Miss. Code Ann. § 37-57-104 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 57-104
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-57-104
Status: in_force

(1) Each school board shall submit to the levying authority for the school district a certified copy of an order adopted by the school board requesting an ad valorem tax effort in dollars for the support of the school district. The copy of the order shall be submitted by the school board when the copies of the school district's budget are filed with the levying authority pursuant to Section 37-61-9 . Upon receipt of the school board's order requesting the ad valorem tax effort in dollars, the levying authority shall determine the millage rate necessary to generate funds equal to the dollar amount requested by the school board. For the purpose of calculating this millage rate, any additional amount that is levied pursuant to Section 37-57-105(1) to cover anticipated delinquencies and costs of collection or any amount that may be levied for the payment of the principal and interest on school bonds or notes shall be excluded from the limitation of fifty-five (55) mills provided for in subsection (2) of this section.

(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided under paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection, if the millage rate necessary to generate funds equal to the dollar amount requested by the school board is greater than fifty-five (55) mills, and if this millage rate is higher than the millage then being levied pursuant to the school board's order requesting the ad valorem tax effort for the currently existing fiscal year, then the levying authority shall call a referendum on the question of exceeding, during the next fiscal year, the then existing millage rate being levied for school district purposes. The referendum shall be scheduled for not more than six (6) weeks after the date on which the levying authority receives the school board's order requesting the ad valorem tax effort.

When a referendum has been called, notice of the referendum shall be published at least five (5) days per week, unless the only newspaper published in the school district is published less than five (5) days per week, for at least three (3) consecutive weeks, in at least one (1) newspaper published in the school district. The notice shall be no less than one-fourth ( 1 / 4 ) page in size, and the type used shall be no smaller than eighteen (18) point and surrounded by a one-fourth-inch solid black border. The notice may not be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements appear. The first publication of the notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed for the referendum, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days before that date. If no newspaper is published in the school district, then the notice shall be published in a newspaper having a general circulation in the school district. The referendum shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other referendums and elections are held in the county or municipality. At the referendum, all registered, qualified electors of the school district may vote. The ballots used at the referendum shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purpose of the increased tax levy and the words “FOR INCREASING THE MILLAGE LEVIED FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PURPOSES FROM (MILLAGE RATE CURRENTLY LEVIED) MILLS TO (MILLAGE RATE REQUIRED UNDER SCHOOL BOARD'S ORDER) MILLS,” and “AGAINST INCREASING THE MILLAGE LEVIED FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PURPOSES FROM (MILLAGE RATE CURRENTLY LEVIED) MILLS TO (MILLAGE RATE REQUIRED UNDER SCHOOL BOARD'S ORDER) MILLS.” The voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or checkmark (✓) opposite his choice on the proposition.

If a majority of the registered, qualified electors of the school district who vote in the referendum vote in favor of the question, then the ad valorem tax effort in dollars requested by the school board shall be approved. However, if a majority of the registered, qualified electors who vote in the referendum vote against the question, the millage rate levied by the levying authority shall not exceed the millage then being levied pursuant to the school board's order requesting the ad valorem tax effort for the then currently existing fiscal year.

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require any school district that is levying more than fifty-five (55) mills pursuant to Sections 37-57-1 and 37-57-105 to decrease its millage rate to fifty-five (55) mills or less. Further, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a referendum in a school district where the requested ad valorem tax effort in dollars requires a millage rate of greater than fifty-five (55) mills but the requested dollar amount does not require any increase in the then existing millage rate. Further, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a referendum in a school district where, because of a decrease in the assessed valuation of the district, a millage rate of greater than fifty-five (55) mills is necessary to generate funds equal to the dollar amount generated by the ad valorem tax effort for the currently existing fiscal year.

(b) However, if a levying authority is levying in excess of fifty-five (55) mills on July 1, 1997, the levying authority may levy an additional amount not exceeding three (3) mills in the aggregate for the period beginning July 1, 1997, and ending June 30, 2003, subject to the limitation on increased receipts from ad valorem taxes prescribed in Sections 37-57-105 and 37-57-107 .

(c) If the levying authority for any school district lawfully has decreased the millage levied for school district purposes, but subsequently determines that there is a need to increase the millage rate due to a disaster in which the Governor has declared a disaster emergency or the President of the United States has declared an emergency or major disaster, then the levying authority may increase the millage levied for school district purposes up to an amount that does not exceed the millage rate in any one (1) of the immediately preceding ten (10) fiscal years without any referendum that otherwise would be required under this subsection.

(3) If the millage rate necessary to generate funds equal to the dollar amount requested by the school board is equal to fifty-five (55) mills or less, but the dollar amount requested by the school board exceeds the next preceding fiscal year's ad valorem tax effort in dollars by more than four percent (4%), but not more than seven percent (7%) (as provided for under subsection (4) of this section), then the school board shall publish notice thereof at least five (5) days per week, unless the only newspaper published in the school district is published less than five (5) days per week, for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the school district. The notice shall be no less than one-fourth ( 1 / 4 ) page in size, and the type used shall be no smaller than eighteen (18) point and surrounded by a one-fourth-inch solid black border. The notice may not be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements appear. The first publication shall be made not less than fifteen (15) days before the final adoption of the budget by the school board. If no newspaper is published in the school district, then the notice shall be published in a newspaper having a general circulation in the school district. If at any time before the adoption of the budget a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the registered, qualified electors of the school district is filed with the school board requesting that a referendum be called on the question of exceeding the next preceding fiscal year's ad valorem tax effort in dollars by more than four percent (4%), then the school board shall adopt, not later than the next regular meeting, a resolution calling a referendum to be held within the school district upon the question. The referendum shall be called and held, and notice thereof shall be given, in the same manner provided for in subsection (2) of this section. The ballot shall contain the language “FOR THE SCHOOL TAX INCREASE OVER FOUR PERCENT (4%)” and “AGAINST THE SCHOOL TAX INCREASE OVER FOUR PERCENT (4%).” If a majority of the registered, qualified electors of the school district who vote in the referendum vote in favor of the question, then the increase requested by the school board shall be approved. For the purposes of this subsection, the revenue sources excluded from the increase limitation under Section 37-57-107 also shall be excluded from the limitation described in this subsection in the same manner as they are excluded under Section 37-57-107 . Provided, however, that any increases requested by the school board as a result of the required local contribution to the total funding formula as required by Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 , as certified to the local school district by the State Board of Education under Section 37-151-211 , shall not be subject to the four percent (4%) and/or seven percent (7%) tax increase limitations provided in this section.

(4) If the millage rate necessary to generate funds equal to the dollar amount requested by the school board is equal to fifty-five (55) mills or less, but the dollar amount requested by the school board exceeds the seven percent (7%) increase limitation provided for in Section 37-57-107 , the school board may exceed the seven percent (7%) increase limitation only after the school board has determined the need for additional revenues and three-fifths ( 3 / 5 ) of the registered, qualified electors voting in a referendum called by the levying authority have voted in favor of the increase. The notice and manner of holding the referendum shall be as prescribed in subsection (2) of this section for a referendum on the question of increasing the millage rate in school districts levying more than fifty-five (55) mills for school district purposes.

(5) The aggregate receipts from ad valorem taxes levied for school district purposes pursuant to Sections 37-57-1 and 37-57-105 , excluding collection fees, additional revenue from the ad valorem tax on any newly constructed properties or any existing properties added to the tax rolls or any properties previously exempt which were not assessed in the next preceding year, and amounts received by school districts from the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund pursuant to Section 37-61-35 , shall be subject to the increase limitation under this section and Section 37-57-107 .

(6) The school board shall pay to the levying authority all costs that are incurred by the levying authority in the calling and holding of any election under this section.

(7) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect in any manner the authority of school boards to levy millage for the following purposes:

(a) The issuance of bonds, notes and certificates of indebtedness, as authorized in Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45 and Sections 37-59-101 through 37-59-115 ;

(b) The lease of property for school purposes, as authorized under the Emergency School Leasing Authority Act of 1986 ( Sections 37-7-351 through 37-7-359 );

(c) The lease or lease-purchase of school buildings, as authorized under Section 37-7-301 ;

(d) The issuance of promissory notes in the event of a shortfall of ad valorem taxes and/or revenue from local sources, as authorized under Section 27-39-333 ; and

(e) The construction of school buildings outside the school district, as authorized under Section 37-7-401 .

Any millage levied for the purposes specified in this subsection shall be excluded from the millage limitations established under this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-147-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 147-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-147-3
Status: in_force

There is hereby created and established the Mississippi University Research Authority to promote the public welfare and prosperity of the people of Mississippi and foster economic development within the state by forging links among the state's educational institutions, businesses and industrial communities and state government through the development of cooperative ventures of innovative technological significance which will advance education, research or economic development within the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-29 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 101-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-29
Status: in_force

Each institution of higher learning with a teacher education program approved by the State Board of Education shall prepare and submit to the State Board of Education and to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning an annual performance report on the institution's teacher education program. The report shall include the following information:

(a) Teacher enrollment data;

(b) Professional education faculty data;

(c) Characteristics of students receiving initial licensure;

(d) Number and percentage of program completers scoring at or above the proficiency level on the prescribed teacher education exit tests;

(e) Satisfaction rate of employers and graduates;

(f) Follow-up profiles of graduates of the teacher education program; and

(g) Any other information required by the State Board of Education. Before requiring any other information, the State Board of Education shall conduct collaborative planning activities with the Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

The State Department of Education, in collaboration with the Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, shall prepare a common form for the preparation and submission of the annual performance reports. The State Department of Education shall establish the date by which such reports must be submitted to the board. No later than sixty (60) days after the deadline date established for the submission of reports, the department shall submit a compilation of all annual performance reports received from the state institutions of higher learning to the Chairmen of the Education Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-185 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 101-185
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-185
Status: in_force

The board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning is hereby authorized to cooperate with the state building commission, in the discretion of both agencies, in the employment of technical and professional personnel for supervising the planning and constructing or repairs of physical plant facilities located on the campuses of the several institutions of higher learning. Upon determination by the state building commission as to the proportionate amount due from the board of trustees for salaries and other expenses of such employees, said board is authorized and empowered to pay over to the state building commission such sums from funds available to the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning for such purposes.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-305 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 101-305
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-305
Status: in_force

Upon receipt of a certified copy of a resolution of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the bonds authorized by Sections 37-101-301 et seq. , the State Bond Commission is hereby authorized and empowered to sell and issue general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi in the principal amount requested, not to exceed an aggregate principal amount of Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00) for the purposes hereinabove set forth. The State Bond Commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under Sections 37-101-301 et seq. from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 17-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-17
Status: in_force

(1) There is created the Mississippi Achievement School District for the purpose of transforming persistently failing public schools and districts throughout the state into quality educational institutions. The Mississippi Achievement School District shall be a statewide school district, separate and distinct from all other school districts but not confined to any specified geographic boundaries, and may be comprised of any public schools or school districts in the state which, during two (2) consecutive school years, are designated an “F” school or district by the State Board of Education under the accountability rating system or which have been persistently failing and chronically underperforming.

(2) The Mississippi Achievement School District shall be governed by the State Board of Education.

(3) The State Board of Education shall obtain suitable office space to serve as the administrative office of the school district.

(4) The State Board of Education shall select an individual to serve as superintendent of the Mississippi Achievement School District. The superintendent must be deemed by the board to be highly qualified with a demonstrable track record for producing results in a context relevant to that of Mississippi Achievement School District schools. The superintendent of the Mississippi Achievement School District shall exercise powers and duties that would afford significant autonomy but are bound by the governance of the State Board of Education.

(5)(a) Each public school or district in the state which, during each of two (2) consecutive school years or during two (2) of three (3) consecutive school years, receives an “F” designation by the State Board of Education under the accountability rating system or has been persistently failing as defined by the State Board of Education may be absorbed into and become a part of the Mississippi Achievement School District. All eligible public schools and districts shall be prioritized by the Mississippi Achievement School District according to criteria set by the Mississippi Achievement School District and publicized prior to the annual release of accountability rating data. The Mississippi Achievement School District shall takeover only the number of schools and districts for which it has the capacity to serve. The transfer of the school's/district's governance from the local school district to the Mississippi Achievement School District shall take effect upon the approval of the State Board of Education unless, in the sole determination of the Mississippi Achievement School District, the transition may be more smoothly accomplished through a gradual transfer of control. If the Mississippi Achievement School District elects not to assume complete control of a school or district immediately after that school receives an “F” designation during each of two (2) consecutive school years or during two (2) of the three (3) consecutive school years, the State Board of Education shall prescribe the process and timetable by which the school or district shall be absorbed; however, in no event may the transfer of the school or district to the Mississippi Achievement School District be completed later than the beginning of the school year next succeeding the year during which the school or district receives the “F” designation. School districts that are eligible to be absorbed by the Achievement School District, but are not absorbed due to the capacity of the Achievement School District, shall develop and implement a district improvement plan with prescriptive guidance and support from the Mississippi Department of Education, with the goal of helping the district improve student achievement. Failure of the school board, superintendent and school district staff to implement the plan with fidelity and participate in the activities provided as support by the department shall result in the school district retaining its eligibility for the Mississippi Achievement School District.

(b) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations governing the operation of the Mississippi Achievement School District.

(c) Designations assigned to schools or districts under the accountability rating system by the State Board of Education before the 2015-2016 school year may not be considered in determining whether a particular school or district is subject to being absorbed by the Mississippi Achievement School District. During the 2017-2018 school year, any school or district receiving an “F” designation after also being designated an “F” school or district in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years may be absorbed immediately by the Mississippi Achievement School District, upon approval of the State Board of Education.

(d) The school district from which an “F” school or district is being absorbed must cooperate fully with the Mississippi Achievement School District and the State Board of Education in order to provide as smooth a transition as possible in the school's/district's governance and operations for the students enrolled in the school or district. Upon completion of the transfer of a school or district to the Mississippi Achievement School District, the school or district shall be governed by the rules, regulations, policies and procedures established by the State Board of Education specifically for the Mississippi Achievement School District, and the school or district shall no longer be under the purview of the school board of the local school district. In the event of the transfer of governance and operations of a school district, the State Board of Education shall abolish the district as prescribed in Section 37-17-13 .

(e) Upon the transfer of the school or school district to the Mississippi Achievement School District, the individual appointed by the State Board of Education to serve as superintendent for the Mississippi Achievement School District shall be responsible for the administration, management and operation of the school or school district, including the following activities: (i) approving or denying all financial obligations of the school or school district; (ii) approving or denying the employment, termination, nonrenewal and reassignment of all licensed and nonlicensed personnel; (iii) approving or denying contractual agreements and purchase orders; (iv) approving or denying all claim dockets and the issuance of checks; (v) supervising the day-to-day activities of the school or school district's staff in a manner which in the determination of the Mississippi Achievement School District will best suit the needs of the school or school district; (vi) approving or denying all athletic, band and other extracurricular activities and any matters related to those activities; (vii) honoring any reasonable financial commitment of the district being absorbed; and (viii) reporting periodically to the State Board of Education on the progress or lack of progress being made in the school or school district to improve the school or school district's impairments.

(f) Upon attaining and maintaining a school or district accountability rating of “C” or better under the State Department of Education's accountability rating system for five (5) consecutive years, the State Board of Education may decide to revert the absorbed school or district back to local governance, provided the school or school(s) in question are not conversion charter schools. “Local governance” may include a traditional school board model of governance or other new form of governance such as mayoral control, or other type of governance. The State Board of Education shall determine the best form of local governance and school board composition after soliciting the input of local citizens and shall outline a process for establishing the type of governance selected. The manner and timeline for reverting a school or district back to local control shall be at the discretion of the State School Board, but in no case shall it exceed five (5) years.

(6) The Superintendent of the Mississippi Achievement School District shall hire those persons to be employed as principals, teachers and noninstructional personnel in schools or districts absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District. Only highly qualified individuals having a demonstrable record of success may be selected by the superintendent for such positions in the Mississippi Achievement School District. The superintendent may choose to continue the employment of any person employed in an “F” rated school when the school or district is absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District; alternatively, the superintendent may elect not to offer continued employment to a person formerly employed at a school or district that is absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District. Any persons employed by the Mississippi Achievement School District shall not be subject to Sections 37-9-101 through 37-9-113 .

(7)(a) The Mississippi Achievement School District may use a school building and all facilities and property that is a part of a school and recognized as part of the facilities or assets of the school before it is absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District. In addition, the Mississippi Achievement School District shall have access to those additional facilities that typically were available to that school or district, its students, faculty and staff before its absorption by the Mississippi Achievement School District. Use of facilities by a school or district in the Mississippi Achievement School District must be unrestricted and free of charge. However, the Mississippi Achievement School District shall be responsible for providing routine maintenance and repairs necessary to maintain the facilities in as good a condition as when the right of use was acquired by the Mississippi Achievement School District. The Mississippi Achievement School District shall be responsible for paying all utilities at the facilities used for the absorbed school. Any fixtures, improvements and tangible assets added to a school building or facility by the Mississippi Achievement School District must remain at the school or district building or facility if the school or district is returned to local governance.

(b) The State Board of Education shall include in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (5) of this section specific provisions addressing the rights and responsibilities of the Mississippi Achievement School District relating to the real and personal property of a school or district that is absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District.

(8)(a) The Mississippi Achievement School District shall certify annually to the State Board of Education in which a Mississippi Achievement School District school or district is located the number of students residing in the school district which are enrolled in that school or district.

(b) Whenever an increase in funding is requested by the school board for the support of schools within a particular school district absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District, the State Board of Education and the superintendent for the Mississippi Achievement School District shall hold a public meeting in the local municipality having jurisdiction of the absorbed school district to allow input of local residents on the matter, and subsequent to the conclusion of such meeting, the board of the Mississippi Achievement School District shall submit its request for ad valorem increase in dollars to the local governing authority having jurisdiction over the absorbed school district for approval of the request for increase in ad valorem tax effort. In a district in which a school or schools but not the entire district is absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District, the local school district shall pay directly to the Mississippi Achievement School District an amount for each student enrolled in that school equal to the ad valorem tax receipts and in-lieu payments received per pupil for the support of the local school district in which the student resides. The pro rata ad valorem receipts and in-lieu receipts to be transferred to the Mississippi Achievement School District shall include all levies for the support of the local school district under Sections 37-57-1 (local contribution to the education funding program) and 37-57-105 (school district operational levy) and may not include any taxes levied for the retirement of the local school district's bonded indebtedness or short-term notes or any taxes levied for the support of vocational-technical education programs, unless the school or schools absorbed include a high school at which vocational-technical education programs are offered. In no event may the payment exceed the pro rata amount of the local ad valorem payment to the education funding program under Section 37-57-1 for the school district in which the student resides. Payments made under this section by a school district to the Mississippi Achievement School District must be made before the expiration of three (3) business days after the funds are distributed to the local school district by the tax collector.

(c) If an entire school district is absorbed into the Mississippi Achievement School District, the tax collector shall pay the amounts as described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, with the exception that all funds should transfer, including taxes levied for the retirement of the local school district's bonded indebtedness or short-term notes and any taxes levied for the support of vocational-technical education programs. The Mississippi Achievement School District shall pay funds raised to retire the district's debts to the appropriate creditors on behalf of the former district.

(9)(a) The State Department of Education shall make payments to the Mississippi Achievement School District for each student in average daily membership at a Mississippi Achievement School District school equal to the state share of the education funding program payments for each student in average daily attendance at the local school district or former local school district in which that school is located. In calculating the local contribution for purposes of determining the state share of the education funding program payments, the department shall deduct the pro rata local contribution of the school district or former school district in which the student resides, to be determined as provided in Section 37-151-7(2)(a) .

(b) Payments made pursuant to this subsection by the State Department of Education must be made at the same time and in the same manner as education funding program payments are made to all other school districts under Sections 37-151-101 and 37-151-103 . Amounts payable to the Mississippi Achievement School District must be determined by the State Department of Education in the same manner that such amounts are calculated for all other school districts under the education funding program.

(10) The Mississippi Achievement School District shall be considered a local educational agency for the same purposes and to the same extent that all other school districts in the state are deemed local educational agencies under applicable federal laws.

(11) The Mississippi Achievement School District may receive donations or grants from any public or private source, including any federal funding that may be available to the school district or individual schools within the Mississippi Achievement School District.

(12) The Legislature may appropriate sufficient funding to the State Department of Education for the 2017 fiscal year for the specific purpose of funding the start-up, operational and any other required costs of the Mississippi Achievement School District during the 2017-2018 school year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-103 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 31-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-103
Status: in_force

(1) The State Board of Education is authorized to develop and establish special education and skill training programs to fill specific employment opportunities in areas of the state that have both employment opportunities and able-bodied unemployed and underemployed groups of adults, with priority to be given to unemployed adults.

This program shall be administered by the division of vocational and technical education in community/junior colleges and secondary school systems wherever practical, and shall have general supervision over the programs established by Sections 37-31-101 through 37-31-111 . Programs shall parallel, complement and be compatible with the existing structure of all vocational-technical education, both state and federal, as operated under the board.

(2) A comprehensive program of educational activity including skill training shall be developed and tailored to meet the needs of each individual student and the needs of industry for specially trained workers, and programs shall be planned and operated flexibly in order that students may progress individually.

Specific employment objectives that are practical for each student shall be identified early in the program and the individual trained accordingly.

Programs may include, when needed for employment purposes, but not be limited to, basic education, remedial education, attitude training, employability and communications skills, prevocational, vocational and technical education, and supplementary and related instruction for on-the-job training whether conducted at the job site or elsewhere.

(3) Local craft advisory committees made up of potential employers shall be established to advise on the validity of the training curriculum being offered.

(4) Programs shall be developed on a project basis, with all projects considered temporary, and renewed only as long as the dual needs of qualified students exist and potential job opportunities can be identified. Each project shall consist of a minimum of: (a) statement of need, (b) occupational training plan, (c) budget, and (d) budget backup information.

(5) Full-time (forty (40) hours per week), part-time, and upgrading programs are authorized, and all programs as conducted by local school districts shall meet or exceed the standards of the board, and failure to do so by a school district shall result in loss of funds as provided in Sections 37-31-101 through 37-31-111 .

(6) Utilization shall be made of existing equipment, materials and facilities purchased by previous programs such as the Manpower Development and Training Program, Public Law 87-415 , 42 USCA 2571, et seq., whenever practical and legal.

(7) The board shall review local public school and community/junior college project proposals to determine appropriateness of content, length of training, hours of instruction per week, and whether estimated costs are realistic, and shall evaluate, monitor and provide needed services in support of the local projects.

(8) The board shall be responsible for state level development and coordination of a vocational and technical program which shall include but not be limited to the following: A program which will provide immediate training for established industries and which provides training for prospective employees for new and expanding industry, such program to be characterized with a strong emphasis on the employment needs of the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-139-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 139-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-139-9
Status: in_force

The board shall be the exclusive governing body of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate rules and regulations required to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The emphasis of this school shall be dedicated to the academic teaching of mathematics and the sciences, but shall not preclude some emphasis being placed on the arts and humanities as deemed appropriate by the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-97-107 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 97-107
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-97-107
Status: in_force

(1) An agreement for the use of a student-athlete's publicity rights which is formed after the student-athlete has announced an intention to attend a postsecondary educational institution or while the student-athlete is participating in an intercollegiate sport at a postsecondary educational institution may be terminated either by the student-athlete or any other party to the agreement when the student-athlete's participation in the sport at the institution ends.

(2) A postsecondary educational institution may impose reasonable limitations on the dates and time that a student-athlete may participate in publicity rights activities.

(3) Nothing in this chapter shall restrict a postsecondary educational institution from exercising its sole discretion to control the authorized use of its marks or logos or to determine a student-athlete's apparel, gear or other wearables while participating in an intercollegiate athletics program activity.

(4) A student-athlete may not receive or enter into a contract for compensation for the use of his or her publicity rights in a way that also uses any registered or licensed marks, logos, verbiage or designs of a postsecondary educational institution, unless the institution has provided the student-athlete with written permission to do so prior to entering into the agreement or receipt of compensation.

(5) If a student-athlete is granted permission to use the marks or logos, independently or through a third party, the postsecondary educational institution may be compensated for the use. A postsecondary educational institution may prohibit a student-athlete from wearing any item of clothing, shoes, or other gear or wearables with the name, logo or insignia of any third party while participating in an intercollegiate athletics program activity.

(6) A third party may not enter into, or offer to enter into, a publicity rights agreement with a student-athlete or otherwise compensate a student-athlete for the use of the student-athlete's publicity rights if a provision of the agreement or the use of the student-athlete's publicity rights conflicts with a provision of a contract, rule, regulation, standard or other requirement of the postsecondary educational institution where the student-athlete is enrolled or intends to enroll unless such contract or use is expressly approved in writing by the postsecondary educational institution.

(7) No student-athlete who is enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution shall enter into a publicity rights agreement or receive compensation from a third party for the endorsement or promotion of brands, products, or services involving gambling, sports betting, controlled substances, marijuana, tobacco, alternative or electronic nicotine product or delivery system, alcohol, adult entertainment or any other brand, product or service that is reasonably considered to be inconsistent with the values or mission of a postsecondary educational institution or that, in the institution's sole judgment, negatively impacts or reflects adversely on a postsecondary education institution or its athletic programs, including, without limitation, bringing about public disrepute, embarrassment, scandal, ridicule or otherwise negatively impacting the reputation or the moral or ethical standards of the postsecondary educational institution.

(8) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to qualify a student-athlete as an employee of a postsecondary educational institution.

(9) No postsecondary educational institution may use funds appropriated from the State General Fund to compensate a student-athlete for their publicity rights.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-145 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 101-145
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-145
Status: in_force

Before any timber, trees, dead wood, or stumps, standing, growing or being upon lands shall be sold from said lands as is authorized in Section 37-101-141 , and before any lands shall be leased for oil, gas and mineral purposes, or other purposes as is authorized in Section 37-101-143 , the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning shall advertise its intention to do so by publication in a newspaper in the City of Jackson, and also in a newspaper published in each county where such lands are situated, such notice to be published once a week for three consecutive weeks preceding such sale or lease, and by posting one notice at the courthouse in the county or counties where the lands are situated. In any county having no paper published therein, the publication shall be placed in some paper having a general circulation in said county. Said board shall sell or lease at public auction, or by sealed bids, at the place designated in said notices, to the highest and best bidder for cash. The board shall have the right to reject any or all of such bids.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-50.2 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / 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. § 37-7-477 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 7-477
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-477
Status: in_force

(1) Unless a school board retains a partial interest, or undivided interest or other ownership interest in the school property being conveyed, any instrument conveying or leasing any school property under the provisions of Sections 37-7-471 through 37-7-483 , shall provide that the title to such property shall automatically revert to the school district, if such property shall cease to be used for the purpose for which it is conveyed or leased. Said instrument shall also contain the condition that the grantee or lessee shall keep and maintain said property in a good state of repair and shall keep said property insured in a reasonable amount against loss by fire, windstorm and other hazards. Upon breach of any of said conditions, the school board shall have the right of reentry upon said property as for condition broken and shall have the power and authority to bring and maintain such actions as shall be necessary and appropriate for such purpose in its own name. However, the provisions of this section shall not be mandatory in the event that the school board retains a partial interest, or undivided interest or other ownership interest in the school property being conveyed.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not be applicable to any transaction of acquisition by the United States, by purchase, condemnation, conveyance or otherwise of any school property or any other real property possessed by the state as authorized by Section 3-5-1 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-61 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 31-61
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-61
Status: in_force

The State Board of Education is hereby authorized and empowered to establish and conduct schools, classes or courses, for preparing, equipping and training citizens of the State of Mississippi for employment in gainful vocational and technical occupations which do not terminate in a bachelors degree, in conjunction with any public school, agricultural high school or community/junior college.

The trustees of such school districts, as classified and defined by law, including those already having this authority, and the trustees of agricultural high schools and community/junior colleges may, with the consent in writing of the State Board of Education, establish and conduct such schools, classes or courses, under the provisions herein stated and under the general supervision of the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-569 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 29-569
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-569
Status: in_force

All of the property located in Coahoma County and belonging to the Board of Trustees of Mississippi Delta Community College prior to and as of the effective date hereof, cooperating in the Coahoma County Community College, and utilized or held for the present or future use and benefit of such community college, shall be and the same is hereby transferred to and vested in the Coahoma County Community College District as created by Sections 37-29-551 through 37-29-569 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 155-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-3
Status: in_force

The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:

(a) Tuition and required fees at institutions of higher education are difficult for many to afford and difficult to predict. As a result, the ability of individuals and families to plan for future educational expenses has been adversely affected.

(b) It is in the best interest of the citizens of this state to foster higher education in order to provide well-educated citizens.

(c) It is in the best interest of the citizens of this state to encourage state residents to enroll in institutions of higher education.

(d) Providing a mechanism to help assure the higher education of the citizens of this state is necessary and desirable for the public health, safety and welfare.

(e) The purposes of this article are to:

(i) Provide wide and affordable access to the public institutions of higher education for the residents of this state.

(ii) Encourage attendance at institutions of higher education and help individuals plan for educational expenses.

(iii) Provide a program for the advance purchase of tuition and required fees as both a means and an incentive for the citizens of this state to provide for future higher education expenses.

(iv) Provide a program through which many of the costs associated with postsecondary attendance may be paid in advance and fixed at a guaranteed level for the duration of the undergraduate enrollment.

(v) Provide for the creation of a trust fund, as an agency and instrumentality of the State of Mississippi, to assist qualified students in financing a portion of the cost of attending institutions of higher education in the State of Mississippi.

(vi) Encourage timely financial planning for higher education by the creation of prepaid tuition contracts.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 25-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-13
Status: in_force

The state superintendent of public education shall allow to each school district an amount per pupil to be determined by the state board of education, but in no case to exceed the actual cost per pupil completing the course in the driver education and training programs in that school district during the preceding fiscal year in accordance with the regulations set forth by the state board of education to the school districts for instructing pupils in driver education and training. All such funds made available for the purposes of this section shall be appropriated by the legislature in the same manner as general funds. In the event that the funds herein authorized by the legislature for the support of driver education shall exceed the funds which actually become available, each participating school district shall have its funds reduced on a pro rata basis.

No allowance shall be made under this section for the instruction of pupils in driver education and training unless the respective school district has complied with the rules and regulations as set forth by the state board of education governing the establishment, conduct and scope of driver education and training.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-113-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / 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. § 37-33-53 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / 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. § 37-43-31 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 43-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-31
Status: in_force

(1) The State Board of Education shall adopt and furnish textbooks only for use in those courses set up in the state course of study as recommended by the State Accreditation Commission and adopted by such board, or courses established by acts of the Legislature. In all subjects the board, in its discretion, may adopt textbooks and/or series from those recommended by the textbook rating committees. The board may adopt a plan which permits the local school districts to choose the book or books to be requisitioned from those adopted, provided:

(a) That, when a book is furnished by the state, it shall remain in use during the period of its adoption;

(b) That the average per pupil cost of textbooks so furnished any unit shall not exceed that allowed for all other units in the state;

(c) That nothing herein provided shall be construed as giving any school the authority to discard or replace usable copies of textbooks now being furnished by the state;

(d) That the State Department of Education is authorized to disburse the annual textbook appropriation directly to the public school districts in accordance with paragraph (b) of this subsection. The textbooks procured through this chapter, as well as textbooks which are on hand on June 30, 1994, which were previously purchased through the provisions of this statute, shall become the property of the public school district which purchased them, unless the State Department of Education authorizes the transfer of unneeded textbooks to another location in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education;

(e) That textbooks which are on loan to other than public schools as referenced in Section 37-43-1 , shall remain the property of the State of Mississippi. All requisitions for textbooks from these schools shall be submitted to the State Department of Education to be processed and subsequently shipped to the requesting school. No funds shall be disbursed directly from the State Department of Education to the schools in this category for the purpose of procuring textbooks; and

(f) That funds made available through this chapter may be used to purchase any state-adopted textbook from any board-approved depository, directly from the publisher, or in accordance with the provisions of Sections 37-43-21(5) and 37-43-31(3) . For purchases made directly from the publisher, the public school district, or the State Department of Education when purchasing for other than public schools, shall not pay a higher price for a textbook than that listed on the current state-adopted list.

(2) Whenever any book under contract is displaced by a new adoption, the board may continue to require the schools to use the recently purchased books from any previous adoption; however, such period of use shall not exceed four (4) years.

(3) If five (5) or more school boards petition the State Board of Education to add a book, or a series of books, to the approved list of state adoptions in a given subject area, then the State Superintendent of Public Education shall have sixty (60) days to show cause to the State Board of Education why the books in question should or should not be purchased with state funds. If the petition is not acted upon within the sixty-day period, the petition shall be deemed to be approved. Once a textbook has been approved through the petition process, any public school district or eligible other school may procure the said textbook utilizing funds appropriated through this chapter.

(4) If new and innovative textbooks that would improve a particular course of study become available between adoption cycles, a school board may petition the State Board of Education for permission to purchase these books out of sequence to be paid for with state textbook funds.

(5) The State Board of Education shall not allow previously rejected textbooks to be used if such textbooks were rejected for any of the following reasons:

(a) Obscene, lewd, sexist or vulgar material;

(b) Advocating prejudicial behavior or actions; or

(c) Encouraging acts determined to be derogatory to any race, sex or religion.

(6) All books or series of books adopted under the petition procedures of this chapter shall be purchased under the provisions for bidding, pricing and distribution as prescribed in Section 37-43-23 .

(7) Petition procedure books or series of books adopted under this section shall be considered only until the date of the next regular adoption series in the applicable subject area. Petition procedure books shall be submitted for formal adoption at the next applicable regular textbook adoption as prescribed under the provisions of Chapter 43, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972; otherwise, such books adopted under the petition procedures which do not receive formal adoption approval as recommended by the textbook rating committee shall be dropped from the state textbook petition adoption list. Provided, however, this provision shall in no way prohibit a school district from using other funds, federal or local, for the purchase of such books.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 145-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-17
Status: in_force

All repaid principal and interest resulting from repayment of a loan and not required for retirement of bonds issued under authority of Sections 37-145-43 through 37-145-73 or other expenses of the Mississippi Opportunity Loan Program shall be credited to the Mississippi Opportunity Loan Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-81 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 33-81
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-81
Status: in_force

(1) The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services may enter into contracts with appropriate post-secondary educational institutions in the state for the purpose of implementing and maintaining programs of services for hearing-impaired students.

(2) Those programs shall be funded from funds appropriated to the office by the Legislature or from any other resource identified and accessed by the office. The office shall continue to administer those programs for each year deemed suitable by the office.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 101-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-19
Status: in_force

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is hereby authorized and empowered to establish and maintain a marine research laboratory on lands belonging to the State of Mississippi, said lands being a part of the Magnolia State Park in Jackson County, Mississippi, and to be assigned for the use of such laboratory by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

The marine research laboratory may, in the discretion of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, be operated by the Mississippi Academy of Science, Inc., under the supervision and control of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is hereby authorized and empowered to expend annually out of its regular appropriation for the support and maintenance of institutions of higher learning a sum not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the support and maintenance of the marine research laboratory.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-123 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 23-123
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-123
Status: in_force

The intent of the legislature of the State of Mississippi, by passage of Sections 37-23-123 through 37-23-131 , is to develop and make available to children of this state who are being considered for possible or continued placement in the exceptional child program of diagnostic and evaluation and related services that will raise the quality of education for all such children in the State of Mississippi who are in need of such services.

The intent of the legislature is to provide an overall system to give direction in developing diagnostic and evaluation and related services required for the exceptional child program, to coordinate existing resources in the state for such services, and to provide such services, within the limitation of staff availability, on a statewide basis with priority being given to areas of the state where such services are not available. This service is intended to complement the services presently available from the state department of education and other agencies.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-20-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 20-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-20-3
Status: in_force

The purpose of this chapter is to provide supplemental funds to each school district to be used for the sole purpose of providing direct remedial instruction to those students enrolled in the K-12 program who have need of special educational assistance in order that their level of educational attainment may be raised to that appropriate for their age. It is the intent of the Legislature that each school district utilize the instructional programs which, in the professional opinion of the local school officials, will be most effective and that the effectiveness of this program be evaluated in terms of the increase in student achievement in the basic skills of reading, mathematics and writing as measured by pretest and post-test of each student receiving special educational assistance from the funds provided by this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-132-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 132-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-132-1
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter, “student teacher” or “intern” shall mean a student enrolled in an institution of higher learning approved by the state board of education for teacher training and who is jointly assigned by such institution of higher learning and a board of education to student-teach or intern under the direction of a regularly employed certificated teacher, principal, or other administrator. Whenever in this chapter “board of education” is referred to and the school that a student teacher or intern is assigned to does not have a board of education, such term shall refer to the person or governing body that administers such school.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-37-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 37-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-37-1
Status: in_force

The State Department of Education is hereby authorized and directed to prescribe and formulate for use by all school districts of this state, including municipal separate school districts, adequate accounting systems and other essential financial records which shall be uniform for all of the school districts of this state. Such uniform system shall include a method of accounting for and keeping records of all funds received, handled and disbursed by such school district, whether derived from taxation or otherwise, including funds derived from donations, athletic events and other special activities of the school district. The uniform system of accounts so prescribed and formulated by the State Department of Education shall be distributed and disseminated to all of the school districts of this state and it shall be mandatory that the boards of trustees of all such school districts install, utilize and follow said uniform system of accounts in keeping the financial records of the school district. At the request of the Mississippi Department of Education, the Office of the State Auditor shall provide advice for implementation of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-215 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 151-215
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-215
Status: repealed

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 37-151-211(3) , the state share in support of the funding formula for a school district or charter school for fiscal year 2025, fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027 may not be less than an amount equal to the sum of all state funds received by that school district or charter school for fiscal year 2024, as follows:

(a) Funds distributed under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program;

(b) Funds distributed by the State Department of Education for the purpose of paying teachers' salaries according to the teacher salary schedule prescribed in Section 37-19-7 and assistant teachers, as prescribed in Section 37-21-7 for the 2023-2024 school year; and

(c) Funds distributed by and based on net enrollment or the total number of students enrolled for each day in each public school district or charter school, divided by the total number of school days, and allowable to be spent on any expenditures necessary to operate a public school district or charter school, excluding salary increases for superintendents, assistant superintendents or principals.

(2) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-55 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 145-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-55
Status: in_force

The bonds may be secured by an indenture by and between the company and a corporate trustee which may be any bank or other corporation having the power of a trust company or any trust company within or without this state. Such indenture may contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the bondholders as may be reasonable and proper and not in violation of law, including covenants setting forth the duties of the company in relation to the exercise of its powers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-121 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 29-121
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-121
Status: in_force

Any junior college district, supported in whole or in part by tax levies of one or more counties, may borrow not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), for the purpose of receiving, transporting, erecting on the ground of said institution, and equipping and furnishing any prefabricated houses, or other materials, or appliances, fixtures, machines, furnishings or equipment, obtained by grant or otherwise from the United States of America or any department or agency thereof, or from any other source, where the same may be acquired for the use of the institution, any student personnel, or faculty members.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-319 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 101-319
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-319
Status: in_force

Such general obligation bonds may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by Sections 37-101-301 through 37-101-331 . Any resolution providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds under the provisions of Sections 37-101-301 through 37-101-331 shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the State Bond Commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the State Bond Commission by a majority of its members.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-39-25 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 39-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-39-25
Status: in_force

(1) The school boards which choose to act jointly as authorized by Section 37-39-23 shall adopt resolutions to that effect which shall be recorded on the minutes of the school boards and copies of which shall be filed with the clerk of the chancery court of the county in which such school districts are located.

(2) The school board may appoint a purchasing agent who shall be responsible, subject to the approval of the board, for all purchases of competitively priced services, materials and supplies. The purchasing agent shall be bonded in accordance with section 37-39-21 . The purchasing agent shall serve all of the school districts acting jointly. There shall not be a separate purchasing agent for the separate districts which are acting jointly.

(3) The purchasing agent for the county school boards shall arrange for purchase, storage and distribution of supplies and materials purchased jointly. The costs involved in purchase, transportation, storage, administration and any other activity regarding joint purchases by the school boards shall be shared among the participating districts on a pro rata basis.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-243 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 29-243
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-243
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for any person not enrolled in any such public junior college to solicit any pupil enrolled in any such public junior college, to join or pledge himself or herself to become a member of any such public junior college fraternity, sorority, or secret society, or to solicit any such pupil to attend a meeting thereof or any meeting where the joining of any such public junior college fraternity, sorority, or secret organization shall be encouraged.

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each and every offense.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-24-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 24-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-24-9
Status: in_force

This chapter does not create any liability for, or create a cause of action against, a school or its officers or employees, a health care provider, an organization or association of which a school or school district is a member, a private or public school, a private club, a public recreation facility, or an athletic league when such person or entity has complied with the provisions of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 33-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-17
Status: in_force

The director, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, may accept and use gifts and donations made unconditionally or otherwise for carrying out the purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation Law, from either public or private sources. Gifts made under such conditions as in the judgment of the state board are proper and consistent with the provisions of that law may be so accepted and shall be held, invested, reinvested and used in accordance with the conditions of the gift. All monies received as gifts or donations, except conditional gifts requiring other treatments, shall be deposited in the State Treasury and shall constitute a permanent fund to be called the “Special Fund for the Vocational Rehabilitation of Individuals with Disabilities” and shall be used by the state board for such purposes. The state board shall make a report annually to the Legislature setting forth the condition of vocational rehabilitation of eligible individuals with disabilities in Mississippi, the expenditures made from state and federal funds in carrying out the provisions of that law or its purpose, and a detailed statement of all gifts and donations offered and accepted, together with the names of donors and the respective amounts prescribed by each and all the disbursements made therefrom.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-160-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / 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.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-207 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 33-207
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-207
Status: in_force

The Office of Special Disability Programs established by Section 37-33-153 shall be administered by a director appointed by the executive director in conformity with policies adopted by the department. In carrying out his or her other duties under the Special Disability Programs Law, the director:

(a) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, make regulations governing the protection of records and confidential information, the manner and form of filing applications, eligibility and investigations and determinations thereof for rehabilitation services through special disability programs, procedures for fair hearings and such other regulations as are found necessary to carry out the purposes of that law;

(b) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, establish appropriate subordinate administrative units within the office;

(c) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, recommend for appointment such personnel as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the office;

(d) Shall prepare and submit to the state board, through the executive director, annual reports of activities and expenditures and, before each regular session of the Legislature, shall submit estimates of sums required for carrying out the Special Disability Programs Law and estimates of the amounts to be made available for this purpose from all sources;

(e) Shall, if the executive director so authorizes, make certifications on behalf of the executive director for the disbursement of funds available for rehabilitation services;

(f) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, appoint boards to serve as the governing authority of centers for independent living or other entities as required by federal law and regulations;

(g) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, take such other action as he or she deems necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Special Disability Programs Law;

(h) May, with the approval of the executive director, delegate to any officer or employee of the office such of his or her powers and duties, except the making of regulations and the making of recommendations for appointment of personnel, as he or she finds necessary to carry out the purposes of the Special Disability Programs Law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-161-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 161-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-161-7
Status: in_force

The State Board of Education shall develop a wellness curriculum for use by each school district and the board shall establish rules and regulations to be followed by the districts whereby the districts shall implement the curriculum. Such wellness curriculum shall include educating students about the value of exercise, proper diet and abstinence from use of tobacco and alcohol. The state board shall also adopt regulations for districts' compliance concerning what products may be sold in vending machines on campus and when they can be sold.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-415 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 29-415
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-415
Status: in_force

The board of trustees of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District shall, on or before the fifteenth day of June each year, prepare and file the annual budget of the district. The said budget shall contain a detailed estimate of the revenues and expenses anticipated for the ensuing year for general operation and maintenance and shall set forth the reasonable requirements for anticipated needs for capital outlays for land, buildings, initial equipment for new buildings and major repairs, a reasonable accumulation for such purposes being hereby expressly authorized. Funds derived from the levy for capital outlay shall be kept in a separate account and expended for capital outlay purposes only.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 145-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-1
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Opportunity Loan Program Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 65-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-13
Status: in_force

Upon or during any closure of any school in accordance with the provisions of this article, any and all transportation routes or transportation facilities may be changed or adjusted by the interested board or boards of trustees to accommodate the transportation of children who would be otherwise entitled to transportation had such closure not occurred.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-113-73 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 113-73
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-113-73
Status: in_force

As used in Sections 37-113-71 through 37-113-81 , the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless context of use clearly requires otherwise:

(a) “ Veterinary student ” means a student enrolled in the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

(b) “ Dean ” means the Dean of the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

(c) “ Food supply animal ” includes cattle, hogs, sheep, goats and poultry.

(d) “ Food supply animal veterinarian ” means a veterinarian who is engaged in general or food supply animal practice as his or her primary focus of practice and who has thirty percent (30%) of his or her practice devoted to food supply animal veterinary medicine.

(e) “ Large animal veterinarian ” means a veterinarian whose practice is focused primarily on the health and safety of farm animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses, who must spend sixty percent (60%) of their time providing care for large animals.

(f) “ Program ” means the Dr. Elton Mac Huddleston Rural Veterinarian Scholarship Program administered by the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

(g) “ Rural community ” means an area of the state with a population density less than five hundred (500) people per square mile as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture.

(h) “ Rural mixed animal veterinarian ” means a veterinarian who practices in a rural community with provision of care to both small animals, i.e., dogs or cats, and large animals, i.e., cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or horses, within which the veterinarian must spend a minimum of thirty percent (30%) of his or her time providing care to large animals.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-97 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 101-97
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-97
Status: in_force

All bonds sold under the provisions of Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103 shall be sold by the state bond commission. The state shall not pledge its full faith and credit to the payment of said bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-138-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 138-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-138-11
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful for an individual who does not possess a valid management planner certificate to develop a management plan.

(2) To qualify for an asbestos management planner 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, an initial management planner training course 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 management planner 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; and

(b) Satisfactorily complete a commission-approved training course for asbestos management planners, except that a management planner 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 is familiar with and capable of complying fully 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 management planner 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. § 37-21-51 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 21-51
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-21-51
Status: in_force

(1) As used in this section:

(a) “ Preschool or prekindergarten children ” means any children who have not entered kindergarten but will have obtained four (4) years of age on or before September 1 of a school year.

(b) An “ early learning collaborative ” is a district or countywide council that writes and submits an application to participate in the voluntary prekindergarten program. An early learning collaborative is comprised, at a minimum, of a public school district and/or a local Head Start affiliate if in existence, private or parochial schools, or one or more licensed child care centers. Agencies or other organizations that work with young children and their families may also participate in the collaborative to provide resources and coordination even if those agencies or organizations are not prekindergarten providers.

(c) A “ prekindergarten provider ” is a public, private or parochial school, licensed child care center or Head Start center that serves prekindergarten children and participates in the voluntary prekindergarten program.

(d) A “ lead partner ” is a public school district or other nonprofit entity with the instructional expertise and operational capacity to manage the early learning collaborative's prekindergarten program as described in the collaborative's 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 must facilitate a professional learning community for the teachers in the prekindergarten program and lead the collaborative. The lead partner ensures that the collaborative adopts and implements curriculum and assessments that align with the comprehensive early learning standards. The public school district shall be the lead partner if no other qualifying lead partner is selected.

(e) “ Comprehensive early learning standards ” are standards adopted by the State Board of Education that address the highest level of fundamental domains of early learning to include, but not be limited to, physical well-being and motor development, social/emotional development, approaches toward learning, language development and cognition and general knowledge. The comprehensive early learning standards shall also include standards for emergent literacy skills, including oral communication, knowledge of print and letters, phonological and phonemic awareness, and vocabulary and comprehension development.

(f) An “ evidence-based curriculum ” is an age-appropriate curriculum that demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes based on:

(i) Strong evidence from at least one (1) well-designed and well-implemented experimental study;

(ii) Moderate evidence from at least one (1) well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; or

(iii) Promising evidence from at least one (1) well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias.

(2) To ensure that all children have access to quality early childhood education and development services, the Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Parents have the primary duty to educate their young preschool children;

(b) The State of Mississippi can assist and educate parents in their role as the primary caregivers and educators of young preschool children;

(c) There is a need to explore innovative approaches and strategies for aiding parents and families in the education and development of young preschool children; and

(d) There exists a patchwork of prekindergarten entities but no coordination of services and there needs to be a coordination of these services.

(3)(a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as the “Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013.”

(b) Effective with the 2013-2014 school year, the Mississippi State Department of Education shall establish a voluntary prekindergarten program, which shall be a collaboration among the entities providing prekindergarten programs including Head Start, licensed child care facilities and licensed public, parochial and private school prekindergarten programs. This program shall be implemented no later than the 2014-2015 school year. Enrollment in the prekindergarten program shall be coordinated with the Head Start agencies in the local areas and shall not be permitted to cause a reduction in children served by the Head Start program. Under this program, eligible entities may submit an application for funds to (i) defray the cost of additional and/or more qualified teaching staff, appropriate educational materials and equipment and to improve the quality of educational experiences offered to four-year-old children in early care and education programs, and/or to (ii) extend developmentally appropriate education services at such programs currently serving four-year-old children to include practices of high quality instruction, and to (iii) administer, implement, monitor and evaluate the programs, and to (iv) defray the cost of professional development and age-appropriate child assessment.

(c) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor, the State Department of Education shall administer the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the voluntary prekindergarten program, including awards and the application process.

(i) The department shall establish a rigorous and transparent application process for the awarding of funds. Lead partners shall submit the applications on behalf of their early learning collaborative.

(ii) The department will establish monitoring policies and procedures that, at a minimum, will include at least one (1) site visit a year.

(iii) The department will provide technical assistance to collaboratives and their providers to improve the quality of prekindergarten programs. Technical assistance may include classroom-embedded support for teachers and assistant teachers.

(iv) The department will evaluate the effectiveness of each early childhood collaborative and each prekindergarten provider. If the State Department of Education adopts a statewide kindergarten screening that assesses the readiness of each student for kindergarten, the State Department of Education shall adopt a minimum rate of readiness that each prekindergarten provider must meet in order to remain eligible for prekindergarten program funds. Each parent who enrolls his or her child in the prekindergarten program must submit the child for the statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of whether the child is admitted to kindergarten in a public school.

(d) Prekindergarten program funds shall be awarded to early childhood collaboratives whose proposed programs meet the program criteria. The criteria shall include:

(i) Voluntary enrollment of children;

(ii) Collaboration among prekindergarten providers and other early childhood programs through the establishment of an early learning collaborative;

(iii) Qualifications of master teachers, teachers and assistants, which must conform to guidelines in Section 37-21-3 ;

(iv) At least fifteen (15) hours of annual professional development for program instructional staff, including professional development in early literacy, and individualized professional development plans for all teachers and teaching assistants supplemented by classroom-embedded support on an as-needed basis;

(v) The use of state-adopted comprehensive early learning standards;

(vi) The use of a curriculum based on strong evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(i) of this section and aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards;

(vii) The use of a curriculum based on moderate evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(ii) of this section and aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards if no strong-evidence curriculum is available;

(viii) The use of a curriculum based on promising evidence as defined in subsection (1)(f)(iii) of this section and aligned with the comprehensive early learning standards if no strong-evidence curriculum or moderate-evidence curriculum is available;

(ix) The use of age-appropriate assessments aligned to the comprehensive early learning standards;

(x) Teacher/child ratios of one (1) adult for every ten (10) children with a maximum of twenty (20) children per classroom and a minimum of five (5) children per classroom;

(xi) The provision of at least one (1) meal meeting state and federal nutrition guidelines for young children;

(xii) Plans to screen and/or refer children for vision, hearing and other health issues;

(xiii) Family engagement opportunities;

(xiv) Plans to serve children with disabilities as indicated under IDEA;

(xv) The number of instructional hours to be provided, which shall equal no less than five hundred forty (540) instructional hours per school year for half-day programs and one thousand eighty (1,080) instructional hours per school year for full-day programs; and

(xvi) A budget detailing the use of funds for allowed expenses.

Participating child care centers shall: (a) meet state child care facility licensure requirements unless exempted under Section 43-20-5, Mississippi Code of 1972 , and (b) select and utilize a nationally recognized assessment tool, approved by the State Department of Education, designed to document classroom quality, which must be in place not later than July 1, 2016, as certified by the State Department of Education.

Within the prekindergarten program, a prekindergarten provider must comply with the antidiscrimination requirements applicable to public schools. A prekindergarten provider may not discriminate against a parent or child, including the refusal to admit a child for enrollment in the prekindergarten program, in violation of these antidiscrimination requirements. However, a prekindergarten provider may refuse to admit a child based on the provider's standard eligibility guidelines, provided that these guidelines do not violate the antidiscrimination requirements. Consistent with the Legislature's recognition of the primacy of a parent's role in the education of a preschool-age child and the related recognition of the state in assisting and educating parents in that role, if the State Department of Education adopts a statewide kindergarten screening that assesses the readiness of each student for kindergarten, the State Department of Education shall recognize each child's unique pattern of development when adopting a minimum rate of readiness that prekindergarten providers must meet in order to remain eligible for prekindergarten program funds. Each parent who enrolls his or her child in the prekindergarten program may submit the child for the statewide kindergarten screening, regardless of whether the child is admitted to kindergarten in a public school.

The State Department of Education may add program criteria not inconsistent with these requirements and shall develop policies and procedures to implement and enforce these criteria.

(e) The State Department of Education shall ensure that early learning collaboratives provide each parent enrolling a child in the voluntary prekindergarten program with a profile of every prekindergarten provider participating in the collaborative's geographic catchment area. The State Department of Education shall prescribe the information to be included in each profile as well as the format of the profiles. At a minimum, the profiles must include the prekindergarten provider's services, curriculum, instructor credentials and instructor-to-student ratio.

(f) A teacher, assistant teacher or other employee whose salary and fringe benefits are paid from state funds under this act 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 an agency or instrumentality of the state, such as a school district, and the employee would be eligible for such benefits in the normal course of business.

(g) Funding shall be provided for this program beginning with the 2014 fiscal year subject to appropriation by the Legislature as provided in paragraph (h) of this subsection. The department shall make an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding program operations and outcomes. Every three (3) years, with the first report due July 1, 2023, the department shall provide to the Legislature and the Governor a rigorous evaluation of program effectiveness using longitudinal data to measure short-term and long-term effects, including both achievement and nonachievement effects. After each three-year report, the PEER Committee shall review the three-year report and the intervening annual reports and submit an independent summary of its findings prior to the next legislative session. The short-term and long-term effects shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(i) Kindergarten readiness;

(ii) English Language arts proficiency in grades 3 through 8;

(iii) Math proficiency in grades 3 through 8;

(iv) Science proficiency in grades 5 and 8;

(v) Disciplinary incidents;

(vi) Chronic absenteeism;

(vii) On-time graduation rate;

(viii) College enrollment;

(ix) Grade retention; and

(x) Special education services/exits.

(h)(i) The Legislature shall appropriate funds to implement the Early Education Collaborative Act of 2013 on a phased-in basis as follows:

1. The first phase shall be based on an annual state appropriation of not more than Eight Million Dollars ($8,000,000.00) and shall serve approximately three thousand five hundred (3,500) children through five (5) to eight (8) early learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers;

2. The second phase shall be based on an annual state appropriation of not more than Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00) and shall serve approximately seven thousand (7,000) children through ten (10) to fifteen (15) early learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers;

3. The third phase shall be based on an annual state appropriation of not more than Thirty-three Million Nine Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($33,950,000.00) and shall serve approximately fifteen thousand (15,000) children through twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) early learning collaboratives and their prekindergarten providers.

(ii) Future phases shall be based on interest in the program and the effectiveness of the program as determined by the school readiness of participants. Each phase shall last for at least three (3) years, but no more than five (5) years. The State Department of Education shall determine when to move to a new phase of the program, within the timeline provided herein.

(iii) Funding shall be provided to early learning collaboratives on the basis of a minimum of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) per student in a full-day program and a minimum of One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($1,250.00) per student in a half-day program proposed in the collaborative's approved application. Once an early learning collaborative's plan is approved and funded, the collaborative and/or its prekindergarten providers shall receive funds on an ongoing basis unless the collaborative and/or its prekindergarten providers no longer meet the criteria to participate in the program.

(iv) Early learning collaboratives shall match state funds on a 1:1 basis. Local matching funds may include local tax dollars, federal dollars as allowed, parent tuition, philanthropic contributions, or in-kind donations of facilities, equipment and services required as part of the program such as food service or health screenings.

(v) The State Department of Education shall reserve no more than five percent (5%) of the appropriation in any year for administrative costs.

(vi) In the initial phase of implementation, the State Department of Education shall award state funds under the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013 based on a community's capacity, commitment and need. To determine capacity, commitment and need, the State Department of Education shall require evidence of existing strong local collaborations of early education stakeholders. Such evidence shall include, but not be limited to, collaborations resulting from any of the following:

1. Participation in Excel By 5;

2. Participation in Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK);

3. Participation in the Gilmore Early Learning Initiative (GELI); or

4. Participation in the Mississippi Building Blocks.

In determining community need, the department shall consider low academic achievement within the public school districts participating in an applicant early learning collaborative and the number and percentage of children without quality prekindergarten options.

(vii) All authority granted to the State Department of Education to establish program rules is subject to the public processes established in the provisions of the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, including, but not limited to, filing notice of the proposed rules, public hearings and any economic impact statement with the Office of the Secretary of State before presenting such information to the State Board of Education for final approval.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-43 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 28-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-43
Status: in_force

(1) A charter school may not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, disability, national origin or any other category that would be unlawful if done by a noncharter public school.

(2) A charter school may not engage in any sectarian practices in its educational program, admissions or employment policies or operations.

(3) A charter school may not discriminate against any student on the basis of national origin, minority status or limited proficiency in English. Consistent with federal civil rights laws, charter schools must provide limited English proficient students with appropriate services designed to teach them English and the general curriculum.

(4) A charter school may not charge tuition.

(5) The terms of each charter school must include a transportation plan for students attending the charter school.

(6) Subject to the approval of the authorizer, a charter school may contract with an accredited online course provider for the delivery of virtual courses to students enrolled in the charter school.

(7) Except to the extent authorized under paragraph (c) of Section 37-28-41 , the powers, obligations and responsibilities set forth in the charter contract may not be delegated or assigned by either party.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-36 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 106-36
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-36
Status: repealed

(1) There is established the “William F. Winter and Jack Reed, Sr., Teacher Loan Repayment Program.”

(2) Subject to the availability of funds, an eligible applicant for an initial award must have:

(a) Graduated from a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher learning which is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or a comparable accreditation body;

(b) Signed a contract as a full-time teacher in a public school district in Mississippi;

(c) Obtained a standard five-year license or a nontraditional five-year alternate route license. Persons with provisional emergency licenses shall not be eligible applicants; and

(d) Outstanding qualifying undergraduate or graduate educational loans, which may include the principal, interest and related expenses such as the required interest premium on the unpaid balances of government and commercial loans obtained by the recipient for undergraduate educational expense.

(3) Persons who have received funds from other forgivable loan programs established for teachers under Mississippi law, or who are presently in default or delinquent on any federal, state, local or commercial qualifying educational loan, shall not be eligible for this program.

(4) Provided that initial recipients remain eligible under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, they may retain eligibility for two (2) additional awards, subject to the availability of funds.

(5) Initial recipients shall be selected on a first-come, first-served basis of all eligible applicants, subject to the availability of funds. In the second and third years of an applicant's continued eligibility, priority consideration shall first be given to renewal applicants. The State Financial Aid Board shall develop rules for ensuring that expenses of the program in a fiscal year do not exceed funding for the program in that fiscal year. For that purpose, and any other provision of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, the State Financial Aid Board may limit the acceptance of applications and may limit the number of awards.

(6) Among teacher recipients, priority consideration shall be given to persons who are teaching in a public school district designated as a geographical critical teacher shortage area by the State Board of Education.

(7) Awards for recipients who have signed a contract to teach in a public school district that is not designated as a geographical critical teacher shortage area shall be as follows:

(a) One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) for the initial award;

(b) Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for the second award; and

(c) Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) for the third award.

(8) Awards for recipients who have signed a contract to teach in a public school district that is designated as a geographical critical teacher shortage area shall be as follows:

(a) Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) for the initial award;

(b) Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the second award, provided the recipient continues to teach in the same public school district or another public school district designated a geographical shortage area by the State Board of Education; and

(c) Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000.00) for the third award, provided the recipient continues to teach in the same public school district or another public school district designated a geographical shortage area by the State Board of Education.

(9) An initial recipient who moves to another public school district shall be eligible to receive an award based on the amount allowed under the program in the new district where the teacher is employed.

(10) Awards shall be granted on a year-to-year basis, and recipients shall have no obligation to seek a future award.

(11) Awards shall be paid annually, after the expiration of the one-year teaching contract for which the award was granted, to the recipient's lender or loan service provider, and shall be applied to the outstanding balance. Monies paid on the recipient's behalf toward qualifying undergraduate or graduate educational loans prior to receiving payment of the award shall not be eligible for repayment through the program.

(12) During the teaching year for which the award is granted, a recipient must at all times keep the State Financial Aid Board informed of any changes to the recipient's current contact information and employment status.

(13) Recipients who fail to maintain a standard or nontraditional license or fail to fulfill the one-year teaching contract on which the award was based shall forfeit any right to the award.

(14) The State Financial Aid Board, in collaboration with the State Board of Education, shall track recipients of an award under this program through the fourth year after receiving their initial award, unless the recipient shall leave teaching in a public school district at an earlier date. Data collected shall include recipients' undergraduate or graduate institution, school district, subject area/grade level in teaching and any other pertinent information necessary to determine the efficacy of the program in retaining teachers.

(15) The State Financial Aid Board shall promulgate regulations necessary for the proper administration of this section, including rules for ensuring that expenses of the program in a fiscal year do not exceed funding for the program in that fiscal year.

(16) There is established in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the “William F. Winter and Jack Reed, Sr., Loan Repayment Program Fund,” into which shall be deposited those funds appropriated by the Legislature, and any other funds that may be made available, for the purpose of implementing the loan repayment program established herein. Money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the General Fund, and interest earned on any amounts deposited into the fund shall be credited to the special fund.

(17) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2028.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 65-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-19
Status: in_force

The period of time which may elapse during any closure of any school, junior college or institution of higher learning in accordance with the terms of this article, shall not be deducted or counted as a deduction from any period of time which by any other law of this state such school, junior college or institution of higher learning is required to be operated in any scholastic year. The provision of any other law of this state setting a minimum time or number of days which any such school, junior college or institution of higher learning is required to be operated in any scholastic year shall not prevent the closure provided for in this article, and in the event of any conflict between the terms of this article and any such other law, the provisions of this article shall control.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-14-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 14-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-14-3
Status: in_force

(1) The State Department of Education is designated as the state agency responsible for the administration and supervision of the school nurse program as an education and wellness curriculum in the public schools of the State of Mississippi. The public school nurse program administered by the State Department of Education shall be known and may be cited as the “Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell-Mary Sprayberry Public School Nurse Program.” It is the intent of the Legislature that all funds made available to the State Department of Education for the purpose of employing school nurses shall be administered by the State Department of Education.

(2) The State Department of Education, through the Office of Healthy Schools, shall develop standards, procedures and criteria for the public school nurse programs in Kindergarten through Grade 12. The Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education shall assume the responsibility for promoting a statewide school nurse program designed to prepare local school districts to incorporate the school program into their local educational programs.

(3) From and after July 1, 2007, the School Nurse Intervention Program administered and funded by the State Department of Health shall be transferred to the Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education. Any administrative personnel employed by the State Department of Health for the administration of school nurses under the School Nurse Intervention Program may be considered for employment by the Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education for the purpose of coordinating the employment of school nurses in the school districts. Any administrative personnel formerly employed by the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, Inc., for the administration of school nurses in the public schools may be considered for employment by the Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education for the purpose of coordinating the employment of school nurses in the school districts. All records and unexpended balances of accounts in the School Nurse Intervention Program relating to the employment of school nurses shall be transferred to the Office of Healthy Schools in the State Department of Education in accordance with the transfer of responsibility under this chapter.

(4) The nurses in the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell-Mary Sprayberry Public School Nurse Program shall have the following specific responsibilities:

(a) Serve as the coordinator of the health services program and provide nursing care;

(b) Provide health education to students;

(c) Implement activities to promote health and prevent tobacco, alcohol and substance use and abuse;

(d) Identify health and safety concerns in the school environment and promote a nurturing social environment;

(e) Administer medications and help students manage their health problems;

(f) Support healthy food services programs;

(g) Promote healthy physical education, sports policies and practices;

(h) Promote dropout prevention programs; and

(i) Participate in allied health programs to introduce students to health careers.

(5) The Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education shall provide resources to all public school nurses so that those schools with school nurses will be prepared to provide health education in Mississippi schools and support the Mississippi Comprehensive Health Framework, Mississippi Physical Education Framework, Wellness Policy, coordinated approach to school health, and other resources required by the State Board of Education.

(6) In administering the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell-Mary Sprayberry Public School Nurse Program, the Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education shall perform the following duties:

(a) Execute any contracts, agreements or other documents with any governmental agency or any person, corporation, association, partnership or other organization or entity that are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter;

(b) Receive grants or any other contributions made to the State Board of Education to be used for specific purposes related to the goals of this chapter;

(c) Submit to the State Auditor any financial records that are necessary for the Auditor to perform an annual audit of the commission as required by law;

(d) Adopt any rules or regulations that are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

(e) Develop criteria to measure the effectiveness of a school nurse;

(f) Communicate to superintendents and principals how to maximize the effectiveness of a public school nurse;

(g) Develop recommended salary structure for school districts to use when hiring a school nurse;

(h) Communicate to superintendents, principals and other appropriate school officials regarding the statutes and regulations prohibiting the use of tobacco by school personnel on school property and at school events, and to monitor the effectiveness of this ban;

(i) Implement policies to reduce unnecessary paperwork by public school nurses; and

(j) Take any other actions that are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-37-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 37-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-37-13
Status: in_force

The State Board of Education shall include reporting standards for school districts as part of the standards for accreditation of school districts. These standards shall include penalties within the accreditation system for adverse findings resulting from any reviews or audits conducted under this chapter or through any reviews the State Department of Education may make.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-6 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 141-6
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-6
Status: in_force

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be authorized to charge state agencies and other entities that occupy portions of the Paul B. Johnson, Jr., Building, the Edsel E. Thrash Universities Center and the ETV Building for utilities, maintenance and security. Entities shall be charged at a rate of One Dollar and Fifty Cents ($1.50) per square foot for services provided by the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-121-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 121-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-121-19
Status: in_force

The lands and property of Alcorn State University shall not be subject to state, county or municipal taxation. The buildings and improvements that are or may be erected on any land belonging to the university that has been or may be leased to private entities for the purpose of affording affordable board to the students attending the institution shall not be subject to taxation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-41 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 43-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-41
Status: in_force

The State Textbook Fund of Mississippi shall consist of the amounts appropriated by the Legislature for the same, all monies accruing from the sale of disused books from other than public schools, all monies derived from the purchase of books by both public and private schools trustees, and by private individuals, all monies collected in damage suits under the terms of this chapter, and all other monies collected in any way whatsoever under the terms of this chapter.

There is hereby created a special fund in the State Treasury to be designated as the “Local School District Textbook Carryover Fund.” Said fund shall be credited with any funds which were appropriated by the Legislature to the State Textbook Fund for any fiscal year in which said funds were allocated to local school districts but unexpended by said districts. Said unexpended funds shall be deposited by the board into the Local School District Textbook Carryover Fund to the credit of the local school districts which were originally allocated such funds. All carryover funds which exist on June 30, 1994, which belong to public school districts shall be disbursed to the respective school districts. Carryover funds for other than public schools shall be handled in the same manner as previously described in this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-31 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 115-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-31
Status: in_force

The teaching hospital and related facilities shall be utilized to serve the people of Mississippi generally. The teaching hospital and related facilities shall have the power necessary to enter into group purchasing arrangements as deemed reasonable and necessary, and such powers as are necessary to establish and operate health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, prepaid health benefit plans and other managed care entities regulated by Section 83-41-301 et seq. , and the power to establish rates and charges for health care services, either on a fee for service, discounted, capitated or other risk based payment basis, and provided that any such entity shall primarily provide care and services to indigent persons or qualified beneficiaries of the State Medicaid Program; and further provided, however, any entity, or any affiliate of any such entity, that now or in the future provides management services to the University of Mississippi Medical Center or any of its facilities, shall not be affiliated in any manner with any managed care product established by the University of Mississippi Medical Center under the authority of this section. There shall be a reasonable volume of free work; however, said volume shall never be less than one-half of its bed capacity for indigent patients who are eligible and qualified under the state charity fund for charity hospitalization of indigent persons, or qualified beneficiaries of the State Medicaid Program. The income derived from the operations of said hospital, including all facilities thereof, shall be utilized toward the payment of the operating expenses of said hospital, including all facilities thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-22-25 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 22-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-22-25
Status: in_force

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi School District Emergency Bridge Loan Act.”

(2)(a) There is established a bridge loan program to be administered by the State Department of Education for the purpose of assisting local school districts that suffer revenue losses as a result of an economic downturn that substantially impacts the state and local revenues available to school districts. Loan proceeds distributed to school districts shall be specifically for school district operations identified as essential by the department.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department endeavor to ensure that the costs of the administration of this section are as low as possible.

(3)(a) There is created a special fund in the State Treasury to be designated as the “Mississippi School District Emergency Bridge Loan Fund,” referred to in this section as the “fund.” The fund shall consist of money designated for deposit in the fund from any source including, but not limited to, appropriations, bond proceeds, grants, gifts, donations or funds from any source, public or private. The fund shall be credited with all repayments of principal and interest derived from loans made from the fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund. Monies in the fund may not be used or expended for any purpose except as authorized under this section.

(b) The department shall establish a loan program by which loans may be made available to school districts to assist those school districts. Any school district that demonstrates for the current fiscal year a projected revenue loss equal to or exceeding one-third ( 1 / 3 ) of its revenues in the preceding fiscal year may qualify for a loan. The interest rate on loans made under this section may vary from time to time and from loan to loan and shall be at or below market interest rates as determined by the department. The department shall act as quickly as is practicable and prudent in deciding on any loan request that it receives.

(c) The aggregate amount of any loans received under this section by a school district shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the difference between the revenue received by the school district to fund essential operations in the preceding fiscal year and the estimated revenue from those sources in the current fiscal year plus sixteenth section principal funds that may be expended under law, cash reserves or fund balances at the fiscal year end, as determined by the department. The State Board of Education shall set the maximum amount of any loan made under this section at an amount that will ensure the equitable distribution of the amounts available for loans to the eligible school districts.

(d) A school district that receives a loan from the fund shall pledge for repayment of the loan any part of the homestead exemption annual tax loss reimbursement to which it may be entitled under Section 27-33-77 , as may be required by the department. Each recipient of a loan shall establish a dedicated source of revenue for repayment of the loan. Before any school district shall receive a loan, it must execute with the department a loan agreement evidencing the loan, a copy of which must be filed by the department with the State Tax Commission. The loan agreement may not be construed to prohibit any recipient from prepaying any part or all of the funds received. The repayment schedule in each loan agreement shall provide for: (i) monthly payments; (ii) semiannual payments; or (iii) other periodic payments. The loan agreement shall provide for the repayment of all funds received from the fund within not more than ten (10) years. At the request of the department, the State Tax Commission shall withhold semiannually from the amount to be remitted to a school district the sum necessary to pay all or a portion of the periodic payments for the loan.

(e) A school district that receives a loan from the state which is not eligible to pledge for repayment of the loan under paragraph (d) of this subsection shall repay the loan by making payments each month to the State Treasurer through the Department of Finance and Administration for and on behalf of the department according to Section 7-7-15 , to be credited to the fund in lieu of pledging homestead exemption annual tax loss reimbursement.

Loan repayments shall be according to a repayment schedule contained in each loan agreement as required under paragraph (d) of this subsection.

(f) Evidences of indebtedness that are issued under this section may not be deemed indebtedness within the meaning specified in Section 37-59-5 .

(g) The State Auditor, upon the request of the department, shall audit the receipts and expenditures of a school district if loan repayments appear to be in arrears. If the Auditor finds that the school district is in arrears in the repayments, the Auditor immediately shall notify the State Superintendent of Public Education, who may take any action necessary to enforce the terms of the loan agreement. The superintendent, in his discretion, may notify the State Tax Commission to withhold all future payments to the school district of homestead exemption annual tax loss reimbursements under Section 27-33-77 until such time that the school district is again current in its loan repayments, as certified by the department.

(h) All monies deposited in the fund may be used only for providing the loans authorized under this section. In addition, any amounts in the fund may be used to defray the reasonable costs of administering the fund. The department is authorized to use amounts available to it from the fund to contract for those facilities and staff needed to administer and provide routine management for the funds and loan program.

(4) In administering this section, the State Department of Education shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To supervise the use of all funds made available under this section;

(b) To promulgate rules and regulations and to establish procedures in accordance with this section for the implementation of the loan program;

(c) To requisition monies in the fund and distribute those monies in accordance with this section;

(d) To maintain, in accordance with generally accepted government accounting standards, an accurate record of all monies in the fund made available to school districts under this section; and

(e) To file annually with the Legislature a report detailing how monies in the fund were spent during the preceding fiscal year in each school district.

(5) The State Bond Commission, at one time or from time to time, may declare the necessity for general funds for the purposes provided in this section, including the costs incident to the administration of the loan program. Upon approval by the State Bond Commission, the Department of Finance and Administration may transfer the necessary amount from the General Fund to the fund in ample time to discharge such loans and incidental costs.

(6) The Department of Finance and Administration, without further process of law, may certify the necessity for warrants and issue those warrants in such amounts as may be necessary to make loans under the program authorized by this section.

(7) After any state funds in the fund are no longer needed for the particular purpose for which they were appropriated, deposited or transferred into the fund, the Department of Finance and Administration shall transfer those state funds back to the particular fund or funds in the State Treasury from which they were appropriated or transferred into the fund, upon certification of the State Superintendent of Public Education that the state funds currently are not needed.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-38
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-38
Status: in_force

(1) The following phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) A dual enrolled student is a student who is enrolled in a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning while enrolled in high school.

(b) A dual credit student is a student who is enrolled in a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning while enrolled in high school and who is receiving high school and college credit for postsecondary coursework.

(2) A local school board, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Community College Board shall establish a dual enrollment system under which students in the school district who meet the prescribed criteria of this section may be enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Mississippi while they are still in school.

(3) Dual credit eligibility. Before credits earned by a qualified high school student from a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning may be transferred to the student's home school district, the student must be properly enrolled in a dual enrollment program.

(4) Admission criteria for dual enrollment in community and junior college or university programs. The Mississippi Community College Board and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may recommend to the State Board of Education admission criteria for dual enrollment programs under which high school students may enroll at a community or junior college or university while they are still attending high school and enrolled in high school courses. Students may be admitted to enroll in community or junior college courses under the dual enrollment programs if they meet that individual institution's stated dual enrollment admission requirements.

(5) Tuition and cost responsibility. Tuition and costs for university-level courses and community and junior college courses offered under a dual enrollment program may be paid for by the postsecondary institution, the local school district, the parents or legal guardians of the student, or by grants, foundations or other private or public sources. Payment for tuition and any other costs must be made directly to the credit-granting institution.

(6) Transportation responsibility. Any transportation required by a student to participate in the dual enrollment program is the responsibility of the parent, custodian or legal guardian of the student. Transportation costs may be paid from any available public or private sources, including the local school district.

(7) School district net enrollment credit. When dually enrolled, the student may be counted, for total funding formula purposes, in the net enrollment of the public school district in which the student attends high school.

(8) High school student transcript transfer requirements. Grades and college credits earned by a student admitted to a dual credit program must be recorded on the high school student record and on the college transcript at the university or community or junior college where the student attends classes. The transcript of the university or community or junior college coursework may be released to another institution or applied toward college graduation requirements.

(9) Determining factor of prerequisites for dual enrollment courses. Each university and community or junior college participating in a dual enrollment program shall determine course prerequisites. Course prerequisites shall be the same for dual enrolled students as for regularly enrolled students at that university or community or junior college.

(10) Process for determining articulation of curriculum between high school, university, and community and junior college courses. All dual credit courses must meet the standards established at the postsecondary level. Postsecondary level developmental courses may not be considered as meeting the requirements of the dual credit program. Dual credit memorandum of understandings must be established between each postsecondary institution and the school district implementing a dual credit program.

(11) [Deleted]

(12) Eligible courses for dual credit programs. Courses eligible for dual credit include, but are not necessarily limited to, foreign languages, advanced math courses, advanced science courses, performing arts, advanced business and technology, and career and technical courses. Distance Learning Collaborative Program courses approved under Section 37-67-1 shall be fully eligible for dual credit. All courses being considered for dual credit must receive unconditional approval from the superintendent of the local school district and the chief instructional officer at the participating community or junior college or university in order for college credit to be awarded. A university or community or junior college shall make the final decision on what courses are eligible for semester hour credits.

(13) High school Carnegie unit equivalency. One (1) three-hour university or community or junior college course is equal to one (1) high school Carnegie unit.

(14) Course alignment. The universities, community and junior colleges and the State Department of Education shall periodically review their respective policies and assess the place of dual credit courses within the context of their traditional offerings.

(15) Maximum dual credits allowed. It is the intent of the dual enrollment program to make it possible for every eligible student who desires to earn a semester's worth of college credit in high school to do so. A qualified dually enrolled high school student must be allowed to earn an unlimited number of college or university credits for dual credit.

(16) Dual credit program allowances. A student may be granted credit delivered through the following means:

(a) Examination preparation taught at a high school by a qualified teacher. A student may receive credit at the secondary level after completion of an approved course and passing the standard examination, such as an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course through which a high school student is allowed CLEP credit by making a three (3) or higher on the end-of-course examination.

(b) College or university courses taught at a high school or designated postsecondary site by a qualified teacher who is an employee of the school district and approved as an instructor by the collaborating college or university.

(c) College or university courses taught at a college, university or high school by an instructor employed by the college or university and approved by the collaborating school district.

(d) Online courses of any public university, community or junior college in Mississippi.

(17) Qualifications of dual credit instructors. A dual credit academic instructor must meet the requirements set forth by the regional accrediting association (Southern Association of College and Schools). University and community and junior college personnel have the sole authority in the selection of dual credit instructors.

A dual credit career and technical education instructor must meet the requirements set forth by the Mississippi Community College Board in the qualifications manual for postsecondary career and technical personnel.

(18) Guidance on local agreements. The Chief Academic Officer of the State Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Chief Instructional Officers of the Mississippi Community College Board and the State Department of Education, working collaboratively, shall develop a template to be used by the individual community and junior colleges and institutions of higher learning for consistent implementation of the dual enrollment program throughout the State of Mississippi.

(19) Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option . A local school board and the local community colleges board shall establish a Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option Program under which potential or recent student dropouts may dually enroll in their home school and a local community college in a dual credit program consisting of high school completion coursework and a community college credential, certificate or degree program. Students completing the dual enrollment-credit option may obtain their high school diploma while obtaining a community college credential, certificate or degree. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall assist students who have successfully completed the Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option in securing a job upon the application of the student or the participating school or community college. The Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option Program will be implemented statewide in the 2012-2013 school year and thereafter. The State Board of Education, local school board and the local community college board shall establish criteria for the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program. Students enrolled in the program will not be eligible to participate in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities at the home school district. Tuition and costs for community college courses offered under the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall not be charged to the student, parents or legal guardians. When dually enrolled, the student shall be counted, for total funding formula purposes, in the net enrollment of the public school district in which the student attends high school. Any transportation required by the student to participate in the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian of the student, and transportation costs may be paid from any available public or private sources, including the local school district. Grades and college credits earned by a student admitted to this Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall be recorded on the high school student record and on the college transcript at the community college and high school where the student attends classes. The transcript of the community college coursework may be released to another institution or applied toward college graduation requirements. Any course that is required for subject area testing as a requirement for graduation from a public school in Mississippi is eligible for dual credit, and courses eligible for dual credit shall also include career, technical and degree program courses. All courses eligible for dual credit shall be approved by the superintendent of the local school district and the chief instructional officer at the participating community college in order for college credit to be awarded. A community college shall make the final decision on what courses are eligible for semester hour credits and the local school superintendent, subject to approval by the Mississippi Department of Education, shall make the final decision on the transfer of college courses credited to the student's high school transcript.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-29 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 33-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-29
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful, except for purposes directly connected with the administration of the vocational rehabilitation program, for eligible individuals with disabilities, and in accordance with regulations, for any person or persons to solicit, disclose, receive, or make use of, or authorize, knowingly permit, participate in, or acquiesce in the use of any list of, or names of, or any information concerning persons applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation, directly or indirectly derived from the records, papers, files, or communications of the state or subdivisions or agencies thereof, or acquired in the course of the performance of official duties, except in response to summons, subpoena or other order of a court. Any violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor and punishable accordingly.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-103 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 115-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-103
Status: in_force

The object and purpose of the establishment of a school of dentistry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center shall be the encouragement of the study of dentistry toward the doctor of dental medicine degree, as well as the continued education of the state's dental health professions; and the encouragement of dental research and the improvement of dental health.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-47-57 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 47-57
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-47-57
Status: in_force

The state educational finance commission is hereby authorized and directed to pay, on approval of the governor, out of any funds derived from the issuance of state school bonds or otherwise in its hands and available for such purpose, any expense which may be incurred by the state bond commission or by the State of Mississippi or its officials in connection with the authorization and issuance of bonds and interim certificates under the provisions of this chapter, including the expense of preparing and delivering said bonds or interim certificates, legal fees, and all other expenses necessarily incurred in connection with the issuance, sale, and delivery of any such bonds and interim certificates.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-139 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 29-139
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-139
Status: in_force

Sections 37-29-131 through 37-29-139 , without reference to any other statute shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the authorization, execution and delivery of lease agreements authorized hereunder and shall be construed as an additional and alternative method; and none of the present restrictions, requirements, conditions and limitations of law applicable to acquisition, construction and drawing of buildings or facilities shall apply to lease agreements under Sections 37-29-131 through 37-29-139 , and no proceeding shall be required for the authorization, execution and delivery of such leases other than those required herein, and all powers necessary to be exercised in order to carry out the provisions of Sections 37-29-131 through 37-29-139 , are hereby conferred.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-10 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / 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. § 37-29-141 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 29-141
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-141
Status: in_force

(1) The board of trustees of any junior college district is expressly authorized and empowered to make a thorough study and evaluation of the costs of operation of the junior college district, and said board shall recommend a fair and acceptable tax rate for district general support and maintenance from each of the member counties.

The board of trustees of any junior college district as constituted as of July 1, 1964, shall have the authority to recommend the tax levy necessary for a newly contributing county to have representation on the board of trustees of said junior college.

From and after October 1, 1989, no county shall levy less than (a) one (1) mill for the support, and (b) one (1) mill for the enlargement, improvement and repair of the junior college within the district of which the county is a member. From and after October 1, 1990, the board of trustees of any junior college district may, by a sixty percent (60%) affirmative vote of the members of such board, recommend an additional one (1) mill which may be used for the support or for the enlargement, improvement and repair of the junior college within the district of which the county is a member. If a county is levying more than the minimum levy required herein for one category but less than the minimum levy required for the other, then the excess millage under the one may be applied towards making up the deficiency which exists in the other. If a county contributes to two (2) junior college districts, the combined levy for both districts shall not be less than the minimums required herein.

Any county having any school district located therein with a current operating deficit of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) or more on July 1, 1989, shall not be required to levy the minimum millage required under this subsection (1) until such time as the said operating deficit is eliminated, or for a period of three (3) fiscal years, whichever is less. Provided, however, that no such county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year.

No county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year, unless requested to make such reduction by the board of trustees of the district. When a county has a general reassessment of property to increase the county ad valorem tax assessments, such county may reduce the millage for general support and capital improvements, provided that its aggregate budget for junior college purposes is not lower than was paid the previous year.

In lieu of taxation, the board of trustees may fix the amount of enrollee tuition in an amount commensurate with the per capita cost of operating the district, which may also include any fees assessed by the board upon each student enrolled under the authority of Section 37-29-231 for the purpose of offsetting the cost of first responder services provided to the main campus of the community college by the local governing authority in accordance with the provisions of the contract entered into under the authority of Section 21-25-23 or the interlocal agreement entered into under the authority of Section 37-29-231 .

(2) Taxes for the support, enlargement, improvement and repairs of junior colleges shall be levied annually against all of the property of each county and of each municipal separate school district, including added territory, which has established or may hereafter establish, or which has joined or may hereafter join, in the establishment or support of a junior college. In no case shall such levy exceed three (3) mills for support and three (3) mills for enlargement, improvement and repairs for each junior college within the district of which the county or municipal separate school district may be a component.

(3) The levy for support for any year in any given county or separate school district is that presently prevailing therein unless a change is recommended to the tax levying authorities by the board of trustees or by a vote of the people ascertained in an election called for that purpose by the tax levying authorities subsequent to the petition therefor signed by twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the minimum millage required under subsection (1) shall not be levied by the board of supervisors of any county within a junior college district until the board of trustees of the district adopts annually, an order, by a sixty percent (60%) affirmative vote of the members of the board, that such minimum millage shall be levied by each county within the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-109 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 23-109
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-109
Status: in_force

Any child development center created under the provisions of Sections 37-23-91 through 37-23-111 shall be entitled to receive all contributions and benefits allowed to the other school districts from the federal and state governments including, but not limited to, contributions on the basis of the net enrollment per child, school textbooks and school lunch program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-301 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 29-301
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-301
Status: in_force

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(a) Mississippi's public community and junior colleges are Mississippi's best educational buy. An education at Mississippi's community and junior colleges is affordable and accessible to all. Mississippians have an option to attend a community or junior college close to home, with smaller class sizes and at approximately one-half ( 1 / 2 ) the cost of tuition at a public four-year institution;

(b) In recent fiscal years, appropriations for community and junior colleges have not kept pace with increases appropriated to Grades K-12 and the institutions of higher learning;

(c) A need exists to provide adequate funding for Mississippi's community and junior colleges; and

(d) Adequate funding should be accomplished through appropriate funding on a full-time equivalency (FTE) basis.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-131 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 29-131
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-131
Status: in_force

The board of trustees of any community or junior college is hereby authorized and empowered to enter into lease agreements or service contracts with any governmental agency or political subdivision, corporation, partnership, joint venture, or individual under which the college may acquire by lease, lease-purchase or service contract for a primary term not to exceed thirty-five (35) years lands, buildings and related facilities which the board may determine necessary to provide additional facilities, services or educational opportunities to the college, its students, faculty and the community.

Any machinery, furnishings, fixtures and equipment for these facilities and use by the college may be acquired by lease or lease purchase provided that the primary term of such lease shall not exceed the estimated useful economic life of such machinery or equipment.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-115 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 29-115
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-115
Status: in_force

The boards of trustees, in the issuance of bonds under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 , in order to secure the payment of such bonds and the interest thereon, shall have power by resolution:

(a) To fix and maintain (1) fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, or officers or employees using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings or apartments erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under the authority of Section 37-29-107 ; (2) fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, or officers or employees using or being served by any other dormitories, dwellings or apartments or other projects or facilities at any junior college for which bonds are issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 , which fees, rentals and other charges shall be the same as those applicable to the dormitories, dwellings or apartments referred to under (1) above; in fixing such fees, rentals and other charges, there may be allowed reasonable differentials based on the condition, type, location and relative convenience of the dormitories, dwellings or apartments or other projects or facilities in question, but such differentials shall be uniform as to all students, faculty members, officers or employees similarly accommodated;

(b) To provide that bonds issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 shall be secured by a first lien on, and shall be payable from, all or any part of the income and revenues derived from fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, officers or employees using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings or apartments, or other projects or facilities operated at such junior colleges, respectively, and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under the authority of Section 37-29-107 or any other law, or otherwise, and not then currently pledged;

(c) To pledge and assign to or in trust for the benefit of the holder or holders of any bond or bonds, coupon or coupons issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 , an amount of the income and revenues derived from such fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, officers or employees, using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings or apartments, or other projects or facilities operated at such junior colleges, and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under the authority of Section 37-29-107 or any other law, or otherwise, and not then currently pledged, which rentals, fees and charges imposed and pledged shall be sufficient to pay when due the bonds issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 and interest thereon, to create and maintain a reasonable reserve therefor, and to operate and maintain the project constructed under the terms of Section 37-29-107 , including insurance thereon, and to create and at all times maintain an adequate reserve for contingencies and for major repairs and replacements;

(d) To covenant with or for the benefit of the holder or holders of any bond or bonds, coupon or coupons issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 to erect, repair, remodel, maintain, add to, extend, improve or acquire any dormitories, dwellings or apartments, and, so long as any such bonds or coupons shall remain outstanding and unpaid, to fix, maintain and collect fees, rentals or other charges from students, faculty members, officers or employees using or being served by any such facilities erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved, or acquired under the authority of Section 37-29-107 or any other law, or otherwise, which fees, rentals or other charges shall be sufficient to pay when due any bond or bonds, coupon or coupons, issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 , and create and maintain a reasonable reserve therefor, and to pay the cost of operation and maintenance of such facilities, including insurance thereon, and to create and at all times maintain an adequate reserve for contingencies and for major repairs and replacements;

(e) To make and enforce and to agree to make and enforce parietal rules that shall insure the use of any such dormitory, dwelling or apartment, by students, faculty members, officers or employees of such junior college to the maximum extent to which such facilities are capable of serving same, so long as such rules are not in conflict with existing covenants;

(f) To covenant that as long as any bonds or coupons issued under the provisions of Section 37-29-109 shall remain outstanding and unpaid, it will not, except upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the resolution issuing such bonds, (1) voluntarily create, or cause to be created, any debt, lien, pledge, assignment, encumbrance, or other charge having priority to or being on a parity with the lien of the bonds so issued upon any of the income and revenues derived from fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, officers or employees using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings or apartments operated at any such junior college and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under the authority of Section 37-29-107 or any other law, or otherwise, or (2) convey or otherwise alienate any such dormitories, dwellings or apartments, or the real estate upon which the same shall be located, except at a price sufficient to pay all the bonds then outstanding and interest thereon payable from the revenues of such facilities, and then only in accordance with any agreements with the holder or holders of such bonds, or (3) mortgage or otherwise voluntarily create, or cause to be created, any encumbrance on any such dormitory, dwelling or apartment, or the real estate upon which it shall be located;

(g) To covenant as to the proceedings by which the terms of any contract with a holder or holders of such bonds may be amended or rescinded, the amount or percentage of bonds the holder or holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which such consent may be given;

(h) To vest in the holder or holders of any specified amount of percentage of bonds the right to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for and to have granted the appointment of a receiver or receivers of the income and revenues pledged to or for the benefit of the holder or holders of any such bonds, which receiver or receivers may have and be granted such powers and duties as are usually granted under the laws of the State of Mississippi to a receiver or receivers appointed in connection with the foreclosure of a mortgage made by a private corporation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-140-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 140-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-140-5
Status: in_force

(1) The school shall be governed by the State Board of Education. The board shall develop a plan relating to the opening, operation and funding of the school to be presented to the Legislature during the 2000 Regular Session. The plan shall include an equitable and reasonable plan for student recruitment without regard to race, creed or color.

(2) The State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint an advisory panel to assist the board in developing the plan relating to the school. The advisory panel shall consist of the following twelve (12) appointed or designated members:

(a) Three (3) licensed school teachers or administrators, one (1) to be appointed from each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court Districts;

(b) Three (3) citizens or professionals representing the areas of dance, creative writing, literature, music, theater arts or visual arts, one (1) to be appointed from each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court Districts;

(c) Three (3) citizens knowledgeable in business, personnel management or public administration, with at least three (3) years' actual experience therein, one (1) to be appointed from each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court Districts.

(d) One (1) member shall be a representative of the Mississippi Arts Commission to be designated by the commission, one (1) member shall be a representative of the Mississippi Humanities Council to be designated by the council, and one (1) member shall be a representative of the state institutions of higher learning in Mississippi which offer degrees in visual, fine and performing arts, to be designated by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

Appointments to the advisory panel shall be made within ninety (90) days of April 23, 1999. The advisory panel shall meet upon the call of the State Superintendent of Public Education and shall organize for business by selecting a chairman and vice chairman/secretary for keeping records of the panel. Members of the advisory panel shall receive no compensation but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses and mileage for attending meetings and necessary business of the panel, in the amount authorized for state employees under Section 25-3-41 .

(3) The board may utilize the staff of the State Department of Education and other state agencies as may be required for the implementation of this chapter. The department may employ any personnel deemed necessary by the board for assisting in the development and implementation of the plan relating to the opening, operation and funding of the school. The board also may contract or enter into agreements with other agencies or private entities which it deems necessary to carry out its duties and functions relating to the opening and operation of the school.

(4) To the extent possible, the board shall enter into agreements with the Board of Trustees of the Brookhaven Municipal Separate School District for the dual enrollment of students for the purpose of teaching academic courses to students attending the school, and the local school board shall be fully authorized to offer any such courses to students attending the school. The State Board of Education may develop and issue necessary regulations for the coordination of such courses for these students, the preparation and transfer of transcripts, and the reimbursement of any costs incurred by the school district for providing such services.

(5) The board may enter into agreements with public school districts to authorize students enrolled in such school districts to participate in the fine arts programs at the school to the extent that adequate space is available. The parent or guardian of any student participating in fine arts programs at the school under this subsection shall be responsible for transporting the student to and from the school.

(6) Effective July 1, 2020, all administrative, instructional and noninstructional employees of the Mississippi School of the Arts shall be transferred from state service and the authority of the State Personnel Board to employment status as employees of the Mississippi School of the Arts. All administrative and instructional employees at the said school shall enter into written contracts of employment to indicate and cover the period for which they are respectively employed. All such contracts for administrative and instructional employees shall be exempt from the requirements of the Public Procurement Review Board for state agency employment contracts. The State Board of Education may set and determine qualifications necessary for such employees and may appoint a subcommittee of the board for the purpose of authorizing the execution of such employment contracts on a timely basis. Such administrators and employees shall be offered contracts by the Superintendent/Executive Director of the MSA and all such contracts and employment rights prescribed thereunder shall be awarded and governed in accordance with Sections 37-9-1 et seq. , as applicable, and Section 37-7-307 . Any and all references within Section 37-9-1 et seq. , to a “local school district” shall apply to MSA and any and all references to a “local school board” shall apply to the State Board of Education's role as defined in Section 37-140-1 . The MSA may renew employment or nonrenew employment with such administrative and instructional employees in accordance with the provisions of said sections relating to school district employment. Noninstructional employees of the MSA shall be full-time employees of the MSA and shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Superintendent of the MSA. All salaries and contracts shall be subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, and the MSA may continue to use the teacher salary scale for its instructional employees which is in effect on January 1, 2019. Any unused leave accumulated at the Mississippi School of the Arts shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-7-307 . There shall be no interruption of service with the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State and School Employees' Health Insurance Plan for administrative, instructional and noninstructional employees due to an employee's employment status under this subsection. The MSA shall not be considered a local educational agency for the same purposes and to the same extent that all other school districts in the state are deemed local educational agencies under applicable federal law. The MSA may receive donations or grants from any public or private source, including any federal funding that may be available to the schools within the MSA.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-53 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 153-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-53
Status: in_force

(1) The Mississippi Legislature finds the following:

(a) The public health crisis related to COVID-19 resulted in a general disruption in the Mississippi economy and workforce, particularly in the healthcare industry;

(b) Workforce shortages exist in a number of high-wage, high-demand Mississippi industries, including, but not limited to, the field of nursing; and

(c) The availability of unprecedented federal funding to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the workforce and economy has created a unique opportunity for the Office of Workforce Development, working with community colleges, institutions of higher learning, employers, and others, to provide education and training for Mississippians seeking employment in healthcare and other fields.

(2) Therefore, the intent of the Mississippi Legislature is:

(a) To provide funding for outreach and other efforts to connect citizens seeking employment in nursing and other high-wage, high-demand fields with the education and training required to obtain necessary skills for relevant employment in the state;

(b) To provide funding for new and increased capacity in new and existing relevant workforce development and training programs, particularly programs related to nursing and healthcare, to include any required equipment or supplies, at community and junior colleges and institutions of higher learning across the state; and

(c) To gauge the effectiveness of these programs by gathering data related to participation and wage and employment outcomes in order to replicate successful efforts in future workforce development programs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-307 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 7-307
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-307
Status: in_force

(1) For purposes of this section, the term “ licensed employee ” means any employee of a public school district required to hold a valid license by the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development.

(2) The school board of a school district shall establish by rules and regulations a policy of sick leave with pay for licensed employees and teacher assistants employed in the school district, and such policy shall include the following minimum provisions for sick and emergency leave with pay:

(a) Each licensed employee and teacher assistant, at the beginning of each school year, shall be credited with a minimum sick leave allowance, with pay, of seven (7) days for absences caused by illness or physical disability of the employee during that school year.

(b) Any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance shall be carried over to the next school year and credited to such licensed employee and teacher assistant if the licensed employee or teacher assistant remains employed in the same school district. In the event any public school licensed employee or teacher assistant transfers from one public school district in Mississippi to another, any unused portion of the total sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee or teacher assistant shall be credited to such licensed employee or teacher assistant in the computation of unused leave for retirement purposes under Section 25-11-109 . Accumulation of sick leave allowed under this section shall be unlimited.

(c) No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee or teacher assistant may be made because of absence of such licensed employee or teacher assistant caused by illness or physical disability of the licensed employee or teacher assistant until after all sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee or teacher assistant has been used.

(d) For the first ten (10) days of absence of a licensed employee because of illness or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee, there shall be deducted from the pay of such licensed employee the established substitute amount of licensed employee compensation paid in that local school district, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee as a result of illness or physical disability. In lieu of deducting the established substitute amount from the pay of such licensed employee, the policy may allow the licensed employee to receive full pay for the first ten (10) days of absence because of illness or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee. Thereafter, the regular pay of such absent licensed employee shall be suspended and withheld in its entirety for any period of absence because of illness or physical disability during that school year.

(3)(a) Beginning with the school year 1983-1984, each licensed employee at the beginning of each school year shall be credited with a minimum personal leave allowance, with pay, of two (2) days for absences caused by personal reasons during that school year. Effective for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, licensed employees shall be credited with an additional one-half ( 1 / 2 ) day of personal leave for every day the licensed employee is furloughed without pay as provided in Section 37-7-308 . Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, such personal leave shall not be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday. Personal leave may be used for professional purposes, including absences caused by attendance of such licensed employee at a seminar, class, training program, professional association or other functions designed for educators. No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee may be made because of absence of such licensed employee caused by personal reasons until after all personal leave allowance credited to such licensed employee has been used. However, the superintendent of a school district, in his discretion, may allow a licensed employee personal leave in addition to any minimum personal leave allowance, under the condition that there shall be deducted from the salary of such licensed employee the actual amount of any compensation paid to any person as a substitute, necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee. Any unused portion of the total personal leave allowance up to five (5) days shall be carried over to the next school year and credited to such licensed employee if the licensed employee remains employed in the same school district. Any personal leave allowed for a furlough day shall not be carried over to the next school year.

(b) Notwithstanding the restrictions on the use of personal leave prescribed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, a licensed employee may use personal leave as follows:

(i) Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee is being deployed for military service.

(ii) Personal leave may be taken on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if an employee of a school district has either a minimum of ten (10) years' experience as an employee of that school district or a minimum of thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave that has been earned while employed in that school district.

(iii) Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, the employee has been summoned to appear for jury duty or as a witness in court.

(iv) Personal leave may be taken on the first day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee dies or funeral services are held. Any day of the three (3) bereavement days may be used at the discretion of the teacher, and are not required to be taken in consecutive succession.

For the purpose of this subsection (3), the term “ immediate family member ” means spouse, parent, stepparent, child or stepchild, grandparent or sibling, including a stepbrother or stepsister.

(4) Beginning with the school year 1992-1993, each licensed employee shall be credited with a professional leave allowance, with pay, for each day of absence caused by reason of such employee's statutorily required membership and attendance at a regular or special meeting held within the State of Mississippi of the State Board of Education, the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development, the Commission on School Accreditation, the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, the meetings of the state textbook rating committees or other meetings authorized by local school board policy.

(5) Upon retirement from employment, each licensed and nonlicensed employee shall be paid for not more than thirty (30) days of unused accumulated leave earned while employed by the school district in which the employee is last employed. Such payment for licensed employees shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the amount paid to substitute teachers and for nonlicensed employees, the payment shall be made by the school district at a rate equal to the federal minimum wage. The payment shall be treated in the same manner for retirement purposes as a lump-sum payment for personal leave as provided in Section 25-11-103(f) . Any remaining lawfully credited unused leave, for which payment has not been made, shall be certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System in the same manner and subject to the same limitations as otherwise provided by law for unused leave. No payment for unused accumulated leave may be made to either a licensed or nonlicensed employee at termination or separation from service for any purpose other than for the purpose of retirement.

(6) The school board may adopt rules and regulations which will reasonably aid to implement the policy of sick and personal leave, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations having the following general effect:

(a) Requiring the absent employee to furnish the certificate of a physician or dentist or other medical practitioner as to the illness of the absent licensed employee, where the absence is for four (4) or more consecutive school days, or for two (2) consecutive school days immediately preceding or following a nonschool day;

(b) Providing penalties, by way of full deduction from salary, or entry on the work record of the employee, or other appropriate penalties, for any materially false statement by the employee as to the cause of absence;

(c) Forfeiture of accumulated or future sick leave, if the absence of the employee is caused by optional dental or medical treatment or surgery which could, without medical risk, have been provided, furnished or performed at a time when school was not in session;

(d) Enlarging, increasing or providing greater sick or personal leave allowances than the minimum standards established by this section in the discretion of the school board of each school district.

(7) School boards may include in their budgets provisions for the payment of substitute employees, necessitated because of the absence of regular licensed employees. All such substitute employees shall be paid wholly from district funds. Such school boards, in their discretion, also may pay, from district funds other than the total funding formula funds provided for in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 , the whole or any part of the salaries of all employees granted leaves for the purpose of special studies or training.

(8) The school board may further adopt rules and regulations which will reasonably implement such leave policies for all other nonlicensed and hourly paid school employees as the board deems appropriate. Effective for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, nonlicensed employees shall be credited with an additional one-half ( 1 / 2 ) day of personal leave for every day the nonlicensed employee is furloughed without pay as provided in Section 37-7-308 .

(9) Vacation leave granted to either licensed or nonlicensed employees shall be synonymous with personal leave. Unused vacation or personal leave accumulated by licensed employees in excess of the maximum five (5) days which may be carried over from one year to the next may be converted to sick leave. The annual conversion of unused vacation or personal leave to sick days for licensed or unlicensed employees shall not exceed the allowable number of personal leave days as provided in Section 25-3-93 . The annual total number of converted unused vacation and/or personal days added to the annual unused sick days for any employee shall not exceed the combined allowable number of days per year provided in Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95 . Local school board policies that provide for vacation, personal and sick leave for employees shall not exceed the provisions for leave as provided in Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95 . Any personal or vacation leave previously converted to sick leave under a lawfully adopted policy before May 1, 2004, or such personal or vacation leave accumulated and available for use prior to May 1, 2004, under a lawfully adopted policy but converted to sick leave after May 1, 2004, shall be recognized as accrued leave by the local school district and available for use by the employee. The leave converted under a lawfully adopted policy prior to May 1, 2004, or such personal and vacation leave accumulated and available for use as of May 1, 2004, which was subsequently converted to sick leave may be certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System upon termination of employment and any such leave previously converted and certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System shall be recognized.

(10)(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed in this paragraph unless the context requires otherwise:

(i) “ Catastrophic injury or illness ” means a life-threatening injury or illness of an employee or a member of an employee's immediate family that totally incapacitates the employee from work, as verified by a licensed physician, and forces the employee to exhaust all leave time earned by that employee, resulting in the loss of compensation from the local school district for the employee. Conditions that are short-term in nature, including, but not limited to, common illnesses such as influenza and the measles, and common injuries, are not catastrophic. Chronic illnesses or injuries, such as cancer or major surgery, that result in intermittent absences from work and that are long-term in nature and require long recuperation periods may be considered catastrophic.

(ii) “ Immediate family ” means spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, child or stepchild, grandparent, stepbrother or stepsister.

(b) Any school district employee may donate a portion of his or her unused accumulated personal leave or sick leave to another employee of the same school district who is suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness or who has a member of his or her immediate family suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, in accordance with the following:

(i) The employee donating the leave (the “donor employee”) shall designate the employee who is to receive the leave (the “recipient employee”) and the amount of unused accumulated personal leave and sick leave that is to be donated, and shall notify the school district superintendent or his designee of his or her designation.

(ii) The maximum amount of unused accumulated personal leave that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed a number of days that would leave the donor employee with fewer than seven (7) days of personal leave remaining, and the maximum amount of unused accumulated sick leave that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the unused accumulated sick leave of the donor employee.

(iii) An employee must have exhausted all of his or her available leave before he or she will be eligible to receive any leave donated by another employee. Eligibility for donated leave shall be based upon review and approval by the donor employee's supervisor.

(iv) Before an employee may receive donated leave, he or she must provide the school district superintendent or his designee with a physician's statement that states that the illness meets the catastrophic criteria established under this section, the beginning date of the catastrophic injury or illness, a description of the injury or illness, and a prognosis for recovery and the anticipated date that the recipient employee will be able to return to work.

(v) Before an employee may receive donated leave, the superintendent of education of the school district shall appoint a review committee to approve or disapprove the said donations of leave, including the determination that the illness is catastrophic within the meaning of this section.

(vi) If the total amount of leave that is donated to any employee is not used by the recipient employee, the whole days of donated leave shall be returned to the donor employees on a pro rata basis, based on the ratio of the number of days of leave donated by each donor employee to the total number of days of leave donated by all donor employees.

(vii) Donated leave shall not be used in lieu of disability retirement.

(11) Effective January 1, 2020, the provisions of this section shall be fully applicable to any licensed employee of the Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA).
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-121 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 115-121
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-115-121
Status: in_force

The new building, currently under construction at the University of Mississippi School of Law, located in Oxford, Mississippi, shall be named the “Robert C. Khayat Law Center.” The University of Mississippi School of Law shall prepare a distinctive plaque, to be placed in a prominent place within the building, which states the background, accomplishments and service to the university of Dr. Khayat.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-41 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 13-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-41
Status: in_force

All principals and/or superintendents of public schools in all school districts in Mississippi shall report to their county superintendent of education upon forms prepared and sent to the county superintendent of education by the director of the division of instruction, giving the type and amount of work done in each grade of their respective school, with other information that may be desired by the director. The county superintendents of education shall compile this information on forms sent out by the director. This shall be made in duplicate, one (1) copy to be sent to the director, and the other filed as other public records are filed in the county superintendents' offices. This report shall be made to the director by the county superintendents of education not later than the first of June each year.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-283 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 101-283
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-283
Status: in_force

Each male applicant for any scholarship or loan funded in whole or in part by this state, whether granted by the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning, the post-secondary education financial assistance board, or otherwise granted by any state-supported college or university, and whether to be used at a state-supported institution of higher learning or at a private institution, shall within six (6) months after he attains the age of eighteen (18) years submit to the person, commission, board or agency in which his application for scholarship or loan is or has been made satisfactory evidence of his compliance with the draft registration requirements of the military selective service act. Such evidence shall consist of a signed affirmation under penalty of perjury from the scholarship or loan applicant that he has complied with the requirements of the federal selective service act. If an applicant for or holder of any such scholarship or loan fails to submit a copy of his draft registration acknowledgment letter in the manner and within the time allowed therefor, any pending application of such person for the award, grant or renewal of any such scholarship or loan shall be denied, and any such scholarship or loan currently held by such person shall be revoked to the extent that no further payments under that scholarship or loan may be made to him or on his behalf. The person, commission, board or agency to which an application for the award, grant or renewal of such scholarship or loan is made, or by or through which any such scholarship or loan is administered or issued shall notify the applicant or holder and the chief executive officer of any institution at which a holder of a scholarship or loan so revoked is enrolled of its action, and upon request of the scholarship or loan applicant or holder shall afford him the opportunity, either in person, in writing or by counsel of his choice to present evidence against such action.