Notes from March 8, 2022 meeting of the Missouri State Board of Education Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Find archived reports at www.mnea.org/stateboard.
Board approves redistricting plan for Special School District
The Special School District of St. Louis County provides special education services to students with disabilities. More than 97 percent of students who receive services from SSD staff attend a school in one of the 22 partner school districts in which they live. Students with more significant disabilities are served by SSD’s five special education schools. Redistricting of SSD is required after each 10-year census to distribute the student population among SSD subdistricts. The newly adopted subdistricts are:
- Subdistrict 1: Hazelwood, Jennings, Maplewood Richmond Heights
- Subdistrict 2: (unchanged) Affton, Bayless, Hancock Place, Mehlville
- Subdistrict 3: (unchanged) Parkway
- Subdistrict 4: (unchanged) Ferguson-Florissant, Pattonville, Riverview Gardens
- Subdistrict 5: Brentwood, Kirkwood, Lindbergh, Valley Park, Webster Groves
- Subdistrict 6: Ladue, Normandy, Ritenour, University City
- Subdistrict 7: Clayton and Rockwood
Board approves amendments to implementation of IDEA
Approved amendments to the implementation of Part B of IDEA, for serving children ages 3-21 include:
- Hearing impairments may be diagnosed by a licensed assistant physician or registered nurse.
- Parents may attend meetings through video conferences.
- In-state transfers may receive comparable services until a re-evaluation is completed.
- Informed parental consent need not be obtained if reasonable efforts have been made and parent failed to respond.
Update on MSIP 6
The State Board heard an update from DESE staff and members of the Missouri School Improvement Program Advisory Committee on the ongoing development and implementation process for MSIP 6. A preliminary MSIP 6 guide will be released this month followed by public hearings. School districts will complete assessments and district reviews through the fall and receive their MSIP 6 Annual Performance Reports in December. The Board held a robust debate on the goals of the MSIP program
and student achievement. DESE is considering 2021-22 as a transition year – classifications will not be lowered due to performance, attendance will not be factored into MSIP scores, and all data will be reported publicly. The 2022-23 year begins the 3-year cycle of new standards that include recognition for improvement over time. Key changes include:
|
MSIP 5 |
MSIP 6 |
|
| Annual Performance Report | 100% performance | 70% performance, 30% improvement |
| Achievement | MAP scores | Improvement in MAP scores |
| Student groups/free & reduced lunch | Community eligibility | Actual population |
| Attendance | Attendance target requirements | Improvement in rates |
| Equity information | Not assessed | Standards for equity and access |
| High school assessment | Required prior to graduation | Required when course credit is awarded |
| Continuous improvement | Not assessed | Year one pilot, then 3-year cycle |
School Turnaround Act
The School Turnaround Act was established by the Missouri legislature in August 2019. The legislation requires DESE to identify schools in need of academic improvement and provide access and funding to qualified independent school turnaround “experts.” Academic performance is the basis for identification. Schools are ranked using MAP scores and consideration is given to districts that are provisionally accredited. The full program description can be found here.
In other business, the board:
- Designated eleven (nine nonpublic and two public) high schools as A+ Schools.
- Adopted the 2022-23 calendars for the School for the Blind, School for the Deaf, and Schools for the Severely Disabled.
- Received an update on the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled. The MSSD serves 741 students and employs 622 staff. MSSD has launched a superintendent search.
- Received the complete listing and status of education bills in the legislature.
- Approved publishing for public comments a change to the rule regarding Persistently Dangerous Schools so that it includes charter schools.
The next meeting of the Missouri State Board of Education will be on April 12, 2022. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Rebeka McIntosh at 800-392-0236 or
rebeka.mcintosh@mnea.org. Details of state board agenda items can be found here.
Respectfully submitted,
Rebeka McIntosh, MNEA vice president
Ann Jarrett, MNEA teaching and learning director