LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
February 9, 2015
Education-related legislation being considered by the Mississippi Legislature
Click on bill number for latest action
View House calendar of the day here
View Senate calendar of the day here
KEY LEGISLATION
SB 2161 - Common Core National Education Standards; SBE shall develop and implement new curriculum and assessment standards
· Authorizes and directs the state board of education to adopt and implement new Mississippi college and career readiness standards for the public schools based on national and international benchmarks with the assistance of the southern regional education board (SREB)
· Provides that the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education shall take no further action to implement any Common Core Standards developed by the Common Core State Standards initiative
· Directs the State Superintendent of Education to take immediate action to withdraw from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
· Authorizes and directs the State Board of Education to adopt a research-based formative assessment system aligned with the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards and to publish a list of approved vendors
· Directs the State Board of Education with the assistance of the SREB to make certain recommendations regarding the implementation of standardized testing
· Prohibits State Board of Education and State Department of Education from distributing certain student identifiable information
· Authorizes and directs the State Department of Education to discontinue Subject Area Testing requirements (SATP2) and PARCC student assessments on a phased-in basis
· Deletes the requirement that the State Department of Education combine the state school accountability system with the federal system
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
HB 385- Statewide testing program; require contract with single entity for comprehensive assessment system linked to college and career readiness
· Requires the State Board of Education to contract with a single entity for the development and administration of a comprehensive statewide assessment program for public school students in grades 3-12
· Requires the statewide assessment program to be comprised of three components, including annual standards-based assessments linked to the entity's college and career readiness benchmarks, the administration of a nationally recognized college entrance readiness examination to all eleventh grade students, and a job skills assessment system that allows students to earn a nationally recognized career readiness certificate credentialing workplace employability skills
· Requires the statewide assessment program to be fully implemented in all public schools in the 2016-2017 school year
· Limits student assessments administered on a statewide basis to those examinations given under the statewide assessment program
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage
ACCOUNTABILITY/ACCREDITATION
HB 156- School accountability system; remove requirement for a combined state-federal system and revise name of state standards
· Deletes the requirement that the State Department of Education form a single accountability system by combining the state system with the federal system
· Conforms references to the state accountability standards with their common name, “The Mississippi College and Career-Ready Standards
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
HB 577 - School district accreditation; require compliance with constitutional provisions and state laws as a minimum requirement
· Requires all school districts, as a minimum requirement for accreditation, to be in compliance with applicable provisions of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the Mississippi Code of 1972 and any other state law relating to school districts
· Establishes a process for the State Department of Education to receive and investigate complaints of alleged violations before the matter is referred to the State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation
· Authorizes the Board and Commission to take action against a school district, including withdrawal of accreditation, when the district fails to remedy the violations
· Brings forward code sections that relate to the appeals process and procedure followed by the Commission when school districts not meeting accreditation standards fail to take corrective action, for purposes of possible amendment
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 486–School accreditation; impose administrative sanctions upon districts having had their accreditation withdrawn by the SBE
· Prescribes the nature of administrative sanctions to be imposed upon public school districts that have their accreditation withdrawn for failure to meet accreditations and accountability standards
· Limits the travel of superintendents in affected school districts to only that mandated by law or prescribed by the State Department of Education
· Limits the travel of the members of the local school board in affected school districts to only that mandated by law or prescribed by the State Department of Education, and to reduce those members' compensation by one-half
· Provides that the State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation may recommend that the Governor declare a state of emergency in a school district if 50 percent or more of the schools in the district are designated as failing in any one year
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
MAEP/FUNDING
HB 471 - MAEP; determine cost of using average daily membership (ADM) in lieu of ADA with 95% threshold attendance trigger
· Provides for the determination of the basic adequate education program cost for each school district based on student Average Daily Membership with certain exceptions
· Provides for student counts by the State Auditor
· Revises the definition of the terms "minimum school term" and "average daily attendance" as such terms are used for determining allocations to school districts under the adequate education program
· Removes the attendance requirement that a compulsory-school-age child who is absent more than 37% of the instructional day must be considered absent for the entire day
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 479 - MAEP; revise definition of "at-risk pupils" for purpose of determining the 5% adjustment to base student cost
· Revises the definition of "at-risk pupils" under the Mississippi adequate education program for purposes of determining the 5% adjustment to the base student cost by categorizing pupils based on level of proficiency on state standardized assessments for grade levels that require such assessments, or based the number of students participating in the federal free school lunch program for grade levels for which no state standardized assessment is required or has been developed
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
SB 2300-Mississippi Charter Schools Act of 2013; make technical amendments relating to state and local funding
· Provides that state fund payments are based on accurate enrollment projections, to clarify the calculation and distribution of the local ad valorem tax portion of the charter school per pupil funding and to provide that the State Department of Education may withhold that amount from the adequate education program payments to the school district in which the student resides and pay the amount directly to the charter school
· Clarifies the use of monies remaining in the accounts of a legal entity operating a charter school
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage
HB 482-School district budget; require State Board of Ed to adopt rules and regulations for examining fiscal stability of ending balances
· Requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules and regulations prescribing the method by which school district ending fund balances are examined
· Removes the requirement imposed upon school districts whose ending fund balance in the maintenance fund is equal to or less than 7% to file a plan to reduce costs in the district
· Removes the components required to be included in the reduction of costs plan previously required to be submitted by certain school districts
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 489-Teacher/Classroom supply procurement cards; increase allocation percentage for teachers in first three years of educational service
· Increases the procurement card percentage by 50% for teachers in the first three years of educational service
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 947-Vocational education; provide additional funding to school districts demonstrating needed enhancements
· Establishes a program in the State Department of Education to make funding available to school districts for the purpose of enhancing vocational education programs in the public school system
· Specifies certain information that must be included in a school district's application for an allocation of funds under the program
· Requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules and regulations governing the application process
· Requires the legislature to make an appropriation in support of the program for the 2016 fiscal year
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
ASSESSMENT
HB 665–End-of-course subject area tests; prohibit mandatory passing scores as requirement for graduation
· Prohibits the State Board of Education from requiring students to achieve a passing score on end-of-course tests administered under the Subject Area Testing Program as a requirement for graduation
· Prohibits local school districts from using the end-of-course tests to determine if students have mastered minimum academic skills required for graduation
· Brings forward code section that requires the State Department of Education to provide an instructional program for all courses in the end-of-course testing program, for purposes of possible amendment
· Brings forward code section that requires school districts to offer a career track program, for purposes of possible amendment
· Brings forward code section that authorizes school districts to establish a high school equivalency diploma option program, for purposes of possible amendment
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 745-Literacy-Based Promotion Act; clarify Good Cause Exemptions applicable to disabled students
· Clarifies the Good Cause Exemption under the Literacy-Based Grade Promotion Act applicable to students who have an IEP or section 504 plan and were previously retained in lower grades
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 474-Universal reading screener; require development and use of for students in Kindergarten and Grades 1-3
· Requires the development and implementation of a universal reading screener to be used for public school students in kindergarten and grades 1 through 3
· Authorizes local school boards to approve the use of additional reading assessments for that population of students
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
HB 484-Reading screening assessment; require MS Reading Panel to make one screener available for required use in Grades K-3
· Provides that one screening assessment should be available to all schools for required use in grades k-3 as a component of a school district's reading intervention programs to identify reading deficiencies and determine progress
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
SB 2258 - Cheating on statewide test; financial responsibilities of local school district, licensure sanctions and criminal penalties
· Empowers the State Board of Education to compel attendance, administer oaths, take depositions and issue subpoenas
· Exempts certain investigative records of the State Department of Education from the Mississippi Public Records Act
· Would add additional grounds for disciplinary action against a licensed teacher
· Would prescribe certain powers and responsibilities of the State Department of Education in cases of alleged statewide testing irregularities
· Would also prescribe criminal penalties for any person submitting a false certification regarding a statewide test
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
APPOINTED SUPERINTENDENTS
SB 2303 - Selection of county superintendent of education; change from elective to appointive method in certain counties
· Would change the manner of selecting the county superintendent of education in certain counties from the elective method to the appointive method.
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.
DISTRICTS
HB 46–Student transfer; prohibit boards in districts rated as "D" or "F" from denying to better performing district
· Prohibits local school boards in districts with an accountability rating grade of "D" or "F" from denying student requests to transfer to a better performing adjacent district upon receipt of a written petition by the parent, legal guardian or individual in loco parentis of the student requesting the transfer
· Prescribes the components to be included in the release petition
· Requires the receiving school district to verify the accountability rating grade of the transferring school district before accepting any student, and upon a determination that the transferring district has a poor accountability rating, shall receive the student and make a request of the transferring district for per pupil expenditures allotted the student
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
SB 2558- State takeover of school districts; provide for a new school board returning to local selection on phased-in basis
· Provides that in circumstances where the state has taken over a school district the State Board of Education may appoint a new local school board with the membership to be returned to local selection on a phased-in basis
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015
SB 2691 - School district consolidation; require in Holmes County and Durant
· Provides that in the Holmes County and Durant Municipal Separate School Districts there shall be an administrative consolidation into one school district to be designated as the Holmes County School District effective July 1, 2016
· Provides for the composition of the Board of Education to administratively consolidate any school district that does not voluntarily follow the consolidation order
· Abolishes the former school districts following the administrative consolidation and provides for the transfer of school district assets and liabilities