160.254. General assembly joint committee on education created--appointment, meetings, chairman, quorum, duties, expenses.
General assembly joint committee on education created--appointment,meetings, chairman, quorum, duties, expenses.
160.254. 1. There is hereby established a joint committee of thegeneral assembly, which shall be known as the "Joint Committee onEducation", which shall be composed of seven members of the senate andseven members of the house of representatives. The senate members of thecommittee shall be appointed by the president pro tem of the senate and thehouse members by the speaker of the house.
2. The committee shall meet at least twice a year. In the event ofthree consecutive absences on the part of any member, such member may beremoved from the committee.
3. The committee shall select either a chairman or cochairmen, one ofwhom shall be a member of the senate and one a member of the house. Amajority of the members shall constitute a quorum. Meetings of thecommittee may be called at such time and place as the chairman or chairmendesignate.
4. The committee shall:
(1) Review and monitor the progress of education in the state'spublic schools and institutions of higher education;
(2) Receive reports from the commissioner of education concerning thepublic schools and from the commissioner of higher education concerninginstitutions of higher education;
(3) Conduct a study and analysis of the public school system;
(4) Make recommendations to the general assembly for legislativeaction;
(5) Conduct an in-depth study concerning all issues relating to theequity and adequacy of the distribution of state school aid, teachers'salaries, funding for school buildings, and overall funding levels forschools and any other education funding-related issues the committee deemsrelevant;
(6) Monitor the establishment of performance measures as required bysection 173.1006, RSMo, and report on their establishment to the governorand the general assembly;
(7) Conduct studies and analysis regarding:
(a) The higher education system, including financing public highereducation and the provision of financial aid for higher education; and
(b) The feasibility of including students enrolled in proprietaryschools, as that term is defined in section 173.600, RSMo, in allstate-based financial aid programs;
(8) Annually review the collection of information under section173.093, RSMo, to facilitate a more accurate comparison of the actual costsat public and private higher education institutions;
(9) Within three years of August 28, 2007, review a new model for thefunding of public higher education institutions upon submission of suchmodel by the coordinating board for higher education;
(10) Within three years of August 28, 2007, review the impact of thehigher education student funding act established in sections 173.1000 to173.1006;
(11) Beginning August 28, 2008, upon review, approve or deny anyexpenditures made by the commissioner of education pursuant to section160.530, as provided in subsection 5 of section 160.530.
5. During the legislative interim between the first regular sessionof the ninety-fifth general assembly through January 29, 2010, of thesecond regular session of the ninety-fifth general assembly, the jointcommittee on education shall study the issue of open enrollment for publicschool students across school district boundary lines in this state. Instudying this issue, the joint committee may solicit input and informationnecessary to fulfill its obligation, including but not limited tosoliciting input and information from any state department, state agency,school district, political subdivisions of this state, teachers, and thegeneral public. The joint committee shall prepare a final report, togetherwith its recommendations for any legislative action deemed necessary forsubmission to the general assembly by December 31, 2009.
6. The committee may make reasonable requests for staff assistancefrom the research and appropriations staffs of the house and senate and thecommittee on legislative research, as well as the department of elementaryand secondary education, the department of higher education, thecoordinating board for higher education, the state tax commission, thedepartment of economic development, all school districts and otherpolitical subdivisions of this state, teachers and teacher groups, businessand other commercial interests and any other interested persons.
7. Members of the committee shall receive no compensation but may bereimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses associated with theperformance of their official duties.
(L. 1985 H.B. 463 § 3, A.L. 2004 S.B. 968 and S.B. 969, A.L. 2007 S.B. 389, A.L. 2008 S.B. 1066, A.L. 2009 S.B. 291)