HB1246 Summary

• Expands charter school sponsorship eligibility to include school boards of accredited districts, special administrative boards in unaccredited districts, cooperative associations of school districts, and the Missouri charter public school commission.

• Establishes a system for classifying individual school buildings within unaccredited districts separately from the district as a whole under state board authority.

• Creates student transfer rights allowing students in unaccredited districts to attend accredited public schools in the same or adjoining counties, with tuition and transportation paid by the unaccredited district of residence.

• Establishes a clearinghouse in certain metropolitan areas and large counties to coordinate and process student transfers from unaccredited to accredited districts, with specific application deadlines and admission procedures.

• Allows unaccredited school districts to extend school day length, increase annual instructional hours, and extend the school term through board resolution without the seven-hour daily limit that applies to other districts.