MSTA Action Newsletter
Feb. 17, MSTA Action
Click here for a complete copy of this edition.
Document(s) in pdf format.
Click here to download Adobe Acrobat®.
Tuition tax credits advance in Senate
Legislation that sought to make it easier for governments to share services has grown to include several MSTA-opposed proposals, including tuition tax credits.
The Senate General Laws Committee this week approved SB451 (Cunningham). The original bill allowed governments to share services, although many school districts and other governmental bodies already have such agreements.
The bill now includes provisions for tuition tax credits for students in unaccredited school districts. Under this plan, an individual or corporation would get a 60 percent tax credit for a donation to an organization that would fund scholarships for students in unaccredited school districts to attend private schools. The tax credits would be capped at $40 million, with annual increases in the cap based upon the consumer price index.
MSTA opposes tuition tax credits because they lower the amount of money available to state services and divert public money to pay for private school tuition.
The bill also would:
- Allow school districts or groups of districts to operate charter schools in unaccredited districts. Charters could not contract with the unaccredited district, hire the unaccredited district's teachers, or contract with teachers unions.
- Allow the State Board of Education to appoint a new district board immediately when a district becomes unaccredited, rather than waiting two years.
- Allow students in unaccredited school districts to attend school in the same or an adjoining county. Each district would establish admission criteria for the nonresident pupils from unaccredited districts. Primary criteria would be the availability of highly qualified teachers in existing classrooms and take into account the district's resident student population. The receiving district could not be required to hire more teachers or build new classrooms to take on new students.
- Require unaccredited districts to transfer local effort money received from the county assessor and collector to the state treasurer. The state treasurer could work with the State Board to identify the tuition and transportation costs for students transferring out of the unaccredited district and the amount needed from the local effort money to pay the tuition and transportation. The State Board would determine the extent to which the state treasurer may disburse the funds.
- Change procedures when a district becomes unaccredited. If a school district, except for St. Louis City or a district in St. Louis County, becomes unaccredited, surrounding accredited districts would divide the district’s territory, annex it, and draw new attendance boundaries. When an accredited district annexes part of an unaccredited district, it would not be considered a successor entity for the purposes of employment contracts or unemployment compensation.
- Give school principals the right to hire teachers who have demonstrated effectiveness and qualifications. Districts with multiple schools would have to include provisions in teacher contracts to place teachers rated highly effective or effective based on the mutual consent of the teacher and principal. Districts could adopt options for teachers rated effective or higher who are displaced and not selected for a regular position.
- Require at least 51 percent of a teacher's evaluation to be based on students' academic growth.
