Missouri HB 303: Establishes transfer procedures to nonresident districts for students in public schools

Bill Text

FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 303
101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
0262H.04C DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 167.020 and 167.151, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof nine new sections
relating to admission of nonresident pupils, with a delayed effective date and an
emergency clause for a certain section.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 167.020 and 167.151, RSMo, are repealed and nine new sections
2 enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 167.020, 167.151, 167.1200, 167.1205,
3 167.1210, 167.1215, 167.1220, 167.1225, and 167.1230, to read as follows:
167.020. 1. As used in this section, the term "homeless child" or "homeless youth" shall
2 mean a person less than twenty-one years of age who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate
3 nighttime residence, including a child or youth who:
4 (1) Is sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship,
5 or a similar reason; is living in motels, hotels, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative
6 adequate accommodations; is living in emergency or transitional shelters; is abandoned in
7 hospitals; or is awaiting foster care placement;
8 (2) Has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for
9 or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
10 (3) Is living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus
11 or train stations, or similar settings; and
12 (4) Is a migratory child or youth who qualifies as homeless because the child or youth
13 is living in circumstances described in subdivisions (1) to (3) of this subsection.
14 2. (1) In order to register a pupil, the pupil or the parent or legal guardian of the pupil
15 [or the pupil himself or herself] shall provide, at the time of registration, one of the following:
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended
to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.

HCS HB 303 2
16 [(1)] (a) Proof of residency in the district. Except as otherwise provided in section
17 167.151, the term "residency" shall mean that a person both physically resides within a school
18 district and is domiciled within that district or, in the case of a private school student suspected
19 of having a disability under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. Section
20 [1412] 1411, et seq., as amended, that the student attends private school within that district. The
21 domicile of a minor child shall be the domicile of a parent, military guardian pursuant to a
22 military-issued guardianship or court-appointed legal guardian. For instances in which the
23 family of a student living in Missouri co-locates to live with other family members or live in a
24 military family support community because one or both of the child's parents are stationed or
25 deployed out of state or deployed within Missouri under active duty orders under Title 10 or Title
26 32 of the United States Code, the student may attend the school district in which the family
27 member's residence or family support community is located. If the active duty orders expire
28 during the school year, the student may finish the school year in that district;
29 [(2)] (b) Proof that the person registering the student has requested a waiver under
30 subsection 3 of this section within the last forty-five days; or
31 [(3)] (c) Proof that one or both of the child's parents are being relocated to the state of
32 Missouri under military orders.
33 (2) In instances where there is reason to suspect that admission of the pupil will create
34 an immediate danger to the safety of other pupils and employees of the district, the
35 superintendent or the superintendent's designee may convene a hearing within five working days
36 of the request to register and determine whether or not the pupil may register.
37 3. Any person subject to the requirements of subsection 2 of this section may request a
38 waiver from the district board of any of those requirements on the basis of hardship or good
39 cause. Under no circumstances shall athletic ability be a valid basis of hardship or good cause
40 for the issuance of a waiver of the requirements of subsection 2 of this section. The district
41 board or committee of the board appointed by the president and which shall have full authority
42 to act in lieu of the board shall convene a hearing as soon as possible, but no later than forty-five
43 days after receipt of the waiver request made under this subsection or the waiver request shall
44 be granted. The district board or committee of the board may grant the request for a waiver of
45 any requirement of subsection 2 of this section. The district board or committee of the board
46 may also reject the request for a waiver in which case the pupil s