1. The department of social services shall authorize Missouri-based nonprofit organizations meeting the criteria of this section to establish and operate up to five adult high schools, with:

(1) One adult high school to be located in a city not within a county;

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(2) One adult high school to be located in a county of the third classification without a township form of government and with more than forty-one thousand but fewer than forty-five thousand inhabitants or a county contiguous to that county;

(3) One adult high school to be located in a county of the first classification with more than two hundred sixty thousand but fewer than three hundred thousand inhabitants or a county contiguous to that county;

(4) One adult high school to be located in a county of the first classification with more than one hundred fifty thousand but fewer than two hundred thousand inhabitants; and

(5) One adult high school to be located in a county with more than seven hundred thousand but fewer than eight hundred thousand inhabitants, or a contiguous county.

2. The department of social services shall administer funding to adult high schools subject to appropriations. The department shall be responsible for granting and maintaining authorization for adult high schools. For adult high schools in operation prior to January 1, 2023, the department shall maintain authorization for the nonprofit organization to operate the schools, subject to compliance with this section. No more than one organization shall be authorized to operate an adult high school at each location described in subsection 1 of this section. An organization may establish satellite campuses for any adult high school it is authorized to operate. The department shall administer funding for satellite campuses subject to appropriations.

3. On or before January 1, 2024, the department of social services shall select an eligible Missouri-based nonprofit organization to operate in a location described in subdivision (5) of subsection 1 of this section. An eligible organization shall:

(1) Demonstrate the ability to establish, within twenty-one months of the receipt of the authorization, an adult high school offering high school diplomas, an industry certification program or programs, and child care for children of the students attending the high schools;

(2) Demonstrate the ability to commit at least five hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of establishing the necessary infrastructure at the adult high school;

(3) Demonstrate substantial and positive experience in providing services, including industry certifications and job placement services, to adults twenty-one years of age or older whose educational and training opportunities have been limited by educational disadvantages, disabilities, homelessness, criminal history, or similar circumstances;

(4) Establish a partnership with a state-supported postsecondary education institution or more than one such partnership, if a partnership or partnerships are necessary in order to meet the requirements for an adult high school;

(5) Establish a comprehensive plan that sets forth how the adult high schools will help address the need for a sufficiently trained workforce in the surrounding region for each adult high school;

(6) Establish partnerships and strategies for engaging the community and business leaders in carrying out the goals of each adult high school;

(7) Establish the ability to meet quality standards through certified teachers and programs that support each student in such student’s goal to find a more rewarding job;

(8) Establish a plan for assisting students in overcoming barriers to educational success including, but not limited to, educational disadvantages, homelessness, criminal history, disability, including learning disability such as dyslexia, and similar circumstances;

(9) Establish a process for determining outcomes of the adult high school, including outcomes related to a student’s ability to find a more rewarding job through the attainment of a high school diploma and job training and certification; and

(10) Limit the administrative fee to no more than ten percent.

4. (1) The department of elementary and secondary education shall establish academic requirements for students to obtain high school diplomas.

(2) Requirements for a high school diploma shall be based on an adult student’s prior high school achievement and the remaining credits and coursework that would be necessary for the student to receive a high school diploma if such student were in a traditional high school setting. The adult student shall meet the requirements with the same level of academic rigor as would otherwise be necessary to attain such credits.

(3) The adult high school authorized under this section shall award high school diplomas to students who successfully meet the established academic requirements. The adult high school authorized under this section shall confer the diploma as though the student earned the diploma at a traditional high school. The diploma shall have no differentiating marks, titles, or other symbols.

(4) Students at adult high schools may complete required coursework at their own pace and as available through the adult high school. They shall not be required to satisfy any specific number of class minutes. The adult high school may also make classes available to students online as may be appropriate. However, students shall not complete the majority of instruction of the school’s curriculum online or through remote instruction. For the purposes of this subsection, synchronous instruction connecting students to a live class conducted in a Missouri adult high school shall be treated the same as in-person instruction.

(5) The department of elementary and secondary education shall not create additional regulations or burdens on the adult high school or the students attending the adult high schools beyond certifying necessary credits and ensuring that students have sufficiently mastered the subject matter to make them eligible for credit.

5. An adult high school shall be deemed a secondary school system for the purposes of subdivision (15) of subsection 1 of section 210.211.