MO SB616

Establishes the "Every Child Can Learn Act" requiring school districts with unaccredited schools to implement one of three turnaround options (restart, transformation, or turnaround model) by the first day of school in the next calendar year.

Allows students in unaccredited schools to transfer to accredited schools in the same or adjoining county after exhausting in-district options, but requires three years of prior enrollment in the unaccredited district to be eligible.

Requires all metropolitan school district schools to implement response-to-intervention reading instruction for kindergarten through tenth grade and develop personalized learning plans for kindergarten and first grade students reading below grade level.

Permits school boards to terminate or not renew contracts of school personnel in unaccredited schools without hearings or standard employment procedures normally required.

Mandates the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education establish a letter grade system (A-F) for all public schools by July 1, 2016, based on student proficiency, learning gains, graduation rates, and college/career readiness measures, with at least five percent of schools receiving failing grades.