Education bills await governor's approval

Education bills passed by the Missouri Legislature but not yet signed by Gov. Jay Nixon touch on Common Core, accountability standards for college and career readiness and preschool opportunities.

Many districts around the state have fully implemented Common Core standards for language arts and math, with testing set to begin next school year. But if Gov. Jay Nixon signs House Bill 1490, sponsored by Rep. Kurt Bahr, R-O'Fallon, it could change things.

HB 1490 calls for Common Core to progress while two work groups are created to develop new standards -- one for grades kindergarten through fifth and one for six through 12. One of the main contentions of Common Core opponents is the standards were created with no public input.

Nixon's office would not say which way the governor is leaning on the bill or whether he will sign it. "The legislation will get the same comprehensive review given to all bills that get to the governor's desk. As you know, we don't typically comment until that comprehensive review process is complete," says a statement from the governor's press office.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a statement on the legislation, as well.

"We welcome the opportunity to discuss the content of state standards with educators and parents," it says. "The department has made ongoing review and adjustment to Missouri's Learning Standards a regular part of department activities. We have always relied heavily on district professionals to conduct this work."

School districts statewide are working toward fully implementing Common Core standards next year. Any new standards developed by the work groups would be implemented in the 2016-2017 school year.

"As I think I've said before, we actually started aligning our curriculum to Common Core several years ago in communication arts and math and would hate to see all that work lost if everything was thrown out," Cape Girardeau superintendent Jim Welker said. "So, fortunately, this doesn't do away with that work and investment that we've done already, and at the same time, it allows at least a group to take a look at it in terms of if there are any changes that are needed."

Jackson School District superintendent Ron Anderson said his district has implemented Common Core in all grades except three through five. "We will be doing that starting when school starts next year," Anderson said. He added any new standards would not take effect for another two years.

"What I can tell from what the bill says, if it passes, is it really won't change anything for the next two years," Anderson said. However, if something is changed, "we'll deal with it when it comes."

The work group for kindergarten through fifth grade would include 16 people and the one for sixth through 12th grade, 17, said Nina Dean, legislative assistant Bahr. Group members would be chosen by the State Board of Education, the president pro tem of the Senate, the House speaker, governor, lieutenant governor and commissioner of higher education, among others, with names submitted by professional organizations and heads of programs.

The State Board of Education would develop and adopt a standardized test based on the academic performance standards, and Dean said HB 1490 also spells out what data can be collected and what can't be shared with other groups.

"They can share them with some third party, but it's really limited [on] what they can share," Dean said. She added there are civil penalties if the third party releases the information.

On separate legislation, Senate Bill 701 covers a variety of items, including college and career readiness, which is part of the Missouri School Improvement Program. Welker said the idea was to soften the blow of the college and career readiness standard, because it was felt some school districts were being penalized too much because their students were not being placed right away.

What districts are most pleased about is it allows results from ACT WorkKeys, a test measuring employability skills, to be used in the annual performance report scoring.

"I was happy to see the possible change in the scoring with regard to occupation placement directly relating to [students'] training within six months of graduation," Scott City superintendent Diann Ulmer said in an email to the Southeast Missourian. "While staff diligently work with students in their career planning, there are many factors that affect their placement after high school, such as job availability in the area they studied (unemployment rates), life choices (such as marriage), working in an area not associated with their training (they needed a job to pay bills). These factors school districts cannot control; thus, this accountability measure was unrealistic."

On separate legislation, State Rep. Kathy Swan sponsored House Bill 1689 to expand preschool opportunities for students ages 3 to 5 who are eligible for free and reduced lunches.

State aid would be provided to unaccredited school districts for preschool programs starting in the 2015-2016 school year, then to provisionally accredited districts the next year, with all other districts eligible once the foundation formula is fully funded.

The formula was voted into law in 2005 and enacted in 2006-2007, but districts have yet to see full funding.

The Cape Girardeau School District has preschool programs at all its elementary campuses, except Alma Schrader, because of space.

"Obviously, anything we can do to help those children be better prepared as they come into kindergarten, the greater the success will be," Welker said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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