162.1060. Transfer corporation, board, powers and duties, funding--termination of corporation, funds to lapse to general revenue--regional attendance zones--joint committee of general assembly, establ
Transfer corporation, board, powers and duties, funding--terminationof corporation, funds to lapse to general revenue--regional attendancezones--joint committee of general assembly, establishment, members,duties, expenses.
162.1060. 1. There is hereby established a "Metropolitan SchoolsAchieving Value in Transfer Corporation", which shall be a public bodycorporate, for the purpose of implementing an urban voluntary schooltransfer program within a program area which shall include a city notwithin a county and any school district located in whole or in part in acounty with a population in excess of nine hundred thousand persons whichdistrict chooses to participate. The corporation shall be governed by aboard of directors consisting of one representative from each schooldistrict that participates in the urban voluntary school transfer programselected by the governing body of each such district. The vote of eachmember of the board shall be weighted proportionately to the percentage ofthe total of transfer students who attend school in the member's district.
2. (1) The corporation's board of directors shall design and operatean urban voluntary school transfer program for all participating districts.The board shall make provision for transportation of all the students andfor payment to school districts for the education of such students.Acceptance of students into the program shall be determined by policiesenacted by the corporation's board of directors, provided that firstpreference for acceptance of students shall be granted to studentscurrently attending a district other than the district of residencepursuant to a voluntary transfer program established pursuant to federaldesegregation order, decree or agreement. All provisions of this sectionshall be subject to a settlement incorporated into a final judgment,provided that the financial provisions of this section shall not besuperseded by such settlement.
(2) Each district, other than a metropolitan school district,participating in an urban voluntary school transfer program shall placebefore voters in the district a proposal to continue participation in theurban voluntary school transfer program at the April election during thesixth year of operation of the program. Unless a majority of districtvoters voting thereon votes to continue participation in the program, eachdistrict, other than a metropolitan school district, shall file a plan, nolater than the end of the seventh year of the operation of the program, forphase-out of the district's participation in the program, and such planshall be provided to the state board of education, the transitional schooldistrict and the board of directors of the corporation. Each such planshall provide for elimination of transfers to the district pursuant to thissection 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, eachstudent participating in the program shall be considered an eligible pupilof the district of residence for the purpose of distributing state aid,except that students attending school in a metropolitan school district ina program established pursuant to this section shall be considered eligiblepupils of the district attended, and provided that the department shalldetermine the increased state aid eligibility created by including pupilsattending school in a program established pursuant to this section aseligible pupils of the district of residence and shall distribute the fullamount of such state aid to the metropolitan schools achieving value intransfer corporation and shall not distribute state aid on the basis ofsuch pupils to the district of residence.
(2) For each student participating in the program, the corporationshall receive the total of all state and federal aid that would otherwisebe paid to the student's district of residence, including, but not limitedto, 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 aschool district that receives a nonresident student from the funds of thecorporation in accordance with the provisions of this section andagreements between the corporation and the participating school districts.
4. (1) In each of the first two fiscal years, the corporation shallalso receive a payment of twenty-five million dollars.
(2) For the third year of operation and thereafter, the corporationshall receive transportation state aid, for each student that participatesin the program, which shall be in the same amount and on the same basis aswould be received by the student's district of residence if the studentwere attending a school in the attendance zone in the student's district ofresidence, provided that such reimbursement shall not exceed one hundredfifty-five percent of the statewide average per pupil cost fortransportation for the second preceding school year.
(3) Funds received by the corporation pursuant to this subsection maybe used for any purpose and need not be expended in the year received.
5. The corporation created herein shall have all powers of a publicbody corporate, except that it shall have no paid employees. Thecorporation, by contract with any public entity, school district, orprivate entity, may retain the services of a fiscal agent, make provisionsfor accounting, transportation management, or other assistance that thecorporation may need to carry out its functions, except that no contractoror employee of any contractor acting in a policy-making function shall haveever have been a contractor or employee of the voluntary interdistrictcoordinating council or any other program established by the federaldistrict court; except that this restriction shall not apply totransportation contractors or their employees. When a school districtlocated in whole or in part in a county with a population in excess of ninehundred thousand persons ceases to participate in the urban public schooltransfer program, its representative shall be removed from thecorporation's board of directors. When none of the students who reside ina school district in a city not within a county opt to participate in theprogram, the school district's representative shall be removed from theboard of directors. When all of the school districts have ended theirparticipation in the program, in accordance with this subsection, thecorporation's operations shall cease, and any funds of the corporationremaining shall be paid to the state of Missouri to the credit of thegeneral revenue fund, except such amounts as the commissioner of educationshall determine should be paid to particular school districts under theregulations applicable to federal programs or returned to the federalgovernment.
6. All funds received by the corporation shall become funds of thecorporation and paid for the purposes set forth in this section and inaccordance with agreements entered into between the corporation andparticipating school districts and other entities, provided that fundsreceived for particular purposes, under federal or state categoricalprograms benefiting individual students, shall be paid to the district orentity providing services to the students entitled to such services. Theproportionate share of federal and state resources generated by studentswith disabilities, or the staff serving them, shall be paid to the districtwhere the child is attending school, unless the district of residence isrequired by law to provide such services to the individual students, exceptthat a special school district containing the district where the child isattending school shall be paid for all unreimbursed expenses for specialeducation services provided to students with disabilities. Funds held bythe corporation at the close of a fiscal year may be carried over andutilized by the corporation in subsequent fiscal years for the purposes setforth in this section.
7. The board of directors may establish regional attendance zoneswhich map the regions of a district in a city not within a county tocorresponding recipient districts within the remainder of the program area.In establishing the regional attendance zones, the board of directors maysolicit comments and suggestions from residents of the program area and mayadopt one or more regional attendance zones previously established in theprogram area pursuant to a federal court desegregation order, decree oragreement.
8. No later than four years following the date an urban public schooltransfer program is begun pursuant to this section in a program area, thesenate and the house of representatives shall establish a "Joint Committeeon Urban Voluntary School Transfer Programs", composed of five members ofthe senate, appointed by the president pro tem of the senate, and fivemembers of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of thehouse. Not more than three members appointed by the president pro tem andnot more than three members appointed by the speaker of the house shall befrom the same political party.
9. The joint committee may meet as necessary and hold hearings andconduct investigations as it deems advisable. No later than five yearsfollowing the date an urban voluntary school transfer program is begunpursuant to this section in a program area, the committee shall review andmonitor the status of any urban voluntary school transfer programestablished pursuant to this section and make any recommendations thecommittee deems necessary to the general assembly regarding such program orprograms, which may include proposed changes to the program andrecommendations regarding the continuation of the program. The membersshall receive no additional compensation, other than reimbursement fortheir actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of theirduties. The staff of the committee on legislative research, houseresearch, 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 publicschool transfer program is begun pursuant to this section in a programarea, the joint committee on urban voluntary school transfer programs shallbe reestablished in the form specified in subsection 8 of this section andpursuant to the same provisions for reimbursement of expenses and staffsupport as specified in subsection 9 of this section. No later than tenyears following the date an urban voluntary school transfer program isbegun pursuant to this section in a program area, the committee shallreview and monitor the status of any urban voluntary school transferprogram established pursuant to this section and make any recommendationsthe committee deems necessary to the general assembly regarding suchprogram or programs.
(L. 1998 S.B. 781)Effective 7-1-99; see RSMo 163.035