been held by the commissioner of education on each
subsection of this section and upon his recommendation and, after
consulting with recognized authorities in the field:

(1) Standards to be used throughout the state of Missouri in determining
whether children shall be defined under sections 162.670 to 162.995 as
"handicapped children" or "severely handicapped children", together with
regulations implementing these standards;

(2) Regulations governing evaluation and reevaluation of handicapped and
severely handicapped children prior to and during assignment in a special
educational program; provided, however, each child assigned to a special
educational program shall be fully reevaluated on a regular basis;

(3) Standards for approval of all special education programs established
under the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.995 including, but not
limited to, the qualifications of professional personnel employed in such
programs and the standards to be used in determining the assignment of
each child requiring special educational services to the program which
best suits the needs of the child;

(4) Regulations determining the number of enrolled children which
constitutes an approved special program including provision for approval
by the state board of education of a program of less than the established
number if, upon investigation by the state department of elementary and
secondary education and upon the recommendation of the commissioner of
education, it is found a special need exists;

(5) Regulations to be used in determining the eligibility of children in
special education programs to attend less than a school day pursuant to
section 167.031, RSMo 1969, and in determining the amount of state aid to
be paid on a pro rata basis for part-time attendance or programs. (L.
1973 H.B. 474 § 4)

The state commissioner of education may appoint such state and
area advisory committees as he deems necessary to review special
educational services to handicapped and severely handicapped children and
to consider any problems presented by the commissioner of education with
respect to the provision of educational services to handicapped and
severely handicapped children and to give advice thereon. Such committees
shall include persons broadly representative of community organizations
interested in the handicapped and severely handicapped, professions
related to the educational needs of the handicapped and severely
handicapped, and the general public. The members of such committees shall
serve at the discretion of the commissioner of education. (L. 1973 H.B.
474 § 5)

1. The board of education of each school district in this state,
except school districts which are part of a special school district, and
the board of education of each special school district shall provide
special educational services for handicapped children three years of age
or more residing in the district as required by P.L. 99-457, as codified
and as may be amended. Any child, determined to be handicapped, shall be
eligible for such services upon reaching his or her third birthday and
state school funds shall be apportioned accordingly. This subsection
shall apply to each full school year beginning on or after July 1, 1991.
In the event that federal funding fails to be appropriated at the
authorized level as described in 20 U.S.C. 1419(b)(2), the implementation
of this subsection relating to services for handicapped children three
and four years of age may be delayed until such time as funds are
appropriated to meet such level. Each local school district and each
special school district shall be responsible to engage in a planning
process to design the service delivery system necessary to provide
special education and related services for children three and four years
of age with handicaps. The planning process shall include public, private
and private not-for-profit agencies which have provided such services for
this population. The school district, or school districts, or special
school district, shall be responsible for designing an efficient service
delivery system which uses the present resources of the local community
which may be funded by the department of elementary and secondary
education or the department of mental health. School districts may
coordinate with public, private and private not-for-profit agencies
presently in existence. The service delivery system shall be consistent
with the requirements of the department of elementary and secondary
education to provide appropriate special education services in the least
restrictive environment.

2. Every local school district or, if a special district is in operation,
every special school district shall obtain current appropriate diagnostic
reports for each handicapped child prior to assignment in a special
program. These records may be obtained with parental permission from
previous medical or psychological evaluation, may be provided by
competent personnel of such district or special district, or may be
secured by such district from competent and qualified medical,
psychological or other professional personnel.

3. Where special districts have been formed to serve handicapped children
under the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.995, such children shall
be educated in programs of the special district, except that component
districts may provide education programs for handicapped children ages
three and four inclusive in accordance with regulations and standards
adopted by the state board of education.

4. For the purposes of this act, remedial reading programs are not a
special education service as defined by subdivision (4) of section
162.675 but shall be funded in accordance with the provisions of section
162.975.

5. Any and all state costs required to fund special education services
for three- and four-year-old children pursuant to this section shall be
provided for by a specific, separate appropriation and shall not be
funded by a reallocation of money appropriated for the public school
foundation program.

6. School districts providing early childhood special education shall
give consideration to the value of continuing services with Part C early
intervention system providers for the remainder of the school year when
developing an individualized education program for a student who has
received services pursuant to Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities
Education Act and reaches the age of three years during a regular school
year. Services provided shall be only those permissible according to
Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

7. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section
536.010, RSMo, 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, RSMo, and, if applicable, section
536.028, RSMo. This section and chapter 536, RSMo, are nonseverable and
if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter
536, RSMo, 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,
2002, shall be invalid and void. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 7, A.L. 1977 H.B.
130, A.L. 1990 S.B. 740, A.L. 1991 S.B. 438, A.L. 2002 S.B. 874, A.L.
2005 S.B. 500)

Sunset date 8-28-07, unless reauthorized

Termination date 9-01-08, unless reauthorized

CROSS REFERENCE: Sunset provision, RSMo 160.930

(1992) State's failure to fully fund mandatory handicapped program
violates Hancock Amendment prohibiting state from requiring any new or
expanded activities by counties and other political subdivisions without
full state financing. Rolla 31 School Dist. v. State, 837 S.W.2d 1 (Mo.
en banc).

1. If a school district or special district fails or is unable
to provide special educational services to each handicapped or severely
handicapped child as required in sections 162.670 to 162.995, the
district shall contract with a nearby district or districts or public
agency or agencies for such special educational services. If the board of
education of the district finds that no adequate program for handicapped
or severely handicapped children is available in nearby districts or
through public agencies, it may contract with any organization within the
state which has programs meeting the standards established by the state
board of education. If such district fails to contract for such services,
the state board of education may contract for such services with a nearby
district or districts or public agency or agencies. If the state board of
education finds, after investigation by the state department of
education, that no adequate program for handicapped or severely
handicapped children is available in nearby districts or through public
agencies, the state board of education may contract with any organization
within the state which has programs meeting the standards established by
the state board of education. Assignment of handicapped or severely
handicapped children under this section shall be made to a particular
school or program which, in the judgment of the state department of
elementary and secondary education, can best provide special educational
services to meet the needs of the child, and such assignment shall be
made upon the basis of competent evaluation. The state board of education
may seek the advice of established and ad hoc advisory committees in
developing standards for approving programs and costs of programs
operated by organizations. Nothing contained within this section shall be
construed to affect the provisions of section 162.700 or 162.725.

2. Per pupil costs of contractual arrangements shall be the obligation of
the district of residence, except districts which are part of a special
school district, or special district of residence; provided, however,
that if the contract is with another district or special district, the
district providing the services under contractual arrangements shall
include children served under such contractual arrangements in
determining the total per pupil cost for which the district of residence
is responsible. If the contract is with a public agency or an
organization, the district of residence shall be entitled to receive
state aid as provided in section 163.031, RSMo, and in section 162.980.
Where the state board of education contracts for special educational
services pursuant to subsection 1 of this section, the state board of
education shall submit to the responsible district a bill for the per
pupil cost payable by that district under the terms of this subsection.
Failure of a district to pay such cost within ninety days after a bill is
submitted by the state board of education shall result in the deduction
of the amount due by the state board of education from subsequent
payments of state moneys due such district or special district.

3. If the state board of education determines, after inspection by the
state department of elementary and secondary education and upon the
recommendation of the commissioner of education, that handicapped or
severely handicapped children residing within the district may better be
provided special educational services by the district or special district
of residence, the state board of education shall order the district to
provide special educational services in accordance with sections 162.670
to 162.995.

4. If the state board of education determines, after public hearing
before the commissioner of education held in the school district on due
notice, that the district has failed to provide special educational
services in accordance with an order issued under subsection 3 of this
section, the state board of education shall withhold all or such portion
of the state aid under sections 162.670 to 162.995 and under chapter 163,
RSMo, as in its judgment is necessary to require the district to carry
out its responsibility under sections 162.670 to 162.995. The denial of
state financial assistance hereunder may continue until the failure to
provide special educational services is remedied.

5. No contract shall be made under sections 162.670 to 162.995 contrary
to the provisions of article I, section 7 or article IX, section 8 of the
Constitution of Missouri. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 8, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L.
1993 H.B. 330)

The district responsible for furnishing special educational
services shall provide necessary transportation for all handicapped
children residing within the district, including transportation to and
from contracted day classes, notwithstanding the provisions of sections
162.621 and 167.231, RSMo. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 9)

Effective 7-1-74

State aid shall not be granted unless the professional personnel
employed in special educational programs have been specially trained for
work in the programs and the amount of such training shall be in
accordance with regulations promulgated by the state board of education.
In approving special education programs for state aid, the department of
elementary and secondary education shall determine that the quality of
programming, the supportive staff and services, facilities, supplies and
transportation are at least equal to that provided normal children
attending school in the district. Supporting auxiliary personnel to
assist teachers of handicapped and severely handicapped children may be
employed in accordance with standards established by the state board of
education. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 10)

Effective 7-1-74

1. Where a sufficient number of children are determined to be
gifted and their development requires programs or services beyond the
level of those ordinarily provided in regular public school programs,
districts may establish special programs for such gifted children.

2. The state board of education shall determine standards for such
programs. Approval of such programs shall be made by the state department
of elementary and secondary education based upon project applications
submitted by July fifteenth of each year. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 11, A.L.
1974 S.B. 571)

1. The state board of education shall establish schools or
programs in this state sufficient to provide special educational services
for all severely handicapped children not residing in special school
districts or in other school districts providing approved special
educational services for severely handicapped children which schools or
programs shall be referred to herein as "state schools for severely
handicapped children".

2. The Missouri School for the Blind at St. Louis and the Missouri School
for the Deaf at Fulton are within the division of special services of the
department of elementary and secondary education. The state board of
education shall govern these schools.

3. The state board of education:

(1) Shall determine the type and kind of instruction to be offered and
the number and qualifications of instructors and other necessary
personnel in the state schools for severely handicapped children, the
school for the blind and the school for the deaf; provided, however, that
the course of study of these schools shall be of a character to develop
the mental, physical, vocational and social abilities of the pupils and
to prepare those students capable of advancing for admission to
postsecondary programs;

(2) Shall promulgate all rules and regulations governing enrollment,
including that of assigning children to the most appropriate school or
programs; and

(3) Shall determine and approve all policies for the operation of said
schools or programs.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, each school
district which is not a part of a special school district and each
special school district shall provide special educational services for
deaf children and youth within the ages of five through thirteen years
residing in the district in accordance with rules, regulations and
standards promulgated by the state board of education. Such services
shall be provided within the district of residence or by contract with a
nearby district or districts or nearby public agency or agencies pursuant
to the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.995, provided, however, that
nothing herein shall be construed to affect the funding or operation of
the Missouri School for the Deaf at Fulton nor to deny to any deaf child
or youth within the age range prescribed above the right to enrollment
therein.

5. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of this
chapter shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to
the provisions of section 536.024, RSMo. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 §§ 13, 14,
A.L. 1977 H.B. 541, A.L. 1981 S.B. 200, A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1995 S.B.
3)

The district of residence of each child attending a state school
for severely handicapped children or an educational program for a
full-time patient or resident at a facility operated by the department of
mental health, except school districts which are a part of a special
district and except special school districts, shall pay toward the cost
of the education of the child an amount equal to the average sum produced
per child by the local tax effort of the district. The district of
residence shall be notified each year, not later than December fifteenth,
of the names and addresses of pupils enrolled in such schools. In the
case of a special district, said special district shall be responsible
for an amount per child not to exceed the average sum produced per child
by the local tax efforts of the component districts. The district of
residence of the child's parents or guardians shall be the district
responsible for local tax contributions required by this section. (L.
1973 H.B. 474 § 16, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1724, A.L. 2005 S.B. 287)

1. At the end of each fiscal year the state department of
elementary and secondary education and the department of mental health
shall determine the amount due from each school district under section
162.740 and shall notify the local school board as to the amount of the
district's obligation for the preceding school year. Upon receipt of the
notice from the state department of elementary and secondary education or
the department of mental health, the local school board shall within
ninety days remit to the state department of elementary and secondary
education or the department of mental health, from either the teacher or
incidental funds of the district, the amount due the state. The state
department of elementary and secondary education and the department of
mental health shall deposit the moneys with the state treasurer.

2. If any district fails to remit to the state department of elementary
and secondary education or the department of mental health the amount
due, in accordance with the provisions of subsection 1, the amount shall
be deducted from the next regular apportionment of state funds to the
district. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 §§ 17, 18, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1724)

If a special school district is formed, it may contract with the
state board of education, public agencies, or nonprofit organizations
within the state which have programs meeting the standards established by
the state board of education to provide special educational services for
severely handicapped children residing in the special district. (L. 1973
H.B. 474 § 19, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130)

1. The state board of education shall provide reasonable
transportation for children who attend day schools or programs operated
by the state board of education or who attend programs operated through
contract by the state board of education as provided in section 162.735.

2. Sheltered workshops holding a certificate of approval from the
department of elementary and secondary education under section 178.920,
RSMo, and clients of other facilities operated under the provisions of
sections 205.968 to 205.973, RSMo, and state schools for the severely
handicapped may cooperate in the provision of employee, client and
student transportation. Employees of sheltered workshops and clients of
other facilities operated under the provisions of sections 205.968 to
205.973, RSMo, may be transported to sheltered workshops and other
facilities in vehicles owned and operated by the department of elementary
and secondary education or hired by the department for student
transportation or students may be transported in vehicles owned and
operated or hired by sheltered workshops or other facilities operated
under the provisions of sections 205.968 to 205.973, RSMo, to state
schools for the severely handicapped.

3. The provision of sheltered workshop employee or other client
transportation in vehicles owned and operated or hired by the department
of elementary and secondary education shall not unduly interfere with the
routes and schedules of the state schools for the severely handicapped
and reasonable compensation may be paid by the sheltered workshop or
other facility for the developmentally disabled to the department of
elementary and secondary education.

4. The department of elementary and secondary education may secure
transportation for students in state schools for the severely handicapped
in vehicles owned and operated or hired by sheltered workshops or other
facilities operated under the provisions of sections 205.968 to 205.973,
RSMo, and make reasonable compensation for the service to the sheltered
workshop or other facility for the developmentally disabled. (L. 1973
H.B. 474 § 20, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1987 H.B. 25 & 120, A.L. 1988
S.B. 676)

The state board of education may pay the travel costs, by common
carrier or otherwise, for students of the school for the blind or the
school for the deaf, as the case may be, when such students are traveling
between their homes and those institutions. (L. 1985 S.B. 389 § 1)

The state board of education shall appoint a section head and
the other personnel to implement, effectuate and supervise programs for
severely handicapped children. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 21)

Effective 7-1-74

The state board of education, upon the recommendation of the
state commissioner of education, shall appoint the superintendents of the
Missouri School for the Blind and the Missouri School for the Deaf. All
teachers, officers and employees of the schools shall be appointed by the
state board of education upon the recommendation of the superintendent of
the respective school and of the state commissioner of education. The
state board of education shall determine the number of teachers and
employees and shall also fix their compensation. The salaries and wages
due teachers, officers and employees of these schools shall be allowed
and paid in semimonthly or monthly installments, as designated by the
commissioner of administration. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 22, A.L. 1980 H.B.
1266)

The superintendents of the Missouri School for the Blind and the
Missouri School for the Deaf shall transmit to the state board of
education reports containing information that the board desires. (L. 1973
H.B. 474 § 23)

Effective 7-1-74

The superintendent of the school for the blind shall have the
eyes of every pupil admitted to the school carefully examined by the
school physician or a certified ophthalmologist. If, upon examination, it
appears that by medical treatment or by surgical operation sight may be
improved or restored, the superintendent, after obtaining the consent of
the parents or guardian of the pupil when it is practicable to obtain
their consent, shall institute the medical treatment or shall have the
surgical operation performed which in his judgment is practicable and
advisable. If the treatment or operation is successful, the pupil shall
be discharged from the school as soon thereafter as is practical. (L.
1973 H.B. 474 § 24)

Effective 7-1-74

The state board of education shall have the care and control of
all property, real and personal, necessary for the operation of the state
schools for severely handicapped children, the school for the blind and
the school for the deaf. The state board of education shall not sell or
in any manner dispose of any real estate purchased by tax moneys
belonging to the schools without an act of the general assembly
authorizing the sale or other disposition. The state board of education
may sell, convey, exchange or convert into money property of any nature,
real, personal or mixed, acquired from individuals or corporations by
grant, gift, bequest, devise or donation to these schools or any of them.
(L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 25)

Effective 7-1-74

1. The state board of education may acquire by purchase, lease,
gift, bequest, eminent domain, or otherwise, all necessary lands,
buildings or equipment, including transportation facilities, for the use
and benefit of the Missouri School for the Blind, the Missouri School for
the Deaf and the state schools for severely handicapped children.
Whenever the board selects property or additional property for school
purposes and cannot agree with the owner thereof as to the price to be
paid, or for any other cause cannot secure a title thereto, the board may
proceed to condemn the property in the manner provided in chapter 523,
RSMo, and on such condemnation and payment of the appraisement as
provided, the title to the property shall vest in the state board of
education for the use and benefit of the school or schools for which it
was required.

2. The state board of education may receive and administer any grants,
gifts, devises, bequests or donations by any individual or corporation to
the state schools for severely handicapped children, or any of them, the
Missouri School for the Blind or the Missouri School for the Deaf.
Grants, gifts, devises, bequests or donations made for a specified use
shall not be applied either wholly or in part to any other use. (L. 1973
H.B. 474 §§ 26, 27)

Effective 7-1-74

1. All funds derived from grants, gifts, donations or bequests
or from the sale or conveyance of any property acquired through any
grant, gift, donation, devise or bequest to or for the use of the
Missouri School for the Blind or income received or earned on property so
acquired, at the discretion of the state board of education, may be
deposited in the state treasury and credited to a special fund known as
the "School for the Blind Trust Fund", which is hereby created, or may be
invested or reinvested by the state board of education for the Missouri
School for the Blind in bonds, stocks, deeds of trust or other investment
securities in the amounts and in the proportions that the state board of
education prudently selects.

2. All funds derived from grants, gifts, donations or bequests or from
the sale or conveyance of any property acquired through any grant, gift,
donation, devise or bequest to or for the use of the Missouri School for
the Deaf or income received or earned on property so acquired, at the
discretion of the state board of education, may be deposited in the state
treasury and credited to a special fund known as the "School for the Deaf
Trust Fund", which is hereby created, or may be invested or reinvested by
the state board of education for the Missouri School for the Deaf in
bonds, stocks, deeds of trusts or other investment securities in the
amounts and in the proportions that the state board of education
prudently selects.

3. All funds derived from grants, gifts, donations or bequests or from
the sale or conveyance of any property acquired through any grant, gift,
donation, devise or bequest to or for the use of the state schools for
severely handicapped children or income received or earned on property so
acquired, at the discretion of the state board of education, may be
deposited in the state treasury and credited to a special fund known as
the "Handicapped Children's Trust Fund", which is hereby created, or may
be invested or reinvested by the state board of education for the
respective schools in bonds, stocks, deeds of trust or other investment
securities in the amounts and in the proportions that the state board of
education prudently selects.

4. The moneys in the school for the blind trust fund, in the school for
the deaf trust fund or in the handicapped children's trust fund shall not
be appropriated for the support of the schools in lieu of general state
revenues but shall be appropriated only for the purpose of carrying out
the objects for which the grant, gift, donation, devise or bequest was
made.

5. The state board of education shall make an annual report in writing to
the governor, commissioner of administration and the general assembly, on
or before the first day of February of each year in which the general
assembly convenes in regular session, of all moneys in the trust funds
referred to herein and of all moneys administered by it pursuant to this
section. The report shall include the amount of all receipts and
disbursements, the name of the depositary and investment officer, a
description of the securities or other investments being administered,
and the plans and projects contemplated by the state board of education
for use of the moneys. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 28)

Effective 7-1-74

CROSS REFERENCE: Handicapped children's trust fund abolished subject to
exemption, RSMo 33.571

In addition to any other funds provided by law, the Missouri
School for the Blind in St. Louis, and the Missouri School for the Deaf
in Fulton, and the state schools for the severely handicapped shall, any
other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, be entitled to
funds under section 148.360, RSMo. The number of full-time students in
those institutions described in this section shall be considered as
"September membership" for the apportioning of funds under section
148.360, RSMo, to each institution respectively. (L. 1987 H.B. 504 § 1)

*This section was repealed by S.B. 287, 2005, effective 7-1-06. Consult
RSMo 2000 for existing section.

1. There shall be a board of advisors for the Missouri School
for the Deaf and for the Missouri School for the Blind, each composed of
five members, appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of
the senate.

2. The members of each board shall hold their office for the term of four
years and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

3. The boards shall act in an advisory capacity in regard to the
maintenance, operation, management, control and all other matters
relating to the conduct and improvement of the Missouri School for the
Deaf and the Missouri School for the Blind.

4. The board of advisors for each school shall meet bimonthly. At the
regular meeting following the appointment of new members, each board
shall organize by electing one of its number president and one vice
president and shall elect such other officers as it deems necessary.
Three members of the board constitute a quorum but no business shall be
transacted unless the majority of the whole board votes therefor. (L.
1973 H.B. 474 §§ 29, 30)

Effective 7-1-74

*Section 161.020 provides that the members of the board of advisors for
the Missouri School for the Deaf and for the Missouri School for the
Blind shall be appointed by the commissioner of education.

Each member of the board of advisors of the school for the blind
and of the board of advisors of the school for the deaf shall receive as
compensation for his services the salary of one hundred dollars per annum
and his actual expenses. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 31)

Effective 7-1-74

1. The commissioner of education shall appoint such state and
area advisory committees as are needed to make recommendations for the
various state schools for severely handicapped children.

2. The members of these advisory committees shall serve at the discretion
of the commissioner of education. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 32)

Effective 7-1-74

No employee of the state schools for severely handicapped
children, the Missouri School for the Blind or the Missouri School for
the Deaf shall keep for sale or be interested, directly or indirectly, in
the sale or exchange of any school furniture or apparatus, books, maps,
charts, stationery, or other property or food used in the schools. Any
employee found to be so interested, upon conviction, shall be adjudged
guilty of a misdemeanor. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 33)

Effective 7-1-74

In all areas of this state the voters may organize and create a
special district for the primary purposes of

(1) Educating and training handicapped and severely handicapped children
resident within the special district; and

(2) Providing vocational education for residents of the special district.
(L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 34, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571)

Special school districts already in existence when sections
162.670 to 162.995 take effect are not affected* by the organizational
provisions included herein but shall operate henceforth under the
provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.995. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 35)

Effective 7-1-74

*Word "effected" appears in original rolls.

The district secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of
all annual and special elections of the voters of the district and of the
proceedings of the board of education. He shall make copies of the
election notices, contracts with teachers, certificates and all other
papers relating to the business of the district, and securely keep the
same. He shall maintain a correct plat of the district and shall promptly
notify the department of elementary and secondary education and the
county clerk of each county affected of all changes in the boundaries of
the district. He shall transmit to the county commission and to the state
department of elementary and secondary education, on or before the
fifteenth day of August in each year, a report embracing the following
items:

(1) The number of children, male and female, attending the public schools
during the year;

(2) Total number of days' attendance by all such children;

(3) The number of days the public schools of the district have been
maintained during the school year;

(4) The number of teachers employed, male and female, and the wages per
month of each;

(5) Estimated value of school property owned and managed by the district;

(6) Assessed valuation of the district;

(7) Rate of school tax on the assessed valuation of the district;

(8) Cash on hand at the beginning of the year;

(9) Tuition fees received and credited to the teachers' fund of the
district;

(10) Public funds received by county treasurer;

(11) District tax received by county (or township) treasurer;

(12) Amount paid on teachers' wages;

(13) Amount paid for incidental expenses;

(14) Amount expended for purchasing site, erecting schoolhouses, rent and
repairs;

(15) Amount expended in canceling bonded indebtedness and paying interest
on same;

(16) Amount expended for library;

(17) Cash on hand at the end of the year;

(18) Such other information as may be required by the state board of
education. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-82, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158, A.L. 1979 H.B.
280, A.L. 1988 S.B. 789)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.220)

Whenever there is presented to the state board of education a
petition signed by voters in each district in the proposed special
district equal in number in each district to five percent of the number
of votes cast for school board members in the last annual school election
praying (a) that a special school district embracing the entire area
described in the petition be organized for the education and training of
handicapped and severely handicapped children and for vocational
education purposes; and (b) that a proposal be submitted to the voters of
the proposed district for the organization of the special school
district, the state board of education, unless section 162.835 applies,
shall, within thirty days of the receipt of said petition, direct the
board of education of each school district comprising the proposed
special district to cause the proposal to be submitted to the voters in
each such district at the next municipal election or, if the next annual
school election is more than sixty days away, cause the proposal to be
submitted to the voters in each such district at a special election
called in accordance with law on a date set by the state board of
education. The election shall be conducted in each school district
comprising the proposed special district in the manner provided by law
for the conducting of school district elections generally in sections
162.351 and 162.601, unless a different procedure is specifically
provided in sections 162.670 to 162.995. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 36, A.L.
1974 S.B. 571, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

A special school district organized under the provisions of
sections 162.670 to 162.995 may include more than one school district and
may be established irrespective of county boundaries. The boundaries of a
special school district organized under the provisions of sections
162.670 to 162.995 shall coincide with the boundaries of the school
districts included in the special district and the special school
district shall be in addition to the school districts comprising the
special district. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 37)

Effective 7-1-74

Where a petition for a special district proposes a district
whose boundaries do not coincide with county boundaries at all points,
the petition shall be reviewed and approved by the state board of
education before submission to the voters. In addition to the petition, a
feasibility study shall be presented to the state board of education. The
study shall include and the state board shall consider the proposed
district's feasibility as to need, financial adequacy, number of
students, other available services in the vicinity, and the needs of
surrounding districts not included. Where the proposed district has a
population in excess of one hundred thousand, there shall be presented to
the state board of education a plan for dividing the area of the proposed
special district into six election districts of equal population taking
into account, insofar as possible, the existing school district boundary
lines. Upon approval by the state board of education or, if no action is
taken by the state board of education, after the expiration of sixty days
from the date the petition is received by the state board of education,
the state board of education shall direct the board of directors of each
school district comprising the proposed special district to cause the
proposal to be submitted to the voters in each district in accordance
with section 162.825. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 38)

Effective 7-1-74

The question shall be submitted in substantially the following
form:

Shall there be organized a special school district comprising the school
districts of ........ (described by school district name and/or number),
state of Missouri, for vocational education and for the education and
training of handicapped and severely handicapped children, embracing the
entire area of these school districts, having the power to impose a
property tax not to exceed the annual rate of twenty-five cents on each
hundred dollars assessed valuation, and any additional tax that is
approved hereafter by vote thereon, and to be known as "The Special
School District of ........," as prayed for by a petition filed with
state board of education on the ....... day of ........, 20....? (L. 1973
H.B. 474 § 39, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

The district secretary shall record a copy of all reports made
by him to the state department of elementary and secondary education. He
shall also record in the record book of the district a correct plat of
the district, changing the same as often as alteration is made in the
boundary lines by the proper authority, and shall furnish the county
clerk and state department of elementary and secondary education with
copies of the same and shall officially notify them of any change
whenever made. (L. 1963 p. 200 § 3-84, A.L. 1973 H.B. 158)

(Source: RSMo 1959 § 165.237)

Effective 7-1-74

1. The results of the balloting at each polling place shall be
certified and transmitted to the state board of education and to the
board of education of each school district comprising the proposed
special district, immediately upon tabulation following the closing of
the polls. The proposal to organize the special school district, to
carry, must receive a majority of the total number of votes cast thereon
in the area comprising the proposed special district. The state board of
education from the results so certified and attested shall determine
whether the proposal for the organization of the special school district
has received a majority of the votes cast and shall certify the results
to the board of education of each school district comprising the proposed
special district. If the certificate shows that the proposition to
organize the school district has received a majority of the votes cast,
the state board of education shall then declare the special school
district organized.

2. If the proposal to organize the special district is approved, the
state board of education shall, within thirty days of the date of
approval, call an election in the special district at which the board of
education of the special district shall be elected; provided, however,
the date for such an election shall not be more than ninety days after
the date of approval. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 40, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)

1. The board of education of a special school district with a
population of not more than one hundred thousand persons shall consist of
seven members to be elected as provided in sections 162.670 to 162.995.
In addition to the duties required of boards of education of special
school districts with a population of not more than one hundred thousand
persons pursuant to sections 162.670 to 162.995, the board shall perform
the same duties and is subject to the same liabilities as the board of a
seven- director school district, other than an urban district, acting
under the general school laws of the state of Missouri.

2. The board of education of a special school district with a population
of not more than one hundred thousand persons shall have the power, in
addition to powers granted elsewhere in sections 162.670 to 162.995 and
in addition to powers granted to the boards of education of
seven-director school districts, other than urban districts, under the
general school laws of this state, to:

(1) Establish and operate programs for the education of handicapped and
severely handicapped children residing in the district subject to rules
and regulations of the state board of education and the state department
of elementary and secondary education promulgated pursuant to sections
162.670 to 162.995;

(2) Establish and operate programs for the vocational education of
residents of the district;

(3) Employ teachers and other personnel necessary to provide these
programs; and

(4) Do such other things as are necessary and incidental to any of the
foregoing powers whether set forth in sections 162.670 to 162.995 or in
the laws applicable to seven-director school districts, except urban
districts. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 42, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571, A.L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

1. In each special school district with a population in excess
of one hundred thousand persons, there is hereby established a "Governing
Council" which shall consist of one member of the board of education of
each school district, all or a portion of which is contained in the
special school district. The first governing council shall be formed on
or before May 31, 1996,* or the effective date of this section, May 24,
1996, whichever is later. Each member of the governing council shall be
elected by the board of education of the school district on which the
member serves. The board of education of a school district within the
special school district may elect a new member to the governing council
to fill a vacancy from that district and may replace the existing
district member on the governing council at any time, upon providing
written notice of the change to the secretary of the governing council.

2. The governing council of a special school district shall have the
following powers and duties:

(1) To establish such rules and procedures as may be necessary to carry
out its powers and duties as provided in this section;

(2) To elect a chairman, a secretary and such other officers as it deems
necessary;

(3) To review and give final approval of the annual budget of the special
school district subject to the following provisions:

(a) For the 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years, the board of
education of a special school district shall submit its proposed budget
to the governing council no later than April first prior to the beginning
of the school year, except that, for the 1996-97 school year only, the
board of education shall submit its proposed budget to the governing
council no later than thirty days after May 24, 1996. The governing
council shall then either accept this budget proposal or make any
amendments it deems appropriate and adopt the annual budget as amended no
later than sixty days after receipt of the proposed budget;

(b) For the 1999-2000 school year and each school year thereafter:

a. The board of education of a special school district shall develop, in
cooperation with the governing council, its annual budget which shall,
following adoption by the board, be submitted to the governing council no
later than April first prior to the beginning of the school year for
final approval;

b. The governing council shall accept or reject the proposed budget by
May first prior to the beginning of the school year. If rejected, the
proposed budget shall be returned to the board of education no later than
May first with a statement setting forth the reasons for the rejection;

c. The governing council and the board of education shall resolve any
differences regarding approval of the budget by June thirtieth prior to
the beginning of the school year;

(4) To annually review, conduct public hearings on and approve a rolling
five-year plan for the operation and management of the district which
shall be annually developed by the board of education of the special
school district. The plan shall contain, but not be limited to, the
following:

(a) The delivery of services;

(b) The structure, governance, administration and financial management of
the district;

(c) Cooperation with component school districts; and

(d) Responsiveness to the needs and concerns of the citizens of the
special school district.

The plan shall be first approved by the governing council on or before
December 31, 1996, and shall be reviewed and approved annually on or
before December thirty-first of each following year;

(5) To consult with the parental advisory committee established in
section 162.858;

(6) To hold at least four meetings per school year and such other
meetings, called by the chairman of the council, a majority of the
council members or the board of education of the special school district,
as may be necessary to transact business and fulfill the duties
established under this section. All meetings of the governing council
shall be open to the public, pursuant to chapter 610, RSMo. Minutes shall
be kept of all proceedings and shall be a public record;

(7) To compel the attendance of the superintendent, members of the board
of education, or any employee of the special school district and the
production of papers, records, testimony, and other materials relating to
the special school district, and to administer oaths to witnesses and
take testimony under oath;

(8) To conduct a study to determine whether a plan should be developed
whereby the local school districts assume greater responsibility and
authority in the education of children with disabilities.

3. Unless a greater majority is otherwise required, all actions of the
governing council shall require a majority of the authorized members who
represent at least fifty percent of the population of the district.
Population figures shall be adjusted based on the latest census data
available. (L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

*Governing council shall be formed on or before May 31, 1996, the later
date.

1. The board of education of a special school district with a
population of more than one hundred thousand persons shall consist of
seven members to be elected as provided in section 162.867. In addition
to the duties required of boards of education of special school districts
pursuant to sections 162.670 to 162.995, the board shall perform the same
duties and is subject to the same liabilities as the board of a
seven-director school district, other than an urban district, acting
under the general school laws of the state of Missouri, except that those
powers and duties specifically reserved to the governing council pursuant
to section 162.856 shall remain with the governing council and shall not
be granted to the board of education.

2. The board of education of a special school district with a population
of more than one hundred thousand persons shall have the power to:

(1) Establish and operate programs for the education of handicapped and
severely handicapped children residing in the district subject to rules
and regulations of the state board of education and the state department
of elementary and secondary education promulgated pursuant to sections
162.670 to 162.995;

(2) Develop and adopt the annual budget for submission and final approval
of the governing council;

(3) To authorize all tax levies by two-thirds approval of the board of
education prior to submission of the tax levy proposal to the voters of
the district as provided by law;

(4) Annually develop and submit to the governing council of the district
for approval a five-year plan for the operation and management of the
district required pursuant to section 162.856. In developing the plan,
the board of education shall solicit a broad range of public input;

(5) Establish and operate programs for the vocational education of
residents of the district;

(6) Employ teachers and other personnel necessary to provide these
programs;

(7) Ensure that there is no coercion or interference with any parent of a
pupil of the special school district on account of the parent having
exercised any rights under any law affecting the education of the pupil;
and

(8) Do such other things as are necessary and incidental to any of the
foregoing powers whether set forth in sections 162.670 to 162.995 or in
the laws applicable to seven-director school districts, except urban
districts. (L. 1996 S.B. 687, A.L. 1997 S.B. 146, A.L. 1998 S.B. 488,
A.L. 1999 H.B. 889)

1. On or before July 1, 1997, and every four years thereafter, a
public review committee shall be appointed to conduct a thorough review
of a special school district with a population greater than one hundred
thousand persons including the structure, governance, administration,
financial management, delivery of services, cooperation with component
school districts, the district's role as an advocate for handicapped and
severely handicapped children, compliance with sections 162.850 to
162.859, regarding conflicts and responsiveness to the needs and concerns
of the citizens of the special school district. The committee shall
investigate, document and determine the validity or invalidity to the
extent possible of allegations relating to these matters. Any such
allegation shall be addressed in writing and shall be delivered to the
governing council and school board for resolution, as required. The
committee shall consist of three members appointed by the commissioner of
education, three members appointed by the governing council of the
district and three members appointed by the parental advisory committee
established in this section*. All members of the public review committee
shall be registered voters of the special school district who have
resided within the state for one year next preceding the appointment of
the committee and who are at least twenty-four years of age. The
committee may hold public hearings and gather information and shall make
recommendations based upon factual findings. No later than July first of
the year following the year in which the committee is appointed, the
committee shall complete its review and submit a report containing its
findings and recommendations to the board of education of the special
school district, the governing council and the general assembly, and the
report shall be made available to the public upon request. The department
of elementary and secondary education shall provide staff resources to
assist in the review, and the district budget shall provide sufficient
resources, including staff and consultants, upon request of the public
review committee. The public review committee may propose, if needed, a
revised structure of the board of education of the special school
district, or a revised structure for the selection of the members of the
board of education of the special school district, or both, and may cause
the county election authority to place such proposal before the voters of
the special school district for approval and adoption, and any such issue
shall become effective thirty days after approval and adoption by the
voters of the district or on such other, later date as provided in the
issue placed before the voters. Any such issue shall be proposed no later
than July first of the year following the year in which the committee is
appointed, and the issue shall be submitted to the voters on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the year following the year
in which the committee is appointed in the manner provided pursuant to
chapter 115, RSMo. The structure of the board of education and the
selection of members of the board of education of a special school
district with a population of more than one hundred thousand persons
shall be as established pursuant to section 162.867, except as may be
otherwise approved by the voters of the special school district under
this subsection.

2. There is hereby established a parental advisory committee which shall
consult with the governing council and the board of education on issues
involving pupils or parents of pupils of the district, including
procedures for parental rights in resolution conferences and other
proceedings regarding disputes between a parent and the local school
district, the special school district or both, over the education of a
pupil. The governing council shall establish a process for selection of
the members of the parental advisory committee which shall provide for
members to be independently selected by parents of pupils of the special
school district. (L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

*Original rolls contain "section 162.858".

All board members elected pursuant to section 162.867 shall file
financial interest statements pursuant to section 105.483, RSMo. (L. 1996
S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

Candidates for membership on the board of education of a special
school district with a population of not more than one hundred thousand
persons shall be citizens of the United States and voters of the proposed
district who have resided within the state for one year next preceding
the election and who are at least twenty-four years of age. All
candidates shall file their declarations of candidacy with the secretary
of the state board of education. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 43, A.L. 1978 H.B.
971, A.L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

The board members of a special school district with a population
of not more than one hundred thousand persons shall be elected at large.
The seven receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected and the
three receiving the highest number of votes cast shall be elected for
terms of three years each; the two receiving the next highest number of
votes cast shall be elected for terms of two years each; and the two
receiving the next highest number of votes cast shall be elected for
terms of one year each. That part of the year between the date of the
election of board members and the municipal election day of the following
year is considered a full year in the terms of the members elected. All
board members shall serve until their successors are elected and
qualified and the state board of education shall issue certificates of
election to the board members elected. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 44, A.L. 1978
H.B. 971, A.L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

1. Board of education members of a special school district with
a population of more than one hundred thousand persons in office on
August 28, 1999, shall serve the remainder of their terms and shall serve
until their successors are duly elected and qualified pursuant to this
section.

2. On and after August 28, 1999, each new member of a board of education
of a special school district with a population of more than one hundred
thousand persons shall be elected pursuant to this section by the
governing council established pursuant to section 162.856.

3. Pursuant to this section, each qualified candidate for the board of
education of a special school district with a population of more than one
hundred thousand persons shall:

(1) Be a voter of the district who has resided within the state for one
year next preceding selection to the board and is resident in the
subdistrict in which the candidate files;

(2) Be at least twenty-four years of age.

4. No member of the board of education of a special school district with
a population of more than one hundred thousand persons shall:

(1) Vote on, solicit, transact, offer, or accept any contract between the
special school district and any corporation, partnership, association, or
other organization in which that member of the board of education has a
financial interest, unless otherwise provided herein, excluding interests
owned prior to such member's election;

(2) Hold any office or employment of profit from the board of education
of the special school district while serving. However, nothing in this
section shall be construed to preclude a person from being elected to or
serving on the board of education of the special school district on the
basis that the person is related to a pupil of the special school
district or to a pupil of any school district all or a portion of which
is contained within the special school district; or

(3) Vote on, solicit, transact, offer, or accept any contract or
procurement in which that board member shall have a direct or indirect
beneficial interest, unless:

(a) The material facts as to such member's relationship or interest and
as to the contract or transaction are disclosed in writing and are known
to the board and governing council, and such governing council and board,
in good faith, authorize the contract or transaction by the affirmative
vote of the majority of the disinterested members; and

(b) Such member's relationship or interest in such contract or
transaction shall not be voted upon by such interested member.

5. Beginning in April, 1997, and every third year thereafter, two members
shall be elected. Beginning in April, 1998, and every third year
thereafter, two members shall be elected. Beginning in April, 1999, and
every third year thereafter, three members shall be elected. A member
shall be elected to fill each open seat on the board of education.

6. Board members shall serve three-year terms and shall serve until their
successors are duly elected and qualified.

7. The board of education shall, upon formation and each decade within
ninety days following the publication of the final decennial census
figures thereafter, adopt a resolution calling for the formation of a
redistricting committee. Upon adoption of such resolution, the secretary
of the board of education shall forward a certified copy thereof to the
state board of education. The redistricting committee shall consist of
three residents within the district, appointed by the board of education
of the special school district, plus three additional persons resident
within the special school district, appointed by the state board of
education. Thereafter, the redistricting committee shall meet, organize
itself with a chairman and secretary, and proceed with the adoption of a
redistricting plan. Any plan proposed to be adopted must receive approval
of a majority of the whole redistricting committee. Upon adoption, the
redistricting committee shall forward a copy of the plan certified by the
secretary of the redistricting committee to the state board of education
for its approval or disapproval. The state board of education shall
approve any redistricting plan which divides the special district into
seven subdistricts of equal population, taking into account insofar as
possible existing school district boundary lines. Upon approval by the
state board of education, the redistricting plan shall become effective
and all board members selected thereafter shall be selected from
subdistricts in which they are resident. If the plan is not approved,
then it shall be returned to the redistricting committee for revision and
resubmission. If a redistricting plan has not been adopted within one
year after the publication of the decennial census figures, the state
board of education shall provide the redistricting plan. No member of the
redistricting committee shall serve on the board of education for a
period of six years following such service on the redistricting committee.

8. The structure of the board of education and the selection of members
of the board of education of a special school district with a population
of more than one hundred thousand persons shall be as established
pursuant to this section, except as may be otherwise approved by the
voters of the special school district under section 162.858. (L. 1996
S.B. 687, A.L. 1999 H.B. 889)

The results of board elections conducted pursuant to section
162.865 shall be certified and transmitted to the state board of
education and to the board of education of each school district
comprising the special district, immediately upon tabulation following
the closing of the polls. The state board of education, from the results
so certified, shall determine the members elected to the board of
education and shall issue certificates of election to the persons
entitled thereto. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 45, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1996
S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

When the new district is organized, it shall be a body corporate
and political subdivision of the state and shall be known as "The Special
District of ......" (a name selected by the governing board) and, in that
name, may sue and be sued, levy and collect taxes within the limitations
of the Constitution of Missouri* and section 162.920, issue bonds and
possess the same corporate powers as seven-director school districts,
other than urban districts. All constitutional provisions and laws
applicable to the organization and government of seven-director school
districts, other than urban districts, are applicable to districts
organized prior to the passage of sections 162.670 to 162.995. (L. 1973
H.B. 474 § 46)

Effective 7-1-74

*Words "of Missouri" do not appear in original rolls.

The board of education of the special district may establish
schools within any school district comprising the special district for
any of the children designated in sections 162.670 to 162.995 and may
establish programs for any such children within any school district
included in the special district in classrooms furnished by the school
district, if the number of children available for instruction in such
classrooms is sufficient under standards determined by the state
department of elementary and secondary education. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 47)

Effective 7-1-74

The determination of whether a child is eligible for the
programs of the special district for the handicapped or severely
handicapped shall be made by the special district in accordance with
rules and regulations adopted by the state board of education pursuant to
section 162.685. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 48)

Effective 7-1-74

If a special district is organized in any area of this state
under the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.995, neither the state
board of education nor any school district within the special district
shall be required to establish schools or classes for the training or
education of handicapped or severely handicapped children under any other
existing law, except that the component districts included in a newly
formed special district and the state board of education shall continue
to provide services formerly provided for children residing in the
district until the resources of the special district are sufficient to
permit its assuming such responsibilities. In no instance shall component
districts or the state board of education be required to provide special
education classes for the training or education of these children for
more than one school term after the special district has been formed. (L.
1973 H.B. 474 § 49, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130)

The special school district shall provide free vocational
instruction for children under the age of twenty-one years resident
within the district's boundaries. The vocational program of instruction
shall be approved by the state department of elementary and secondary
education and shall be so designed as to provide sufficient vocational
and academic training for the student to receive a high school diploma at
the completion of the twelfth grade. The board of education of the
special school district, subject to the approval of the state department
of elementary and secondary education, shall establish standards for
admission to vocational programs operated by the district. (L. 1973 H.B.
474 § 50, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571)

1. The board of education of each special school district shall
provide for the free transportation of all children under the age of
twenty-one years residing in the special district who attend its classes
or schools and shall make all needed rules and regulations for the free
transportation of these children.

2. A special school district is entitled to state transportation aid
under section 162.985 for handicapped and severely handicapped children
and under section 163.161, RSMo, for children attending the vocational
education program of the special district. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 51, A.L.
1974 S.B. 571)

Any special school district may, at the discretion of its board
of education and upon the request of component local districts, serve as
a coordinating agency for cooperative activities including but not
limited to group purchasing, centralized computer services, audiovisual
services and library services for the school districts served by the
special district. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 52)

Effective 7-1-74

At the elections conducted pursuant to section 162.865, the
voters of a special district with a population of not more than one
hundred thousand persons shall elect, by ballot, two board members to
succeed those whose terms have expired and the board members so elected
shall hold office for terms of three years and until their successors
have been elected and qualified and shall assume the duties of their
offices at the first regular meeting of the board of education held after
their election. Candidates shall file their declarations of candidacy for
office of board member with the secretary of the board of education of
the special school district. A majority of the then qualified members of
the board of education of the special school district shall certify the
candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for terms of three
years each and until their successors shall have been elected and
qualified, and shall declare and certify the results of the vote cast on
any question presented at the election. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 53, A.L. 1978
H.B. 971, A.L. 1996 S.B. 687)

Effective 5-24-96

1. The board of education of a special school district may
acquire by purchase, lease, gift, bequest, eminent domain or otherwise
all necessary lands, buildings, equipment, and supplies including
transportation facilities, to carry out its responsibilities under
sections 162.670 to 162.995. Whenever the board of education selects
property or additional property for school purposes and cannot agree with
the owner thereof as to the price to be paid, or for any other reason
cannot secure a title thereto, the board may proceed to condemn the
property in the manner provided in chapter 523, RSMo, and upon such
condemnation and payment of the appraisement as provided, the title to
the property shall vest in the special school district.

2. The board of education of a special district may locate the sites of
schools, offices, playgrounds and other necessary facilities at such
places within the district as it deems in the best interests of the
district. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 54)

Effective 7-1-74

1. The initial tax imposed on property subject to the taxing
power of a special school district under article X, section 11(a) of the
Constitution of Missouri shall not exceed the annual rate of twenty-five
cents on each hundred dollars assessed valuation, which tax rate shall be
used for the district's programs for the education and training of
handicapped and severely handicapped children and for vocational
education as provided by sections 162.670 to 162.995.

2. Increases in the tax rate may be made with voter approval in the same
manner as provided in chapter 164, RSMo, for other school districts. (L.
1973 H.B. 474 § 55, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571)

All real and tangible personal property owned by railroads,
street railways, bridge companies, telegraph companies, electric light
and power companies, electric transmission line companies, pipeline
companies, express companies, airline companies and other companies and
public utilities whose property is assessed by the state tax commission
shall be taxed at the same rate of taxation levied on other property in
the special school district and said property shall be taxed in the same
manner and to the same extent as property which is subject to assessment
and taxation for general county purposes, and all of the provisions of
chapters 151, 153, 154 and 155, RSMo, shall apply to taxation by special
school districts to the same extent as if special school districts were
specifically included in the provisions contained in chapters 151, 153,
154 and 155, RSMo, except that the taxes levied by special school
districts shall not be included for the purpose of determining the
average school levy for the other school districts in the county in which
they are situated. The taxes levied against the property by special
school districts shall be collected in the same manner as general county
taxes. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 56)

Effective 7-1-74

The department of elementary and secondary education shall
inspect all programs for the handicapped and severely handicapped
established under the provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.995 and, upon
its approval, the special school district shall receive state aid under
the provisions of sections 162.935, 162.975, and 162.980 and sections
163.161, 163.172, 168.500, and 168.520, RSMo. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 57,
A.L. 1986 H.B. 1441)

1. Except as provided in subsection 3 of this section, each
special district formed under provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.999
shall receive an amount equal to the district's weighted average daily
attendance multiplied by the state adequacy target multiplied by the
dollar value modifier minus local effort minus payments from the
classroom trust fund. A student enrolled in classes or programs in both
the special district and a component district or a pupil enrolled in a
local district who needs itinerant or temporary services provided by the
special district shall continue his enrollment in the local district for
purposes of apportionment of state aid on average daily attendance. The
special district may include the pupil in classes approved for special
categorical aid. The district providing transportation may claim state
transportation aid.

2. Any special school district which is in a county of the first
classification which has a population greater than nine hundred thousand
is entitled to apportionment of state aid even though the tax rate levied
by the special school district is less than that required by section
163.021, RSMo.

3. For the purposes of determining state aid pursuant to section 163.031,
RSMo, the weighted average daily attendance of a school district within
any special school district which is not in a county of the first
classification which has a population greater than nine hundred thousand
shall reflect the average daily attendance of all pupils resident in the
district and educated by the district or by the special school district,
or both. The department shall pay the funds so calculated to the school
district. The school district shall pay monthly to the special school
district the proportional amount of state aid based on the weighted
average daily attendance of students educated by the special school
district to the total weighted average daily attendance of students
educated by the district and the special school district. (L. 1973 H.B.
474 § 58, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1441, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781, A.L. 2005 S.B. 287)

*Effective 7-1-06

1. Except as provided in subsection 3 of this section, each
special district formed under provisions of sections 162.670 to 162.999
shall receive an amount for each eligible pupil equal to the sum of the
amounts received by all districts comprising the special district for the
current school year under provisions of section 163.031, RSMo, divided by
the total number of eligible pupils in the schools of such districts. A
student enrolled in classes or programs in both the special district and
a component district or a pupil enrolled in a local district who needs
itinerant or temporary services provided by the special district shall
continue his enrollment in the local district for purposes of
apportionment of state aid on average daily attendance. The special
district may include the pupil in classes approved for special
categorical aid. The district providing transportation may claim state
transportation aid.

2. Any special school district which is in a county of the first
classification which has a population greater than nine hundred thousand
is entitled to apportionment of state aid even though the tax rate levied
by the special school district is less than that required by section
163.021, RSMo.

3. For the purposes of determining state aid pursuant to section 163.031,
RSMo, the operating levy for school purposes of a school district within
any special school district which is not in a county of the first
classification which has a population greater than nine hundred thousand
shall include the operating levy for school purposes of the special
school district in which such school district is located, and the
district's number of eligible pupils shall reflect the average daily
attendance of all pupils resident in the district and educated by the
district or by the special school district, or both. The department shall
pay the funds so calculated to the school district and the special school
district, respectively, in the same proportion as the school district's
operating levy or special school district's operating levy, respectively,
bears to the total of the operating levies of the school district and the
special school district, except this distribution shall not decrease any
district's allocation of formula money per eligible pupil below that
which the district received for the 1992-93 school year. Such state aid
shall constitute foundation formula state aid provided to such special
school district pursuant to section 163.031, RSMo. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 §
58, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1441, A.L. 1998 S.B. 781)

*This section was amended by S.B. 287, 2005, effective 7-1-06. Consult
RSMo 2000 for existing section.

The board of education of the special school district shall
determine as nearly as possible the per capita cost of its programs and
file the same with the state department of elementary and secondary
education. Upon approval thereof by the state department of elementary
and secondary education, the board of education of the special school
district shall require of all resident students over twenty-one years of
age and all nonresident students desiring to participate in the programs
of the special school district a tuition fee in an amount approved by the
state department of elementary and secondary education. (L. 1973 H.B. 474
§ 59, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571)

The responsible local school district, the responsible special
school district, or the state department of elementary and secondary
education shall notify in writing by first class mail to the last known
address or by personal service every parent or guardian of every child
diagnosed, evaluated, reevaluated or assigned under the provisions of
sections 162.670 to 162.995 of the results of any diagnosis, evaluation
or reevaluation made pursuant to the terms of sections 162.670 to 162.995
and of the recommended assignment, change in assignment, or denial of
assignment of the child to a class or program provided under sections
162.670 to 162.995. The notice shall advise the parent or guardian that,
upon request, the parent or guardian shall be permitted to inspect, at
the school attended by the child or at another convenient place at any
time during regular school hours, all records pertaining to said child
including all diagnoses, evaluations and reevaluations obtained by the
responsible school district or the state department of elementary and
secondary education. The notice shall also contain information as to the
procedure for requesting a review of any action taken by the local school
district or special district or the state department of elementary and
secondary education. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 § 60, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130)

1. The notification shall contain the information that upon
written request to the board of education or to the state department of
elementary and secondary education the parent or guardian will be
entitled to a resolution conference to review the action advised of in
the notice. Such a conference, if requested, shall be held not more than
ten days after receipt of the request unless the parent or guardian
agrees to a later time. If no request for a resolution conference is
made, the assignment or other action shall be made.

2. The notification shall also contain the information that upon written
request by the parent or guardian to the board of education or to the
state department of elementary and secondary education, whatever the case
may be, the board of education or the state department of elementary and
secondary education shall cause a reevaluation to be made. (L. 1973 H.B.
474 § 61, A.L. 1979 H.B. 343, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1151, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1397)

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, during the
pendency of any administrative or judicial proceeding pursuant to
sections 162.950, 162.961 and 162.963 no change in the assignment or
status of a handicapped or severely handicapped child shall be made
except that such change may be made with the written consent of the
parent or guardian. If written consent cannot be obtained and the child
is endangering himself or others, the assignment or status can be changed
pursuant to court order, but without prejudice to any rights that the
child and the parent or guardian may have pursuant to sections 162.670 to
162.999 or otherwise pursuant to law.

2. During the pendency of any administrative or judicial proceeding
pursuant to sections 162.950, 162.961 and 162.963, to challenge a
placement changed because of a disciplinary action to an interim
alternative educational setting or to challenge the manifestation
determination in connection with a disciplinary change of placement, the
child shall remain in the interim alternative educational setting pending
the due process hearing or until expiration of the time period of the
interim alternative educational setting, whichever first occurs, unless
the parent and responsible public agency agree otherwise.

3. If during an interim alternative educational setting arranged because
of a disciplinary action involving weapons, drugs, or serious bodily
injury, or because the child is a danger to himself or others, the
responsible educational agency proposes to change the child's placement
after expiration of the interim placement, and the parents challenge the
proposed change by requesting a due process hearing, the child shall
remain in his current placement, which is the placement before the
interim alternative educational setting, during pending proceedings to
challenge the change. The responsible educational agency may request an
expedited hearing pursuant to section 162.961, if it is believed it is
dangerous for the child to remain in the current placement. (L. 1973 H.B.
474 § 62, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1151, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1376 & 1501, A.L. 1998 H.B.
1683, A.L. 2005 H.B. 276)

Any due process proceeding or resulting mediation shall be
processed under the law in effect at the time the request was initiated.
(L. 1996 H.B. 1376 & 1501)

1. As used in this section, "mediation" is the process by which
a neutral mediator assists the parties in reaching a mutually acceptable
voluntary and consensual agreement in the best interests of the child as
to issues contained in the notice pursuant to section 162.945. The role
of the mediator is to aid the parties in identifying the issues, reducing
misunderstandings, clarifying priorities, exploring areas of common
interest and finding points of agreement. An agreement reached by the
parties shall be based on the decisions of the parties and not the
decisions of the mediator. The agreement reached may resolve all or only
some of the disputed issues.

2. Whenever a hearing has been requested pursuant to section 162.961, on
any matter in dispute under section 162.961, and the dispute has not been
finally resolved, the parties shall be offered an opportunity for
mediation to resolve the dispute. Mediation shall also be made available
to parties prior to the request for a hearing. Use of mediation shall be
mutually agreed upon by both parties unless federal law provides to the
contrary. The department of elementary and secondary education shall
ensure that impartial mediation is provided at no cost to parents or
guardians and the participating school district when requested pursuant
to this section.

3. School districts may not use mediation to deny or delay the parents'
right to a due-process hearing pursuant to section 162.961, or to deny
the parents any other rights afforded pursuant to this chapter.

4. Mediation conducted pursuant to this section shall be scheduled within
fifteen days of selecting a mediator at a time and place mutually
acceptable to all parties engaged in mediation.

5. Mediation conducted pursuant to this section shall be completed within
thirty days of agreement to mediate and may be terminated by either party
at any time.

6. Any mediation agreement reached pursuant to this section shall be in
writing, signed by the parties, and delivered to all parties engaged in
the mediation. The responsible public agency or its designee shall sign
the agreement. The designee identified by the responsible public agency
shall have the authority to bind the agency. A local board of education,
as a responsible public agency, may identify a designee with authority to
bind the school district. The written agreement is a legally binding
agreement that sets forth the resolution and must state that all
discussions that occurred during the mediation process shall be
confidential and may not be used as evidence in any subsequent due
process hearing or civil proceeding. The agreement is enforceable in any
state court of competent jurisdiction or in a district court of the
United States.

7. Mediators shall be selected by mutual agreement of the parents or
guardians and the participating school district or responsible
educational agency from a list maintained by the department of elementary
and secondary education. Any mediator selected shall meet training,
impartiality and assessment requirements pursuant to regulations
promulgated by the department of elementary and secondary education.

8. No attorney shall attend or participate on behalf of any party at the
mediation session although the parent or guardian may be accompanied by a
lay advocate. Each party may be accompanied by no more than three
persons, with additional participants allowed only by mutual agreement.
(L. 1996 H.B. 1376 & 1501, A.L. 2005 H.B. 276)

1. The resolution conference provided for in section 162.950
shall be conducted by the chief administrative officer of the responsible
school district or a designee. The conference shall be informal,
witnesses need not be sworn and a record of the proceedings need not be
made. The school district or the state department of elementary and
secondary education shall see that the parent or guardian or his
representative is advised of and permitted to review all diagnoses,
evaluations and reevaluations obtained by the board of education or the
state department of elementary and secondary education which pertain to
the child. The school district or state department of elementary and
secondary education shall fully advise the parents or guardian or their
representative of each reason relied upon by it in taking the proposed
action. The parents or guardian or their representative may present any
information whether written or oral to the officer which pertains to the
recommended action. Questioning of all witnesses shall be permitted.

2. The resolution conference may be waived by the parents or guardian. If
the parent or guardian waives the resolution conference and requests a
three-member panel hearing, the state board of education shall empower
such a panel pursuant to subsection 3 of this section. That empowerment
shall take place within fifteen days of the request for the three-member
panel hearing.

3. A parent, guardian or the responsible educational agency may request a
due process hearing by the state board of education with respect to any
matter relating to identification, evaluation, educational placement, or
the provision of a free appropriate public education of the child. Such
request shall include the child's name, address, school, issue, and
suggested resolution of dispute if known. Except as provided in
subsection 6 of this section, the board or its delegated representative
shall within fifteen days after receiving notice empower a hearing panel
of three persons who are not directly connected with the original
decision and who are not employees of the board to which the appeal has
been made. All of the panel members shall have some knowledge or training
involving children with disabilities, none shall have a personal or
professional interest which would conflict with his or her objectivity in
the hearing, and all shall meet the department of elementary and
secondary education's training and assessment requirements pursuant to
state regulations and federal law and regulation requirements of the
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. One person shall be chosen
by the local school district board or its delegated representative or the
responsible educational agency, and one person shall be chosen at the
recommendation of the parent or guardian. If either party has not chosen
a panel member ten days after the receipt by the department of elementary
and secondary education of the request for a due process hearing, such
panel member shall be chosen instead by the department of elementary and
secondary education. Each of these two panel members shall be compensated
pursuant to a rate set by the department of elementary and secondary
education. The third person shall be appointed by the state board of
education and shall serve as the chairperson of the panel. The
chairperson shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in this state.
During the pendency of any three-member panel hearing, or prior to the
empowerment of the panel, the parties may, by mutual agreement, submit
their dispute to a mediator pursuant to section 162.959.

4. The parent or guardian, school official, and other persons affected by
the action in question shall present to the hearing panel all pertinent
evidence relative to the matter under appeal. All rights and privileges
as described in section 162.963 shall be permitted.

5. After review of all evidence presented and a proper deliberation, the
hearing panel, within forty-five days of receipt of the request for a due
process hearing, except as provided in subsection 6 of this section
relating to expedited hearings, shall by majority vote determine its
findings, conclusions, and decision in the matter in question and forward
the written decision to the parents or guardian of the child and to the
president of the appropriate local board of education or responsible
educational agency and to the department of elementary and secondary
education. A specific extension of the time line may be made by the
chairman at the request of either party, except in the case of an
expedited hearing as provided in subsection 6 of this section.

6. An expedited due process hearing by the state board of education may
be requested by a parent to challenge a disciplinary change of placement
or to challenge a manifestation determination in connection with a
disciplinary change of placement or by a responsible educational agency
to seek a forty-five school day alternative educational placement for a
dangerous or violent student. The board or its delegated representative
shall appoint a hearing officer to hear the case and render a decision
within the time line required by federal law and state regulations
implementing federal law. The hearing officer shall be an attorney
licensed to practice law in this state. The hearing officer shall have
some knowledge or training involving children with disabilities, shall
not have a personal or professional interest which would conflict with
his or her objectivity in the hearing, and shall meet the department of
elementary and secondary education's training and assessment requirements
pursuant to state regulations and federal law and regulation requirements
of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. A specific extension
of the time line is only permissible to the extent consistent with
federal law and pursuant to state regulations.

7. If the responsible public agency requests a due process hearing to
seek a forty-five school day alternative educational placement for a
dangerous or violent student, the agency shall show by substantial
evidence that there is a substantial likelihood the student will injure
himself or others and that the agency made reasonable efforts to minimize
that risk, and shall show that the forty-five school day alternative
educational placement will provide a free appropriate public education
which includes services and modifications to address the behavior so that
it does not reoccur, and continue to allow progress in the general
education curriculum.

8. Any due process hearing request and responses to the request shall
conform to the requirements of the Individuals With Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA). Determination of the sufficiency shall be made by
the chairperson of the three-member hearing panel, or in the case of an
expedited due process hearing, by the hearing officer. The chairperson or
hearing officer shall implement the process and procedures, including
time lines, required by the IDEA, related to sufficiency of notice,
response to notice, determination of sufficiency dispute, and amendments
of the notice.

9. A preliminary meeting, known as a resolution session, shall be
convened by the responsible public agency, under the requirements of the
IDEA. The process and procedures required by the IDEA in connection to
the resolution session and any resulting written settlement agreement
shall be implemented. (L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1979 H.B. 343, A.L. 1992
H.B. 1151, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1397, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1376 & 1501, A.L. 1998
H.B. 1683, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2023, A.L. 2005 H.B. 276)

(Source: RSMo Supp. 1975 § 162.960)

In a case where review of the hearing panel's decision is sought
by a school district or a parent or guardian, either party may appeal as
follows:

(1) The court shall hear the case without a jury and shall:

(a) Receive the records of the administrative proceedings;

(b) Hear additional evidence at the request of a party; and

(c) Grant the relief that the court determines to be appropriate, basing
its decision on the preponderance of the evidence;

(2) Appeals may be taken from the judgment of the court as in other civil
cases;

(3) Judicial review of the hearing panel's decision may be instituted by
filing a petition in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction.
Appeals to state court shall be filed within forty-five days after the
receipt of the notice of the agency's final decision;

(4) Except when provided otherwise within this chapter or Part 300 of
Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the provisions of chapter
536, RSMo, are applicable to special education due process hearings and
appeal of same. (L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L. 1979 H.B. 343, A.L. 1992 H.B.
1151, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1397, A.L. 2002 H.B. 2023, A.L. 2003 H.B. 655)

1. At any hearing held pursuant to the provisions of section
162.961, except as otherwise provided in this section, either party or a
representative shall be entitled to:

(1) Be accompanied and advised by counsel and by individuals with special
knowledge or training with respect to the problems of children with
disabilities;

(2) Present evidence and confront, cross-examine, and compel the
attendance of witnesses;

(3) Prohibit the introduction of any evidence, including all evaluations
and recommendations based on the offering party's evaluation, at the
hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at least five business
days before the hearing, except this shall not be applicable in the case
of an expedited hearing where no discovery shall take place;

(4) Obtain a written or, at the option of the parents, electronic
verbatim record of the hearing; and

(5) Obtain written or, at the option of the parents, electronic findings
of fact and decision.

2. Parents involved in hearings have the right to have the child who is
the subject of the hearing present and the right to open the hearing to
the public.

3. Prior to the resolution conference or hearing, the parent or guardian
or a representative of the parent or guardian shall have access to any
reports, records, clinical evaluations or other materials upon which the
action to be reviewed was wholly or partially based which could
reasonably have a bearing on the correctness of the determination.

4. A complete record shall be made of all proceedings unless otherwise
specified by statute, which records shall include verbatim transcription
of all testimony and shall include all documents, writings, or other
evidence presented by any party. Costs incurred during these proceedings,
except those of the parties for purchasing diagnostic services or legal
counsel or other services of a personal nature, shall be the
responsibility of the state board of education. (L. 1977 H.B. 130, A.L.
1979 H.B. 343, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1151, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1397, A.L. 1996 H.B.
1376 & 1501, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1683)

1. The state department of elementary and secondary education
shall reimburse school districts, including special school districts, for
the educational costs of high-need children with an individualized
education program exceeding three times the current expenditure per
average daily attendance as calculated on the district annual secretary
of the board report for the year in which expenditures are claimed.

2. A school district shall submit, through timely application, as
determined by the state department of elementary and secondary education,
the cost of serving any student, as provided in subsection 1 of this
section. (L. 2005 S.B. 287)

1. Each school district or special school district which
provides approved special education services for handicapped or severely
handicapped children under sections 162.670 to 162.995 or approved
extended school year services for such children, shall be entitled under
section 163.031, RSMo, to receive state aid. Additional state aid for
such programs shall be allocated as follows in the following order of
priority:

(1) A school district or special school district shall receive state aid
for each child receiving services on homebound status or served by
contractual arrangement with a private or public agency approved by the
department of elementary and secondary education. The amount paid from
state aid for such services shall be adjusted annually by the percent
change in the appropriation of state funds to this section for the
current fiscal year compared with that for the first preceding fiscal
year.

(2) A school district or special school district shall receive state aid
for approved extended school year services for handicapped or severely
handicapped children. Prior to full implementation of subdivisions (4),
(5) and (6) of this subsection, state aid paid for each approved staff
member shall bear the same ratio to the amount payable for such staff
during the immediate preceding school year as the ratio of the number of
hours in the approved extended school year program bears to the number of
hours in regular term programs for each respective school district or
special school district approved under this section; provided that this
amount shall be adjusted annually by the percentage change in the
appropriation of state funds to this section for the current fiscal year
compared with the appropriation level for the first preceding fiscal
year. After full implementation of subdivisions (4), (5) and (6) of this
subsection, state aid shall be paid for each approved staff in an amount
which bears the same ratio to the amount payable for such staff during
the immediate preceding school year as the ratio of the number of hours
in the approved extended school year program bears to the number of hours
in regular term programs for each respective school district or special
school district approved pursuant to this section; provided that the
amount payable per approved staff member pursuant to this subdivision for
the year of full implementation of subdivisions (4), (5) and (6) of this
subsection and thereafter shall be, on a prorated basis, two times the
amount payable per approved staff member pursuant to subdivision (4) of
this subsection for the current school year.

(3) The division of youth services within the Missouri department of
social services shall receive state aid for approved special education
services. State aid shall be paid for each full-time equivalent
professional and paraprofessional staff member approved by the department
of elementary and secondary education at the rate paid during the first
full fiscal year preceding the year in which this section becomes
effective plus an annual adjustment equal to the percent change in the
appropriation of state funds to this section for the current fiscal year
compared with the appropriation level for the first preceding year.

(4) A school district or special school district shall receive state aid
for approved professional and paraprofessional staff who are employed or
contracted to provide special education services for handicapped and
severely handicapped children, including staff used by a school district
or special school district to provide services before and after the
normal school day for students attending nonpublic schools, who are in
compliance with section 167.031, RSMo. Each school district or special
school district employing or contracting for professional services or
paraprofessional staff in the provision of special education services, as
defined and approved by the department of elementary and secondary
education, shall receive state aid at a full-time equivalent rate based
upon the total allocation of funds pursuant to this subdivision, after
sufficient funds are allocated for subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this
subsection. Paraprofessional staff shall be paid at one-half the rate
paid full-time equivalents of professional staff and contractors.

(5) Each school district or special school district providing special
education services for handicapped or severely handicapped children shall
receive state aid pursuant to section 163.031, RSMo, for each such
eligible pupil, and such school district shall receive state aid for each
child domiciled in the district and enrolled in a nonpublic school, who
are in compliance with section 167.031, RSMo. The per resident student
rate paid for students enrolled in nonpublic schools shall be one-half
that paid per eligible pupil for students enrolled in a school district
or special school district.

(6) No more than fifty percent of the total state aid appropriated
pursuant to subdivisions (4) and (5) of this subsection shall be
distributed pursuant to subdivision (5) of this subsection. No less than
fifty percent of the state aid appropriated pursuant to subdivisions (4)
and (5) of this subsection shall be distributed pursuant to subdivision
(4) of this subsection. A sufficient share of the funds appropriated
pursuant to this subsection shall be appropriated pursuant to
subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this subsection to meet the requirements
of those subdivisions. To the extent allowed by appropriations, the share
of funds appropriated pursuant to subdivisions (4) and (5) of this
subsection under subdivision (5) shall be increased until that share is
equal to fifty percent, at which time subdivisions (4), (5) and (6) of
this subsection shall be considered fully implemented, and such share
shall remain equal to fifty percent for all years thereafter. No district
shall receive less state aid under this section than received during the
year preceding that when the phased implementation was begun.

(7) Contractors providing professional services funded under this section
shall meet the state licensing and certification requirements appropriate
to their contracted duties, as determined by the department of elementary
and secondary education.

2. For approved special education and related services provided for
handicapped and severely handicapped children under five years of age,
but not under the age of three, entitlements for state aid established
pursuant to this section and distributed pursuant to section 163.031,
RSMo, shall not exceed ninety percent of the cost of the programs as
specified in project applications and approved by the department of
elementary and secondary education. Such programs shall not be eligible
to receive funds allocated pursuant to subsection 1 of this section.

3. Each school district or special school district which provides an
approved remedial reading program under provisions of sections 162.670 to
162.995 shall receive state aid established pursuant to this subsection
and distributed pursuant to section 163.031, RSMo. The amount paid from
state aid for such services per full-time equivalent remedial reading
teacher shall be adjusted annually by the percentage change in the
appropriation of state funds for the state school aid district
entitlements as established pursuant to section 163.031, RSMo, for the
current fiscal year compared with that for the first preceding fiscal
year. Such programs shall not be eligible to receive funds allocated
pursuant to subsection 1 of this section.

4. For approved programs for gifted children, districts shall receive
state aid under section 163.031, RSMo, not to exceed seventy-five percent
of the cost of instructional personnel and special materials listed in
project applications and approved by the department of elementary and
secondary education. Such programs shall not be eligible to receive funds
allocated pursuant to subsection 1 of this section. (L. 1973 H.B. 474 §
68, A.L. 1974 S.B. 571, A.L. 1977 H.B. 131, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1441, A.L.
1989 S.B. 797, A.L. 1990 S.B. 740, A.L. 1993 S.B. 380, A.L. 1997 H.B. 641
& 593, A.L. 1999 H.B. 889)

*This section was repealed by S.B. 287, 2005, effective 7-1-06. Consult
RSMo 2000 for existing section.

1. Special educational services may be offered during the
regular school day. Children who attend special educational services in
the district and who otherwise attend a private, parochial, parish or
home school shall be in compliance with section 167.031, RSMo.

2. A public school district shall be entitled to state aid for resident
handicapped children who attend special educational services and who
otherwise attend private, parochial, parish or home schools. State aid
shall be calculated on the basis of full-time equivalent average daily
attendance of part-time students as provided in section 163.011, RSMo.

3. Nothing in this section shall change the authority of a public school
board to set the schedule of classes for full-time or part-time public
school pupils including pupils receiving services under this section.

4. Nothing herein shall be construed to require transportation for these
services.

5. No resident child shall be denied or discriminated against in special
educational services offered by a school district on the grounds that the
child regularly attends a private, parochial, parish or home school. (L.
1987 S.B. 402 § 10)

1. The state board of education shall:

(1) Establish and maintain procedures to appoint a person to act as a
surrogate for the parent or guardian of a handicapped or severely
handicapped child when:

(a) The parents or guardian of the child are not known;

(b) The parents or guardian of the child are unavailable; or

(c) The child has been committed to the custody of a public agency or
institution in accordance with section 211.181, RSMo;

(2) Establish and maintain procedures to recruit persons to act as
surrogate parents for handicapped or severely handicapped children;

(3) Establish and maintain a list of names of persons who will undertake
appointments to act as surrogates for the parents or guardians of
handicapped or severely handicapped children;

(4) Provide the education and training necessary to ensure that a
surrogate parent appointee has the knowledge and skills to act as an
effective representative of a handicapped or severely handicapped child
in all decisions relating to the child's education;

(5) Establish standards and procedures by which a surrogate parent may be
removed from his appointment if:

(a) He is not effectively representing the child; or

(b) The parents or guardian of a child subsequently become known or
available.

2. For purposes of sections 162.997 to 162.999, the following terms mean:

(1) "Handicapped child" or "severely handicapped child", as defined in
section 162.675;

(2) "Parent", a biological parent, a guardian or a person acting as a
parent of a child, including but not limited to a grandparent or
stepparent with whom a child lives. The term does not include the state
if the child is a ward of the state. The term does not include a person
whose parental rights have been terminated;

(3) "Unavailable", a person is unavailable if his whereabouts are unknown
after reasonable inquiry. (L. 1988 H.B. 1237 § 1, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1151)

1. Whenever a school district, special district, state agency or
other political subdivision responsible for providing education to
handicapped or severely handicapped children is informed of a handicapped
or severely handicapped child living within its jurisdiction, it shall,
within thirty days, determine whether such child is in need of a person
to act as a surrogate parent. Not more than ten days after the
determination that such need exists, the school district, special
district, state agency or other political subdivision shall notify the
state board of education in writing of its determination. Such
notification shall be accompanied by all supporting documentation. Within
thirty days of such notification, the state board of education shall
appoint a person to act as a surrogate for the parent or guardian of the
child.

2. Any person may advise a school district, special district, state
agency or other political subdivision that a handicapped or severely
handicapped child within its jurisdiction may be in need of a person to
act as a surrogate parent. (L. 1988 H.B. 1237 § 2)

1. Any person who is appointed to act as a surrogate parent
shall:

(1) Be at least eighteen years of age;

(2) Be free of any interest that may conflict with the interests of the
child represented; and

(3) Not be an employee of the state board of education or any
governmental entity having responsibility for the education or care of
the child.

2. No person shall be appointed to act as a surrogate parent of a
handicapped or severely handicapped child unless he has completed the
requisite education and training to be provided by the state board of
education.

3. The state board of education shall periodically evaluate the
performance of persons appointed surrogate parents to ensure that such
appointees are providing effective representation. Such periodic
evaluations shall take place as often as is reasonably necessary to
protect the interests of the particular child.

4. If a person appointed to act as a surrogate parent dies, resigns, or
is removed, the state board of education shall, within fifteen days
thereof, appoint a successor surrogate parent.

5. The person appointed to act as a surrogate parent for a handicapped or
severely handicapped child shall represent the child in all decisions
relating to the child's education including, but not limited to, the:

(1) Identification of the child as one needing special educational
services;

(2) Evaluation of the child's need for special educational services;

(3) Placement within the elementary and secondary educational system or
within special programs offered by other state agencies responsible for
providing special educational services;

(4) Provision of a free appropriate public education for the child; and

(5) Legal assistance necessary to protect the best interest of the child.

6. The person appointed to act as a surrogate parent shall have the same
right to all information and records concerning the child, confidential
or otherwise, compiled, prepared or maintained by any political
subdivision or state agency as would the child's parents or guardian,
provided that such records are necessary to represent the child
effectively in decisions relating to the child's education.

7. The person appointed to act as a surrogate parent shall be immune from
liability for any civil damage arising from any act or omission in
representing the child in any decision related to the child's education.
This immunity shall not apply to intentional conduct, wanton and willful
conduct or gross negligence.

8. The person appointed to act as a surrogate parent shall be reimbursed
by the state board of education for all reasonable and necessary expenses
incurred as a result of his representation of a handicapped or severely
handicapped child pursuant to sections 162.997 to 162.999. Standards for
obtaining legal assistance and the provision of independent evaluations
shall be established by rules promulgated by the state board of
education. No person reimbursed pursuant to this section shall be deemed
an employee of the state board of education. (L. 1988 H.B. 1237 §§ 3, 4,
A.L. 1992 H.B. 1151)

1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Transition", a coordinated set of activities for a student, designed
within an outcome oriented process, which promotes movement to integrated
employment, including supported employment, postsecondary education,
vocational training, continuing and adult education services, independent
living and community participation. The coordinated set of activities
shall be based upon the individual student's needs, taking into account
the student's preferences and interests, and shall include, but not be
limited to, instruction, community experiences, the development of
employment and other postschool adult living objectives, and when
appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational
evaluation;

(2) "Youth with disabilities", any person who is found eligible for
special education as defined in federal Public Law 101-476, the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

2. The individualized education program required for each student
enrolled in special education shall include a statement of the needed
transition services for students beginning not later than age sixteen and
annually thereafter, and shall include, when appropriate, a statement of
interagency responsibility or linkages before the student leaves the
school setting.

3. The "Missouri Interagency Council on Transition" is hereby created
within the division of special education, and shall be composed of the
commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary education, the
assistant commissioners of the division of vocational rehabilitation, the
division of special education, and the division of vocational and adult
education, the director of the department of health and senior services,
the director of the division of maternal, child and family health, the
director of the department of mental health, the director of the
department of social services, the president of the Missouri planning
council for developmental disabilities, the chairman of the Missouri head
injury advisory council, the president of the advisory council for
comprehensive psychiatric services, the president of the Missouri
Association for Rehabilitation Facilities, or their designees, a
representative of the governor's committee on employment of persons with
disabilities, and seven professionals and consumer representatives with
no less than three parents or primary consumers, to be appointed by the
governor from names submitted by any interested agency or organization
serving individuals with disabilities. At the first meeting a chair shall
be selected from the members to serve a term of two years. The council
shall meet at least quarterly, and at such other times at the call of the
chair.

4. The Missouri interagency council on transition shall:

(1) Gather and coordinate data on transition services for secondary age
youth with disabilities;

(2) Provide information, consultation, and technical assistance to state
and local agencies and school districts involved in the delivery of
services to youth with disabilities who are in transition from school to
work or postsecondary transition programs;

(3) Assist state and local agencies and school districts in establishing
interagency agreements to assure the necessary transition from school to
work or postsecondary training programs;

(4) Conduct an annual statewide assessment of transition needs and
postsecondary school outcomes from information supplied by local
education agencies and local interagency transition committees;

(5) Assist regions and local areas in planning interagency in-service
training to develop and improve transition services.

5. Members of the Missouri interagency council on transition shall
receive no compensation for their services while serving on the council;
however, members may receive reimbursement for their actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

6. Beginning on January 1, 1995, and on or before January first of each
successive year, the council shall make a written report to the governor
and to the general assembly of its activities for the preceding fiscal
year. The council's annual report shall include recommendations for
administrative and legislative policies and programs to enhance the
delivery of transition services and supports. (L. 1993 S.B. 321 § 1)

1. By July 1, 1995, the state board of education shall have
determined and implemented a process to pilot test a revised management
system involving three school sites in the state. To be called "The New
Schools Pilot Project", the board shall solicit volunteering school
districts that will commit to participating in the project for a
five-year period.

2. (1) At each of the three school sites in the project, the management
of the school shall be vested in a five-member management team selected
from bids received by a local board of education, or by a combination of
cooperating local boards of education as stipulated by contract agreement
between or among such local boards. In the selection of the management
team, technical assistance may be provided to the local school board or
boards, as requested, by the department of elementary and secondary
education. The provisions of other law to the contrary notwithstanding,
the state board of education may exempt from certification requirements
not more than two members of the management team. One member of the
five-member management team shall be designated as principal of the
project school.

(2) No bid shall be selected which is submitted by a for-profit
corporation. The percent of the school budget allocated for
administrative purposes shall not exceed the average percent spent for
administrative purposes for the most recently completed school year at
other schools operated by the local school board or boards. No member of
the management team shall profit in any way from the project other than
from salaries received which shall be outlined in each bid submitted.

(3) Using the assessment system established under section 160.518, RSMo,
or until such assessment system is available, using the alternative
indicators approved under the provisions of subsection 3 of section
160.518, RSMo, the state board of education shall make every attempt when
selecting schools for participation in this project to select one school
which is performing above average, one school which is performing at the
average and one school which is performing below average. Under no
circumstances shall more than two schools be chosen from any one of the
above categories.

3. Staffing and personnel decisions for the schools in the project shall
be vested in the management teams for the duration of the project;
provided that all certificated staff shall be paid according to the
salary schedule adopted by the district. All laws concerning teacher
contracts shall apply.

4. No penalty provided for in, or pursuant to, section 160.538, RSMo, and
section 163.023, RSMo, shall apply for any school participating in the
project.

5. The state board of education shall waive, for participating schools,
such rules and regulations as it may determine.

6. The commissioner of education shall develop a procedure for the
evaluation of the new schools pilot project, including recommended means
for expanding desirable elements of the project to other school districts
in the state. (L. 1993 S.B. 380 § 18)

*Contingent expiration date. See section 143.107.

(1996) Contingent referendum provision was found to be an
unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority thereby making
section 143.107 void. Akin v. Director of Revenue, 934 S.W.2d 295
(Mo.banc).

Sections 162.1040 to 162.1059 shall be known and may be cited
as the "Elementary and Secondary School District Enrollment Option Act".
Nothing in sections 162.1040 to 162.1059 shall apply to any school
district in a county of the first classification having a charter form of
government, nor to any school district within the city of St. Louis. (L.
1994 H.B. 1218 § 1 subsec. 1)

As used in sections 162.1040 to 162.1059, the following terms
mean:

(1) "Department", the department of elementary and secondary education;

(2) "Enrollment option districts", districts, the school boards of which
have by resolution entered into an enrollment plan;

(3) "Enrollment option plan", a plan whereby two school districts
establish a cooperative agreement to send or receive or send and receive
each other's students, subject to the limitations of this section;

(4) "Parent", the parent, guardian or other person having charge, control
or custody of an elementary or secondary school student;

(5) "Student", a student enrolled in an enrollment option district. (L.
1994 H.B. 1218 § 1 subsec. 2)

1. The state board of education shall direct the department to
develop guidelines for the establishment of enrollment option plans by
pilot local school districts that will be sending or receiving students.
The guidelines shall be completed no later than August 1, 1995. The
guidelines shall include the following items:

(1) Application procedures, including recommended deadlines for
application and for notification of students and principals in enrollment
option districts whenever a student's application is accepted;

(2) Procedures to include in enrollment options agreements for admitting
pupils, including but not limited to:

(a) The establishment of district capacity limits by grade level, school
building and education program;

(b) A requirement that resident students enrolled in a school district be
given preference over any nonresident pupil in the selection of a school
to attend;

(c) Limits on the number and frequency of changes of enrollment in
enrollment option districts.

2. No enrollment option plan may be designed to include or exclude a
nonresident pupil solely based on any of the following reasons:

(1) Academic ability, or any level of athletic, artistic, or other
extracurricular skills;

(2) Handicapping conditions;

(3) The degree of proficiency of the English language;

(4) The fact that the student has been the subject of disciplinary
proceedings, except that if an applicant has been suspended or expelled
for ten consecutive days or more in the term for which admission is
sought or in the term immediately preceding the term for which admission
is sought, the procedures may include a provision denying admission of
such applicant as a nonresident student. (L. 1994 H.B. 1218 § 1 subsecs.
3, 4)

The enrollment option plan shall include specific standards for
the acceptance or rejection of student applications. If an application is
rejected, the district shall state in the notification the reason for the
rejection. (L. 1994 H.B. 1218 § 2 subsec. 1)

A nonresident district shall accept all credits toward
promotion or graduation awarded by a district of residence. If a student
returns to the student's district of residence prior to graduation, the
district of residence shall accept all credits issued by an enrollment
option district. (L. 1994 H.B. 1218 § 2 subsec. 2)

Notwithstanding any provision of sections 162.1040 to 162.1059
to the contrary, a nonresident district may reject an application for
admission by a nonresident pupil if the:

(1) Dwelling in which the nonresident pupil resides with a parent,
guardian or other person having charge, control or custody of the pupil
is not within ten miles of the nonresident district; or

(2) Physical structures where the student will be attending classes in
the school district of residence are closer to the structure in which the
nonresident pupil resides than are the physical structures where the
student will be attending classes of the nonresident district. (L. 1994
H.B. 1218 § 3 subsec. 1)

No school district shall solicit the enrollment of a
nonresident student. For the purpose of determining eligibility to
participate in high school activities, the rules of any association
governing such activities to which the district belongs shall govern. (L.
1994 H.B. 1218 § 3 subsec. 2)

Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 163, RSMo, to the
contrary, for the purposes of determining state aid, a nonresident
student enrolled pursuant to sections 162.1040 to 162.1059 in an
enrollment option district shall be counted as a resident pupil. (L. 1994
H.B. 1218 § 4)

Whenever there is a federal court-ordered desegregation
directive for a school district, enrollment options pursuant to sections
162.1040 to 162.1059 are subject to the approval of the court of
continuing jurisdiction and the court order shall govern. (L. 1994 H.B.
1218 § 5)

1. There is hereby established a "Metropolitan Schools
Achieving Value in Transfer Corporation", which shall be a public body
corporate, for the purpose of implementing an urban voluntary school
transfer program within a program area which shall include a city not
within a county and any school district located in whole or in part in a
county with a population in excess of nine hundred thousand persons which
district chooses to participate. The corporation shall be governed by a
board of directors consisting of one representative from each school
district that participates in the urban voluntary school transfer program
selected by the governing body of each such district. The vote of each
member of the board shall be weighted proportionately to the percentage
of the total of transfer students who attend school in the member's
district.

2. (1) The corporation's board of directors shall design and operate an
urban voluntary school transfer program for all participating districts.
The board shall make provision for transportation of all the students and
for payment to school districts for the education of such students.
Acceptance of students into the program shall be determined by policies
enacted by the corporation's board of directors, provided that first
preference for acceptance of students shall be granted to students
currently attending a district other than the district of residence
pursuant to a voluntary transfer program established pursuant to federal
desegregation order, decree or agreement. All provisions of this section
shall be subject to a settlement incorporated into a final judgment,
provided that the financial provisions of this section shall not be
superseded by such settlement.

(2) Each district, other than a metropolitan school district,
participating in an urban voluntary school transfer program shall place
before voters in the district a proposal to continue participation in the
urban voluntary school transfer program at the April election during the
sixth year of operation of the program. Unless a majority of district
voters voting thereon votes to continue participation in the program,
each district, other than a metropolitan school district, shall file a
plan, no later than the end of the seventh year of the operation of the
program, for phase-out of the district's participation in the program,
and such plan shall be provided to the state board of education, the
transitional school district and the board of directors of the
corporation. Each such plan shall provide for elimination of transfers to
the district pursuant to this section no later than the following
schedule:

(a) The ninth year of the program for grades one through three;

(b) The tenth year of the program for grades four through six;

(c) The eleventh year of the program for grades seven through nine; and

(d) The twelfth year of the program for grades ten through twelve.

3. (1) Other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, each
student participating in the program shall be considered an eligible
pupil of the district of residence for the purpose of distributing state
aid, except that students attending school in a metropolitan school
district in a program established pursuant to this section shall be
considered eligible pupils of the district attended, and provided that
the department shall determine the increased state aid eligibility
created by including pupils attending school in a program established
pursuant to this section as eligible pupils of the district of residence
and shall distribute the full amount of such state aid to the
metropolitan schools achieving value in transfer corporation and shall
not distribute state aid on the basis of such pupils to the district of
residence.

(2) For each student participating in the program, the corporation shall
receive the total of all state and federal aid that would otherwise be
paid to the student's district of residence, including, but not limited
to, state aid provided pursuant to section 148.360, RSMo, section
149.015, RSMo, and sections 163.031 and 163.087, RSMo. The corporation
shall pay a school district that receives a nonresident student from the
funds of the corporation in accordance with the provisions of this
section and agreements between the corporation and the participating
school districts.

4. (1) In each of the first two fiscal years, the corporation shall also
receive a payment of twenty-five million dollars.

(2) For the third year of operation and thereafter, the corporation shall
receive transportation state aid, for each student that participates in
the program, which shall be in the same amount and on the same basis as
would be received by the student's district of residence if the student
were attending a school in the attendance zone in the student's district
of residence, provided that such reimbursement shall not exceed one
hundred fifty-five percent of the statewide average per pupil cost for
transportation for the second preceding school year.

(3) Funds received by the corporation pursuant to this subsection may be
used for any purpose and need not be expended in the year received.

5. The corporation created herein shall have all powers of a public body
corporate, except that it shall have no paid employees. The corporation,
by contract with any public entity, school district, or private entity,
may retain the services of a fiscal agent, make provisions for
accounting, transportation management, or other assistance that the
corporation may need to carry out its functions, except that no
contractor or employee of any contractor acting in a policy-making
function shall have ever have been a contractor or employee of the
voluntary interdistrict coordinating council or any other program
established by the federal district court; except that this restriction
shall not apply to transportation contractors or their employees. When a
school district located in whole or in part in a county with a population
in excess of nine hundred thousand persons ceases to participate in the
urban public school transfer program, its representative shall be removed
from the corporation's board of directors. When none of the students who
reside in a school district in a city not within a county opt to
participate in the program, the school district's representative shall be
removed from the board of directors. When all of the school districts
have ended their participation in the program, in accordance with this
subsection, the corporation's operations shall cease, and any funds of
the corporation remaining shall be paid to the state of Missouri to the
credit of the general revenue fund, except such amounts as the
commissioner of education shall determine should be paid to particular
school districts under the regulations applicable to federal programs or
returned to the federal government.

6. All funds received by the corporation shall become funds of the
corporation and paid for the purposes set forth in this section and in
accordance with agreements entered into between the corporation and
participating school districts and other entities, provided that funds
received for particular purposes, under federal or state categorical
programs benefiting individual students, shall be paid to the district or
entity providing services to the students entitled to such services. The
proportionate share of federal and state resources generated by students
with disabilities, or the staff serving them, shall be paid to the
district where the child is attending school, unless the district of
residence is required by law to provide such services to the individual
students, except that a special school district containing the district
where the child is attending school shall be paid for all unreimbursed
expenses for special education services provided to students with
disabilities. Funds held by the corporation at the close of a fiscal year
may be carried over and utilized by the corporation in subsequent fiscal
years for the purposes set forth in this section.

7. The board of directors may establish regional attendance zones which
map the regions of a district in a city not within a county to
corresponding recipient districts within the remainder of the program
area. In establishing the regional attendance zones, the board of
directors may solicit comments and suggestions from residents of the
program area and may adopt one or more regional attendance zones
previously established in the program area pursuant to a federal court
desegregation order, decree or agreement.

8. No later than four years following the date an urban public school
transfer program is begun pursuant to this section in a program area, the
senate and the house of representatives shall establish a "Joint
Committee on Urban Voluntary School Transfer Programs", composed of five
members of the senate, appointed by the president pro tem of the senate,
and five members of the house of representatives, appointed by the
speaker of the house. Not more than three members appointed by the
president pro tem and not more than three members appointed by the
speaker of the house shall be from the same political party.

9. The joint committee may meet as necessary and hold hearings and
conduct investigations as it deems advisable. No later than five years
following the date an urban voluntary school transfer program is begun
pursuant to this section in a program area, the committee shall review
and monitor the status of any urban voluntary school transfer program
established pursuant to this section and make any recommendations the
committee deems necessary to the general assembly regarding such program
or programs, which may include proposed changes to the program and
recommendations regarding the continuation of the program. The members
shall receive no additional compensation, other than reimbursement for
their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
duties. The staff of the committee on legislative research, house
research, and senate research shall provide necessary clerical, research,
fiscal and legal services to the committee, as the committee may request.

10. No later than nine years following the date an urban public school
transfer program is begun pursuant to this section in a program area, the
joint committee on urban voluntary school transfer programs shall be
reestablished in the form specified in subsection 8 of this section and
pursuant to the same provisions for reimbursement of expenses and staff
support as specified in subsection 9 of this section. No later than ten
years following the date an urban voluntary school transfer program is
begun pursuant to this section in a program area, the committee shall
review and monitor the status of any urban voluntary school transfer
program established pursuant to this section and make any recommendations
the committee deems necessary to the general assembly regarding such
program or programs. (L. 1998 S.B. 781)

Effective 7-1-99; see RSMo 163.035

Other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, a
transfer corporation formed pursuant to section 162.1060 shall receive
state aid as calculated in this section:

(1) For purposes of determining weighted average daily attendance
pursuant to section 163.011, RSMo, and for the purposes of determining
state aid pursuant to sections 163.031, 163.043, and 163.087, RSMo, and
any other source of state aid distributed on a per-pupil basis, students
attending a district other than their district of residence pursuant to a
court-approved transfer program shall be credited to, and all related
per- pupil aid shall be paid to, the transfer corporation instead of to
any other district. The weighted average daily attendance and state aid
calculation for the transfer corporation shall be treated on the same
basis as the calculation for a separate school district; and

(2) For the eighth year of operation and thereafter, the transfer
corporation shall receive transportation state aid for each student that
participates in the transfer program in the amount of one hundred
fifty-five percent of the statewide average per-pupil cost for
transportation for the second preceding school year provided that such
aid shall not exceed seventy-five percent of necessary transportation
costs. (L. 2005 S.B. 287 § 3)

Effective 7-1-06

1. There is hereby established within each city not within a
county a school district to be known as the "Transitional School District
of (name of city)", which shall be a body corporate and politic and a
subdivision of the state. The transitional school district shall be
coterminous with the boundaries of the city in which the district is
located. Except as otherwise provided in this section and section
162.621, the transitional school district shall be subject to all laws
pertaining to "seven-director districts", as defined in section 160.011,
RSMo. The transitional school district shall have the responsibility for
educational programs and policies determined by a final judgment of a
federal school desegregation case to be needed in providing for a
transition of the educational system of the city from control and
jurisdiction of a federal court school desegregation order, decree or
agreement and such other programs and policies as designated by the
governing body of the school district.

2. (1) The governing board of the transitional school district shall
consist of three residents of the district: one shall be appointed by the
governing body of the district, one shall be appointed by the mayor of
the city not within a county and one shall be appointed by the president
of the board of aldermen of the city not within a county. The members of
the governing board shall serve without compensation for a term of three
years, or until their successors have been appointed, or until the
transitional district is dissolved or terminated. Any tax approved for
the transitional district shall be assigned to the governing body of the
school district in a city not within a county after dissolution or
termination of the transitional district.

(2) In the event that the state board of education shall declare the
school district of a city not within a county to be unaccredited, the
member of the governing board of the transitional district appointed by
the governing body of the district as provided in subdivision (1) of this
subsection shall, within ninety days, be replaced by a chief executive
officer nominated by the state board of education and appointed by the
governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The chief executive
officer need not be a resident of the district but shall be a person of
recognized administrative ability, shall be paid in whole or in part with
funds from the district, and shall have all other powers and duties of
any other general superintendent of schools, including appointment of
staff. The chief executive officer shall serve for a term of three years
or until his successor is appointed or until the transitional district is
dissolved or terminated. His salary shall be set by the state board of
education.

3. In the event that the school district loses its accreditation, upon
the appointment of a chief executive officer, any powers granted to any
existing school board in a city not within a county on or before August
28, 1998, shall be vested with the special administrative board of the
transitional school district containing such school district so long as
the transitional school district exists, except as otherwise provided in
section 162.621.

4. The special administrative board's powers and duties shall include:

(1) Creating an academic accountability plan, taking corrective action in
underperforming schools, and seeking relief from state-mandated programs;

(2) Exploration of alternative forms of governance for the district;

(3) Authority to contract with nonprofit corporations to provide for the
operation of schools;

(4) Oversight of facility planning, construction, improvement, repair,
maintenance and rehabilitation;

(5) Authority to establish school site councils to facilitate site-based
school management and to improve the responsiveness of the schools to the
needs of the local geographic attendance region of the school;

(6) Authority to submit a proposal to district voters pursuant to section
162.666 regarding establishment of neighborhood schools.

5. (1) The provisions of a final judgment as to the state of Missouri and
its officials in a school desegregation case which subjects a district in
which a transitional district is located in this state to a federal
court's jurisdiction may authorize or require the governing body of a
transitional school district established under this section to establish
the transitional district's operating levy for school purposes, as
defined pursuant to section 163.011, RSMo, at a level not to exceed
eighty-five cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation in the
district or a sales tax equivalent amount as determined by the department
of elementary and secondary education which may be substituted for all or
part of such property tax.

(2) Any other statute to the contrary notwithstanding, no tax authorized
pursuant to this subsection shall:

(a) Be subject to any certificate of tax abatement issued after August
28, 1998, pursuant to sections 99.700 to 99.715, RSMo; and

(b) Effective January 1, 2002, be subject to any new or existing tax
increment financing adopted by a city not within a county pursuant to
sections 99.800 to 99.865, RSMo, except that any redevelopment plan and
redevelopment project concerning a convention headquarters hotel adopted
by ordinance by a city not within a county prior to August 28, 2003,
shall be subject to such tax increment financing.

(3) The transitional school district shall not be subject to the
provisions of section 162.081, sections 163.021 and 163.023, RSMo, with
respect to any requirements to maintain a minimum value of operating levy
or any consequences provided by law for failure to levy at least such
minimum rate. No operating levy or increase in the operating levy or
sales tax established pursuant to this section shall be collected for a
transitional school district unless prior approval is obtained from a
simple majority of the district's voters. The board of the transitional
district shall place the matter before the voters prior to March 15, 1999.

6. (1) The special administrative board established in this section shall
develop, implement, monitor and evaluate a comprehensive school
improvement plan, and such plan shall be subject to review and approval
of the state board of education. The plan shall ensure that all students
meet or exceed grade-level standards established by the state board of
education pursuant to section 160.514, RSMo;

(2) The special administrative board shall establish student performance
standards consistent with the standards established by the state board of
education pursuant to section 160.514, RSMo, for preschool through grade
twelve in all skill and subject areas, subject to review and approval of
the state board of education for the purpose of determining whether the
standards are consistent with standards established by the state board of
education pursuant to section 160.514, RSMo;

(3) All students in the district who do not achieve grade-level standards
shall be required to attend summer school; except that the provisions of
this subsection shall not apply to students receiving special education
services pursuant to sections 162.670 to 162.999;

(4) No student shall be promoted to a higher grade level unless that
student has a reading ability at or above one grade level below the
student's grade level; except that the provisions of this subsection
shall not apply to students receiving special education services pursuant
to sections 162.670 to 162.999;

(5) The special administrative board established in this section shall
develop, implement and annually update a professional development plan
for teachers and other support staff, subject to review and approval of
the state board of education.

7. The school improvement plan established pursuant to this section shall
ensure open enrollment and program access to all students in the
district, and, consistent with the Missouri and United States
Constitutions, shall give first priority to residents of the city for
admission to magnet schools. The school board shall take all practicable
and constitutionally permissible steps to ensure that all magnet schools
operate at full capacity. Students who change residence within the
district shall be allowed to continue to attend the school in which they
were initially enrolled for the remainder of their education at grade
levels served by that school, and transportation shall be provided by the
district to allow such students to continue to attend such school of
initial enrollment.

8. To the extent practicable, the special administrative board shall
ensure that per pupil expenditures and pupil-teacher ratios shall be the
same for all schools serving students at a given grade level.

9. The special administrative board shall ensure that early childhood
education is available throughout the district.

10. The special administrative board shall ensure that vocational
education instruction is provided within the district.

11. The special administrative board shall establish an accountability
officer whose duty shall be to ensure that academically deficient schools
within the district are raised to acceptable condition within two years.

12. The transitional school district in any city not within a county
shall be dissolved on July 1, 2008, unless the state board determines,
prior to that date, that it is necessary for the transitional district to
continue to accomplish the purposes for which it was created. The state
board of education may cause the termination of the transitional school
district at any time upon a determination that the transitional district
has accomplished the purposes for which it was established and is no
longer needed. The state board of education may cause the reestablishment
of the transitional school district at any time upon a determination that
it is necessary for the transitional district to be reestablished to
accomplish the purposes established in this section. The state board of
education shall provide notice to the governor and general assembly of
the termination or reestablishment of the transitional school district
and the termination or reestablishment shall become effective thirty days
following such determination. Upon dissolution of a transitional school
district pursuant to this section, nothing in this section shall be
construed to reduce or eliminate any power or duty of any school district
or districts containing the territory of the dissolved transitional
school district unless such transitional school district is reestablished
by the state board of education pursuant to this section. (L. 1998 S.B.
781, A.L. 2003 H.B. 289)

As used in sections 162.1130 to 162.1145, the following terms
mean:

(1) "Appraisal", an evaluation of a child's current level of performance
in the context of cognitive skills and the ability to master academic
skills of literacy such as reading, comprehension, composition and
mathematics;

(2) "Blindness skills specialist in education", any individual certified
pursuant to rules of the department of elementary and secondary education
who has reasonable knowledge of instructional techniques for the teaching
of Braille reading and writing, orientation and mobility, assistive
technology and other alternative skills of blindness;

(3) "Braille", the six-dot, two-grade tactile system used by blind
persons for reading and writing;

(4) "Eligible student", any blind or visually impaired child, including
any student who has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye
with conventional correction, or has a limited field of vision such that
the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angular distance not
greater than twenty degrees, and who is eligible for special education
services for the visually impaired as defined in the department of
elementary and secondary education state plan;

(5) "IEP", a plan or set of goals designed to meet the specific short-
and long-term educational needs of a student and address academic,
activities of daily living and transitional issues to enable a child to
maximize his ability to function competently and independently;

(6) "Literacy", an ability to read, write and speak in English, compute
and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the
job and independently, to achieve one's goals and develop one's knowledge
and potential;

(7) "Teacher assistant for the blind", an individual, with knowledge of
one or more alternative skills of blindness, including proficiency in the
reading and writing of Braille, producing Braille materials or providing
instruction in alternative techniques of blindness. (L. 1999 H.B. 401)

1. The division of special education within the department of
elementary and secondary education shall develop and coordinate a program
to provide a blindness skills specialist available at each regional
professional development center.

2. The duties of a blindness skills specialist shall include the
following:

(1) To act as a resource for school districts under the regional office
of professional development with regard to eligible students;

(2) To make programming and placement recommendations to schools under
the regional office of professional development using assessments and
information developed within the IEP process;

(3) To provide in-service training in alternative techniques of blindness
to classroom teachers and teachers' assistants for the blind engaged in
the education of eligible students;

(4) To provide parents of eligible students with referrals and
information regarding services available within the state;

(5) To coordinate services available from other entities who serve
eligible students and the families of eligible students;

(6) To assist and support local school districts in providing special
education and related services for eligible students;

(7) To support the application of appropriate technology in the education
of eligible students;

(8) To contribute to the development and implementation of in-service
training, regionally and statewide, which responds to the needs of
educators, other professionals and parents pertaining to the needs of
eligible students, which include, but are not limited to, high
expectations with regard to academic and vocational performance,
facilitation of the discussions of Braille instruction during IEP
conferences, introduction of appropriate technology, development of
blindness skills and daily living skills.

3. A task force on blind student academic and vocational performance is
hereby established and shall be comprised of members appointed by the
commissioner of education, in cooperation with the director of the
department of social services, to represent consumer organizations,
parents, teachers, public school special education administrators, school
building principals, rehabilitation services for the blind, the Missouri
school for the blind, employers, and others interested in quality
services for blind students. This task force shall develop goals and
objectives to guide the improvement of special education, related
services, vocational training, transition from school to work,
rehabilitation services, independent living and employment outcomes for
eligible students. (L. 1999 H.B. 401)

1. The division of special education within the department of
elementary and secondary education shall conduct an annual study of the
educational status of eligible students and report the findings of that
study no later than December first of each year to the speaker of the
house of representatives and the president pro tem of the senate and to
the standing committee of jurisdiction in each chamber.

2. The report shall contain information pertaining to literacy of blind
and visually impaired children including:

(1) The methodology of the study;

(2) The percentage of eligible students in the study who read Braille,
print, or large print;

(3) The number of students who have a visual impairment sufficient to
meet the definition "eligible student", as defined in section 162.1130;

(4) The number of students currently reading Braille, large print and
standard print. The report shall also detail how many eligible students
there are by age, grade level, ungraded and with multiple handicaps, who
are enrolled in public school, or in the Missouri school for the blind,
respectively;

(5) The number of Braille-reading students who no longer receive any
instruction in Braille reading and writing but do receive materials in
Braille and Braille-related services;

(6) The number of certified vision teachers or teachers of the blind or
visually impaired who are currently employed in the field in the state of
Missouri;

(7) The number of eligible students who use a slate and stylus and/or
other devices* in writing Braille;

(8) The number of eligible students educated in the general education
classroom, in an itinerant or resource classroom, in a self-contained
classroom or in a separate educational facility;

(9) The graduation rate of eligible students compared to those students
who are not disabled;

(10) The number of eligible students who did not meet graduation
requirements but were terminated from formal education having reached age
twenty-one years;

(11) The number of eligible students who received transition planning
services with the cooperation of the division of vocational
rehabilitation or rehabilitation services for the blind as part of their
IEP;

(12) The number of eligible students referred to rehabilitation services
for the blind or division of vocational rehabilitation. (L. 1999 H.B. 401)

*Word "devises" appears in original rolls.

The division of special education within the department of
elementary and secondary education shall develop a system of joint
referral with rehabilitation services for the blind. All children
identified by a school district or the division of special education as
eligible students, upon receipt of written documentation of parental
consent or consent of the student if the student is at least eighteen
years of age, shall be referred to rehabilitation services for the blind.
All children identified by rehabilitation services for the blind as being
eligible for services will be referred, upon receipt of written
documentation of parental consent or consent of the student if the
student is at least eighteen years of age, to the local school district
and the division of special education of the department of elementary and
secondary education. (L. 1999 H.B. 401)

There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Blindness
Skills Specialist Fund" which shall be administered by the division of
special education within the department of elementary and secondary
education. Moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation, be used to
establish and maintain the blindness skills specialist program pursuant
to section 162.1136. (L. 1999 H.B. 401)

1. Any public school district or districts may designate an
educational service agency, as defined in 20 U.S.C. Section 7801, for the
purpose of developing, managing, and providing instructional services or
programs to the participating school district or districts.

2. The educational service agency shall be designated by contract which
is to be authorized by the board of education of the participating
district and shall operate pursuant to standards adopted by the state
board of education.

3. An educational service agency shall be organized as a nonprofit
corporation as provided pursuant to chapter 355, RSMo, with the method of
selection of officers to be governed by section 355.326, RSMo.

4. An educational service agency shall be considered a political
subdivision of the state as defined in section 105.450, RSMo, with the
governing board and employees subject to the conflict of interest
prohibitions provided in chapter 105, RSMo.

5. All meetings of the governing board of the educational service agency
shall be subject to the provisions of sections 610.010 to 610.035, RSMo.

6. Nothing in this section shall relieve a participating school district
from the responsibility of providing the instructional service or program
which it has contracted for through an educational service agency. (L.
2003 S.B. 686)

The school board of each school district with multiple
attendance centers containing the same grade levels shall, no later than
July 1, 2004, develop, and make available to the public, a policy
regarding the transfer of that school district's students to other
schools within the district. (L. 2003 S.B. 666)

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