Missouri State Board of Education Meeting Report (Sept. 13, 2022)

Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program (MOCAP)

MOCAP, previously known as Missouri Virtual Instruction Program (MOVIP), was established in 2018. MOCAP offers virtual courses for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Click here for the update.

House Bill 1552, enacted in August 2022, made the following changes to the program:

• Allows full-time MOCAP students to move from their resident district and enroll in another district
• Allows state aid distribution to follow students to the host district
• Requires MOCAP programs to become attendance centers for statewide assessments and report those assessments
• Removes the resident district’s approval process for full-time MOCAP students
• Possible impacts on student sports/activities eligibility for MOCAP students

DESE oversees the administration of the MOCAP program and is developing guidance for districts and families for enrollment, service plans, IDEA impacts, assessment reporting, and transfer of state aid.

Board Approves Initial Budget Requests for Fiscal Year 2024

Budget increases are anticipated due to the passage of several pieces of new legislation. Click here to view requests. Requests include:

• Increased funding to the Foundation Formula for state/local aid to charter schools, enrollment. requirements for virtual schools for homeschooled or non-public school students, and exemptions for weather make-up days for half-day programs.
• Increased funding for transportation as required to meet state statute thresholds.
• Anticipated increase to teacher baseline salary.
• Funding of Teacher Career Ladder program.
• Funding of Grow Your Own programs.
• Funding for home visits, reading literacy, workforce readiness programs, substitute teaching certification processes, review of school innovation waivers, and youth apprenticeship programs.
• Funding for Imagination Library, required by statute to begin in 2023-24.
• Funding for staff to support an early learning quality improvement process.
• Authority to apply for School Nutrition Federal Grants and Perkins Grants.
• Staffing to support Project Extended IMPACT and Missouri’s Pathways for Instructionally Embedded Assessment.
• Funding to subsidize fees for High School Equivalency exams.
• Funding for DESE staffing in a variety of departments.

In other business

Update on Learning Acceleration

Commissioner Vandeven reviewed the recent release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, commonly known as ‘The Nation’s Report Card’ on third-grade students' performance in math and reading. Scores dropped nationally for every demographic and geographic group with significant drops for historically low-performing subgroups.

The Commissioner shared preliminary long-term assessment trends from Missouri assessments, pre- and post-pandemic: younger students were more impacted than older students, math scores impacted more than English, and although all subgroups were impacted by disrupted instruction since 2019, historically low-performing subgroup gaps are widening. Students receiving on-site instruction fared better than in any other instructional mode. Missouri was one of the top five states that kept schools open during the pandemic and provided on-site instruction.

Commissioner Vandeven expressed her thanks to educators and staff that worked to provide services to students during the pandemic and reviewed the ongoing DESE responses to remediating student progress. “None of this can be done without great teachers. If you look at all the external forces that are out there, the one single thing that we can do in our schools – the greatest school level factor – is that teacher in the classroom.”

Missouri’s NAEP data will be released in October.

Update on Office of Childhood

In 2021, the Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education, Health and Senior Services, and Social Services consolidated nearly all early childhood programs into the new Office of Childhood  (OOC). During its first year, OOC has combined funding, programs, and employees; formed the Early Childhood State Advisory Council; began the development of an Early Childhood Integrated Data System, and began work on a unified rating system and professional development registry.

The Office of Childhood has adopted the following four goals:

• Expand access to high-quality programs and services.
• Improve the quality of programs and services.
• Strengthen community leadership.
• Modernize systems and improve operations.

The Board received a quarterly update on the Normandy School District.

The Board approved the notice of changes to rules:

• Updates to the First Steps program to include the Office of Childhood and aligning program processes to state and national standards.
• Updates to the family childcare home licensees: exemptions, training requirements, and a new professional development system.
• Updates to group childcare home and center licensees: orientation and training requirements to align with the new professional development system.
• Updates to the Audit Policy and Requirements: provides clarity on terminology, incorporates federal references, and updates the review responsibilities.