1. 1. The department shall award contracts to independent school turnaround experts. Governing boards shall not be required to pay independent school turnaround experts.

2. 2. When awarding a contract to an independent school turnaround expert selected by the governing board under section 161.1095, the department shall ensure that a contract between the governing board and the independent school turnaround expert specifies that the department shall:

   1. (1) Pay an independent school turnaround expert no more than fifty percent of the expert's professional fees during the time period the school turnaround expert is providing services to the school in need of intervention; and
   2. (2) Pay the remainder of the independent school turnaround expert's professional fees upon the independent school turnaround expert successfully helping a school in need of intervention meet exit criteria as determined by the department under section 161.1090 within four school years after a school is designated as needing intervention.

3. 3. In negotiating a contract with an independent school turnaround expert, the department shall offer:

   1. (1) An average of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the entirety of the project;
   2. (2) Differentiated amounts of funding based on student enrollment; and
   3. (3) A higher amount of funding for schools that are in the lowest-performing one percent of schools statewide according to the outcome-based measure determined by the department under section 161.1090.
4. 4. There is hereby created in the state treasury the "School Turnaround Fund". The fund shall consist of all moneys that may be appropriated to it by the general assembly and any gifts, contributions, grants, or bequests received from federal, private, or other sources. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund. In accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state treasurer may approve disbursements of public moneys in accordance with distribution requirements and procedures developed by the department of elementary and secondary education. The fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, moneys in the fund shall be used solely for payments to independent school turnaround experts and for administrative expenses for the school turnaround program. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund. The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner as other funds are invested. Any interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be credited to the fund.

(L. 2019 H.B. 604)