Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-50.2 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 115-50.2
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-50.2
Status: in_force

(1) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The academic medical center and health care collaboratives organized under Section 37-115-50.1 , together with the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning under which the academic medical center operates, are each (acting individually and collectively) performing essential public functions on behalf of the state, and other governmental entities in the state.

(b) The needs of the residents of Mississippi can best be served by the academic medical center and health care collaboratives having the legal, financial and operational flexibility to take full advantage of opportunities and challenges presented by the evolving health care environment and to take whatever actions are necessary to enable the academic medical center and health care collaboratives' continuation as a health system that provides the finest possible quality of care consistent with reasonable costs and that serves the health care needs of uninsured, underinsured residents in addition to its scientific and educational missions.

(c) In this environment, the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives must have the ability to respond to changing conditions by having the power to develop efficient and cost-effective methods and structures to provide for health care needs, while maintaining a public mission and character. In addition, the academic medical center is an institution of the state. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that there is a compelling interest in establishing a structure and process for the academic medical center to adapt to this dynamic environment, to operate efficiently, to offer competitive health care services, to respond more effectively to new developments and regulatory changes in the health care area, and to continue to serve and promote the health, wellness and welfare of the citizens of Mississippi. The acquisition, operation and financing of hospitals and other health care facilities by the academic medical center are declared to be for a public and governmental purpose and a matter of public necessity.

(d) The geographic areas served by the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives include rural populations and other groups that experience significant health disparities. Health disparities are differences in health status when compared to the population overall, often characterized by indicators such as higher incidence of disease and/or disability, increased mortality rates, and lower life expectancies. Rural risk factors for health disparities include geographic isolation, lower socioeconomic status, higher rates of health risk behaviors, and limited access to health care specialists and subspecialists. As a result of these health disparities, the residents of areas served by the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives have high rates of mortality and morbidity, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. The areas also include a high percentage of uninsured individuals and Medicaid patients, which are medically underserved groups. The academic medical center and its health care collaboratives have demonstrated their ability to provide high quality health care and to improve health conditions and outcomes as well as access to care. This section and Section 37-115-50.3 will significantly strengthen the ability of the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives to serve the health care needs of the residents of their service areas.

(e) The investment of significant public assets by the academic medical center, the academic medical center's investment in health care collaboratives and their collective efforts to provide high quality health care services to medically underserved populations are jeopardized by potential limits on the ability of the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives to collaborate and consolidate with other public, private and nonprofit health care facilities and providers. The Legislature expressly finds that the benefits of collaboration and consolidation by the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives outweigh any adverse impact on competition. The benefits of the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives efforts to collaborate and consolidate include, but are not limited to, preserving and expanding needed health care services in its service areas; consolidating unneeded or duplicative health care services; enhancing the quality of, and expanding access to, health care delivered to medically underserved and rural populations; and lowering costs and improving the efficiency of the health care services it delivers. Based on the findings contained in this section, the Legislature affirmatively expresses a policy to allow the academic medical center and health care collaboratives to consolidate with hospitals, health care facilities and other health care providers and to engage in collaborative activities consistent with their health care purposes, notwithstanding that those consolidations and collaborations may have the effect of displacing competition in the provision of hospital or other health care related services. In engaging in such consolidations and collaborations with other hospitals, health care facilities and providers, the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively) shall be considered to be acting pursuant to clearly articulated state policy as established in this section and shall not be subject to federal or state antitrust laws while so acting. With respect to the consolidations, collaborative activities and other activities contemplated in this section and Section 37-115-50.3 , the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively) and the public, private or nonprofit entities with which it (or they) consolidate(s), collaborate(s), or enter(s) into any of the transactions set forth in this section and Section 37-115-50.3 , shall be immune from liability under the federal and state antitrust laws and those activities are provided with state action immunity from federal and state antitrust laws to the fullest extent possible.

(f) In furtherance of the findings and authorizations contained in paragraph (e) of this section, if a court of competent jurisdiction were to find that any of the activities of the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively) authorized under this section or Section 37-115-50.3 would be immune from the application of state and federal antitrust laws under the state action antitrust immunity doctrine pursuant to applicable jurisprudence only if such activities were subject to what has come to be known in relevant antitrust jurisprudence as “active supervision” by the state, the Legislatures finds that the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives are subject to direct and indirect supervision of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, which supervision has been, is currently, and is required to continue to be actively exercised by such constitutional body of state government such that, even if such judicial requirement were applied to the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives with respect to application of the state action antitrust immunity doctrine, the academic medical center and each of its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively), when exercising its powers under this section and Section 37-115-50.3 , shall enjoy immunity from the application of state and federal antitrust laws.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-25 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 27-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-25
Status: in_force

The board of trustees of agricultural high schools shall make detailed statements of receipts and disbursements to the board or boards of supervisors and the county superintendent or superintendents of education annually on the first Monday of July. The county superintendent of education shall transmit to the state superintendent of public education, a copy of said detailed statement which shall be embodied in his annual report to the legislature.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-37 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 28-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-37
Status: in_force

(1) Before October 1 of each year, beginning in the year that the state has had at least one (1) charter school operating for a full school year, the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board shall issue to the Governor, Legislature, State Board of Education and the public an annual report on the state's charter schools for the preceding school year. The report must include a comparison of the performance of charter school students with the performance of academically, ethnically and economically comparable groups of students in the school district in which a charter school is located. In addition, the report must include the authorizer's assessment of the successes, challenges and areas for improvement in meeting the purposes of this chapter. The report also must include an assessment on whether the number and size of operating charter schools are sufficient to meet demand, as calculated according to admissions data and the number of students denied enrollment based on lottery results. The report due from the authorizer under this section must be coordinated with reports due from charter school governing boards, as near as possible, to decrease or eliminate duplication.

(2) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall prepare an annual report assessing the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, the efficacy of the state formula for authorizer funding, and any suggested changes in state law or policy necessary to strengthen the state's charter schools.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-171 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 23-171
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-171
Status: in_force

Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181 shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Gifted Education Act of 1989.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 106-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-1
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be cited as the “Post-Secondary Education Financial Assistance Law of 1975.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-113-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 113-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-113-15
Status: in_force

The privilege of rooming in the dormitories belongs to the free students, and to the due quota of students from each county in preference to all others, on the basis of the present dormitory capacity in the Mississippi State University of Agricultural and Applied Science.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-47-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 47-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-47-1
Status: in_force

The terms and provisions of this chapter shall be administered and executed by the state educational finance commission. For the purpose of this chapter, the term “commission” shall mean “state educational finance commission” except where the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-67-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 67-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-67-1
Status: in_force

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Distance Learning Collaborative Act of 2016.”

(2) As used in this section:

(a) “ Distance learning ” means a method of delivering education and instruction on an individual basis to students who are not physically present in a traditional setting such as a classroom. Distance learning provides access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both. Distance learning courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason other than taking examinations may be referred to as hybrid or blended courses of study.

(b) “ Department ” means the Mississippi Department of Education.

(c) A “ distance learning collaborative ” means a school or schools that write and submit an application to participate in the voluntary distance learning program. A distance learning collaborative is comprised, at a minimum, of a public school district, and may include an agency or other nonprofit organization approved by the State Department of Education to provide distance learning resources.

(d) A “ lead partner ” is a public school district or other nonprofit entity with the instructional expertise and operational capacity to manage the Distance Learning Collaborative Program as described in the approved application for funds. The lead partner serves as the fiscal agent for the collaborative and shall disburse awarded funds in accordance with the collaborative's approved application. The lead partner ensures that the collaborative adopts and implements the Distance Learning Collaborative Program consistent with the standards adopted by the State Board of Education. The public school district shall be the lead partner if no other qualifying lead partner is selected.

(3) Effective with the 2016-2017 school year, the Mississippi State Department of Education shall establish a voluntary distance learning grant program which shall be a collaboration among the entities providing distance learning services for students. The Distance Learning Collaborative Program shall provide financial assistance to encourage and improve distance learning education services in rural areas through the use of telecommunications, computer networks and related advanced technologies to be used by students, teachers and rural residents. Grants are for projects where the benefit is primarily delivered to end users who are not at the same location as the source of the education service.

(4) Distance Learning Collaborative Grants may be used to:

(a) Acquire the following types of equipment: (i) computer hardware and software; (ii) audio and video equipment; (iii) computer network components; (iv) terminal equipment; (v) data terminal equipment; (vi) inside wiring; (vii) interactive video equipment; and (viii) other facilities that further distance learning technology services.

(b) Acquire instructional programming for distance learning programs.

(c) Acquire technical assistance and instruction for using eligible equipment.

(d) The cost of tuition and fees for students to participate over and above the available federal Perkins Loans or Stafford Loans which are loaned directly to qualifying students to assist in covering the cost of distance learning funding.

(e) Any interest charges that accumulate during a student's degree program for the utilization of distance learning services.

(5) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor, the State Department of Education shall administer the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the voluntary Distance Learning Collaborative Program, including awards and the application process. The department shall establish a rigorous and transparent application process for the awarding of funds. Lead partners shall submit the application on behalf of their distance learning collaborative. The department will establish monitoring policies and procedures that shall include at least one (1) site visit per year. The department will provide technical assistance to collaboratives and their providers to improve the quality of distance learning services. The department will evaluate the effectiveness of each distance learning collaborative.

(6) Distance Learning Collaborative Program funds shall be awarded to distance learning collaboratives whose proposed programs meet the program criteria established by the State Board of Education which shall include the following:

(a) Distance learning programs shall be approved and registered with the State Department of Education and course content must be aligned with state standards.

(b) Distance learning instructors shall complete professional development training in online methodology and technical aspects of web-based instruction, and may be credentialed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

(c) Transcript equivalency of grades between online and traditional classes. Student enrollment and credits awarded shall be made in accordance with regulations jointly approved by the State Board of Education, the Mississippi Community College Board and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

(d) Curriculum standards for online courses.

(e) Classroom “seat time” requirements for online courses.

(f) Accountability for student achievement, including methods to assess online course completion rates.

(7) A teacher, assistant teacher or other employee whose salary and fringe benefits are paid from state funds allocated for the Distance Learning Collaborative Program shall only be classified as a state or local school district employee eligible for state health insurance benefits or membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System, if the person's employer is already a public school district or an agency or instrumentality of the state, and the employee would be eligible for such benefits in the normal course of business.

(8) Funding shall be provided for the Distance Learning Collaborative Program beginning with the 2016-2017 fiscal year subject to appropriation by the Legislature, and the Legislature may appropriate funds to implement the program on a phased-in basis. The State Department of Education may receive and expend contributions and funding from private sources for the administration and implementation of the Distance Learning Collaborative Program. In the initial phase of implementation, the State Department of Education shall award state funds based on a community's capacity, commitment and need in order to encourage and improve distance learning services in rural areas. The department shall make an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding the effectiveness of the Distance Learning Collaborative Program, and the PEER Committee shall review those reports and other program data and submit an independent evaluation of the program operation and effectiveness to the Legislature and the Governor on or before October 1 of the calendar year before the beginning of the next phased-in period of funding. The State Department of Education shall reserve no more than five percent (5%) of the appropriation in any year for administrative costs. Funds remaining after awards to distance learning collaboratives may be carried over in the following year.

(9) The lead partner of a distance learning collaborative and the local school district shall compile information about online learning programs for high school students to earn college credit and place the information on its website. Examples of information to be compiled and placed on the website include links to providers of approved online learning programs, comparisons among various types of online programs regarding awarding of credit, advantages and disadvantages of online learning programs, and other general assistance and guidance for students, teachers and counselors in selecting and considering online learning programs. Public high schools shall ensure that teachers and counselors have information about online learning programs for high school students to earn college or university credit and are able to assist parents and students in accessing the information. Distance learning collaboratives shall ensure that parents and students have opportunities to learn about online learning programs under this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-109-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 109-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-109-7
Status: in_force

(1)(a) For institutions to be eligible for participation in the program, the institution shall adhere to the guidelines prescribed in the procedures manual for the State of Mississippi Dual Enrollment and Accelerated Programs, hereinafter the “manual,” and the requirements established by the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board for participating institutions set forth in this subsection.

(b) Eligibility for funding shall be incorporated into the manual, which shall outline the specific criteria for initial and continued eligibility for participation for institutions, dual enrollment students and dual credit students, respectively. The academic officers of both the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall evaluate and approve the contents of the manual each year.

(c) The board shall administer the Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Scholarship Program as outlined in the manual. Funds for the program shall be distributed by the board to the providing institution of higher education on behalf of each eligible student after the enrollment verification period. Funds shall not be distributed by the board directly to the student.

(d) Participation in the Mississippi Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Scholarship Program is optional for all institutions defined in Section 37-109-5(a) . However, in order to qualify for funding, all guidelines in the manual must be followed by each institution.

(e) All participating institutions shall be reimbursed at the rate of forty percent (40%) of the average community college credit hour tuition for the current academic year.

(f) Participating institutions may elect to exclude specific centers, branch campuses, collegiate academies and middle college's within their governance or purview from participating in the Mississippi Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Scholarship Program.

(2) For students to be eligible for participation in the program, the scholarship applicant shall satisfy the student eligibility requirements prescribed in Procedures Manual for the State of Mississippi Dual Enrollment and Accelerated Programs and the requirements established for student eligibility set forth in this subsection:

(a) Students in Grades 11 and 12 who are residents of the State of Mississippi shall be eligible to participate in the program, provided they meet minimum eligibility criteria in the manual. Resident status for the purpose of receiving assistance under this chapter shall be determined in the same manner as resident status for tuition purposes in Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-29 , with the exception of Section 37-103-17 ;

(b) Each eligible student shall be qualified for funding under this chapter for up to six (6) dual enrollment/dual credit semester credit hours prior to high school graduation;

(c) All students who meet the eligibility requirements as outlined in the manual, regardless of participation method, whether online, at a participating institution's campus, at a high school campus, academic or career and technical education (CTE), shall meet the requirements for funding allocation to the participating institution;

(d) All Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Scholarship Program student recipients shall be required to participate in an advising component related to the Mississippi Articulation and Transfer Tool (MATT) to ensure their understanding of course transferability. Credits earned with a final grade of C or above on the eligible student's college transcript in courses offered through the program, whether academic or career and technical, shall transfer to any postsecondary institution in Mississippi;

(e) Books, course materials, tools, supplies, lab fees, transportation costs and other applicable course fees shall be the responsibility of the student or high school district; and

(f) Middle college students shall be qualified for the Mississippi Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Scholarship Program funding only if the institution complies with the requirements of the manual.

(3) To ensure appropriate articulation of college credits to other institutions, only the courses on the “Approved Academic Dual Credit Listing” shall be eligible for funding.

(4) Early college students are not eligible for the Mississippi Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit Scholarship Program funding.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-33 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 145-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-33
Status: in_force

Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 37-145-23 through 37-145-41 or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted hereunder, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by Sections 37-145-23 through 37-145-41 to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 145-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-11
Status: in_force

The board of trustees shall serve as the direct lender of the non-subsidized student loans authorized under this chapter and in such capacity shall:

(a) Accept and review each loan application;

(b) Determine the applicant's eligibility and continued eligibility;

(c) Collect any balance which may become due as a result of default on any loan, for which purpose the board of trustees shall have all the same authority as they have for the guaranteed student loan program; and

(d) Provide by rule for:

(i) A mechanism for informing students of the availability of the loans;

(ii) The creation of all applications, forms, promissory notes and other instruments necessary for the administration of the program; and

(iii) Any other items necessary for the administration of the program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-33 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 115-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-33
Status: in_force

The state building commission in the development of the architectural facilities of the medical center and hospital facilities is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to erect and equip adequate facilities for the training of nurses under such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 15-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-1
Status: in_force

The State Board of Education shall prepare and provide necessary forms for keeping permanent records and cumulative folders for each pupil in the public schools, including charter schools, of the state. In the permanent record and cumulative folders, the teachers and principals shall keep information concerning the pupil's date of birth, as verified by the documentation authorized in this section, record of attendance, grades and withdrawal from the school, including the date of any expulsion from the school and a description of the student's act or behavior resulting in the expulsion. The records also shall contain information pertaining to immunization and such other information as the State Board of Education may prescribe. The cumulative folder, in addition to that information maintained in the permanent records, also shall contain such other information as the State Board of Education shall prescribe. It shall be the responsibility of the person in charge of each school to enforce the requirement for evidence of the age of each pupil before enrollment. If the first prescribed evidence is not available, the next evidence obtainable in the order set forth below shall be accepted:

(a) A certified birth certificate;

(b) A duly attested transcript of a certificate of baptism showing the date of birth and place of baptism of the child, accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by a parent, grandparent or custodian;

(c) An insurance policy on the child's life which has been in force for at least two (2) years;

(d) A bona fide contemporary Bible record of the child's birth accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the parent, grandparent or custodian;

(e) A passport or certificate of arrival in the United States showing the age of the child;

(f) A transcript of record of age shown in the child's school record of at least four (4) years prior to application, stating date of birth; or

(g) If none of these evidences can be produced, an affidavit of age sworn to by a parent, grandparent or custodian. Any child enrolling in kindergarten or Grade 1 shall present the required evidence of age upon enrollment. Any child in Grades 2 through 12 not in compliance at the end of sixty (60) days from enrollment shall be suspended until in compliance.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-45 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 27-45
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-45
Status: in_force

When the board of trustees of any such agricultural high school shall desire to sell any such property as is provided for in Section 37-27-43 , it shall pass a resolution declaring that such property is not needed nor used for school purposes and shall direct, in such resolution, that same be advertised for sale upon competitive bids in the manner provided for in Section 37-27-47 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-307 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 101-307
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-307
Status: in_force

The principal of and interest on such bonds shall be payable in the manner hereinafter set forth. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates, be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times, be redeemable prior to maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the State Bond Commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-53 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 28-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-53
Status: in_force

(1) Each charter school shall certify annually to the State Department of Education its student enrollment, net enrollment and student participation in federal programs.

(2) Each charter school shall certify annually to the school board of the school district in which the charter school is located the number of enrolled charter school students residing in the school district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-148-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 148-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-148-7
Status: in_force

IHL and the Department of Revenue each may promulgate, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, rules and regulations, application forms and any other forms necessary for the implementation and administration of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-18-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 18-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-18-5
Status: in_force

(1) Based on the findings of the evaluation report and the results of the public meeting, the State Department of Education and the evaluation team leader shall assist the school principal and other local school officials in the development of a school improvement plan to improve its deficiencies.

(2) The school improvement plan shall be developed and approved by the principal of the School At-Risk, the superintendent of the local school district, the local school board and a majority of the teachers of the school, within a time period to be determined by the evaluation team. If the plan is not approved, the State Board of Education may approve and implement the plan in the school.

(3) The State Department of Education shall provide technical assistance and shall assist in identifying funding to the School At-Risk in the implementation of the school improvement plan, including the implementation of any recommended professional development plan, and the department may contract with the institutions of higher learning to provide such technical assistance. The assistance team shall collaborate with school and school district employees in the implementation and monitoring of the school improvement plan and the State Department of Education shall ensure that a report is issued monthly to the local school board and the local community-based advisory council.

(4) A school district that has been designated as failing as defined by the State Board of Education or a district with a School At-Risk shall also establish a community-based prekindergarten through higher education council comprised of a broad spectrum of the community, including economic developers, elected officials, civic leaders, business leaders, faith-based leaders, social services, nonprofit organizations, school attendance officers, law enforcement officials, health department officials, day care providers, librarians, parents and others with the knowledge and resources that can be leveraged to build strong communities. The State Board of Education shall develop procedures for appointments to the council, which shall not be appointed solely by the school board. The council will serve as a community-led group that is inclusive, accountable and required to publicly report progress to the community as a whole.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-150 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 23-150
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-150
Status: in_force

It is the intent of the Legislature that none of the provisions of Sections 37-16-9 , 37-23-1 through 37-23-9 and 37-23-133 through 37-23-149 shall create mandates that impose financial or legal requirements upon local school districts that are greater or more restrictive upon local school districts as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 and any later amendments or regulations thereunder, or any other relevant federal legislation. Furthermore, it is not the intent of the Legislature to impose any additional state unfunded mandates for the implementation of Sections 37-16-9 , 37-23-1 through 37-23-9 and 37-23-133 through 37-23-149 . Any provisions of Sections 37-16-9 , 37-23-1 through 37-23-9 and 37 -- 23 -133 through 37-23-149 that are inconsistent, create additional unfunded state mandates, or that are more restrictive upon school districts than federal requirements shall be expressly unenforceable and have no effect.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-57-111 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 57-111
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-57-111
Status: in_force

For the purposes of Sections 37-57-111 through 37-57-119 , the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

(a) “Family unit” means a new family dwelling, mobile home, apartment, condominium, duplex, townhouse or structure, used for family residency.

(b) “Compacted area” means any countywide school system with inadequate building facilities to meet the educational needs of school children, causing crowded conditions, which will continue in the public school facilities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-103-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 103-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-103-3
Status: in_force

No student may be admitted to any junior college or institution of higher learning as a resident of Mississippi unless his residence has been in the State of Mississippi preceding his admission. Residence shall be as defined in Sections 37-103-7 and 37-103-13 unless excepted in this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-261 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 33-261
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-261
Status: in_force

(1) Such assessments as are collected under subsections (1) and (2) of Section 99-19-73 , shall be deposited in a special fund that is created in the State Treasury and designated the Spinal Cord and Head Injury Trust Fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the Spinal Cord and Head Injury Trust Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and all interest received from the investment of monies in the trust fund shall be credited to the trust fund and shall not be deposited into the State General Fund. Monies deposited in the fund shall be expended beginning in fiscal year 1997 by the Department of Rehabilitation Services as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature for the following purposes:

Providing the cost of care for spinal cord and traumatic brain injury as a payer of last resort to residents of the State of Mississippi for a multilevel program of rehabilitation as prescribed in Sections 37-33-251 through 37-33-259 . Authorization of expenditures for spinal cord injury care and traumatic brain injury care from this trust fund shall be made only by the Department of Rehabilitation Services. Authorized expenditures shall include three (3) or more of the following forms of assistance: acute care; rehabilitation; transitional living; assistive technology services, devices and equipment; respite care; transportation; housing; home modifications; and other services and/or assistance as deemed appropriate by the advisory council for individuals with spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries to accomplish a successful re-entry into the community. Such activities may also include expanding the public's awareness of how spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries occur and how they can be prevented and identifying advanced treatment and prevention techniques. Other authorized expenditures may include costs associated with salary and other support costs for personnel sufficient to carry out the program or to subcontract all or part of the authorized services, and to pay the travel and meeting expenses of the advisory council.

(2) The department shall issue a report to the Legislature and the Governor by January 1 of each year, summarizing the activities supported by the trust fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 59-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-7
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Any school district in which the total number of pupils enrolled at any one time during the school year shall have increased by at least twenty percent (20%) or an average of three hundred fifty (350) or more annually within the preceding five (5) years, shall not issue bonds for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district according to the then last completed assessment for taxation.

(b) Any school district in which the total number of pupils enrolled at any one time during the school year shall have increased by at least ten percent (10%) within the preceding five (5) years shall not issue bonds for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which, when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district according to the then last completed assessment for taxation.

(c) The pupil increase mentioned in this subsection shall apply only to growth in pupil enrollment and shall not apply to pupil increases brought about by consolidation of school districts.

(2) Any school district may hereafter issue bonds in an amount exceeding the limit of Section 37-59-5 for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging school buildings and related facilities, as described in subsection (a) of Section 37-59-3 , but no such district shall issue bonds in an amount which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for such school purposes of more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property in such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation, regardless of whether any of such indebtedness shall have been incurred by such district or by another school district or districts:

(a) In the event of the damage to or destruction of any school building or school buildings, or related facilities of any such district by fire, windstorm, flood or other providential and unforeseeable cause; or

(b) In the event such school district has lost its accreditation and the constructing, reconstructing, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging of such school buildings and related facilities is necessary for the restoration of such accreditation; or

(c) In the event of the establishment of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District as authorized in Section 37-7-104.3(8) and (9) .

(3) In any school district wherein more than nine percent (9%) of the total land area of the school district is owned by the federal government and situated in a flood control reservoir or maintained as a part of the national forest system, the said school district may issue bonds in an amount, which when added to all of its then outstanding bonded indebtedness for school purposes, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such school district of an indebtedness for school purposes of not more than twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation, regardless of whether any of such indebtedness shall have been incurred by such district or by another school district or districts. If bonds in an amount in excess of fifteen percent (15%) of the total assessed value of the property of a school district are issued under the provisions of this subsection, not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total funds received by the school district under the provisions of Section 49-19-23, Mississippi Code of 1972 , shall be paid into the bond and interest sinking fund of such district and used for the retirement of the bonds so issued.

(4) In any district where the assessed valuation per pupil is less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the average of all school districts, such school district may issue bonds for the purposes authorized by Section 37-59-3 in an amount exceeding the fifteen percent (15%) debt limitation set forth in Section 37-59-5 , but not exceeding an amount which, when added to all of the school district's then outstanding bonded indebtedness, shall result in the imposition on any of the property in such district of an indebtedness for such school purposes of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of the taxable property in such district, according to the then last completed assessment for taxation if:

(a) The board of trustees or board of education of the school district adopts a resolution finding that issuing bonds in an amount exceeding the limitation stated in Section 37-59-5 is necessary to provide or maintain adequate educational facilities within the school district; and

(b) The notice of the bond election required by Section 37-59-13 contains a provision notifying the qualified electors in the school district:

(i) Of the fact that the proposed bonds, if issued, will exceed the fifteen percent (15%) debt limit contained in Section 37-59-5 ; and

(ii) Of the reasons why the school district is proposing to exceed said limitation;

(c) The election is held and the proposed bond issue receives the requisite voter approval as set forth in Section 37-59-17 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-205 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 153-205
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-205
Status: reserved

(1) There is established the Accelerate Mississippi Nursing/Allied Health Grant Program, which shall be directed by the office for the purpose of increasing capacity in nursing and allied health training programs, including accredited paramedic programs, job sectors which were severely impacted by the disruption to the economy and workforce caused by COVID-19.

(2) For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) “ Grant program ” means the program established in this section, which provides funding, as determined by the office, from federal COVID-19 relief funds to sustain and increase capacity in nursing and allied health education and training programs, including accredited paramedic programs, or to help retain and graduate nursing and allied health students, at community and junior colleges or other entities facilitating healthcare-focused training programs as determined by the office.

(b) “ Recipient ” means a community or junior college or other entities facilitating healthcare-focused training programs as determined by the office.

(c) “ Trainee ” means an individual receiving training or other services through the grant program under this article with the goal of becoming employed in the nursing or allied health field, including as a licensed paramedic.

(d) “ COVID-19 ” means the Coronavirus Disease 2019.

(e) “ Federal COVID-19 relief funds ” means funds allocated to the State of Mississippi from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund in Section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( Public Law No. 117-2 ).

(f) “ High-wage, high-demand industry ” means those nursing or allied health jobs, including paramedics, paying above Mississippi's median annual income and prioritized by the office.

(g) “ Eligible expenses ” means a cost incurred by a recipient under this article, to include:

(i) Necessary equipment or other supplies to sustain or increase capacity in nursing or allied health training programs, including accredited paramedic programs;

(ii) Necessary infrastructure, including building renovation or construction, for increasing capacity in nursing or allied health training programs, including accredited paramedic programs;

(iii) Curricula or other academic or training materials to sustain or increase capacity in nursing or allied health training programs, including accredited paramedic programs;

(iv) Remote learning or other classroom technology to sustain or increase capacity in nursing or allied health training programs, including accredited paramedic programs;

(v) Job placement services for nursing or allied health students and graduates, including those in accredited paramedic programs;

(vi) Recruitment programs for nursing or allied health students and graduates, including those in accredited paramedic programs;

(vii) Other services aimed at helping retain and graduate current nursing and allied health students, including those in accredited paramedic programs.

(3) The Department of Employment Security shall serve as fiscal agent in administering the funds.

(4) Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, allocations to recipients shall be awarded by the office through an application process, which shall require the applicant to provide:

(a) A detailed explanation of the program the applicant intends to use awarded funds to create or expand, to include:

(i) A description of the nursing or allied health workforce shortage the program is intended to address, including specific information from hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities or other health care providers in the region;

(ii) Any relevant waitlist or other information demonstrating high demand for graduates from the relevant nursing or allied health program;

(iii) The number of nursing or allied health students who will be served by the program; and

(iv) The average wage rate for nursing or allied health students receiving employment after completing the program;

(b) A proposed budget on how awarded funds will be expended, including a plan to consistently report expenditures to the office throughout the funding commitment;

(c) A plan to provide data on participation and outcomes of the program, including a plan to report outcomes to the office throughout the funding commitment; and

(d) Other relevant information as determined appropriate by the office.

(5) Applicants agreeing to commit a portion of their federal COVID-19 relief funds, if they received federal COVID-19 relief funds directly, or other state, federal or private funds as supplemental matching funds to offset the total cost of the approved program will be prioritized for approval.

(6) The office shall:

(a) Inform each recipient of its portion of the funds appropriated to the grant program;

(b) Develop regulations and procedures to govern the administration of the grant program;

(c) Prioritize jobs within the nursing or allied health fields which are currently experiencing staffing shortages in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and other health care providers across the state; and

(d) Prioritize jobs which are high-wage, high-demand jobs within the nursing and allied health fields, including the paramedic field.

(7) Seventy-five percent (75%) of the funds provided through the appropriations process for this program shall be reserved for community and junior colleges. A maximum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds provided through the appropriations process for this program may be awarded to recipients other than a community or junior college which facilitate healthcare-focused training programs as determined by the office.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-333 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 7-333
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-333
Status: in_force

The school boards of all school districts shall have full control of the receipt, distribution, allotment and disbursement of all funds which may be provided for the support and maintenance of the schools of such district whether such funds be allotments from the total funding formula as provided for in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 , funds derived from supplementary tax levies as authorized by law, or funds derived from any other source whatsoever except as may otherwise be provided by law for control of the proceeds from school bonds or notes and the taxes levied to pay the principal of and interest on such bonds or notes. The tax collector of each county shall make reports, in writing, verified by his affidavit, on or before the twentieth day of each month to the superintendent of schools of each school district within such county reflecting all school district taxes collected by him for the support of said school district during the preceding month. He shall at the same time pay over all such school district taxes collected by him for the support of said school district directly to said superintendent of schools.

All such allotments or funds shall be placed in the depository or depositories selected by the school board in the same manner as provided in Section 27-105-305 for the selection of county depositories. Provided, however, the annual notice to be given by the school board to financial institutions may be given by the school board at any regular meeting subsequent to the board's regular December meeting but prior to the regular May meeting. The bids of financial institutions for the privilege of keeping school funds may be received by the school board at some subsequent meeting, but no later than the regular June meeting; and the selection by the school board of the depository or depositories shall be effective on July 1 of each year. School boards shall advertise and accept bids for depositories, no less than once every three (3) years, when such board determines that it can obtain a more favorable rate of interest and less administrative processing. Such depository shall place on deposit with the superintendent of schools the same securities as required in Section 27-105-315 .

In the event a bank submits a bid or offer to a school district to act as a depository for the district and such bid or offer, if accepted, would result in a contract in which a member of the school board would have a direct or indirect interest, the school board should not open or consider any bids received. The superintendent of schools shall submit the matter to the State Treasurer, who shall have the authority to solicit bids, select a depository or depositories, make all decisions and take any action within the authority of the school board under this section relating to the selection of a depository or depositories.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-187-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 187-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-187-3
Status: in_force

(1) The Legislature finds and declares that due to the COVID-19 pandemic there is an immediate increased need for reliable Internet service in Mississippi, including expanded broadband access, to facilitate and assist with distance learning. Therefore, the Mississippi Department of Education shall establish the Mississippi Pandemic Response Broadband Availability Grant Program to provide grants to Mississippi public school districts, independent schools and Native American tribal schools for the purpose of expanding broadband access in the unserved areas of the State of Mississippi.

(2) As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) “ Broadband access ” means access to broadband services as defined in Section 77-17-3(d) .

(b) “ COVID-19 ” means the Coronavirus Disease 2019.

(c) “ Department ” means the Mississippi Department of Education.

(3) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the “Mississippi Pandemic Response Broadband Availability Grant Program Fund,” which shall consist of funds made available by the Legislature in any manner and funds from any other source designated for deposit into such fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. Monies in the fund shall be used for the purpose of providing payments to eligible Mississippi public school districts, independent schools and Native American tribal school districts as provided in this chapter. Monies in the fund shall be administered and disbursed by the department in compliance with the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. If on December 1, 2020, there are undistributed monies in the fund, or if at any other time undistributed monies in the fund are determined by the department to be ineligible to be spent by the department, those monies shall be transferred to the Unemployment Compensation Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-10 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 13-10
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-10
Status: in_force

The State Board of Education is authorized and directed to require all public school districts to meet the following elementary education curriculum standard: The standard course of study shall include the requirement that the public schools provide instruction in cursive reading and writing, implemented across the curriculum, so that students create readable documents through legible cursive handwriting by the end of the fifth grade, and that students pass with proficiency a teacher-constructed test demonstrating the students competency in both reading and writing cursive. This requirement shall be applicable beginning with the 2018-2019 school year. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to the Mississippi School for the Blind and the Mississippi School for the Deaf.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-93 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 41-93
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-93
Status: in_force

All notes or bonds issued under the authority of Section 37-41-89 shall mature in approximately equal annual installments over a period of not exceeding six (6) years from the date of the issuance of such notes or bonds. Such notes or bonds may bear interest at a rate not exceeding that allowed in Section 75-17-105 , and such interest may be payable annually or semiannually.

In the event the funds borrowed under the authority of Section 37-41-89 are to be expended for the purchase of used transportation equipment, then all notes or bonds evidencing such loans shall be made to mature within two (2) years from the date of the issuance of such notes or bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-3-12 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 3-12
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-3-12
Status: in_force

The state superintendent of public education shall be responsible for all planning functions for the department, including collection, analysis and interpretation of all data, information, test results, evaluations and other indicators that are used to formulate policy, identify areas of concern and need and to serve as a basis for short-range and long-range planning. Such planning shall include assembling data, conducting appropriate studies and surveys and sponsoring research and development activities designed to provide information about educational needs and the effect of alternative educational practices.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-53 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 28-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-53
Status: in_force

(1) Each charter school shall certify annually to the State Department of Education its student enrollment, net enrollment and student participation in federal programs.

(2) Each charter school shall certify annually to the school board of the school district in which the charter school is located the number of enrolled charter school students residing in the school district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 11-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-19
Status: in_force

If any pupil shall wilfully destroy, cut, deface, damage, or injure any school building, equipment or other school property he shall be liable to suspension or expulsion and his parents or person or persons in loco parentis shall be liable for all damages.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-715 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 7-715
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-715
Status: in_force

Upon the organization, reorganization or reconstitution of any special municipal separate school district, the board of supervisors of the county wherein such special municipal separate school district is located and the governing authorities of the municipality may, by an order spread upon their minutes within sixty days after such organization, reorganization or reconstitution shall have become final, expressing an agreement between both such governing authorities, choose to constitute the board of such special municipal separate school district under one of the optional methods of organization set out in Section 37-7-717 . In the event that both the governing authorities hereinabove referred to shall enter such an order within said period, then the said board of trustees shall be thereafter constituted and selected according to the terms of such agreement, provided such agreement is in conformity with the terms of Section 37-7-717 . It is further expressly provided that irregularities of a procedural nature in the adoption of such orders shall not affect the validity of the same or the validity of any acts of the board of trustees which may be constituted by virtue thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 45-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-5
Status: in_force

The commission shall be composed of six (6) members who shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. However, no such confirmation shall be made by the Senate until said appointment or appointments have been referred to the proper Senate standing committee and an individual report has been made on each appointee by said Senate standing committee reporting that in its judgment such appointee has the proper qualifications and is a proper person to perform the duties of this office.

One (1) member shall be appointed from each congressional district of the state as presently existing. In making the original appointments, two (2) members shall be appointed for a term expiring April 1st, 1956; two (2) members shall be appointed for a term expiring April 1st, 1958; and two (2) members shall be appointed for a term expiring April 1st, 1960. Thereafter all appointments shall be for terms of six (6) years commencing on April 1st of the year in which the appointments are made. New members of the commission shall be appointed from the same district as their predecessor. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission occurring before the expiration of a term shall be filled in the manner hereinabove provided for, but only for the unexpired term.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-148 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 23-148
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-148
Status: in_force

(1) Children with disabilities shall be included in general statewide and district-wide assessments programs, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary. As appropriate, the State Department of Education and the local educational agency shall:

(a) Develop policies and procedures for the participation of children with disabilities in alternate assessments for those children who cannot participate in statewide and district-wide assessment programs; and

(b) Develop and, beginning not later than July 1, 2000, conduct those alternate assessments.

(2) The State Department of Education shall make available to the public, and report to the public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it reports on the assessment of nondisabled children, the following:

(a) The number of children with disabilities participating in regular assessments;

(b) The number of children participating in alternate assessments;

(c) The performance of those children on regular assessments, beginning not later than July 1, 1998, and on alternate assessments, not later than July 1, 2000, if doing so would be statistically sound and would not result in the disclosure of performance results identifiable to individual children; and

(d) Data relating to the performance of children with disabilities shall be disaggregated for assessments conducted after July 1, 1998.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-411 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 29-411
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-411
Status: in_force

The Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District shall have the powers to do all things necessary to the successful operation of the said district and the college or colleges or attendance centers located therein.

The several colleges of the said district shall be under the direction of the board of trustees and the president and under the local supervision of a dean. The board of trustees shall, by resolution or order, provide for the government, maintenance and operation of each of the colleges within the district.

The said junior college district shall have all the powers of other junior college districts or junior colleges in the State of Mississippi and the delineation and enumeration of the powers and purposes set out in Sections 37-29-401 through 37-29-437 shall be deemed to be supplemental and additional and shall not be construed to restrict the powers of the governing authorities of the district or of any college located therein so as to deny to the said district and the colleges therein the rights, privileges and powers enjoyed by other junior colleges and junior college districts in the State of Mississippi.

The said junior college district shall remain subject to the jurisdiction and control of the Mississippi Community College Board as now established or as the same may be hereafter changed by law, and shall be subject to all rules and regulations and all statutory limitations which are now in effect or may hereafter be imposed, except as the same may be in direct conflict with the provisions of Sections 37-29-401 through 37-29-437 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-703 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 7-703
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-703
Status: in_force

In all such special municipal separate school districts which embrace the entire county in which, according to the latest available federal census, a majority of the inhabitants of the county reside within the corporate limits of the municipality, the board of trustees of such special municipal separate school district shall be chosen and selected in the manner provided by subsection (1) of Section 37-7-203 , and all of the provisions thereof shall be fully applicable in all respects to the selection and constitution of such board of trustees.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-41 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 31-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-41
Status: in_force

All funds made available for carrying out the provisions of Sections 37-31-31 through 37-31-41 shall be paid by the state treasurer on warrants drawn therefor by the state auditor on requisitions of the state superintendent of public education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-217 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 153-217
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-217
Status: in_force

Grant funds shall be available under this article through December 31, 2026, or on the date of the fund expenditure deadline provided by the federal government, whichever occurs later. Each grant recipient shall certify, for any project for which a grant is awarded, that if the project is not completed by December 31, 2026, and the United States Congress does not enact an extension of the deadline on the availability of ARPA funds, then the grant recipient will complete the project through other funds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-403 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 29-403
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-403
Status: in_force

All of the property belonging to the board of trustees of Perkinston Junior College and all of the property belonging to either or all of the counties prior to and as of May 10, 1962, cooperating in the Perkinston Junior College or the agricultural high school-junior college located at Perkinston, Mississippi and utilized or held for the present or future use and benefit of said junior college and/or agricultural high school-junior college shall be and the same is hereby transferred to and vested in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-251 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-251
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-251
Status: in_force

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the development of a coordinated rehabilitation program for those persons severely disabled by spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries. Further, it is intended that permanent paralysis and brain damage be prevented whenever possible through early identification of spinal cord/brain injuries, skilled emergency evaluation procedures, and proper medical and rehabilitative treatment. The goal of this program shall be to enable individuals severely disabled by spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury to resume the activities of daily living and reintegrate with the community with as much dignity and independence as possible. For those persons who cannot achieve complete independence, supportive services are needed in order for them to live as normally as possible.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-102-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 102-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-102-17
Status: in_force

The associate degree program in nursing of the University of Southern Mississippi located at Natchez, Mississippi, is exempt from this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 17-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-3
Status: in_force

The Commission on School Accreditation created under this section is hereby continued and reconstituted as follows:

The State Board of Education shall appoint a “Commission on School Accreditation” to be composed of fifteen (15) qualified members. The membership of said commission shall be composed of the following: two (2) classroom teachers, two (2) principals of schools, one (1) administrator with expertise in special education representing exceptional schools and students, one (1) superintendent of a separate school district, one (1) superintendent of a county or other school district, one (1) local school board member from a separate school district; one (1) local school board member from a county or other school district; and six (6) members who are not actively engaged in the education profession. Members of the commission serving on July 1, 1994, shall continue to serve until their term of office expires. No new appointments shall be made until such time as the expiration of a member's term has reduced the commission to less than fifteen (15) members, at which time new appointments shall be made from the categories specified hereinabove. The membership of said commission shall be appointed by the board upon recommendation of the State Superintendent of Public Education. In making the first appointments, five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year, five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years, five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years, and five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years. Thereafter, all members shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years. Said commission shall meet upon call of the State Superintendent of Public Education. The commission shall consist of three (3) members from each of the four (4) congressional districts, and three (3) members from the state at large. Each member of said commission shall receive the per diem authorized by Section 25-3-69, Mississippi Code of 1972 , plus actual and necessary expenses and mileage as authorized by Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for each day actually spent in attending the meetings of the commission. The expenses of said commission shall be paid out of any funds available for the operation of the central office of the State Department of Education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-93 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 151-93
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-93
Status: in_force

(1) Legally transferred students going from one school district to another shall be counted for total funding formula allotments by the school district wherein the pupils attend school, but shall be counted for transportation allotment purposes in the school district which furnishes or provides the transportation. The school boards of the school districts which approve the transfer of a student under the provisions of Section 37-15-31 shall enter into an agreement and contract for the payment or nonpayment of any portion of their local maintenance funds which they deem fair and equitable in support of any transferred student. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, local maintenance funds shall be transferred only to the extent specified in the agreement and contract entered into by the affected school districts. The terms of any local maintenance fund payment transfer contract shall be spread upon the minutes of both of the affected school district school boards. The school district accepting any transfer students shall be authorized to accept tuition from such students under the provisions of Section 37-15-31(1) and such agreement may remain in effect for any length of time designated in the contract. The terms of such student transfer contracts and the amounts of any tuition charged any transfer student shall be spread upon the minutes of both of the affected school boards. No school district accepting any transfer students under the provisions of Section 37-15-31(2) , which provides for the transfer of certain school district employee dependents, shall be authorized to charge such transfer students any tuition fees.

(2) Local maintenance funds shall be paid by the home school district to the transferee school district for students granted transfers under the provisions of Sections 37-15-29(3) and 37-15-31(3) , not to exceed the student base amount, as defined in Section 37-151-201 , multiplied by the number of such legally transferred students.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-146-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 146-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-146-19
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Rural Dentists Scholarship Program, acting through the commission, shall make an effort to establish an initial practice entry support system for participants in the program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-63 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-63
Status: in_force

(1) The president of any community college, or such other person designated or authorized by the board of trustees, shall have the power to recommend to the board of trustees all teachers to be employed in the district.

(2) The president may remove or suspend any member of the faculty subject to the approval of the trustees. He shall be the general manager of all fiscal and administrative affairs of the district with full authority to select, direct, employ and discharge any and all employees other than teachers; however, the board may make provisions and establish policies for leave for faculty members and other key personnel.

(3) The president shall have the authority, subject to the provisions of Section 75-76-34 and Sections 37-29-1 through 37-29-273 and the approval of the trustees, to arrange and survey courses of study, fix schedules, and establish and enforce rules and discipline for the governing of teachers and students. He shall be the general custodian of the property of the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-71 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 33-71
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-71
Status: in_force

The State Treasurer is designated as the custodian of all funds received by the state from appropriations made by the Congress of the United States, or from other sources for the purpose of carrying out any state or federal statutes pertaining to vocational rehabilitation services for individuals who are blind. The State Treasurer is authorized to receive and provide for the proper custody of those funds, establish such special funds and accounts as may be necessary, and shall make disbursements from those funds and accounts for vocational rehabilitation purposes upon requisition by the executive director and upon the issuance of warrants by the State Fiscal Officer.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-155 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 101-155
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-155
Status: in_force

Before any of the land named in Section 37-101-153 , shall be leased for oil, gas and mineral purposes, the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning shall give notice of its intention by publishing a notice in some newspaper in the City of Jackson and also a newspaper published in the county or counties where such lands are situated, giving the time and place that said board will receive bids. Said notice shall be published once each week for three consecutive weeks. Said board at said time and place will receive sealed bids for such lease or leases, and will consider the highest and best bid that is the most advantageous to the institution or institutions. The board shall have the right to reject any or all such bids.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-303 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-303
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-303
Status: in_force

As used in Sections 37-29-301 through 37-29-305 , the following terms shall be defined as provided in this section:

(a) “ Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment ” means the process by which the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) calculates FTE by taking total undergraduate semester credit hours divided by thirty (30); total undergraduate quarter hours divided by forty-five (45); total graduate semester credit hours divided by twenty-four (24); and total graduate quarter hours divided by thirty-six (36).

(b) “ State funds ” means all funds appropriated by the Legislature including funds from the State General Fund, Education Enhancement Fund, Budget Contingency Fund and Health Care Expendable Fund.

(c) “ E & G operations ” means education and general expenses of the colleges and universities.

(d) “ Net enrollment ” has the same meaning as ascribed to that term under Section 37-151-201 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-203 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 23-203
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-203
Status: in_force

(1) As part of the certification process, teachers certified in the education of blind and visually impaired students shall be required to demonstrate competence in reading and writing Braille after January 1, 2010. The State Department of Education shall adopt procedures to assess such competencies.

(2) The department shall recognize Braille and Orientation & Mobility as core subject areas for all blind students, as deemed appropriate by the IEP Committee for all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC). The department shall adopt proficiency and competency in reading and writing of Literary Braille and Nemeth Code as a minimal standard for all teachers of the blind certified after January 1, 2010.

(3) Competency in reading and writing Literary Braille and Nemeth Code must be exhibited by an individual passing the Mississippi Praxis II Braille Competency Exam.

(4) The adoption of Braille as a core subject for blind and visually impaired students recognizes that the teaching of Braille is a unique educational need unparalleled by any other subject or skill taught to either general or special education students.

(5) The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) is the body of knowledge and skills that are needed by students with visual impairments due to their unique disability-specific needs. Students with visual impairments need the Expanded Core Curriculum in addition to the core academic curriculum of general education. The ECC should be used as a framework for assessing students, planning individual goals and providing instruction. The ECC includes compensatory or functional academic skills, including communication modes, orientation and mobility, social interaction skills, independent living skills, recreation and leisure skills, career education, use of assistive technology, sensory efficiency skills and self-determination.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-35 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 11-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-35
Status: in_force

(1) If any person charged by Section 37-11-29(2) or (3) to make the reports therein provided for shall willfully fail, refuse or neglect to file any such report, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months, or both.

(2) If any person charged by Section 97-5-24 to make the reports therein provided for shall willfully fail, refuse or neglect to file any such report, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months, or both.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-104-31 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 104-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-104-31
Status: in_force

The payments to be made by the participating private institution of higher learning, in payment and retirement of the revenue bonds according to the terms of the bond loan agreement, may be pledged and allocated by the Authority to the payment of the principal of and interest on the revenue bonds as the bond loan agreement and the resolution authorizing the issuance of the revenue bonds may provide. Such pledge may include funds received from one or more or all sources and shall be set aside at regular intervals into a sinking fund, which sinking fund shall be pledged to and charged with the payment of:

(a) The interest upon such revenue bonds as such interest shall accrue;

(b) The principal of the revenue bonds as the same shall become due;

(c) The necessary charges of the paying agent or paying agents for paying principal and interest of and on such bonds; and

(d) Any premium on bonds retired by call or purchase as may be provided herein.

The use and disposition of such sinking fund shall be subject to such terms as may be provided in the bond loan agreement and the resolution authorizing any issue of revenue bonds, but except as may otherwise be provided in said bond loan agreement and authorizing resolution, such sinking fund shall be a fund for the benefit of all revenue bonds issued under such resolution, without distinction or priority of one over the other. Subject to the provisions of the bond loan agreement and the resolution authorizing the issuance of the revenue bonds, surplus monies in the sinking fund may be applied to the purchase or redemption of any of such revenue bonds, and any such revenue bonds so purchased or redeemed shall forthwith be cancelled and shall not again be issued.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-71 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 106-71
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-71
Status: in_force

(1) There is established the Mississippi Dyslexia Education Forgivable Loan Program for the purpose of identifying and recruiting qualified university and college students from the state for schooling in education with a focus on dyslexia therapy.

(2) The receipt of a forgivable loan under the program shall be solely limited to those students who are enrolled in or who have been accepted for enrollment into a master's degree program of study for dyslexia therapy at any public or private institution of higher learning within the State of Mississippi at the time an application for a forgivable loan is filed with the board.

(3) The annual amount of the forgivable loan award shall be equal to the total cost for tuition, materials and fees at the college or university in which the student is enrolled. Awards made to nonresidents of the state shall not include any amount assessed by the college or university for out-of-state tuition.

(4) Upon completion of the master's program and licensure requirements, a forgivable loan recipient who has not been previously licensed by the State Department of Education shall render service in an instructional or clinical capacity as a licensed dyslexia therapist in a public school district in the state or an eligible nonpublic school as defined by Section 37-173-1 and meets the criteria established in Section 37-173-17 , not to exceed five (5) recipients rendering instructional or clinical services in a nonpublic school at any time.

(5) Repayment and conversion terms shall be the same as those outlined in Section 37-106-53 .

(6) The board shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, outlining in detail the number of participants who have received forgivable loans under the program, the record of service provided by those recipients as they transition out of the degree program into the public school districts of this state, and the projection for expanding the program to include more participants annually as determined by the need for such qualified professionals in the public school setting. Additionally, the report shall include a summary of allocations and expenditures for the administration of the program and the total amount of funds issued to recipients of forgivable loans from the inception of the program until such time as the report has been prepared and submitted to the Legislature.

(7) The Mississippi Dyslexia Education Forgivable Loan Program shall be administered in the same manner as the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program established under Section 37-106-55 and shall be incorporated into the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program for all purposes.

(8) Funding for the establishment and continued operation of the Mississippi Dyslexia Education Forgivable Loan Program shall be administered by the board through a special fund established within the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program. The board may accept and receive monetary gifts and donations from any source, public or private, which such funds shall be deposited in the special fund for the benefit of the Mississippi Dyslexia Education Forgivable Loan Program with the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program.

(9) No more than twenty (20) students per cohort shall be selected annually to be admitted into the program for receipt of forgivable loans beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year. However, forgivable loans awarded under the program shall be provided only to students who have been accepted into a Dyslexia Therapy Master's Degree Cohort Program approved by the State Department of Education that provides instructional training as required under Chapter 173, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for dyslexia therapy in preparation of those cohort students for AA licensure by the department.

(10) As part of the Mississippi Dyslexia Education Forgivable Loan Program, the State Department of Education is authorized and directed, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, to provide financial assistance for the recruitment, placement and employment of qualified licensed dyslexia therapy professionals identified under Section 37-173-15(1)(b), Mississippi Code of 1972 , in order to provide dyslexia screening, evaluation and therapy services to the students attending school in the school district. Said funding may be used to purchase curriculum materials and supplies for dyslexia therapy services. Said funding shall be provided to public school districts upon application therefor regardless of the financial need of the school district in an amount not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) annually, and subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature. In order to qualify for such funds, the school district shall meet the following criteria:

(a) Use licensed dyslexia therapists or individuals participating in an approved training program resulting in State Department of Education licensure to provide dyslexia therapy to students diagnosed with dyslexia;

(b) Use daily Orton-Gillingham-based therapy;

(c) Have school leadership trained in dyslexia; and

(d) Have a current School Program Verification and Assurances form on file with the State Department of Education, Office of Curriculum and Instruction. Procedures and standards for the application for such funds shall be established by regulations developed and issued by the State Board of Education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-93 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 101-93
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-93
Status: in_force

Bonds issued for the purposes enumerated in Section 37-101-91 shall be authorized by resolution of the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning. Said resolution shall positively show the said land, to be acquired, if any, and the said dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools and the like, to be erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved, equipped or acquired, together with equipment therefor. A majority vote of all the members of said board of trustees shall be necessary to the passage of said resolution, and all votes on such resolutions shall be by yea and nay vote, duly recorded on the minutes of the proceedings of the board.

The bonds may be issued in one or more series, may bear such date or dates, may be in such denomination or denominations, may mature at such time or times, not exceeding forty (40) years from the respective dates thereof, may mature in such amount of amounts, may bear interest at such rate or rates, not exceeding that allowed in Section 75-17-103 , payable semiannually, may be in such forms, either coupon or registered, may carry such registration privileges, may be executed in such manner, may be payable in such medium of payment, at such place or places, and may be subject to such terms of redemption, with or without premium, as such resolution or other resolutions may provide. The bonds may be sold at a private sale, at not less than par and accrued interest, without advertising the same at competitive bidding. The bonds shall be fully negotiable within the meaning and for all purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any resolution authorizing bonds hereunder, including refunding bonds, the board of trustees may provide for the initial issuance of one or more bonds (hereinafter sometimes collectively called “bond”), may make such provision for installment payments of the principal amount of any such bond as it may consider desirable, and may provide for the making of any such bond registerable as to principal or as to both principal and interest and, where interest accruing thereon is not represented by interest coupons, for the endorsing of payments of interest on such bond. The board may further make provision in any such resolution for the manner and circumstances in and under which any such bond may in the future, at the request of the holder thereof, be converted into bonds of smaller denominations, which bonds of small denominations may in turn be either coupon bonds or bonds registerable as to principal or principal and interest.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-49-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 49-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-49-5
Status: in_force

Any written obligation that is not usurious signed by a minor sixteen or more years of age in consideration of an educational loan received by him from any person is enforceable as if he were an adult at the time of execution, but only if prior to the making of the educational loan an educational institution has certified in writing to the person making the educational loan that the minor is enrolled, or has been accepted for enrollment, in the educational institution and only if the making of said educational loan is approved in writing prior to the making thereof by at least one parent, legal guardian or person in loco parentis to said minor.

The laws of the State of Mississippi regarding usury shall be applicable regarding all such loans.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-41 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 101-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-41
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this section, and subject to the provisions of Section 37-101-42 , the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (the “board”) is authorized and empowered to lease to private individuals or corporations for a term not exceeding thirty-five (35) years any land or land with existing auxiliary facilities at any of the following state-supported institutions: Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi, Alcorn State University, University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi University for Women and Delta State University, for the purpose of erecting or renovating, furnishing, maintaining and equipping auxiliary facilities thereon for active faculty, staff and/or students. The auxiliary facilities shall be constructed or renovated, and may be furnished, maintained and equipped thereon by private financing, and may be leased back to the board for use by the concerned state-supported institution of higher learning. The lease shall contain a provision permitting the board to purchase the building located thereon, including any furnishings and equipment therein, for the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) after payment by the board of all sums of money due under said lease.

(b) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may grant authority to universities to lease to private individuals or corporations for a period not exceeding thirty-five (35) years, any land or land with existing auxiliary facilities at the university, for the purpose of erecting or renovating, furnishing, maintaining and equipping auxiliary facilities thereon for active faculty, staff and/or students. The auxiliary facilities shall be constructed or renovated, and may be furnished, maintained and equipped thereon by private financing, and may be leased back to the board for use by the university. The lease shall contain a provision permitting the board to purchase the auxiliary facilities located thereon, including any furnishings and equipment therein, for the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) after payment by the board of all sums of money due under the lease.

(2) Upon there being an agreement reached between the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and a university upon whose land the auxiliary facility will be constructed or renovated and a private individual(s) or corporation(s) to enter into such lease agreement as described in subsection (1), it shall be stipulated in the agreement that all newly constructed or renovated auxiliary facilities shall be in compliance with the minimum building code standards employed by the state as required under Section 31-11-33 .

(3) The board, in conjunction with the university, shall have sole discretion to decide the placement of new auxiliary facilities upon the university's campus. However, the scope of any such construction or renovation by private entities shall be limited to two (2) leases entered into pursuant to this Section 37-101-41 per year for each university, and shall not exceed in the aggregate twenty-five percent (25%) of the university's total main campus or satellite campus property under the original lease period. In addition, the scope of any such renovation by private entities shall be limited to one (1) project per fiscal year for each university.

(4) No contractual lease agreement for the construction or renovation, furnishing, maintaining and equipping of privately financed auxiliary facilities shall be entered into by a university without prior approval of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. An auxiliary facility is a facility that is described by the current Postsecondary Education Facilities Inventory and Classification Manual (FICM) as within categories 500/600/700/800/900.

Before entering into contractual lease agreements for the construction or renovation, furnishing, maintaining and equipping of privately financed auxiliary facilities, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall establish rules and procedures to ensure adequate public advertisement of any requirement for the construction or renovation, furnishing, maintaining and equipping of privately financed auxiliary facilities at a university in order to promote full and open competition and which set forth the requirements for evaluation of offers and award of the contract lease agreement to the private entity.

(5) In addition to the above stated authority, the university, with the permission of the board, is authorized to enter into such marketing, support, management, operating, cooperating or other similar agreements as the university and board may deem advisable or prudent in connection with the ongoing operations of such auxiliary facilities for a period not to exceed the term of the lease relating to such auxiliary facilities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-59 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 43-59
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-59
Status: in_force

(1) Not more than one (1) pupil copy, one (1) teacher's edition, and one (1) copy of any limited auxiliary materials shall be furnished as samples or specimen copies to any single person involved in the state rating, adoption process of free textbooks. Any and all sample or specimen textbooks or other materials furnished to any person serving in an official capacity or as an officer or employee in a school receiving free textbooks shall be furnished only by the State Board of Education after receipt from the publishers. No samples shall be furnished by publishers directly to any such person. The board shall keep detailed records of all samples furnished to all persons and establish such procedures for return of all samples. The intent of this provision is that no person serving in an official capacity shall receive personal benefit or profit from sale of sample or specimen textbooks.

(2) Not more than one (1) pupil copy, one (1) teacher's edition, and one (1) copy of any limited auxiliary materials shall be furnished for review and inspection to any single person involved in the selection committee process of free textbooks. Any and all textbooks or other materials furnished to any such person serving in a selection committee capacity for inspection and review shall be furnished subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the board which such rules and regulations shall not prohibit direct delivery by the publishers to such persons. The board shall keep detailed records of all textbooks and auxiliary materials furnished to all such persons and establish such procedures for the return thereof. Any and all textbooks furnished to persons serving on selection committees shall be turned in to the Regional School Book Depository without any cost to the State of Mississippi and shall be credited to the account of the publisher. Any and all textbooks so furnished to persons serving on selection committees which have not been returned within one (1) year of the receipt of same the value thereof shall be charged against the allocation of state funds to said school district to the same extent as if said books had been purchased by said school district. The intent of this provision is that no person serving as a selection committee member shall receive personal benefit or proceeds from the sale of said textbooks.

(3) The Regional School Book Depository shall pay into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Textbook Fund the net wholesale price less an eight percent (8%) distribution cost and freight charges of those adopted textbooks which are returned by the rating committees as required herein. The board shall also provide for the sale of damaged books and those textbooks not adopted into the secondary textbook market on an annual basis. The Regional School Book Depository shall pay into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Textbook Fund the amount received for which said textbooks are sold less an eight percent (8%) distribution cost and freight charges of said textbooks which are damaged or not adopted.

(4) Any person converting to personal use or selling any sample or specimen textbook or other materials contrary to provisions of this section shall be guilty of the crime of embezzlement as provided by Section 97-11-25 and in addition shall upon conviction pay a fine of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per book sold or converted to personal use and shall be removed from any public office or public employment position held.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-50.3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 115-50.3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-50.3
Status: in_force

(1) In addition to all powers granted in Section 37-115-50.1 , subject to any required approval of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively) shall be empowered under this section:

(a) To acquire hospitals, health care facilities and other health care-related operations and assets, through direct purchase, merger, consolidation, lease or other means;

(b) To form, establish, fund and operate nonprofit corporations, nonprofit limited liability companies, state-sponsored entities or other similar organizations, either directly or through a nonprofit corporation formed by the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively), which are jointly owned with other public or private hospitals, for-profit or nonprofit corporations, or other health care-related organizations, for the purpose of conducting activities within or outside of the service area the academic medical center or its health care collaboratives for the benefit of the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives including, but not limited to, joint hospital acquisitions, group purchasing, clinically integrated networks, payor contracting, and joint requests for federal and state grants and funding;

(c) To make capital contributions, loans, debt or equity financing to or for any joint venture or similar arrangement in which the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively), or any nonprofit corporation formed or owned by the academic medical center or one of its health care collaboratives, has or acquires an ownership interest, and to guarantee loans and any other obligations for such purposes;

(d) To have an ownership interest in, make capital contributions to, and assume financial risk under, accountable care organizations or similar organizations;

(e) To enter into any contract for a term of any length, regardless of whether the length or term of the contract exceeds the term of the board of trustees of a health care collaborative;

(f) To create, establish, acquire, operate or support subsidiaries and affiliates, either for-profit or nonprofit, to assist the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively) in fulfilling its purposes;

(g) To create, establish or support nonaffiliated for-profit or nonprofit corporations or other lawful business organizations that operate and have as their purposes the furtherance of the purposes of the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively);

(h) Without limiting the generality of any provisions of this section, to accomplish and facilitate the creation, establishment, acquisition, operation or support of any such subsidiary, affiliate, nonaffiliated corporation or other lawful business organization, by means of loans of funds, acquisition or transfer of assets, leases of real or personal property, gifts and grants of funds or guarantees of indebtedness of such subsidiaries, affiliates and nonaffiliated corporations; and

(i) Subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (where applicable), to exercise all powers granted under this section in such a manner as the academic medical center and its health care collaboratives (acting individually or collectively) may determine to be consistent with the purposes of Sections 37-115-50 through 37-115-50.3 , including the state action immunity provided by Section 37-115-50.2 from state and federal antitrust laws to the fullest extent possible, notwithstanding that as a consequence of such exercise of such powers it engages in activities that may be deemed “ anticompetitive ” or which displace competition within the meaning or contemplation of the antitrust laws of this state or of the United States.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-135 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 13-135
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-135
Status: in_force

(1) In addition to all other authority, duties and powers the school boards of the school districts of this state may now have, each is authorized and empowered to adopt plans for the implementation of the Comprehensive School Health Education Program into the local school curriculum.

(2) School boards shall appoint a local health education council to make recommendations regarding a comprehensive health education curriculum.

(3) There shall be cooperation between the State Department of Education, Office of Comprehensive School Health Education and the school boards of the several school districts in implementing this program as it best suits the needs of the individual districts.

(4) The Commission on School Accreditation shall encourage the development of plans of comprehensive school health education and the implementation thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-138-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 138-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-138-15
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful for any person who does not possess a valid contractor certificate to contract with another person for asbestos abatement.

(2) To qualify for a contractor certificate, an applicant shall:

(a) Have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent;

(b) Satisfactorily complete a commission-approved training course for contractors, except that a contractor training course approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency satisfactorily completed shall be sufficient to meet this requirement; and

(c) Demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commission that the applicant and the applicant's employees, subcontractors and agents are familiar with and are capable of complying with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

(3) Any certificate issued by the commission pursuant to this section and requirements (b) and (c) of subsection (2) of this section shall be renewed on an annual basis.

(4) Applicants for a contractor certificate shall submit to the commission, on forms prepared by the commission, an application for issuance or renewal of the certificate, whichever is applicable, and a certificate that shows satisfactory completion of the training course(s) specified in subsection (2)(b) above and shall pay the applicable annual fee.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-405 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 29-405
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-405
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District shall be under the executive direction of a president elected by the board of trustees of said district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-221 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 153-221
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-221
Status: in_force

(1) The Office of Workforce Development shall establish and administer the Mississippi K-12 Workforce Development Grant Program for the purpose of constructing, remodeling, purchasing or upgrading equipment or otherwise providing support to career technical centers at the K-12 education level. The grant program shall be funded from any funds available to the Office of Workforce Development.

(2) The Office of Workforce Development shall prescribe the terms and conditions of the grant program. To be eligible to receive a grant from the Office of Workforce Development under the grant program, a school at the K-12 education level shall provide the following information:

(a) The number of students enrolled in the workforce development program for which the funds will be used;

(b) The purpose of the program;

(c) Whether the program fits into the ecosystem for the training needs in the area;

(d) Evidence of the school's local involvement with industry partners in the area; and

(e) Any other information that the office determines is necessary.

(3) The Office of Workforce Development may use a maximum of five percent (5%) of funds for the program for the administration of the program.

(4) The Office of Workforce Development shall comply with the reporting requirements provided in Section 37-153-7 . Each school that received grants from the program shall assist the office in completing the reporting requirement.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 15-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-11
Status: in_force

Whenever any minor child seeks or applies to enroll or gain entrance to any public school in this state, and the child is not accompanied by an adult or is accompanied by an adult who is not the child's parent, guardian, if a legal guardian has been appointed for the child, or legal custodian, the school official or officials or teacher to whom the child applies or reports for enrollment or admission may delay consideration of the enrollment or enlistment of the minor child and require the child's parent, legal guardian or legal custodian to accompany the child and apply for enrollment and admission into the school for and on behalf of the minor child.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-175 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 33-175
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-175
Status: in_force

(1) Within the limits of the funds available to the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for such purpose, the Executive Director may grant a paid internship to students pursuing junior or senior undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's degree in a program that qualifies the individual to qualify to become a rehabilitation specialist or a benefit program specialist within the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. Those applicants deemed qualified shall receive funds that may be used to pay for tuition, books and related fees to pursue their degree. It is the intent of the Legislature that the paid internship program (hereinafter referred to as the “program”) shall be used as an incentive for students to develop job-related skills and to encourage careers as rehabilitation specialists or benefits programs specialists at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(2) In order to be eligible for the program, an applicant must:

(a) Attend any college or school approved and designated by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(b) Have successfully obtained a minimum of fifty-eight (58) semester hours toward a bachelor's degree in an eligible field as determined by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services from a Mississippi institution of higher learning. Applicants must have achieved a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) on these semester hours of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If accepted into the internship program, participants shall maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all coursework counted toward a bachelor's degree in an eligible field as determined by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(c) Work at least a total of three hundred (300) hours each summer at a Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services' (MDRS) offices that is mutually agreed upon between MDRS and the respective intern.

(d) Agree to work as a rehabilitation specialist or a benefit program specialist at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services upon graduation for a period of time equivalent to one (1) year for each semester the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services remits payment for tuition, books and/or related fees towards a bachelors degree in an eligible field as determined by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(3)(a) Before being placed into the program, each applicant shall enter into a contract with the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, which shall be deemed a contract with the State of Mississippi, agreeing to the terms and conditions upon which the internship shall be granted to him or her. The contract shall include such terms and provisions necessary to carry out the full purpose and intent of this section. The form of such contract shall be prepared and approved by the Attorney General of this state, and shall be signed by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and the participant.

(b) Upon entry into the program, participants will become employees of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services during their time in the program and shall be eligible for benefits such as medical insurance paid by the agency for the participant; however, in accordance with Section 25-11-105II.(b), those participants shall not become members of the Public Employees' Retirement System while participating in the program. Participants shall not accrue personal or major medical leave while they are in the program.

(c) The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services shall have the authority to cancel any contract made between it and any program participant upon such cause being deemed sufficient by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(d) The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services is vested with full and complete authority and power to sue in its own name any participant for any damages due the state on any such uncompleted contract, which suit shall be filed and handled by the Attorney General of the state. The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services may contract with a collection agency or banking institution, subject to approval by the Attorney General, for collection of any damages due the state from any participant. The State of Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and its employees are immune from any suit brought in law or equity for actions taken by the collection agency or banking institution incidental to or arising from their performance under the contract. The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, collection agency and banking institution may negotiate for the payment of a sum that is less than full payment in order to satisfy any damages the participant owes the state, subject to approval by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(4)(a) Any recipient who is accepted into the program by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and who fails to complete undergraduate level coursework toward an approved degree, or withdraws from school at any time before completing his or her education, shall be liable to repay the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for all monies received during the time the recipient was in the program, at the rate of pay received by the employee while in the program, including benefits paid by the agency for the participant, and monies received for tuition, books and related fees used to pursue their degree with interest accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum from the date the recipient failed or withdrew from school. The recipient also shall not be liable for repayment for any money earned during the required summer hours. This money shall be considered earned by the recipient at the federal minimum wage rate.

(b) All paid internship compensation received by the recipient while in school shall be considered earned conditioned upon the fulfillment of the terms and obligations of the paid internship contract and this section. However, no recipient of the paid internship shall accrue personal or major medical leave while the recipient is pursuing junior or senior undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's degree in a program that qualifies the individual to qualify to become a rehabilitation specialist or a benefit program specialist within the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. The recipient shall not be liable for liquidated damages.

(c) If the recipient does not work as a rehabilitation specialist or a benefit program specialist at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for the period required under subsection (2)(d) of this section, the recipient shall be liable for repayment on demand of the remaining portion of the compensation that the recipient was paid while in the program which has not been unconditionally earned, with interest accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum from the recipient's date of graduation or the date that the recipient last worked at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, whichever is the later date.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-104-25 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 104-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-104-25
Status: in_force

The proceeds of the sale of revenue bonds shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of a special fund known as the Educational Facilities Authority Fund; shall be used solely for financing or refinancing of the cost of the educational facility project, except as hereinafter provided, and shall be disbursed to the participating institution of higher learning upon order of the State Treasurer, pursuant to such restrictions, if any, as the bond loan agreement and the resolution authorizing the issuance of the revenue bonds may provide. If the proceeds of the revenue bonds, by error of calculation or otherwise, shall be less than the cost of the educational facility project, unless otherwise provided in the bond loan agreement and the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds, additional revenue bonds may in like manner be issued to provide the amount of such deficit which, unless otherwise provided in the bond loan agreement and the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds, shall be deemed to be of the same issue and shall be entitled to payment from the same fund without preference or priority of the revenue bonds first issued for the same purpose. If the proceeds of the revenue bonds of any issue shall exceed the amount required for the purpose for which the revenue bonds were issued, the surplus shall be paid into a sinking fund, hereinafter established in Section 37-104-31 , for the payment of the principal of and the interest on such revenue bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-101 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 155-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-101
Status: in_force

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Affordable College Savings Program.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-103 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 151-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-103
Status: in_force

(1) Funds due each school district and charter school under the total funding formula provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 shall be paid in the following manner: Two (2) business days prior to the last working day of each month there shall be paid to each school district and charter school, by electronic funds transfer, one-twelfth ( 1 / 12 ) of the funds to which the district or charter school is entitled from funds appropriated for total funding formula. However, in December those payments shall be made on December 15th or the next business day after that date. All school districts shall process a single monthly or a bimonthly payroll for employees, in the discretion of the local school board, with electronic settlement of payroll checks secured through direct deposit of net pay for all school district employees. In addition, the State Department of Education may pay school districts and charter schools under the total funding formula on a date earlier than provided for by this section if it is determined that it is in the best interest of school districts and charter schools to do so.

However, if the cash balance in the State General Fund is not adequate on the due date to pay the amounts due to all school districts and charter schools in the state as determined by the State Superintendent of Public Education, the State Fiscal Officer shall not transfer the funds payable to any school district or districts or charter schools until money is available to pay the amount due to all districts and charter schools.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or any other law requiring the number of children in net enrollment or the net enrollment of transported children to be determined on the basis of the preceding year, the State Board of Education is hereby authorized and empowered to make proper adjustments in allotments in cases where major changes in the number of children in net enrollment or the net enrollment of transported children occurs from one (1) year to another as a result of changes or alterations in the boundaries of school districts, the sending of children from one (1) county or district to another upon a contract basis, the termination or discontinuance of a contract for the sending of children from one (1) county or district to another, a change in or relocation of attendance centers, or for any other reason which would result in a major decrease or increase in the number of children in net enrollment or the net enrollment of transported children during the current school year as compared with the preceding year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-65 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 27-65
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-65
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors of any county which has resolved and determined to accept the terms of the law relative to the locating and establishment of agricultural schools or agricultural high school-junior colleges or which may hereafter so determine, may issue bonds upon the property of said county to aid in the building, equipment, and in any other way, the establishment and development of agricultural high schools or agricultural high school-junior colleges. Said bonds may be issued to an amount which, added to all its bonded indebtedness shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the assessed value of the taxable property of the county appearing upon the assessment roll of the preceding year. Said bonds shall mature not later than twenty-five (25) years from the date of their issuance, and shall bear interest at such rate or rates as determined by the board of supervisors, provided that the bonds of any issue shall not bear a greater overall maximum interest rate to maturity than that allowed in Section 75-17-101 , payable annually. Such bonds shall be payable after five (5) years, at the option of the county. Said bonds shall be lithographed or engraved, and printed in two (2) or more colors, to prevent counterfeiting, and shall be in sums of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) each. Said bonds shall be registered as they are issued, be numbered in regular series from one (1) upwards, and be signed by the president of the board of supervisors and countersigned by the clerk, who shall impress the seal upon each bond as it is issued. Every bond shall specify on its face the purpose for which it was issued, the total amount authorized to be issued, and each shall be made payable to bearer, and the bonds so issued shall not be sold for less than their face value.

When bonds are issued as provided in this section, the board of trustees of the agricultural high school or agricultural high school-junior college are hereby authorized and empowered to use such funds in repairing and equipping buildings already erected and used by such agricultural high school or agricultural high school-junior college, and also to use such funds in erecting and equipping new buildings for such institutions.

The supervisors shall levy annually a special tax to be used exclusively in paying the interest on such bonds, and in providing a sinking fund for their redemption. When a sufficient amount of such sinking fund shall have accumulated, the board of supervisors may loan such accumulation at a rate of interest of not less than six percent (6%) and on such terms and for such time not longer than within the date fixed for the maturity of such bonds, such loan to be secured on improved real estate at not exceeding one-half ( 1 / 2 ) its assessed value, and upon abstract of such real estate, as provided for the loan of funds arising from the sale or lease of sixteenth section land.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-123 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 65-123
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-123
Status: in_force

The words “ qualified elector ” or “ qualified electors ” for the purposes of this article, shall in addition to the provisions of the first paragraph of Section 37-65-119 , mean:

A person, who on the day he or she signs any petition provided for in the section, is properly registered and qualified to vote in a county wide election of the county if such were then held, according to the voter roll as electronically maintained in the Statewide Elections Management System in the office of the circuit clerk and registrar of the county, in which all or any part of the school district is located, and who is a resident of the school district in which one or more schools have been closed, and who (a) is qualified to vote in an election of a trustee of that school district, if any be elective and (b) if the school district be a municipal separate school district or a special municipal separate school district and such person lives within the corporate limits of the municipality then such person must be qualified to vote in a city wide election if such were held on the day he or she signs any petition herein provided for.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-331 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 101-331
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-331
Status: in_force

It is the express intent of the Legislature that the capital renovation and repair needs of state community and junior colleges be comprehensively addressed by appropriate legislation during the 1989 Regular Legislative Session; and, to that end, the Mississippi Community College Board is hereby directed to prepare a complete report detailing:

(a) Repair and renovation needs;

(b) The financing capabilities of each community and junior college district; and

(c) The total millage levied in each community and junior college district for the support of the district, the amount of revenue generated in each district by the millage imposed, and an assessment of what capital renovation and repair needs can be financed under existing levying authority.

The board shall submit such report to the Legislature on or before January 3, 1989, in order that the Legislature be made fully cognizant of such needs and capabilities. The Governor's Office of General Services is directed to provide the fullest degree of reasonable cooperation to the Mississippi Community College Board in the preparation of this report.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-21-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 21-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-21-7
Status: in_force

(1) This section shall be referred to as the “Mississippi Elementary Schools Assistant Teacher Program,” the purpose of which shall be to provide an early childhood education program that assists in the instruction of basic skills. The State Board of Education is authorized, empowered and directed to implement a statewide system of assistant teachers in kindergarten classes and in the first, second and third grades. The assistant teacher shall assist pupils in actual instruction under the strict supervision of a licensed teacher.

(2)(a) Except as otherwise authorized under subsection (7), each school district shall employ the total number of assistant teachers funded under subsection (6) of this section. The superintendent of each district shall assign the assistant teachers to the kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classes in the district in a manner that will promote the maximum efficiency, as determined by the superintendent, in the instruction of skills such as verbal and linguistic skills, logical and mathematical skills, and social skills.

(b) If a licensed teacher to whom an assistant teacher has been assigned is required to be absent from the classroom, the assistant teacher may assume responsibility for the classroom in lieu of a substitute teacher. However, no assistant teacher shall assume sole responsibility of the classroom for more than three (3) consecutive school days. Further, in no event shall any assistant teacher be assigned to serve as a substitute teacher for any teacher other than the licensed teacher to whom that assistant teacher has been assigned.

(3) Assistant teachers shall have, at a minimum, a high school diploma or a High School Equivalency Diploma equivalent, and shall show demonstratable proficiency in reading and writing skills. The State Department of Education shall develop a testing procedure for assistant teacher applicants to be used in all school districts in the state.

(4)(a) In order to receive funding, each school district shall:

(i) Submit a plan on the implementation of a reading improvement program to the State Department of Education; and

(ii) Develop a plan of educational accountability and assessment of performance, including pretests and posttests, for reading in Grades 1 through 6.

(b) Additionally, each school district shall:

(i) Provide annually a mandatory preservice orientation session, using an existing in-school service day, for administrators and teachers on the effective use of assistant teachers as part of a team in the classroom setting and on the role of assistant teachers, with emphasis on program goals;

(ii) Hold periodic workshops for administrators and teachers on the effective use and supervision of assistant teachers;

(iii) Provide training annually on specific instructional skills for assistant teachers;

(iv) Annually evaluate their program in accordance with their educational accountability and assessment of performance plan; and

(v) Designate the necessary personnel to supervise and report on their program.

(5) The State Department of Education shall:

(a) Develop and assist in the implementation of a statewide uniform training module, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, which shall be used in all school districts for training administrators, teachers and assistant teachers. The module shall provide for the consolidated training of each assistant teacher and teacher to whom the assistant teacher is assigned, working together as a team, and shall require further periodic training for administrators, teachers and assistant teachers regarding the role of assistant teachers;

(b) Annually evaluate the program on the district and state level. Subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the department shall develop: (i) uniform evaluation reports, to be performed by the principal or assistant principal, to collect data for the annual overall program evaluation conducted by the department; or (ii) a program evaluation model that, at a minimum, addresses process evaluation; and

(c) Promulgate rules, regulations and such other standards deemed necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. Noncompliance with the provisions of this section and any rules, regulations or standards adopted by the department may result in a violation of compulsory accreditation standards as established by the State Board of Education and the Commission on School Accreditation.

(6) Each school district shall be allotted sufficient funding under the total funding formula provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 for the purpose of employing assistant teachers. No assistant teacher shall be paid less than the amount he or she received in the prior school year. No school district shall receive any funds under this section for any school year during which the aggregate amount of the local contribution to the salaries of assistant teachers by the district shall have been reduced below such amount for the previous year.

For assistant teachers, the minimum annual salary shall be as follows:

2022-2023 and Subsequent Years Minimum Salary․․․․․․․․․․ $17,000.00

In addition, for each one percent (1%) that the Sine Die General Fund Revenue Estimate Growth exceeds five percent (5%) in fiscal year 2006, as certified by the Legislative Budget Office to the State Board of Education and subject to the specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature, the State Board of Education shall revise the salary scale in the appropriate year to provide an additional one percent (1%) across-the-board increase in the base salaries for assistant teachers. The State Board of Education shall revise the salaries prescribed above for assistant teachers to conform to any adjustments made in prior fiscal years due to revenue growth over and above five percent (5%). The assistant teachers shall not be restricted to working only in the grades for which the funds were allotted, but may be assigned to other classes as provided in subsection (2)(a) of this section.

(7)(a) As an alternative to employing assistant teachers, any school district may use the funding provided under subsection (6) of this section for the purpose of employing licensed teachers for kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classes; however, no school district shall be authorized to use the funding for assistant teachers for the purpose of employing licensed teachers unless the district has established that the employment of licensed teachers using such funds will reduce the teacher:student ratio in the kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classes. All state funds for assistant teachers shall be applied to reducing teacher:student ratio in Grades K-3.

It is the intent of the Legislature that no school district shall dismiss any assistant teacher for the purpose of using the assistant teacher funding to employ licensed teachers. School districts may rely only upon normal attrition to reduce the number of assistant teachers employed in that district.

(b) Districts meeting the highest levels of accreditation standards, as defined by the State Board of Education, shall be exempted from the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-239 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 153-239
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-239
Status: in_force

(1) The Office of Workforce Development shall submit an annual report on the grant program to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chair of the House Workforce Development Committee and the Chair of the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee. The report shall contain a detailed explanation of how the funds appropriated for the program were awarded and how many paramedics have participated in the grant program and their employment outcomes.

(2) The Office of Workforce Development is authorized to enter into a memorandum of agreement with any public or nonpublic school which provides secondary education to students enrolled therein, for the purpose of allowing students who are at least seventeen (17) years of age to be eligible for enrollment in any accredited paramedic training program without any cost to the students, through dual-credit or dual-enrollment class offerings through an accredited entity authorized by the office to provide such trainings for purposes of the program. However, such students shall not be eligible to take any examination for certification as a paramedic until the time that he or she attains the age of eighteen (18), at which time he or she would be allowed to take the certification examination to become a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-53 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 33-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-53
Status: in_force

As used in the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law:

(a) “Department” or “agency” means the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(b) “Director” means the Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind;

(c) “Executive director” means the Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(d) “ Independent living services ” includes, but are not limited to, the following services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act: (i) independent living core services (information and referral services, independent living skills training, peer counseling including cross-disability peer counseling, and individual and systems advocacy) and: (ii) counseling services, including psychological, psychotherapeutic, and related services; (iii) services related to securing housing or shelter, including services related to community group living, and supportive of the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act and of the titles of the Rehabilitation Act, and adaptive housing services (including appropriate accommodations to and modifications of any space used to serve, or occupied by, individuals with disabilities); (iv) rehabilitation technology; (v) mobility training; (vi) services and training for individuals with cognitive and sensory disabilities, including life skills training, and interpreter and reader services; (vii) personal assistance services, including attendant care and the training of personnel providing such services; (viii) surveys, directories, and other activities to identify appropriate housing, recreation opportunities, and accessible transportation, and other support services; (ix) consumer information programs on rehabilitation and independent living services available under the Rehabilitation Act, especially for minorities and other individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by programs under the Rehabilitation Act; (x) education and training necessary for living in a community and participating in community activities; (xi) supported living; (xii) transportation, including referral and assistance for that transportation and training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems; (xiii) physical rehabilitation; (xiv) therapeutic treatment; (xv) provision of needed prostheses and other appliances and devices; (xvi) individual and group social and recreational services; (xvii) training to develop skills specifically designed for youths who are individuals with disabilities to promote self-awareness and esteem, develop advocacy and self-empowerment skills, and explore career options; (xviii) services for children; (xix) services under other federal, state, or local programs designed to provide resources, training, counseling, or other assistance, of substantial benefit in enhancing the independence, productivity, and quality of life of individuals with disabilities; (xx) appropriate preventive services to decrease the need of individuals assisted under the Rehabilitation Act for similar services in the future; (xxi) community awareness programs to enhance the understanding and integration into society of individuals with disabilities; and (xxii) such other services as may be necessary and not inconsistent with the provisions of the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act;

(e) “ Individual who is blind ” means any person with insufficient vision to perform vocational or independent living tasks for which sight is essential;

(f) “ Maintenance ” means monetary support provided to an individual for expenses, such as food, shelter, and clothing, that are in excess of the normal expenses of the individual and that are necessitated by the individual's participation in an assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs or the individual's receipt of vocational rehabilitation services under an individualized plan for employment;

(g) “ Physical restoration services ” means (i) corrective surgery or therapeutic treatment that is likely, within a reasonable period of time, to correct or modify substantially a stable or slowly progressive physical or mental impairment that constitutes a substantial impediment to employment; (ii) diagnosis of and treatment for mental or emotional disorders by qualified personnel in accordance with state licensure laws; (iii) dentistry; (iv) nursing services; (v) necessary hospitalization (either inpatient or outpatient care) in connection with surgery or treatment and clinic services; (vi) drugs and supplies; (vii) prosthetic and orthotic devices; (viii) eyeglasses and visual services, including visual training, and the examination and services necessary for the prescription and provision of eyeglasses, contact lenses, microscopic lenses, telescopic lenses, and other special visual aids prescribed by personnel that are qualified in accordance with state licensure laws; (ix) podiatry; (x) physical therapy; (xi) occupational therapy; (xii) speech or hearing therapy; (xiii) mental health services; (xiv) treatment of either acute or chronic medical complications and emergencies that are associated with or arise out of the provision of physical and mental restoration services, or that are inherent in the condition under treatment; (xv) special services for the treatment of individuals with end-stage renal disease, including transplantation, dialysis, artificial kidneys, and supplies; and (xvi) other medical or medically related rehabilitation services;

(h) “ Prosthetic appliance ” means any artificial device necessary to support, to take the place of, a part of the body, or to increase the acuity of a sense organ;

(i) “ Occupational licenses ” means any license, permit or other written authority required by any government unit to be obtained in order to engage in an occupation;

(j) “ Office ” means the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind;

(k) “ Regulations ” means regulations made by the director with the approval of the executive director and the state board, including regulations pertaining to independent living services;

(l) “ Rehabilitation engineering services ” means the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities in functional areas, such as mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and in activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into the community;

(m) “ Rehabilitation training ” means all necessary training provided to an individual who is blind to enable him or her to overcome his or her substantial impediment to employment, including, but not limited to, manual, preconditioning, prevocational, vocational, and supplementary training and training provided for the purpose of developing occupational skills and capacities;

(n) “ Supported employment services ” means ongoing support services and other appropriate services needed to support and maintain an individual with a most significant disability in supported employment that are provided by the department (i) for a period of time not to exceed eighteen (18) months, unless under special circumstances the eligible individual and the rehabilitation counselor or coordinator jointly agree to extend the time to achieve the employment outcome identified in the individualized plan for employment; and (ii) following transition, as post-employment services that are unavailable from an extended services provider and that are necessary to maintain or regain the job placement or advance in employment;

(o) “ State board ” means the State Board of Rehabilitation Services;

(p) “ Substantial impediment to employment ” means that a physical or mental impairment (in light of attendant medical, psychological, vocational, educational, communication, and other related factors) hinders an individual from preparing for, entering into, engaging in, or retaining employment consistent with the individual's abilities and capabilities;

(q) “ Vocational rehabilitation ” and “ vocational rehabilitation services ” mean, for an individual who is blind, services available to assist an individual with a disability in preparing for, securing, retaining, or regaining an employment outcome that is consistent with the individual's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice, including, but not limited to, services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act: (i) assessment for determining eligibility and priority for services by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology; (ii) assessment for determining vocational rehabilitation needs by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology; (iii) vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance, including information and support services to assist an individual in exercising informed choice; (iv) referral and other services necessary to assist applicants and eligible individuals to secure needed services from other agencies, including other components of the statewide workforce investment system and to advise those individuals about client assistance programs; (v) physical and mental restoration services, to the extent that financial support is not readily available from a source other than the State Department of Rehabilitation Services (such as through health insurance or a comparable service or benefit); (vi) vocational and other training services, including personal and vocational adjustment training, books, tools, and other training materials, except that no training or training services in an institution of higher education (universities, colleges, community or junior colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of nursing) may be paid for with funds under this law unless maximum efforts have been made by the state unit and the individual to secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other sources to pay for that training; (vii) maintenance; (viii) transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation service; (ix) vocational rehabilitation services to family members of an applicant or eligible individual if necessary to enable the applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome; (x) interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services, for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and tactile interpreting services for individuals who are deaf-blind provided by qualified personnel; (xi) reader services, rehabilitation teaching services, and orientation and mobility services for individuals who are blind; (xii) job-related services, including job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services, and follow-along services; (xiii) supported employment services; (xiv) personal assistance services; (xv) post-employment services; (xvi) occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks, and supplies; (xvii) rehabilitation technology including vehicular modification, telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices; (xviii) transition services; (xix) technical assistance and other consultation services to conduct market analyses, develop business plans, and otherwise provide resources, to the extent those resources are authorized to be provided through the statewide workforce investment system, to eligible individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting or establishing a small business operation as an employment outcome; (xx) other goods and services determined necessary for the individual with a disability to achieve an employment outcome.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-81 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 41-81
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-81
Status: in_force

The local school boards of this state are hereby authorized and empowered to purchase, own and operate, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the State Board of Education, motor vehicles, electric vehicles and other equipment for the transportation of children to and from the public schools of the respective counties and school districts, and to provide for the servicing, repair, care and maintenance of such county or district-owned motor vehicles and to employ drivers for the operation thereof, and to establish, erect and equip school bus shops or garages, and purchase land therefor, all under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the State Board of Education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-104-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 104-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-104-15
Status: in_force

The Authority is hereby authorized and directed, upon receipt from the governing board of any private institution of higher learning of said resolution, to proceed forthwith to make such investigation as it shall deem necessary and proper in order to determine that the private institution of higher learning reasonably shall be expected to produce sufficient revenues over a period not exceeding twenty-five (25) years to retire the revenue bonds issued for the financing or refinancing of the educational facility project as herein authorized, as well as the interest thereon and a reasonable sum for the maintenance, renewal and replacement of such educational facility or facilities or parts thereof, so long as said revenue bonds are outstanding.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-501 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 29-501
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-501
Status: in_force

There is hereby created a junior college district comprised of the territory lying within the Meridian Municipal Separate School District and having boundaries coinciding with the external boundaries thereof. The name of the said junior college district shall be the Meridian Junior College District and the said district shall be and the same is hereby constituted a legal political governmental subdivision and a body corporate.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-201 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 13-201
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-201
Status: in_force

Sections 37-13-201 through 37-13-213 shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Computer Science and Cyber Education Equality Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-57-115 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 57-115
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-57-115
Status: in_force

In addition to mobile home ad valorem taxes assessed and collected under authority of Chapter 53 of Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972 , the boards of supervisors are hereby authorized and empowered to levy a ten dollar ($10.00) ad valorem tax upon each mobile home or house trailer used as a family dwelling not heretofore occupied or used for residential purposes within the county as defined in Section 27-53-1, Mississippi Code of 1972 , to be collected by the county tax assessor-collector annually and deposited into a county trust fund entitled “county school building and repair fund” and expended by the county board of education for capital improvements and equipment only in such compacted areas.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-138-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 138-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-138-13
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful for any person who does not possess a valid project designer certificate to specify engineering methods and work practices under an asbestos project to another person.

(2) To qualify for a project designer certificate, an applicant shall:

(a)(i) Have attained a Bachelor of science degree in engineering or its equivalent from an accredited university and be licensed by the Mississippi Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors as a registered professional engineer or, (ii) have attained a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture or its equivalent from an accredited university and be licensed as an architect by the Mississippi Board of Architecture or, (iii) have satisfactorily completed prior to April 1, 1990, either a project designer training course or an asbestos abatement contractor training course and a supervisor's training course, each approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and any applicable annual refresher training courses approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency such that applicable training has been continuously current and is current as of April 1, 1990, for the purpose of satisfying this paragraph (a) only; however, this subparagraph (iii) shall apply only to applicants applying for a certificate prior to November 1, 1991;

(b) Satisfactorily complete a commission-approved training course for project designers, except that a project designer training course approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency satisfactorily completed shall be sufficient to meet this requirement; and

(c) Demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commission that the applicant and applicant's employees and agents are familiar with and capable of complying with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

(3) Any certificate issued by the commission pursuant to this section and requirements (b) and (c) of subsection (2) of this section shall be renewed on an annual basis.

(4) Each applicant for a project designer certificate shall, on an annual basis, submit to the commission, on forms prepared by the commission, an application for issuance or renewal of the certificate, whichever is applicable, and a certificate that shows satisfactory completion of the training course(s) specified in subsection (2)(b) above and shall pay the applicable annual fee.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-105-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 105-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-105-3
Status: in_force

(1) The traffic officers duly appointed by the president of any state institution of higher learning, or any peace officer or highway patrolman of this state, are vested with the powers and authority to perform all duties incident to enforcing such rules and regulations as may be enacted under the authority granted in Section 37-105-1 , including the arrest of violators.

(2) The peace officers duly appointed by the president of any state institution of higher learning are also vested with the powers and subjected to the duties of a constable for the purpose of preventing all violations of law that occur within five hundred (500) feet of any property owned by the university, if such universities determine that they want such peace officers to exercise such powers and if reasonably determined to have a possible impact on the safety of students, faculty or staff of the university while on said property. If a university determines that it wants such peace officers to exercise such powers, the university may enter into an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement entities specifying the individual and joint duties to be exercised on property within the peace officers' jurisdiction. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require action by any such peace officer appointed by such universities to events occurring outside the boundaries of university property, nor shall any such university or its employees be liable for any failure to act to any event occurring outside the boundaries of property owned by the university.

With approval from the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the university may enter into an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement entities for the provision of equipment or traffic control duties, however, the duty to enforce traffic regulations and to enforce the laws of the state or municipality off of university property lies with the local police or sheriff's department which cannot withhold its services solely because of the lack of such an agreement.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-239 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 29-239
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-239
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for any pupil attending the public junior colleges of this state to become a member of or to belong to or participate in the activities of any junior college fraternity, sorority, or secret society as defined in Section 37-29-235 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-171 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 13-171
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-171
Status: in_force

(1) The local school board of every public school district shall adopt a policy to implement abstinence-only or abstinence-plus education or sexual risk avoidance education into its curriculum, which instruction in those subjects shall be implemented not later than the start of the 2023-2024 school year or the local school board shall adopt the program which has been developed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services and the Mississippi Department of Health. The State Department of Education shall approve each district's curriculum for sex-related education and shall establish a protocol to be used by districts to provide continuity in teaching the approved curriculum in a manner that is age, grade and developmentally appropriate.

(2) Abstinence-only education shall remain the state standard for any sex-related education taught in the public schools. For purposes of this section, abstinence-only education includes any type of instruction or program which, at an appropriate age and grade:

(a) Teaches the social, psychological and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity, and the likely negative psychological and physical effects of not abstaining;

(b) Teaches the harmful consequences to the child, the child's parents and society that bearing children out of marriage is likely to produce, including the health, educational, financial and other difficulties the child and his or her parents are likely to face, as well as the inappropriateness of the social and economic burden placed on others;

(c) Teaches that unwanted sexual advances are irresponsible and teaches how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to sexual advances;

(d) Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity before marriage, and fidelity within marriage, is the only certain way to avoid out-of-marriage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and related health problems. The instruction or program may include a discussion on condoms or contraceptives, but only if that discussion includes a factual presentation of the risks and failure rates of those contraceptives. In no case shall the instruction or program include any demonstration of how condoms or other contraceptives are applied;

(e) Teaches the current state law related to sexual conduct, including forcible rape, statutory rape, paternity establishment, child support and homosexual activity; and

(f) Teaches that a mutually faithful, monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the only appropriate setting for sexual intercourse.

(3) A program or instruction on sex-related education need not include every component listed in subsection (2) of this section for abstinence-only education. However, no program or instruction under an abstinence-only curriculum may include anything that contradicts the excluded components. For purposes of this section, abstinence-plus education includes every component listed under subsection (2) of this section that is age and grade appropriate, in addition to any other programmatic or instructional component approved by the department, which shall not include instruction and demonstrations on the application and use of condoms. Abstinence-plus education may discuss other contraceptives, the nature, causes and effects of sexually transmitted diseases, or the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, along with a factual presentation of the risks and failure rates.

(4) Any course containing sex-related education offered in the public schools shall include instruction in either abstinence-only or abstinence-plus education.

(5) Local school districts, in their discretion, may host programs designed to teach parents how to discuss abstinence with their children.

(6) There shall be no effort in either an abstinence-only or an abstinence-plus curriculum to teach that abortion can be used to prevent the birth of a baby.

(7) At all times when sex-related education is discussed or taught, boys and girls shall be separated according to gender into different classrooms, sex-related education instruction may not be conducted when boys and girls are in the company of any students of the opposite gender.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-152 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 33-152
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-152
Status: in_force

It is declared to be the policy of this state to provide rehabilitation services, to the extent needed and feasible within resources available, to eligible individuals with disabilities throughout the state, to the end that they may engage in useful and remunerative occupations and live independently to the extent of their capabilities, thereby increasing their social and economic well-being and that of their families, and the productive capacity of this state and nation, also thereby reducing the burden of dependency on families and taxpayers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-37 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 145-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-37
Status: in_force

All bonds issued under the provisions of Sections 37-145-23 through 37-145-41 shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-111-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 111-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-111-11
Status: in_force

The members of organizations of the character designated in Section 37-111-1 , shall be amenable to the same rules and regulations as any and all other students in the institution. In the event that the members of such an organization become guilty of continued violation of the rules and of infractions of discipline the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning shall have the authority to dissolve such society and prohibit further meetings or its continuation as an organization. A failure to comply with the requirements of the trustees shall be a cause for suspension or expulsion from the institution as the faculty of the same may elect.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-151 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 33-151
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-151
Status: in_force

The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context shall otherwise require:

(a) “Board” means the State Board of Rehabilitation Services.

(b) “Executive Director” means the Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(c) “Department” means the State Department of Rehabilitation Services.

(d) “Director” means the administrative head of an office.

(e) “Office” means an administrative subdivision of the department.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 23-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-1
Status: in_force

The purpose of Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-159 is to mandate free appropriate public educational services and equipment for exceptional children in the age range three (3) through twenty (20) for whom the regular school programs are not adequate and to provide, on a permissive basis, a free appropriate public education, as a part of the state's early intervention system in accordance with regulations developed in collaboration with the agency designated as “lead agency” under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The portion of the regulations developed in collaboration with the lead agency which are necessary to implement the programs under the authority of the State Board of Education shall be presented to the State Board of Education for adoption. This specifically includes, but shall not be limited to, provision for day schools for the deaf and blind of an age under six (6) years, where early training is in accordance with the most advanced and best approved scientific methods of instruction, always taking into consideration the best interests of the child and his improvement at a time during which he is most susceptible of improvement. Educational programs to exceptional children under the age of three (3) years shall be eligible for total funding formula funds provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 .

All references in the laws of this state to the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” or to the “IDEA” shall be construed to include any subsequent amendments to that act.

The educational programs and services provided for exceptional children in Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-15 , 37-23-31 through 37-23-35 , 37-23-61 through 37-23-75 and 37-23-77 shall be designed to provide individualized appropriate special education and related services that enable a child to reach his or her appropriate and uniquely designed goals for success. The State Board of Education shall establish an accountability system for special education programs and students with disabilities. The system shall establish accountability standards for services provided to improve the educational skills designed to prepare children for life after their years in school. These standards shall be a part of the accreditation system and shall be implemented before July 1, 1996.

The State Department of Education shall establish goals for the performance of children with disabilities that will promote the purpose of IDEA and are consistent, to the maximum extent appropriate, with other goals and standards for children established by the State Department of Education. Performance indicators used to assess progress toward achieving those goals that, at a minimum, address the performance of children with disabilities on assessments, drop-out rates, and graduation rates shall be developed. Every two (2) years, the progress toward meeting the established performance goals shall be reported to the public.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-125-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 125-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-125-7
Status: in_force

The executive head of the Jackson State College shall be held as the professional adviser of the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning on all matters pertaining to the inside arrangements of buildings, selection of faculty, and course of study. He shall have the immediate supervision and management of said college in all its departments, subject however, to the general supervision, management, and direction of the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-119-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 119-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-119-3
Status: in_force

The principal object of the University of Southern Mississippi shall be to qualify teachers for the public schools of this state, by imparting instruction in the art and practice of teaching in all branches of study which pertain to a common school education, and such other studies as the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning may from time to time prescribe.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-146-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 146-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-146-1
Status: in_force

There is established the Mississippi Rural Dentists Scholarship Program for the purpose of identifying and recruiting qualified university and college students for dental school matriculation. Such program shall be known and may be cited as the Dr. G. Norris Howell Rural Dentists Scholarship Program. The program shall consist of three (3) distinct phases through which participants will progress, including:

(a) Undergraduate pre-dental education;

(b) Dental school and residency; and

(c) Initial entry into dental practice in a rural or underserved area of the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-19
Status: in_force

Except as may be otherwise provided by law for the vocational rehabilitation of the blind, the state board, through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, shall provide vocational rehabilitation services to eligible individuals with disabilities determined by the director to be eligible therefor, and in carrying out the purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation Law, the office is authorized among other things:

(a) To cooperate with other departments, agencies and institutions, both public and private, in providing for the vocational rehabilitation of eligible individuals with disabilities, in studying the problems involved therein, and in establishing, developing and providing, in conformity with the purposes of that law, such programs, facilities and services as may be necessary or desirable;

(b) To conduct research and compile statistics relating to the vocational rehabilitation of eligible individuals with disabilities;

(c) To prescribe and provide such courses of vocational training as may be necessary for the vocational rehabilitation of eligible individuals with disabilities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-57 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 141-57
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-57
Status: in_force

The University Research Center shall develop rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-39-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 39-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-39-17
Status: in_force

Purchases of items regularly used in connection with school operation shall not be made in small quantities for the purpose of circumventing the law requiring competitive bids or quotations, but shall be purchased by contract whenever feasible. School boards shall have the authority, however, to award such contracts for supplies or equipment to be delivered to different points in the school district or county, to different bidders, when the best interests of the district or county warrant such action. Reasons for awarding such contracts to different bidders for different areas in the district shall be recorded on the minutes of the school board. In no event shall the price paid exceed the lowest and best bid received.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-53 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-53
Status: in_force

As used in the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law:

(a) “Department” or “agency” means the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(b) “Director” means the Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind;

(c) “Executive director” means the Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;

(d) “ Independent living services ” includes, but are not limited to, the following services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act: (i) independent living core services (information and referral services, independent living skills training, peer counseling including cross-disability peer counseling, and individual and systems advocacy) and: (ii) counseling services, including psychological, psychotherapeutic, and related services; (iii) services related to securing housing or shelter, including services related to community group living, and supportive of the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act and of the titles of the Rehabilitation Act, and adaptive housing services (including appropriate accommodations to and modifications of any space used to serve, or occupied by, individuals with disabilities); (iv) rehabilitation technology; (v) mobility training; (vi) services and training for individuals with cognitive and sensory disabilities, including life skills training, and interpreter and reader services; (vii) personal assistance services, including attendant care and the training of personnel providing such services; (viii) surveys, directories, and other activities to identify appropriate housing, recreation opportunities, and accessible transportation, and other support services; (ix) consumer information programs on rehabilitation and independent living services available under the Rehabilitation Act, especially for minorities and other individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by programs under the Rehabilitation Act; (x) education and training necessary for living in a community and participating in community activities; (xi) supported living; (xii) transportation, including referral and assistance for that transportation and training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems; (xiii) physical rehabilitation; (xiv) therapeutic treatment; (xv) provision of needed prostheses and other appliances and devices; (xvi) individual and group social and recreational services; (xvii) training to develop skills specifically designed for youths who are individuals with disabilities to promote self-awareness and esteem, develop advocacy and self-empowerment skills, and explore career options; (xviii) services for children; (xix) services under other federal, state, or local programs designed to provide resources, training, counseling, or other assistance, of substantial benefit in enhancing the independence, productivity, and quality of life of individuals with disabilities; (xx) appropriate preventive services to decrease the need of individuals assisted under the Rehabilitation Act for similar services in the future; (xxi) community awareness programs to enhance the understanding and integration into society of individuals with disabilities; and (xxii) such other services as may be necessary and not inconsistent with the provisions of the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act;

(e) “ Individual who is blind ” means any person with insufficient vision to perform vocational or independent living tasks for which sight is essential;

(f) “ Maintenance ” means monetary support provided to an individual for expenses, such as food, shelter, and clothing, that are in excess of the normal expenses of the individual and that are necessitated by the individual's participation in an assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs or the individual's receipt of vocational rehabilitation services under an individualized plan for employment;

(g) “ Physical restoration services ” means (i) corrective surgery or therapeutic treatment that is likely, within a reasonable period of time, to correct or modify substantially a stable or slowly progressive physical or mental impairment that constitutes a substantial impediment to employment; (ii) diagnosis of and treatment for mental or emotional disorders by qualified personnel in accordance with state licensure laws; (iii) dentistry; (iv) nursing services; (v) necessary hospitalization (either inpatient or outpatient care) in connection with surgery or treatment and clinic services; (vi) drugs and supplies; (vii) prosthetic and orthotic devices; (viii) eyeglasses and visual services, including visual training, and the examination and services necessary for the prescription and provision of eyeglasses, contact lenses, microscopic lenses, telescopic lenses, and other special visual aids prescribed by personnel that are qualified in accordance with state licensure laws; (ix) podiatry; (x) physical therapy; (xi) occupational therapy; (xii) speech or hearing therapy; (xiii) mental health services; (xiv) treatment of either acute or chronic medical complications and emergencies that are associated with or arise out of the provision of physical and mental restoration services, or that are inherent in the condition under treatment; (xv) special services for the treatment of individuals with end-stage renal disease, including transplantation, dialysis, artificial kidneys, and supplies; and (xvi) other medical or medically related rehabilitation services;

(h) “ Prosthetic appliance ” means any artificial device necessary to support, to take the place of, a part of the body, or to increase the acuity of a sense organ;

(i) “ Occupational licenses ” means any license, permit or other written authority required by any government unit to be obtained in order to engage in an occupation;

(j) “ Office ” means the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind;

(k) “ Regulations ” means regulations made by the director with the approval of the executive director and the state board, including regulations pertaining to independent living services;

(l) “ Rehabilitation engineering services ” means the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities in functional areas, such as mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and in activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into the community;

(m) “ Rehabilitation training ” means all necessary training provided to an individual who is blind to enable him or her to overcome his or her substantial impediment to employment, including, but not limited to, manual, preconditioning, prevocational, vocational, and supplementary training and training provided for the purpose of developing occupational skills and capacities;

(n) “ Supported employment services ” means ongoing support services and other appropriate services needed to support and maintain an individual with a most significant disability in supported employment that are provided by the department (i) for a period of time not to exceed eighteen (18) months, unless under special circumstances the eligible individual and the rehabilitation counselor or coordinator jointly agree to extend the time to achieve the employment outcome identified in the individualized plan for employment; and (ii) following transition, as post-employment services that are unavailable from an extended services provider and that are necessary to maintain or regain the job placement or advance in employment;

(o) “ State board ” means the State Board of Rehabilitation Services;

(p) “ Substantial impediment to employment ” means that a physical or mental impairment (in light of attendant medical, psychological, vocational, educational, communication, and other related factors) hinders an individual from preparing for, entering into, engaging in, or retaining employment consistent with the individual's abilities and capabilities;

(q) “ Vocational rehabilitation ” and “ vocational rehabilitation services ” mean, for an individual who is blind, services available to assist an individual with a disability in preparing for, securing, retaining, or regaining an employment outcome that is consistent with the individual's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice, including, but not limited to, services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act: (i) assessment for determining eligibility and priority for services by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology; (ii) assessment for determining vocational rehabilitation needs by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology; (iii) vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance, including information and support services to assist an individual in exercising informed choice; (iv) referral and other services necessary to assist applicants and eligible individuals to secure needed services from other agencies, including other components of the statewide workforce investment system and to advise those individuals about client assistance programs; (v) physical and mental restoration services, to the extent that financial support is not readily available from a source other than the State Department of Rehabilitation Services (such as through health insurance or a comparable service or benefit); (vi) vocational and other training services, including personal and vocational adjustment training, books, tools, and other training materials, except that no training or training services in an institution of higher education (universities, colleges, community or junior colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of nursing) may be paid for with funds under this law unless maximum efforts have been made by the state unit and the individual to secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other sources to pay for that training; (vii) maintenance; (viii) transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation service; (ix) vocational rehabilitation services to family members of an applicant or eligible individual if necessary to enable the applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome; (x) interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services, for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and tactile interpreting services for individuals who are deaf-blind provided by qualified personnel; (xi) reader services, rehabilitation teaching services, and orientation and mobility services for individuals who are blind; (xii) job-related services, including job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services, and follow-along services; (xiii) supported employment services; (xiv) personal assistance services; (xv) post-employment services; (xvi) occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks, and supplies; (xvii) rehabilitation technology including vehicular modification, telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices; (xviii) transition services; (xix) technical assistance and other consultation services to conduct market analyses, develop business plans, and otherwise provide resources, to the extent those resources are authorized to be provided through the statewide workforce investment system, to eligible individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting or establishing a small business operation as an employment outcome; (xx) other goods and services determined necessary for the individual with a disability to achieve an employment outcome.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-146-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 146-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-146-9
Status: in_force

(1) Participants must adhere to the policies and practices as stipulated by the commission to continue in the program.

(2) Students in the program may receive tuition or other financial support that may be provided by the commission. If a student in the program is admitted to and completes dental school, any tuition or other educational and living support provided to the student by the commission will be forgiven. However, if the student is not successful in being accepted into dental school within three (3) years of entry into the Mississippi Rural Dentists Scholarship Program, or if the student otherwise breaches his or her agreement with the commission, all financial assistance provided to the student must be repaid according to policies adopted by the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-303 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 101-303
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-303
Status: in_force

Before the issuance of any of the bonds herein authorized, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall forward to the State Bond Commission its recommendation declaring the necessity for the issuance of general obligation bonds as authorized by Sections 37-101-301 through 37-101-331 for the purpose of erecting, repairing, constructing, remodeling, adding to or improving capital facilities for institutions of higher learning. The State Bond Commission shall have the power and is hereby authorized, upon receipt of the aforesaid recommendations, at one (1) time or from time to time, to declare the necessity for issuance of negotiable general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi in an aggregate amount not to exceed Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00) to provide funds for the purposes hereinabove set forth and to issue and sell bonds in the amount specified.

Out of the total amount of bonds authorized to be issued, funds shall be allocated among the institutions of higher learning as follows:

Alcorn State University․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․$4,416,000.00

Delta State University․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․1,882,000.00

Jackson State University․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․2,396,000.00

Mississippi State University․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․9,810,000.00

Mississippi University for Women․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․1,909,000.00

Mississippi Valley State University․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․1,775,000.00

University of Mississippi․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․6,086,000.00

University of Southern Mississippi․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․5,971,000.00

University of Southern Mississippi--Gulf Park Campus․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․․․309,000.00

University Medical Center․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․3,465,000.00

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․․․260,000.00

Education and Research Center․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․․․475,000.00

Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․

․․․․․․․․․․․1,246,000.00

It is expressly provided, however, that in the event any emergencies or unforeseen contingencies arise, the amount set forth above for any institution may be increased by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, provided that the amount of such increase is achieved by a pro rata reduction in the amounts allocated to the other institutions.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-107 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-107
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-107
Status: in_force

If a petition signed by two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) of the qualified electors of an existing school district shall be filed with the school board requesting that such district be abolished, then the school board shall enter an order abolishing such school district. Such order shall become final without publication thereof upon such date as may be fixed by the school board but not later than July 1 next succeeding the date of such order.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-39 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 106-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-39
Status: in_force

(1) There is established the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters Scholarship.

(2) Except as provided in this section, if any Mississippi law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter shall suffer or has suffered fatal injuries or wounds or become permanently and totally disabled as a result of injuries or wounds which occurred in the performance of the official and appointed duties of his or her office, his or her spouse, child or children shall be entitled to an eight-semester scholarship without cost, exclusive of books, food, school supplies, materials and dues or fees for extracurricular activities, at any state-supported college or university of his or her choice within this state.

(a) No child shall be entitled to receive benefits during any semester or quarter when said child has reached the age of twenty-three (23) years on the first day of said semester or quarter. However, any child who has begun the process of acquiring college credits under the provisions of this section prior to attaining the age of twenty-three (23) years shall be entitled to the full eight-semester scholarship if his or her college instruction was interrupted for any reason.

(b) Scholarship benefits shall not accrue hereunder to any person if the wounds or injuries suffered by any law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter are self-inflicted or if his death is self-induced.

(3) Eligibility for renewal of the scholarship shall be evaluated each academic year at the end of each semester or term. As a condition for renewal, a student shall:

(a) Make steady academic progress toward a certificate or degree, as outlined in the school Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards and certified by the institution's registrar; and

(b) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale at the end of each academic year.

(4) For the purposes of this section, these words and phrases shall be defined as follows:

(a) “Mississippi law enforcement officers” shall be defined as follows:

(i) “ State highway patrolmen ” means all law enforcement officers, regardless of department or bureau, of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.

(ii) “ Municipal police officers ” means all law enforcement officers of any municipality who are regular duty personnel on full-time status, auxiliary or reserve officers, or those serving on a temporary or part-time status.

(iii) “ Sheriffs ” and “ deputy sheriffs ” means all law enforcement officers of full-time duty status on a regular basis serving the sheriff's department of any county, deputy sheriffs who are engaged in administrative or civil duty, auxiliary or reserve deputies, or deputy sheriffs serving in a temporary capacity or part-time basis.

(iv) “ Constables ” means all duly elected constables of any beat of any county within the state while actually engaged in the performance of their duties concerning the criminal laws of the county and state.

(v) “ Conservation officers ” means all duly appointed game wardens employed by the State of Mississippi on a full-time duty status while actually engaged in the performance of their duties concerning the game laws of the state.

(vi) “ Alcoholic Beverage Control Division agents and inspectors ” means all duly appointed agents and investigators of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Mississippi Department of Revenue on a full-time duty status while actually engaged in the performance of their duties concerning the alcoholic beverage control laws of the state.

(vii) Members of the National Guard serving as peace officers when ordered to state emergency duty under authority vested in the Governor by the Constitution and laws of the state.

(viii) “ Tax commission scales enforcement officers ” means all duly appointed scales enforcement officers of the Mississippi Department of Revenue on a full-time duty status while actually engaged in the performance of their duties.

(ix) Duly appointed agents of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

(x) Correctional, probation and parole officers employed by the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

(b) “Mississippi full-time firefighters” shall be defined as all firefighters employed by any subdivision of the State of Mississippi on a full-time duty status while actually engaged in the performance of their duties, and volunteer firefighters shall be defined as any volunteer firefighter registered with the State of Mississippi or a political subdivision thereof on a volunteer firefighting status while actually engaged in the performance of firefighting duties.

(c) “ Child ” or “ children ” means natural children, adopted children or stepchildren.

(d) “ Spouse ” means a person who was, at the time of the death of the decedent, legally married to a Mississippi law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter, or volunteer firefighter, or in the case of a law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter who suffered fatal injuries or wounds, prior to or after March 13, 1990, who has not remarried.

(5)(a) Any law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter claiming permanent and total disability shall be qualified or disqualified for a claim under this section based on examination and review of the following four (4) documents:

(i) A letter from the officer's or firefighter's former supervisor or employer stating whether the officer or firefighter is disabled as a result of injuries or wounds that occurred in the performance of the official duties of his office;

(ii) A statement from the officer's or firefighter's physician stating whether the officer or firefighter is disabled and the reason for that disability;

(iii) Verification from the Public Employees' Retirement System; and

(iv) Verification from the Social Security Administration.

(b) If the law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter suffered fatal injuries or wounds, a claim under this section shall be based on examination and review of the following two (2) documents:

(i) A letter from the officer's or firefighter's former supervisor or employer stating whether he suffered fatal injuries in the performance of the official duties of his office; and

(ii) A death certificate.

(6) Any applicant qualified and desiring a scholarship under the provisions of this section shall apply in writing to the board. The board shall make inquiries into each application and shall make the investigation as it deems proper to establish and validate all claims before a scholarship is granted.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-67 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 101-67
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-67
Status: in_force

All bonds issued by an educational building corporation shall be solely and exclusively obligations of the corporation and shall not create an obligation or debt of the State of Mississippi. The state shall not pledge its full faith or credit for the payment of any debt incurred or bonds issued by such corporation.

All such bonds shall not constitute a debt of the college or university for which the facilities are to be constructed.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-35 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 45-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-35
Status: in_force

All witnesses attending the commission pursuant to process issued as authorized in Section 37-45-31 , shall be entitled to the same per diem and mileage as provided for witnesses in the chancery courts of this state. Such witnesses shall attend from day to day until discharged by the commission or by agreement of counsel for the interested parties. The fee and mileage of all witnesses shall be paid by the county board of education or the board of trustees of a municipal separate school district interested in the matter under consideration by the commission. However, any witness fees or mileage of witnesses subpoenaed by the commission or by or at the direction of the chairman on its or their own motion shall be paid by the commission by proper requisition upon the funds appropriated for the operation of the commission. The commission may tax the cost of any proceeding before it as a part of its order in such proceeding.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-140-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 140-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-140-13
Status: in_force

All expenditures for the school shall be paid by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer, and the State Fiscal Officer shall issue his warrants upon requisition signed by the proper person, officer or officers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-160-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 160-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-160-1
Status: in_force

(1) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Teach for America Act.”

(2) The following are the purposes of this chapter:

(a) To increase the number of highly accomplished recent college graduates teaching in school districts in geographical areas of the state which are economically challenged and in which there exists a critical shortage of teachers.

(b) To increase the number of recent college graduates teaching in the Teach For America partnering school districts on July 1, 2008, and to bring teachers from a nationally recruited corps of outstanding new teachers to additional communities in Mississippi by expanding the Teach For America program to additional school districts.

(c) To build a broader resource of talented and experienced future leaders in public education and education reform for the State of Mississippi.

(d) To authorize state funds to be used as matching funds by Teach For America, Inc., in order to raise additional funding to cover the programmatic costs of recruiting, selecting, training and providing appropriate support to the Teach For America teachers teaching in Mississippi.