Mo. Rev. Stat. § 163.011 — MO Code / Chapter 163 / Section 163.011
163.011 Definitions — method of calculating state aid.
Status: in_force

163.011. Definitions — method of calculating state aid. — As used in this chapter unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) "Adjusted operating levy" , the sum of tax rates for the current year for teachers' and incidental funds for a school district as reported to the proper officer of each county pursuant to section 164.011 ;

(2) "Average daily attendance" , the quotient or the sum of the quotients obtained by dividing the total number of hours attended in a term by resident pupils between the ages of five and twenty-one by the actual number of hours school was in session in that term. To the average daily attendance of the following school term shall be added the full-time equivalent average daily attendance of summer school students. "Full-time equivalent average daily attendance of summer school students" shall be computed by dividing the total number of hours, except for physical education hours that do not count as credit toward graduation for students in grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, attended by all summer school pupils by the number of hours required in section 160.011 in the school term. For purposes of determining average daily attendance under this subdivision, the term "resident pupil" shall include all children between the ages of five and twenty-one who are residents of the school district and who are attending kindergarten through grade twelve in such district. If a child is attending school in a district other than the district of residence and the child's parent is teaching in the school district or is a regular employee of the school district which the child is attending, then such child shall be considered a resident pupil of the school district which the child is attending for such period of time when the district of residence is not otherwise liable for tuition. Average daily attendance for students below the age of five years for which a school district may receive state aid based on such attendance shall be computed as regular school term attendance unless otherwise provided by law;

(3) "Current operating expenditures" :

(a) For the fiscal year 2007 calculation, current operating expenditures shall be calculated using data from fiscal year 2004 and shall be calculated as all expenditures for instruction and support services except capital outlay and debt service expenditures minus the revenue from federal categorical sources; food service; student activities; categorical payments for transportation costs pursuant to section 163.161 ; state reimbursements for early childhood special education; the career ladder entitlement for the district, as provided for in sections 168.500 to 168.515 ; the vocational education entitlement for the district, as provided for in section 167.332 * ; and payments from other districts;

(b) In every fiscal year subsequent to fiscal year 2007, current operating expenditures shall be the amount in paragraph (a) of this subdivision plus any increases in state funding pursuant to sections 163.031 and 163.043 subsequent to fiscal year 2005, not to exceed five percent, per recalculation, of the state revenue received by a district in the 2004-05 school year from the foundation formula, line 14, gifted, remedial reading, exceptional pupil aid, fair share, and free textbook payments for any district from the first preceding calculation of the state adequacy target;

(4) "District's tax rate ceiling" , the highest tax rate ceiling in effect subsequent to the 1980 tax year or any subsequent year. Such tax rate ceiling shall not contain any tax levy for debt service;

(5) "Dollar-value modifier" , an index of the relative purchasing power of a dollar, calculated as one plus fifteen percent of the difference of the regional wage ratio minus one, provided that the dollar value modifier shall not be applied at a rate less than 1.0:

(a) "County wage per job" , the total county wage and salary disbursements divided by the total county wage and salary employment for each county and the City of St. Louis as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce for the fourth year preceding the payment year;

(b) "Regional wage per job" :

a. The total Missouri wage and salary disbursements of the metropolitan area as defined by the Office of Management and Budget divided by the total Missouri metropolitan wage and salary employment for the metropolitan area for the county signified in the school district number or the City of St. Louis, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce for the fourth year preceding the payment year and recalculated upon every decennial census to incorporate counties that are newly added to the description of metropolitan areas; or if no such metropolitan area is established, then:

b. The total Missouri wage and salary disbursements of the micropolitan area as defined by the Office of Management and Budget divided by the total Missouri micropolitan wage and salary employment for the micropolitan area for the county signified in the school district number, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce for the fourth year preceding the payment year, if a micropolitan area for such county has been established and recalculated upon every decennial census to incorporate counties that are newly added to the description of micropolitan areas; or

c. If a county is not part of a metropolitan or micropolitan area as established by the Office of Management and Budget, then the county wage per job, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, shall be used for the school district, as signified by the school district number;

(c) "Regional wage ratio" , the ratio of the regional wage per job divided by the state median wage per job;

(d) "State median wage per job" , the fifty-eighth highest county wage per job;

(6) "Free and reduced price lunch pupil count" , for school districts not eligible for and those that do not choose the USDA Community Eligibility Option, the number of pupils eligible for free and reduced price lunch on the last Wednesday in January for the preceding school year who were enrolled as students of the district, as approved by the department in accordance with applicable federal regulations. For eligible school districts that choose the USDA Community Eligibility Option, the free and reduced price lunch pupil count shall be the percentage of free and reduced price lunch students calculated as eligible on the last Wednesday in January of the most recent school year that included household applications to determine free and reduced price lunch count multiplied by the district's average daily attendance figure;

(7) "Free and reduced price lunch threshold" shall be calculated by dividing the total free and reduced price lunch pupil count of every performance district that falls entirely above the bottom five percent and entirely below the top five percent of average daily attendance, when such districts are rank-ordered based on their current operating expenditures per average daily attendance, by the total average daily attendance of all included performance districts;

(8) "Limited English proficiency pupil count" , the number in the preceding school year of pupils aged three through twenty-one enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary school or secondary school who were not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than English or are Native American or Alaskan native, or a native resident of the outlying areas, and come from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on such individuals' level of English language proficiency, or are migratory, whose native language is a language other than English, and who come from an environment where a language other than English is dominant; and have difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language sufficient to deny such individuals the ability to meet the state's proficient level of achievement on state assessments described in Public Law 107-10 , the ability to achieve successfully in classrooms where the language of instruction is English, or the opportunity to participate fully in society;

(9) "Limited English proficiency threshold" shall be calculated by dividing the total limited English proficiency pupil count of every performance district that falls entirely above the bottom five percent and entirely below the top five percent of average daily attendance, when such districts are rank-ordered based on their current operating expenditures per average daily attendance, by the total average daily attendance of all included performance districts;

(10) "Local effort" :

(a) For the fiscal year 2007 calculation, local effort shall be computed as the equalized assessed valuation of the property of a school district in calendar year 2004 divided by one hundred and multiplied by the performance levy less the percentage retained by the county assessor and collector plus one hundred percent of the amount received in fiscal year 2005 for school purposes from intangible taxes, fines, escheats, payments in lieu of taxes and receipts from state-assessed railroad and utility tax, one hundred percent of the amount received for school purposes pursuant to the merchants' and manufacturers' taxes under sections 150.010 to 150.370 , one hundred percent of the amounts received for school purposes from federal properties under sections 12.070 and 12.080 except when such amounts are used in the calculation of federal impact aid pursuant to P.L. 81-874 , fifty percent of Proposition C revenues received for school purposes from the school district trust fund under section 163.087 , and one hundred percent of any local earnings or income taxes received by the district for school purposes. Under this paragraph, for a special district established under sections 162.815 to 162.940 in a county with a charter form of government and with more than one million inhabitants, a tax levy of zero shall be utilized in lieu of the performance levy for the special school district;

(b) In every year subsequent to fiscal year 2007, local effort shall be the amount calculated under paragraph (a) of this subdivision plus any increase in the amount received for school purposes from fines. If a district's assessed valuation has decreased subsequent to the calculation outlined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the district's local effort shall be calculated using the district's current assessed valuation in lieu of the assessed valuation utilized in the calculation outlined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. When a change in a school district's boundary lines occurs because of a boundary line change, annexation, attachment, consolidation, reorganization, or dissolution under section 162.071 , 162.081 , sections 162.171 to 162.201 , section 162.221 , 162.223 , 162.431 , 162.441 , or 162.451 , or in the event that a school district assumes any territory from a district that ceases to exist for any reason, the department of elementary and secondary education shall make a proper adjustment to each affected district's local effort, so that each district's local effort figure conforms to the new boundary lines of the district. The department shall compute the local effort figure by applying the calendar year 2004 assessed valuation data to the new land areas resulting from the boundary line change, annexation, attachment, consolidation, reorganization, or dissolution and otherwise follow the procedures described in this subdivision;

(11) "Membership" shall be the average of:

(a) The number of resident full-time students and the full-time equivalent number of part-time students who were enrolled in the public schools of the district on the last Wednesday in September of the previous year and who were in attendance one day or more during the preceding ten school days; and

(b) The number of resident full-time students and the full-time equivalent number of part-time students who were enrolled in the public schools of the district on the last Wednesday in January of the previous year and who were in attendance one day or more during the preceding ten school days, plus the full-time equivalent number of summer school pupils. "Full-time equivalent number of part-time students" is determined by dividing the total number of hours for which all part-time students are enrolled by the number of hours in the school term. "Full-time equivalent number of summer school pupils" is determined by dividing the total number of hours for which all summer school pupils were enrolled by the number of hours required pursuant to section 160.011 in the school term. Only students eligible to be counted for average daily attendance shall be counted for membership;

(12) "Operating levy for school purposes" , the sum of tax rates levied for teachers' and incidental funds plus the operating levy or sales tax equivalent pursuant to section 162.1100 of any transitional school district containing the school district, in the payment year, not including any equalized operating levy for school purposes levied by a special school district in which the district is located;

(13) "Performance district" , any district that has met performance standards and indicators as established by the department of elementary and secondary education for purposes of accreditation under section 161.092 and as reported on the final annual performance report for that district each year; for calculations to be utilized for payments in fiscal years subsequent to fiscal year 2018, the number of performance districts shall not exceed twenty-five percent of all public school districts;

(14) "Performance levy" , three dollars and forty-three cents;

(15) "School purposes" pertains to teachers' and incidental funds;

(16) "Special education pupil count" , the number of public school students with a current individualized education program or services plan and receiving services from the resident district as of December first of the preceding school year, except for special education services provided through a school district established under sections 162.815 to 162.940 in a county with a charter form of government and with more than one million inhabitants, in which case the sum of the students in each district within the county exceeding the special education threshold of each respective district within the county shall be counted within the special district and not in the district of residence for purposes of distributing the state aid derived from the special education pupil count;

(17) "Special education threshold" shall be calculated by dividing the total special education pupil count of every performance district that falls entirely above the bottom five percent and entirely below the top five percent of average daily attendance, when such districts are rank-ordered based on their current operating expenditures per average daily attendance, by the total average daily attendance of all included performance districts;

(18) "State adequacy target" , the sum of the current operating expenditures of every performance district that falls entirely above the bottom five percent and entirely below the top five percent of average daily attendance, when such districts are rank-ordered based on their current operating expenditures per average daily attendance, divided by the total average daily attendance of all included performance districts. The department of elementary and secondary education shall first calculate the state adequacy target for fiscal year 2007 and recalculate the state adequacy target every two years using the most current available data. The recalculation shall never result in a decrease from the state adequacy target as calculated for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 and any state adequacy target figure calculated subsequent to fiscal year 2018. Should a recalculation result in an increase in the state adequacy target amount, fifty percent of that increase shall be included in the state adequacy target amount in the year of recalculation, and fifty percent of that increase shall be included in the state adequacy target amount in the subsequent year. The state adequacy target may be adjusted to accommodate available appropriations as provided in subsection 7 of section 163.031 ;

(19) "Teacher" , any teacher, teacher-secretary, substitute teacher, supervisor, principal, supervising principal, superintendent or assistant superintendent, school nurse, social worker, counselor or librarian who shall, regularly, teach or be employed for no higher than grade twelve more than one-half time in the public schools and who is certified under the laws governing the certification of teachers in Missouri;

(20) "Weighted average daily attendance" :

(a) For fiscal years prior to the 2026 fiscal year, paragraph (g) of this subdivision;

(b) For the 2026 fiscal year, the sum of nine-tenths multiplied by paragraph (g) of this subdivision plus one-tenth multiplied by the weighted membership;

(c) For the 2027 fiscal year, the sum of eight-tenths multiplied by paragraph (g) of this subdivision plus two-tenths multiplied by the weighted membership;

(d) For the 2028 fiscal year, the sum of seven-tenths multiplied by paragraph (g) of this subdivision plus three-tenths multiplied by the weighted membership;

(e) For the 2029 fiscal year, the sum of six-tenths multiplied by paragraph (g) of this subdivision plus four-tenths multiplied by the weighted membership;

(f) For the 2030 fiscal year and all subsequent fiscal years, the sum of five-tenths multiplied by paragraph (g) of this subdivision plus five-tenths multiplied by the weighted membership;

(g) The average daily attendance plus the product of twenty-five hundredths multiplied by the free and reduced price lunch pupil count that exceeds the free and reduced price lunch threshold, plus the product of seventy-five hundredths multiplied by the number of special education pupil count that exceeds the special education threshold, plus the product of six-tenths multiplied by the number of limited English proficiency pupil count that exceeds the limited English proficiency threshold. For special districts established under sections 162.815 to 162.940 in a county with a charter form of government and with more than one million inhabitants, weighted average daily attendance shall be the average daily attendance plus the product of twenty-five hundredths multiplied by the free and reduced price lunch pupil count that exceeds the free and reduced price lunch threshold, plus the product of seventy-five hundredths multiplied by the sum of the special education pupil count that exceeds the threshold for each county district, plus the product of six-tenths multiplied by the limited English proficiency pupil count that exceeds the limited English proficiency threshold. None of the districts comprising a special district established under sections 162.815 to 162.940 in a county with a charter form of government and with more than one million inhabitants, shall use any special education pupil count in calculating their weighted average daily attendance;

(21) "Weighted membership" , the membership plus the product of twenty-five hundredths multiplied by the free and reduced price lunch pupil count that exceeds the free and reduced price lunch threshold, plus the product of seventy-five hundredths multiplied by the number of special education pupil count that exceeds the special education threshold, plus the product of six-tenths multiplied by the number of limited English proficiency pupil count that exceeds the limited English proficiency threshold. For special districts established under sections 162.815 to 162.940 in a county with more than one million inhabitants, weighted membership shall be the membership plus the product of twenty-five hundredths multiplied by the free and reduced price lunch pupil count that exceeds the free and reduced price lunch threshold, plus the product of seventy-five hundredths multiplied by the sum of the special education pupil count that exceeds the threshold for each county district, plus the product of six-tenths multiplied by the limited English proficiency pupil count that exceeds the limited English proficiency threshold. None of the districts comprising a special district established under sections 162.815 to 162.940 in a county with more than one million inhabitants shall use any special education pupil count in calculating their weighted membership.

(L. 1963 p. 200 § 4-1 merged with p. 335 § 161.021, A.L. 1967 p. 245, A.L. 1973 H.B. 38, H.B. 158, A.L. 1977 H.B. 130, H.B. 131, H.B. 187 (text taken from H.B. 131), A.L. 1982 adopted by Initiative, Proposition C, November 2, 1982, A.L. 1985 S.B. 152, A.L. 1986 S.B. 707 merged with H.B. 1441, A.L. 1988 S.B. 797, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1478, et al., A.L. 1993 S.B. 380, A.L. 1996 S.B. 795, et al., A.L. 1997 H.B. 628, A.L. 1998 S.B. 535, S.B. 781, A.L. 1999 H.B. 889, A.L. 2001 S.B. 353, A.L. 2002 H.B. 1711, A.L. 2005 S.B. 287, A.L. 2006 S.B. 894, A.L. 2007 S.B. 22 merged with S.B. 456, A.L. 2008 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition A, November 4, 2008, A.L. 2009 S.B. 291, A.L. 2014 H.B. 1689, A.L. 2015 H.B. 41, A.L. 2016 S.B. 586 & 651, A.L. 2024 S.B. 727) (Source: RSMo 1959 § 161.021) *Section 167.332 was repealed by H.B. 1608, 2012. (2009) School funding formula is constitutional against challenges under Article IX , Article X, and the equal protection clause of the Missouri Constitution. Committee for Educational Equality v. State of Missouri, 294 S.W.3d 477 (Mo.banc).