1. For purposes of this section and section 167.898, the following terms mean:

(1) “Approved charter school”, a charter school that has existed for less than three years or a charter school with a three-year average score consistent with a classification of accredited without provisions on its annual performance report;

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(2) “Attendance center”, a public school building, public school buildings, or part of a public school building that offers education in a grade or grades not higher than the twelfth grade and that constitutes one unit for accountability and reporting purposes for the department of elementary and secondary education;

(3) “Available receiving district”, a school district able to receive transfer students under this section;

(4) “Receiving district”, a school district receiving transfer students under this section;

(5) “Sending district”, a school district from which students are transferring to a receiving district or approved charter school, as allowed under this section.

2. (1) Any student may transfer to another public school in the student’s district of residence if such student is enrolled in and has attended, for the full semester immediately prior to requesting the transfer, an attendance center:

(a) That is located within an unaccredited district; and

(b) That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited.

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However, no such transfer shall result in a class size and assigned enrollment in a receiving school that exceeds the standards for class size and assigned enrollment as promulgated in the Missouri school improvement program’s resource standards. If the student chooses to attend a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance process within his or her district of residence that has admissions requirements, the student shall meet the admissions requirements in order to attend.

(2) The school board of each unaccredited district shall determine the capacity at each of the district’s attendance centers that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited. The district’s school board shall be responsible for coordinating transfers within the district as allowed under this subsection.

(3) The school board of each unaccredited district shall annually report to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee the number of available slots in attendance centers within the district that have annual performance report scores consistent with a classification of accredited, the number of students who request to transfer within the district, and the number of such transfer requests that are granted.

3. (1) Any student who is eligible to transfer within his or her district under subsection 2 of this section but who is unable to do so due to a lack of capacity in the attendance centers in his or her district of residence may apply to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee to transfer to:

(a) An attendance center:

a. That is located within an accredited district that is located in the same or an adjoining county; and

b. That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited; or

(b) An approved charter school located in another district in the same or an adjoining county.

(2) A student who is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade at an attendance center:

(a) That is located within an unaccredited district;

(b) That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited; and

(c) That offers classes above the second grade level

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may apply to the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee for a transfer to a school described under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision (1) of this subsection if he or she resides in the attendance area of the attendance center described under this subdivision on March first preceding the school year of first attendance. A student who does not apply by March first for enrollment in any school year after the 2019-20 school year shall be required to enroll and attend the attendance center described under this subdivision for one semester to become eligible.

(3) If a student who is eligible to transfer under this subsection chooses to apply to attend a magnet school, an academically selective school, or a school with a competitive entrance process that has admissions requirements, the student shall furnish proof that he or she meets the admissions requirements.

(4) Any student who does not maintain residency in the attendance area of his or her attendance center in the district of residence shall lose eligibility to transfer.

(5) Except as provided under subsection 7 of this section, any student who transfers but later withdraws shall lose eligibility to transfer.

(6) The transfer provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a district created under sections 162.815 to 162.840 or to any early childhood programs or early childhood special education programs.

4. (1) No student enrolled in and attending an attendance center that does not offer classes above the second grade level shall be eligible to transfer under this section.

(2) No student who is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade at an attendance center that does not offer classes above the second grade level shall be eligible to transfer under this section.

5. (1) (a) No provisionally accredited district shall be eligible to receive transfer students.

(b) Except as provided under paragraph (c) of this subdivision, no attendance center that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited shall be eligible to receive transfer students.

(c) A transfer student who chooses to attend an attendance center that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited and that is located within his or her unaccredited district of residence shall be allowed to transfer to such attendance center if there is an available slot.

(2) (a) No unaccredited district shall be eligible to receive transfer students.

(b) No attendance center that has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited shall be eligible to receive transfer students.

(3) No district or attendance center that has received two consecutive annual performance reports consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited for the years immediately preceding the year in which it seeks to enroll transfer students shall be eligible to receive any transfer students, irrespective of its state board of education classification designation; except that, any student who was granted a transfer to such a district or attendance center prior to August 28, 2019 may remain enrolled in that district or attendance center.

6. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 5 of this section, a student may transfer to an attendance center:

(1) That is located within an unaccredited or provisionally accredited district; and

(2) That has an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited

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if the attendance center applies for and is granted a waiver by the department of elementary and secondary education or its designee to allow the attendance center to accept transfer students.

7. If a receiving district becomes unaccredited or provisionally accredited, or if an approved charter school loses its status as an approved charter school, any students who previously transferred to the district or charter school shall receive the opportunity to remain enrolled in the district or charter school or to transfer to another district or approved charter school without losing their eligibility to transfer.

8. For a receiving district, no acceptance of a transfer student shall require any of the following actions, unless the board of education of the receiving district has approved the action:

(1) The hiring of additional classroom teachers;

(2) The construction of additional classrooms; or

(3) A class size and assigned enrollment in a receiving school that exceeds the standards for class size and assigned enrollment as promulgated in the Missouri school improvement program’s resource standards.

9. (1) By July 15, 2019, the board of education of each available receiving district and the governing board of each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall set the number of transfer students the district or charter school is able to receive for the 2019-20 school year.

(2) By February first annually, the board of education of each available receiving district and the governing board of each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall set the number of transfer students the district or charter school is able to receive for the following school year.

(3) An available receiving district or approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall publish the number set under this subsection and shall not be required to accept any transfer students under this section that would cause it to exceed the published number.

10. (1) Each available receiving district shall adopt a policy establishing a tuition rate for transfer students by February first annually.

(2) Each approved charter school eligible to receive transfer students under this section shall adopt a policy establishing a tuition rate for transfer students by February first annually.

(3) A sending district shall pay the receiving district or the approved charter school the amount specified under section 167.132 for each transfer student.

11. A student whose transfer application has been denied by a receiving district shall have the right to appeal the decision of the receiving district to the department of elementary and secondary education. The appeal shall be taken within fifteen days after the decision of the department and may be taken by filing notice of appeal with the department. Such appeal shall be heard as provided in chapter 536.

12. If an unaccredited district becomes classified as provisionally accredited or accredited without provisions by the state board of education, or if an attendance center within an unaccredited district improves its annual performance report score from a score that is consistent with a classification of unaccredited to a score that is consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited or accredited, any resident student of the unaccredited district who has transferred to an approved charter school or to an accredited district in the same or an adjoining county, as allowed under subsection 3 of this section, shall be permitted to continue his or her educational program in the receiving district or charter school through the completion of middle school, junior high school, or high school, whichever occurs first; except that, a student who attends any school serving students through high school graduation but starting at grades lower than ninth grade shall be permitted to complete high school in the school to which he or she has transferred.

13. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 10 of this section, if costs associated with the provision of special education and related services to a student with a disability exceed the tuition amount established under this section, the unaccredited district shall remain responsible for paying the excess cost to the receiving district. If the receiving district is a component district of a special school district, the unaccredited district, including any metropolitan school district, shall contract with the special school district for the entirety of the costs to provide special education and related services, excluding transportation in accordance with this section. The special school district may contract with an unaccredited district, including any metropolitan district, for the provision of transportation of a student with a disability or the unaccredited district may provide transportation on its own.

14. A special school district shall continue to provide special education and related services, with the exception of transportation under this section, to a student with a disability transferring from an attendance center with an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of unaccredited that is within a component district to an attendance center with an annual performance report score consistent with a classification of accredited that is within the same or a different component district within the special school district.

15. If any metropolitan school district is classified as unaccredited, it shall remain responsible for the provision of special education and related services, including transportation, to students with disabilities. A special school district in an adjoining county to a metropolitan school district may contract with the metropolitan school district for the reimbursement of special education services under sections 162.705 and 162.710 provided by the special school district for transfer students who are residents of the unaccredited district.

16. Regardless of whether transportation is identified as a related service within a student’s individualized education program, a receiving district that is not part of a special school district shall not be responsible for providing transportation to a student transferring under this section. An unaccredited district may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district under sections 162.705 and 162.710 for transportation of students with disabilities.

17. If a seven-director school district or urban school district is classified as unaccredited, it may contract with a receiving district that is not part of a special school district in the same or an adjoining county for the reimbursement of special education and related services under sections 162.705 and 162.710 provided by the receiving district for transfer students who are residents of the unaccredited district.