Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 28-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-28-15
Status: in_force

(1) To solicit, encourage and guide the development of quality charter school applications, the authorizer shall issue and publicize a request for proposals before September 1 of each year; however, during 2013, the authorizer shall issue and publicize a request for proposals before December 1. The content and dissemination of the request for proposals must be consistent with the purposes and requirements of this chapter.

(2) The authorizer annually shall establish and disseminate a statewide timeline for charter approval or denial decisions.

(3) The authorizer's request for proposals must include the following:

(a) A clear statement of any preferences the authorizer wishes to grant to applications intended to help underserved students;

(b) A description of the performance framework that the authorizer has developed for charter school oversight and evaluation in accordance with Section 37-28-29 ;

(c) The criteria that will guide the authorizer's decision to approve or deny a charter application; and

(d) A clear statement of appropriately detailed questions, as well as guidelines, concerning the format and content essential for applicants to demonstrate the capacities necessary to establish and operate a successful charter school.

(4) In addition to all other requirements, the request for proposals must require charter applications to provide or describe thoroughly all of the following mandatory elements of the proposed school plan:

(a) An executive summary;

(b) The mission and vision of the proposed charter school, including identification of the targeted student population and the community the school hopes to serve;

(c) The location or geographic area proposed for the school;

(d) The grades to be served each year for the full term of the charter contract;

(e) Minimum, planned and maximum enrollment per grade per year for the term of the charter contract;

(f) Evidence of need and community support for the proposed charter school;

(g) Background information, including proof of United States citizenship, on the applicants, the proposed founding governing board members and, if identified, members of the proposed school leadership and management team. The background information must include annual student achievement data, disaggregated by subgroup, for every school under the current or prior management of each board member and leadership team member;

(h) The school's proposed calendar, including the proposed opening and closing dates for the school term, and a sample daily schedule. The school must be kept in session no less than the minimum number of school days established for all public schools in Section 37-13-63 ;

(i) A description of the school's academic program, aligned with state standards;

(j) A description of the school's instructional design, including the type of learning environment (such as classroom-based or independent study), class size and structure, curriculum overview and teaching methods;

(k) The school's plan for using internal and external assessments to measure and report student progress on the performance framework developed by the authorizer in accordance with Section 37-28-29 ;

(l) The school's plan for identifying and successfully serving students with disabilities (including all of the school's proposed policies pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, 20 USCS Section 1400 et seq., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USCS Section 794 , and Title 11 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 USCS Section 12101 et seq., and the school's procedures for securing and providing evaluations and related services pursuant to federal law), students who are English language learners, students who are academically behind, and gifted students, including, but not limited to, compliance with any applicable laws and regulations;

(m) A description of cocurricular or extracurricular programs and how those programs will be funded and delivered;

(n) Plans and timelines for student recruitment and enrollment, including lottery policies and procedures that ensure that every student has an equal opportunity to be considered in the lottery and that the lottery is equitable, randomized, transparent and impartial so that students are accepted in a charter school without regard to disability, income level, race, religion or national origin;

(o) The school's student discipline policies, including those for special education students;

(p) An organizational chart that clearly presents the school's organizational structure, including lines of authority and reporting between the governing board, education service provider, staff, related bodies (such as advisory bodies or parent and teacher councils), and all other external organizations that will play a role in managing the school;

(q) A clear description of the roles and responsibilities of the governing board, education service provider, school leadership team, management team and all other entities shown in the organizational chart;

(r) A staffing chart for the school's first year, and a staffing plan for the term of the charter;

(s) Plans for recruiting and developing school leadership and staff, which may not include utilization of nonimmigrant foreign worker visa programs;

(t) The school's leadership and teacher employment policies, including performance evaluation plans;

(u) Proposed governing bylaws;

(v) Explanations of any partnerships or contractual relationships central to the school's operations or mission;

(w) The school's plans for providing transportation, food service and all other significant operational or ancillary services;

(x) Opportunities and expectations for parent involvement;

(y) A detailed school start-up plan, identifying tasks, timelines and responsible individuals;

(z) A description of the school's financial plans and policies, including financial controls and audit requirements;

(aa) A description of the insurance coverage the school will obtain;

(bb) Start-up and five-year budgets with clearly stated assumptions;

(cc) Start-up and first-year cash flow projections with clearly stated assumptions;

(dd) A disclosure of all sources of private funding and all funds from foreign sources, including gifts from foreign governments, foreign legal entities and domestic entities affiliated with either foreign governments or foreign legal entities. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “ foreign ” means a country or jurisdiction outside of any state or territory of the United States;

(ee) Evidence of anticipated fundraising contributions, if claimed in the application; and

(ff) A sound facilities plan, including backup or contingency plans if appropriate.

(5) In the case of an application to establish a charter school by converting an existing noncharter public school to charter school status, the request for proposals additionally shall require the applicant to demonstrate support for the proposed charter school conversion by a petition signed by a majority of teachers or a majority of parents of students in the existing noncharter public school, or by a majority vote of the local school board or, in the case of schools in districts under state conservatorship, by the State Board of Education.

(6) In the case of a proposed charter school that intends to contract with an education service provider for substantial educational services, management services or both types of services, the request for proposals additionally shall require the applicant to:

(a) Provide evidence of the education service provider's success in serving student populations similar to the targeted population, including demonstrated academic achievement as well as successful management of nonacademic school functions, if applicable;

(b) Provide a term sheet setting forth: the proposed duration of the service contract; roles and responsibilities of the governing board, the school staff and the education service provider; the scope of services and resources to be provided by the education service provider; performance evaluation measures and timelines; the compensation structure, including clear identification of all fees to be paid to the education service provider; methods of contract oversight and enforcement; investment disclosure; and conditions for renewal and termination of the contract;

(c) Disclose and explain any existing or potential conflicts of interest between the school governing board and proposed service provider or any affiliated business entities; and

(d) Background information, including proof of United States citizenship, on the principal individuals affiliated with the education service provider.

(7) In the case of a charter school proposal from an applicant that currently operates one or more schools in any state or nation, the request for proposals additionally shall require the applicant to provide evidence of past performance and current capacity for growth. The applicant shall be required to submit clear evidence that it has produced statistically significant gains in student achievement or consistently produced proficiency levels as measured on state achievement tests.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 155-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-7
Status: in_force

(1) The board of directors shall consist of thirteen (13) members as follows:

(a) Nine (9) voting members as follows: the State Treasurer; the Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee; the Executive Director of the Community and Junior College Board, or his designee; the Department of Finance and Administration Executive Director, or his designee; and one (1) member from each Mississippi Supreme Court District and two (2) from the state at large to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The MPACT Board of Directors, created by former Section 37-155-7, is continued and reconstituted as follows: Effective January 1, 2028, the appointed MPACT Board members shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of office of four (4) years, provided that three (3) such members shall be appointed in 2028 to a term ending December 31, 2031, and two (2) such members shall be appointed in 2030 to a term ending December 31, 2033. Appointments made at the beginning of the four-year cycle shall be made to fill any member's term which actually expires that year and any member's term which expires next until the majority of the membership of the board or commission is reached. Appointments made at the beginning of the third year of the four-year cycle shall be made for the remainder of the membership positions irrespective of the time of their prior appointment. Any question regarding the order of appointments shall be determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with the specific statute. All appointment procedures, vacancy provisions, interim appointment provisions and removal provisions specifically provided for in Section 7-1-35, Mississippi Code of 1972 , shall be fully applicable to appointments to the MPACT Board of Directors. Ex officio members of the board may be represented at official meetings by their deputy, or other designee, and such designees shall have full voting privileges and shall be included in the determination of a quorum for conducting board business.

(b) Two (2) nonvoting, advisory members of the board shall be appointed by each of the following officers: the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Each member appointed shall possess knowledge, skill and experience in business or financial matters commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the trust fund.

(3) Members of the board of directors shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for each day's official duties of the board at the same per diem as established by Section 25-3-69 and actual travel and lodging expenses as established by Section 25-3-41 .

(4) The board of directors shall annually elect one (1) member to serve as chairman of the board and one (1) member to serve as vice chairman. The vice chairman shall act as chairman in the absence of or upon the disability of the chairman or in the event of a vacancy of the office of chairman.

(5) A majority of the currently serving members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting business and exercising its official powers and duties. Any action taken by the board shall be upon the vote of a majority of the members present.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-61-27 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 61-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-61-27
Status: in_force

If any member of the school board or the superintendent of schools disbursing and handling school funds shall fail, refuse or neglect to comply with the provisions of Section 37-61-9 , he shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for such failure, refusal or neglect for each offense. In addition thereto, he shall be liable to a penalty of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) recoverable on his official bond by suit filed by any county or district attorney or any interested citizen, upon his official bond.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-20 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 11-20
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-20
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten or coerce, whether by illegal force, threats of force or by the distribution of intimidating, threatening or coercive material, any person enrolled in any school for the purpose of interfering with the right of that person to attend school classes or of causing him not to attend such classes.

Upon conviction of violation of any provision of this section, such individual shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), imprisonment in jail for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or both. Any person under the age of seventeen (17) years who violates any provision of this section shall be treated as a delinquent within the jurisdiction of the youth court.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 25-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-25-17
Status: in_force

Such assessments as are collected under subsections (1) and (2) of Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in the Driver Training Penalty Assessment Fund, which fund is hereby created, to be used exclusively as provided in this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-185-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 185-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-185-3
Status: in_force

As used in Sections 37-185-1 through 37-185-9 , the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed unless the context otherwise requires:

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

(b) “ CARES Act ” means the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

(c) “ Eligible independent school ” means any private or nonpublic school operating within the State of Mississippi that:

(i) Is a member of the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) and located in the State of Mississippi; or

(ii) Is accredited by a state, regional or national accrediting organization; and

(iii) Is not subject to the purview of authority of the State Board of Education.

“ Eligible independent school ” includes independent universities that are accredited by a state, regional or national accrediting organization and are not subject to the purview of authority of the State Institutions of Higher Learning.

(d) “ Interruption in learning ” means disruption of regular educational instruction in a school facility resulting from required or voluntary closure related to COVID-19.

(e) “ Public health measure ” means any action reasonably taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the educational setting.

(f) “ Eligible expense ” means a cost incurred by an independent school for public health measures or due to interruption in learning from March 1, 2020 through December 30, 2020. Such eligible expenses may consist of:

(i) Training and professional development of local school staff regarding measures to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and familiarity with technology programs and devices to facilitate distance learning;

(ii) Purchasing facility sanitization supplies and other expenses of disinfection of the independent school's facilities to mitigate or respond to COVID-19;

(iii) Purchasing technology programs and equipment for the expansion of internet connectivity and broadband access within the school facility to be used by school administrators, faculty and staff to facilitate online distance learning;

(iv) Purchasing necessary equipment and accommodations and providing adequate services for students with disabilities;

(v) Purchasing medical supplies and personal protection equipment (PPE);

(vi) Developing infrastructure necessary at the community or junior colleges to increase capacity in workforce development or skills training classes for students who are unemployed, underemployed or seeking new employment as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19; or

(vii) Medical expenses incurred by the independent school to treat or dispense COVID-19, including COVID-19 testing and serological testing, emergency medical response and transportation, and telemedicine expenses related to COVID-19.

No cost will be considered an eligible expense if found to be ineligible under the guidelines, guidance, rules, regulations and/or other criteria, as may be amended from time to time, of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding the use of monies from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the CARES Act.

(g) “ MDA ” means the Mississippi Development Authority.

(h) “ Grant ” means an award by the MDA to an independent school to cover eligible expenses in accordance with Sections 37-185-1 through 37-185-9 .

(i) “ Program ” means the Independent Schools' COVID-19 Assistance Grant Program established in Sections 37-185-1 through 37-185-9 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-140-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 140-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-140-15
Status: in_force

(1) The State Board of Education may enter into agreements with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra for providing classical music educational services to students in Grades Kindergarten through 12 at the Mississippi School of the Arts or at any other public school facility in Mississippi, subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature. Such educational services shall include: (a) music history, music instrument, and music performance instruction in the classroom; (b) symphony concerts for the students, programmed to support and enhance the teaching of history, literature and science; (c) chamber ensemble and chamber orchestra performances where members serve as educators as well as performers; (d) organizing and developing student performing ensembles, where members serve as music instrument instructors, conductors and performers; (e) symphony concerts for students, parents and other residents to enhance the position of the school as center of the local community; and (f) other services to be determined by agreement.

(2) The State Board of Education is encouraged to enter into contractual agreements with professional arts organizations, including the Mississippi Museum of Art, New Stage Theatre and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, for providing instruction, concerts, exhibits, performances and other outreach programs at the Mississippi School of the Arts or at any other public school facility in Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-14-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 14-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-14-7
Status: in_force

(1) There is established in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell-Mary Sprayberry Public School Nurse Program Fund, which shall be comprised of the funds specified in subsection (2) of this section and any other funds that are authorized or required to be deposited into the special fund.

(2) The Legislature shall annually appropriate the funds in the special fund to the Office of Healthy Schools of the State Department of Education, which shall expend the funds solely for the purposes specified in Section 37-14-3 . None of the funds in the special fund may be transferred to any other fund or appropriated or expended for any other purpose.

(3) All income from the investment of the funds in the special fund shall be credited to the account of the special fund. Any funds in the special fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-175 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 33-175
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-175
Status: in_force

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) If the recipient does not work as a rehabilitation specialist or a benefit program specialist at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for the period required under subsection (2)(d) of this section, the recipient shall be liable for repayment on demand of the remaining portion of the compensation that the recipient was paid while in the program which has not been unconditionally earned, with interest accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum from the recipient's date of graduation or the date that the recipient last worked at the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, whichever is the later date.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-69 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 13-69
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-69
Status: in_force

All public schools of this state may observe such legal holidays as may be designated by the local school board, and no sessions of school shall be held on holidays so designated and observed. However, all schools shall operate for the full minimum term required by law exclusive of the holidays authorized by this section. The holidays thus observed shall not be deducted from the reports of the superintendents, principals and teachers, and such superintendents, principals and teachers shall be allowed pay for full time as though they had taught on those holidays. However, such holidays shall not be counted or included in any way in determining the net enrollment of the school.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-144-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 144-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-144-9
Status: in_force

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

(2) Students in the program may receive tuition or other financial support that may be provided by the commission. If a student in the program is admitted to and completes medical or osteopathic school, any tuition or other educational and living support provided to the student by the commission will be forgiven. However, if the student is not successful in being accepted into medical or osteopathic school within three (3) years of entry into the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program, or if the student otherwise breaches his or her agreement with the commission, all financial assistance provided to the student must be repaid according to policies adopted by the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 31-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-9
Status: in_force

The state treasurer is hereby designated and appointed custodian of all moneys received by the state from the appropriations made by the “Smith-Hughes Act,” and he is authorized to receive and to provide for the proper custody of the same, and to make disbursements thereof in the manner provided for in said act and for the purposes therein specified. He shall also pay out any moneys appropriated by the State of Mississippi for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of Sections 37-31-1 through 37-31-15 upon the order of the state board of education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-173-23 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 173-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-173-23
Status: in_force

Teachers and other school personnel shall be subject to criminal history record checks and fingerprinting requirements applicable to other public schools under Section 37-9-17(2) and (3) .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / 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. § 37-59-43 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 59-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-43
Status: in_force

(1) Whenever any school district or levying authority, as defined in Section 37-57-1(1)(b) , acting on behalf of a school district, shall have on hand any bond and interest funds, any funds derived from the sale of bonds, or any other funds in excess of the sums which will be required for payment of current obligations and expenses as they come due, and which are not needed or cannot by law be used for the payment of the current obligations or expenses of the school district, the school board of the district shall have the power and authority to invest such excess funds in any bonds or other direct obligations of the United States of America or the State of Mississippi, or of any county or municipality of this state, which such county or municipal bonds have been approved by a reputable bond attorney or have been validated by a decree of the chancery court; or in interest-bearing time certificates of deposit or interest-bearing accounts with or through any financial institution approved for the deposit of state funds; and such institution shall be eligible to hold school district funds to the extent that it is qualified as a depository for state funds; or in any type of investment permitted by Sections 27-105-33(d) and 27-105-33(e) . The rate of interest on such time certificates of deposit and interest-bearing accounts may be negotiated. The negotiated rate of interest shall be at the highest rate possible at the date of purchase or investment for such time certificates of deposit or interest-bearing accounts. In any event, the bonds or obligations in which such funds are invested shall mature or be redeemable prior to the time the funds so invested will be needed for expenditure. When bonds or other obligations have been so purchased, the same may be sold or surrendered for redemption at any time, except certificates of deposit which must mature, by order or resolution of such school board, and the president of the school board, when authorized by such order or resolution, shall have the power and authority to execute all instruments and take such other action as may be necessary to effectuate the sale or redemption thereof. In addition to the foregoing, any school board may invest any such funds in the same manner as provided for the investment of sixteenth section principal funds pursuant to Section 29-3-113 .

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall also apply to funds of community and junior college districts, and the governing authorities of such districts are vested with all power and authority with respect to such funds and matters herein mentioned as are vested in the other boards mentioned above with respect to such matters.

(3) All earnings from funds other than bond funds or bond sinking funds in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) in any fiscal year, invested according to the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall be deposited in the district fund from which the investment was made, or the treasury of the junior college, as the case may be. Earnings from such school district funds which are less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) in any fiscal year may be deposited in the school district maintenance fund, or in the district fund from which the investment was made, in the discretion of the school board. Earnings from funds invested out of bond funds or bond sinking funds, together with the principal thereof, shall be deposited in the fund from which the investment was made.

(4) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent the payment of a portion of the earnings derived from the investment of bond proceeds or any other amounts in the bond fund or related reserve or sinking funds to the federal government to the extent required by the federal laws applicable to such bonds or the interest income thereon in order to maintain their tax exempt status.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-47 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 41-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-47
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for a driver of any school bus, whether a public or a contract bus, to drive said bus at a speed greater than forty-five (45) miles per hour while transporting children to and from school on regular routes; however, the maximum speed for interstate highways shall be sixty-five (65) miles per hour. However, any such driver, while operating a school bus on other authorized trips, shall not drive said school bus at a speed greater than fifty (50) miles per hour, except the maximum speed for interstate highways shall be sixty-five (65) miles per hour. Any person who shall violate 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 such offense. In addition thereto, upon such conviction, such driver may be discharged from further employment as a school bus driver or carrier and his contract as such may be terminated.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-175-29 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 175-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-175-29
Status: in_force

The inclusion of eligible nonpublic schools within options available to Mississippi public school students does not expand the regulatory authority of the state, its officers, or any school district to impose any additional regulation of nonpublic schools beyond those reasonably necessary to enforce requirements expressly set forth in this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-103 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 65-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-103
Status: in_force

The decision or determination to close any one or more or all schools of the district shall be effectuated and evidenced by an order of such board of trustees directing the same, entered upon the minutes of such board, and the same shall be sufficient by an adjudication or determination therein of any one or more reasons authorizing such action as set out in Section 37-65-101 , and it shall not be necessary to include in said order any fact or detail other than the said reason or reasons above mentioned.

Any one or more or all schools of the district which may be closed, as hereinabove provided for, shall remain closed until further order of said board of trustees made and entered upon its minutes opening such school or schools or all schools of the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-485 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 7-485
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-485
Status: in_force

(1) This section shall be referred to as the “School Property Development Act of 2005.” It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall provide school boards with an alternative optional method of disposal of surplus school property that may generate greater returns to the district than a public disposal sale, or to promote or stimulate economic development within the school district or to promote, stabilize or enhance property and tax values within the school district.

(2) The school board of any school district shall be authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to sell, convey or exchange a partial interest, undivided interest or any other interest in real property (other than sixteenth section public school trust land), in whole or in part, for a nonoperational interest in any proposed development of the property, including ownership of shares of a domestic corporation or a membership interest in a limited liability company or a limited partnership interest, any of which is organized for the operation of any project, development or activity that, in the discretion of the school board, will have the potential for fostering economic development activities, increasing property values, increasing student development or enhancing public safety. The school board may contract with any other governmental entity, university or community college, corporation, person or other legal entity for the development, design, construction, financing, ownership or operation of any project, development or activity and may issue notes, leases, bonds or other written obligations to finance such activities. The school board may pledge any revenues or taxes it is to receive from such sale, conveyance or exchange, including any shares of a corporation or membership interest in a limited liability company or limited partnership interest under this subsection or under Sections 37-7-471 through 37-7-483 , to secure the repayment of any notes, leases (excluding leases of sixteenth section public school trust land), bonds or other written obligations of the district issued under any provision of state law. Any such pledge of revenues or other monies shall be valid and binding from the date the pledge is made; such revenues or other monies so pledged and thereafter received by the school district shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the school district irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolutions, contracts or any other instrument by which a pledge is created need be recorded. Any debt secured in whole or in part by a pledge of such revenues or other monies shall not be subject to or included in any debt limitation imposed on the issuance of such debt. This subsection (2) shall not be construed to apply to sixteenth section public school trust land.

(3) The school board shall use sound business practices when executing exchanges as provided in this section. The school board may utilize the services of the Mississippi Development Authority, the local planning and development district or the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning when executing exchanges as provided in this section. The local school board shall require, in any project exceeding Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) that the party with whom the school board is contracting shall provide the following information, at a minimum:

(a) A two-year business plan (which shall include pro forma balance sheets, income statements and monthly cash flow statements);

(b) Financial statements and tax returns for the three (3) years immediately prior to the date the contract is formed;

(c) Credit reports on all persons or entities with a twenty percent (20%) or greater interest in the entity;

(d) Data supporting the expertise of the entity's principals;

(e) A cost benefit analysis of the project performed by the Mississippi Development Authority, a state institution of higher learning or other entity selected by the local school board; and

(f) Any other information required by the local school board.

This subsection (3) shall not be construed to apply to sixteenth section public school trust land.

(4) The local school board shall make public record any final and signed contract created under this section.

(5) No person involved in any economic development project entered into by a school board under the provisions of this section shall be related by consanguinity or affinity within the third degree to any member of the school board or the superintendent or any assistant superintendent of the school district, nor shall any such person have an interest in any business or have an economic relationship with any member of the school board or the superintendent or any assistant superintendent of the school district.

(6) No person, or any agent, subsidiary or parent corporation or firm owned in whole or in part by the person shall be eligible to bid or otherwise participate in the construction, contracting, or subcontracting on any project or part thereof for which the person has been hired to perform construction program management services. Any contract for public construction that violates this provision shall be void and against the public policy of the state. For purposes of this subsection, the term “ construction program management services ” means a set of management and technical services rendered by a person or firm to a public sector building owner during the predesign, design, construction, or post-construction phases of new construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or renovation projects. These services include any one or more of the following: project planning, budgeting, scheduling, coordination, design management, construction administration, or facility occupancy actions, but shall not include any component of the actual construction work. The term does not include the services performed by the general contractor who is engaged to perform the construction work, or services customarily performed by licensed architects or registered engineers.

(7) This section shall be supplemental and additional to any powers conferred by other laws on school districts. However, this section shall not grant any authority to a school board to issue debt in any amount that is not otherwise expressly provided for by law, and shall not grant any authority to impose, levy or collect any tax that is not otherwise expressly provided for by law.

(8) If a school board exercises its option to enter into a development agreement or other contract under this section or to transfer any property or interest therein to a third party for purposes of future development, the following conditions shall apply:

(a) The board shall have the express authority to retain a deed of trust or such other security interest in the property in an amount equal at least to the value of the property at the time of such transfer, less any consideration paid by the developer or other parties;

(b) The liability of the school board and the school district under any such development agreement shall be limited to the value of any retained property interest in the development agreement or the property that is the subject of the development agreement. Neither the school board nor the district shall be liable to any party nor shall it indemnify or hold harmless any party for any liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, settlements, claims, actions, suits, proceedings or judgments of any kind and nature, costs, expenses, or attorney's fees incurred by such party or parties for any act or action arising out of, or in connection with any development agreement entered into by the school board, other than the value of the retained ownership interest in the property that was conveyed under such development agreement.

(9) Before entering into any transaction as provided in this section, the school board members shall certify that they are in compliance with Section 25-4-25 regarding filings of statements of economic interest with the Mississippi Ethics Commission and that they will receive no direct or indirect pecuniary benefit as a result of the transaction or be in violation of the provisions of Section 25-4-105 regarding the improper use of official position.

(10) [Deleted]

(11) Any property developed by a school district under this section shall be deemed to be for “school purposes” or for “educational purposes.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-12-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 12-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-12-13
Status: in_force

This chapter shall not be construed to limit the authority of any public school to do any of the following:

(a) Maintain order and discipline on the campus of the public school in a content and viewpoint neutral manner.

(b) Protect the safety of students, employees and visitors of the public school.

(c) Adopt and enforce policies and procedures regarding student speech at school provided that the policies and procedures do not violate the rights of students as guaranteed by the United States and Mississippi constitutions and laws.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-2 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 101-2
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-2
Status: in_force

There is hereby established within the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning a Welfare Policy Institute at a campus location to be designated by the board of trustees. The purpose of the institute shall be to research and gather empirical information regarding the social and welfare programs authorized under Sections 37-101-2 , 43-1-8 , 43-1-10 , 43-1-30 , 43-13-115 , 43-17-1 , 43-17-5 , and 43-49-1 through 43-49-15 and to write grant proposals regarding the policy implications of such program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 33-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-15
Status: in_force

The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation 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. The Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation shall devote his or her full time to the administration of vocational rehabilitation. In carrying out his or her duties under the Vocational Rehabilitation 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 vocational rehabilitation services, 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 Vocational Rehabilitation 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 vocational rehabilitation;

(f) Shall, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, appoint boards as required by federal law and regulations;

(g) Shall, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, take such other action as he or she deems necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation Law;

(h) May, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, 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 Vocational Rehabilitation Law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-159-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 159-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-159-1
Status: in_force

Sections 37-159-1 through 37-159-19 shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-59 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 27-59
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-59
Status: in_force

Except as provided in Sections 37-27-51 through 37-27-57 , all laws of the State of Mississippi relative to the operation and government of schools shall be applicable to pupils attending agricultural high schools or junior colleges under the provisions of said sections.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-125-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 125-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-125-5
Status: in_force

The Jackson State College shall be located on the property situated near the city of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, and containing forty-nine acres more or less north of the Y. & M. V. railroad, west of Dalton street, section 9, township 6, range 1, east, and otherwise known as Jackson College.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-37-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 37-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-37-3
Status: in_force

In addition to all auditors and other employees now or hereafter provided by law, the State Auditor may appoint and employ examiners in the Department of Audit. The examiners shall make such audits as may be necessary to determine the correctness and accuracy of all reports made to the State Department of Education by any school district or school official concerning the number of educable students in any school district, the number of students enrolled in any school district, the number of students in net enrollment in any school district, and the number of students being transported or entitled to transportation to any of the public schools of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-9
Status: in_force

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) and subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, no child shall be enrolled or admitted to any kindergarten which is a part of a public school during any school year unless such child will reach his fifth birthday on or before September 1 of said school year, and no child shall be enrolled or admitted to the first grade in any public school during any school year unless such child will reach his sixth birthday on or before September 1 of said school year. No pupil shall be permanently enrolled in a public school in the State of Mississippi who formerly was enrolled in another public or private school within the state until the cumulative record of the pupil shall have been received from the school from which he transferred. Should such record have become lost or destroyed, then it shall be the duty of the superintendent or principal of the school where the pupil last attended school to initiate a new record.

(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, any child who transfers from an out-of-state public or private school in which that state's law provides for a first-grade or kindergarten enrollment date subsequent to September 1, shall be allowed to enroll in the public schools of Mississippi, at the same grade level as their prior out-of-state enrollment, if:

(a) The parent, legal guardian or custodian of such child was a legal resident of the state from which the child is transferring;

(b) The out-of-state school from which the child is transferring is duly accredited by that state's appropriate accrediting authority;

(c) Such child was legally enrolled in a public or private school for a minimum of four (4) weeks in the previous state; and

(d) The superintendent of schools in the applicable Mississippi school district or the principal of a charter school, as the case may be, has determined that the child was making satisfactory educational progress in the previous state.

(3) When any child applies for admission or enrollment in any public school in the state, the parent, guardian or child, in the absence of an accompanying parent or guardian, shall indicate on the school registration form if the enrolling child has been expelled from any public or private school or is currently a party to an expulsion proceeding. If it is determined from the child's cumulative record or application for admission or enrollment that the child has been expelled, the school district or charter school may deny the student admission and enrollment until the superintendent of the school, or his designee, or principal of the charter school, as the case may be, has reviewed the child's cumulative record and determined that the child has participated in successful rehabilitative efforts including, but not limited to, progress in an alternative school or similar program. If the child is a party to an expulsion proceeding, the child may be admitted to a public school pending final disposition of the expulsion proceeding. If the expulsion proceeding results in the expulsion of the child, the public school may revoke such admission to school. If the child was expelled or is a party to an expulsion proceeding for an act involving violence, weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs or other activity that may result in expulsion, the school district or charter school shall not be required to grant admission or enrollment to the child before one (1) calendar year after the date of the expulsion.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 145-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-3
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter:

(a) “Company” means the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation established pursuant to Section 57-10-167 .

(b) “Board of trustees” means the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

(c) “Guaranty Agency” means the Mississippi Guarantee Student Loan Agency of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-207 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 13-207
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-207
Status: in_force

(1) The State Department of Education is authorized and directed to implement K-12 computer science curriculum based on the 2018 Mississippi College and Career-Readiness Standards for computer science, which includes instruction in, but not limited to:

(a) Computational thinking;

(b) Problem solving;

(c) Programming;

(d) Cyber security;

(e) Data science;

(f) Robotics;

(g) Artificial intelligence and machine learning; and

(h) Other computer science and cyber-related content.

(2) The State Department of Education shall work with the Center for Cyber Education at Mississippi State University to identify and develop K-12 computer science curriculum and delivery options.

(3) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year:

(a) Each local school district shall provide that all middle schools in its school system offer instruction in foundations of computer science;

(b) Each local school district shall provide that fifty percent (50%) of elementary schools in its school system offer a minimum of one (1) hour of instruction in computer science each week;

(c) Each charter school that serves middle or high school students shall offer a course in computer science; and

(d) Each charter school that serves elementary school students shall offer instruction in computer science.

(4) Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year:

(a) Each local school district shall provide that at least fifty percent (50%) of the high schools in its school system offer a course in computer science;

(b) Each local school district shall provide that all elementary schools in its school system offer a minimum of one (1) hour of instruction in exploratory computer science each week.

(5) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, each local school district shall provide that all schools in its school system offer instruction in computer science.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-175-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 175-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-175-15
Status: in_force

(1) Each local school district shall adopt a policy to ensure that students will be screened for speech, language, voice and fluency disorders before the end of Grade 1.

(2) If a student fails the screener, the parent or legal guardian will be notified of the results of the screener.

(3) If a student fails the screener, the school district, in its discretion, may perform a comprehensive speech-language evaluation.

(4) If a parent or a legal guardian of a student who fails the speech-language screener exercises the option to have a subsequent evaluation performed, such evaluation shall be administered by a speech-language pathologist. The subsequent evaluation obtained by the parents shall be considered by the school district for eligibility in the area of speech-language in accordance with the procedures mandated by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for a placement in a speech-language program within the current school or to receive a Mississippi speech-language therapy scholarship for placement in a speech-language program in a nonpublic special purpose school. A parent or legal guardian may provide written notification to the local school district opting out of the mandatory screening provided by the district. The provisions of this section shall not apply to homeschooled students.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 59-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-19
Status: in_force

When a petition signed by a majority of the qualified electors residing within the school district on behalf of which bonds are to be issued, fixing the maximum amount of such bonds, such maximum amount not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), and the purpose or purposes for which they are to be issued, shall be filed with the school board of the school district, praying for the issuance of bonds for any of the purposes enumerated in Section 37-59-3 , the school board shall issue the bonds of such school district in the manner provided in this article, in the amount and for the purpose or purposes set forth in such petition, without the necessity of calling an election upon the question of whether or not such bonds shall be issued. The finding of the school board as to the sufficiency of any such petition shall be final and conclusive, unless such finding be appealed from in the manner provided by law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-169-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 169-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-169-1
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee is created to study, make recommendations and develop a strategic plan on how best to educate and train students with autism or ASD to maximize their potential productivity with the workforce. The committee shall meet at least six (6) times annually, and shall develop an annual plan. The report and plan of the committee, which shall be due annually on July 1, to the Mississippi Legislature, shall detail the progress and problems in creating meaningful progress in the areas of mental health, education, medical and employment for individuals with autism or ASD and their families.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-413 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 29-413
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-413
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District is hereby authorized and empowered to operate junior college attendance centers at Perkinston, Mississippi, in the vicinity of Gulfport and Biloxi and in the vicinity of Pascagoula and Moss Point and at such other places within the district, subject to the approval of the Mississippi Community College Board, as the board of trustees shall determine to be in the best interest of the district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-151 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 13-151
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-151
Status: in_force

Before July 1, 1997, all local school districts shall provide programs of education in home economics, in Grade 10, 11 or 12, which include course work in responsible parenting and family living skills. These programs shall contain instruction to prepare students to understand children's physical, mental, emotional and social growth and development as well as to assume responsibility for their care and guidance, with emphasis on nutrition, emotional health and physical health. All such programs shall be subject to the approval of the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 37-31-205(1)(d) .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-31 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 15-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-31
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (5) of this section, upon the petition in writing of a parent or guardian resident of the school district of an individual student filed or lodged with the president or secretary of the school board of a school district in which the pupil has been enrolled or is qualified to be enrolled as a student under Section 37-15-9 , or upon the aforesaid petition or the initiative of the school board of a school district as to the transfer of a grade or grades, individual students living in one school district or a grade or grades of a school within the districts may be legally transferred to another school district, by the mutual consent of the school boards of all school districts concerned, which consent must be given in writing and spread upon the minutes of such boards.

(b) The school board of the transferring school district to which such petition may be addressed shall act thereon not later than its next regular meeting subsequent to the filing or lodging of the petition, and a failure to act within that time shall constitute a rejection of such request. The school board of the other school district involved (the transferee board) shall act on such request for transfer as soon as possible after the transferor board shall have approved or rejected such transfer and no later than the next regular meeting of the transferee board, and a failure of such transferee board to act within such time shall constitute a rejection of such request. If such a transfer is approved by the transferee board, then such decision shall be final. If such a transfer should be refused by the school board of either school district, then such decision shall be final.

(c) Any legal guardianship formed for the purpose of establishing residency for school district attendance purposes shall not be recognized by the affected school board.

(2)(a) Upon the petition in writing of any parent or guardian who is a resident of Mississippi and is an instructional or licensed employee of a school district, but not a resident of such district, the school board of the employer school district shall consent to the transfer of such employee's dependent school-age children to its district and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the board. Upon the petition in writing of any parent or guardian who is not a resident of Mississippi and who is an instructional or licensed employee of a school district in Mississippi, the school board of the employer school district shall consent to the transfer of such employee's dependent school-age children to its district and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the board.

(b) The school board of any school district, in its discretion, may adopt a uniform policy to allow the enrollment and attendance of the dependent children of noninstructional and nonlicensed employees, who are residents of Mississippi but are not residents of their district. Such policy shall be based upon the employment needs of the district, implemented according to job classification groups and renewed each school year.

(c) The employer transferee school district shall notify in writing the school district from which the pupil or pupils are transferring, and the school board of the transferor school district shall spread the same upon its minutes.

(d) Any such agreement by school boards for the legal transfer of a student shall include a provision providing for the transportation of the student. In the absence of such a provision the responsibility for transporting the student to the transferee school district shall be that of the parent or guardian.

(e) Any school district which accepts a student under the provisions of this subsection shall not assess any tuition fees upon such transferring student in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-19-27 .

(3) Upon the petition in writing of any parent or legal guardian of a school-age child who is a resident of an adjacent school district residing in the geographical situation described in Section 37-15-29(3) , the school board of the school district operating the school located in closer proximity to the residence of the child shall consent to the transfer of the child to its district, and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the board. Any such agreement by school boards for the legal transfer of a student under this subsection shall include a provision for the transportation of the student by either the transferor or the transferee school district. In the event that either the school board of the transferee or the transferor school district shall object to the transfer, it shall have the right to appeal to the State Board of Education whose decision shall be final. However, if the school boards agreeing on the legal transfer of any student shall fail to agree on which district shall provide transportation, the responsibility for transporting the student to the transferee school district shall be that of the parent or guardian.

(4) Upon the petition in writing of any parent or legal guardian of a school-age child who was lawfully transferred to another school district prior to July 1, 1992, as described in Section 37-15-29(4) , the school board of the transferee school district shall consent to the transfer of such child and the transfer of any school-age brother and sister of such child to its district, and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the board.

(5)(a) If the board of trustees of a municipal separate school district with added territory does not have a member who is a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits, upon the petition in writing of any parent or legal guardian of a school-age child who is a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits, the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district and the school board of the school district adjacent to the added territory shall consent to the transfer of the child from the municipal separate school district to the adjacent school district. The agreement must be spread upon the minutes of the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district and the school board of the adjacent school district. The agreement must provide for the transportation of the student. In the absence of such a provision, the parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for transporting the student to the adjacent school district. Any school district that accepts a student under this subsection may not assess any tuition fees against the transferring student.

(b) Before September 1 of each year, the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district shall certify to the State Department of Education the number of students in the added territory of the municipal separate school district who are transferred to the adjacent school district under this subsection. The municipal separate school district also shall certify the total number of students in the school district residing in the added territory plus the number of those students who are transferred to the adjacent school district. Based upon these figures, the department shall calculate the percentage of the total number of students in the added territory who are transferred to the adjacent school district and shall certify this percentage to the levying authority for the municipal separate school district. The levying authority shall remit to the school board of the adjacent school district, from the proceeds of the ad valorem taxes collected for the support of the municipal separate school district from the added territory of the municipal separate school district, an amount equal to the percentage of the total number of students in the added territory who are transferred to the adjacent school district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-173-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 173-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-173-3
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program is established to provide the option to attend a public school other than the one to which assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a nonpublic school of choice, for students with a diagnosis of dyslexia. Students in Grades 1 through 12 who have been properly screened and diagnosed with dyslexia shall be eligible to receive scholarship assistance under this program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-409 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 29-409
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-409
Status: in_force

The operation and control of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District and the college or colleges operated therein shall be vested in a board of trustees representing each of the four (4) counties lying within the district. The board of trustees shall consist of twenty-three (23) members. Of the said number Harrison County shall be entitled to eight (8) members, Stone County shall be entitled to three (3) members, George County shall be entitled to three (3) members and Jackson County shall be entitled to eight (8) members. In no event in the future shall any of the counties have more than the number hereinabove established. The members of the board of trustees from each county shall be elected by the board of supervisors of the county. Except as hereinafter specified the term of office of each trustee shall be five (5) years. The members of the board of trustees serving on July 1, 1989, shall continue to serve until their terms expire. All shall be appointed for a term of five (5) years each. There shall be one (1) additional member of the board who shall be selected by the members of the board of trustees who shall reside alternatively in Jackson and Harrison Counties, with the initial appointment to be made from Jackson County for a term of five (5) years.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-263 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 33-263
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-263
Status: in_force

(1) The State Board of Health shall establish in the State Department of Health a program to:

(a) Identify and investigate spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries; and

(b) Maintain a central registry for cases of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.

(2) The State Department of Health shall design the registry program so that it will:

(a) Provide information in a central data bank of accurate, precise and current information on spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries;

(b) Provide for the collection of such data to identify risk factors and causes of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries;

(c) Provide information for early identification of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries:

(d) Provide for the dissemination of such data for the purposes of care and support for persons with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries;

(e) Provide for the analysis of such data for the purpose of prevention.

(3) The State Board of Health shall adopt rules, regulations and procedures to govern the operation of the registry program and to carry out the intent of this section.

(4) The State Board of Health in its rules and regulations shall specify the types of information to be provided to the spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries registry and the persons and entities who are required to provide such information to the registry.

(5) The State Board of Health by rule shall prescribe the manner in which records and other information are made available to the State Department of Health.

(6) Information collected and analyzed by the State Department of Health under this section shall be placed in a central registry to facilitate research and to maintain security.

(a) Data obtained under this section directly from the medical records of a patient is for the confidential use of the State Department of Health and the persons or public or private entities that the State Department of Health determines are necessary to carry out the intent of this section. The data is privileged and may not be divulged or made public in a manner that discloses the identity of an individual whose medical records have been used for obtaining data under this section.

(b) Information that may identify an individual whose medical records have been used for obtaining data under this section is not available for public inspection under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.

(c) Statistical information collected under this section is public information.

(7) The State Department of Health may use the registry to:

(a) Investigate the causes of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries and other health conditions as authorized by statute;

(b) Design and evaluate measures to prevent the occurrence of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, and other conditions;

(c) Conduct other investigations and activities necessary for the State Board of Health and the State Department of Health to fulfill their obligation to protect the public health; and

(d) Identify those persons who cannot achieve complete independence after suffering spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.

(8) Any person or entity who misuses the information provided to the registry shall be subject to a civil penalty of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each such failure or misuse. Such penalty shall be assessed and levied by the State Board of Health after a hearing, and all such penalties collected shall be deposited into the State General Fund.

(9) The State Health Officer may appoint or delegate his authority to establish and appoint an advisory council, for the purposes of this section, to the State Department of Rehabilitation Services Advisory Council on Spinal Cord Injuries and Traumatic Brain Injuries. The advisory council may designate a subcommittee to act as the registry's advisor. The State Board of Health shall consult and be advised by the committee on the promulgation of rules, regulations and procedures for the purposes of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-37 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 59-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-37
Status: in_force

The school board of any school district shall have the power and authority to borrow money for the anticipated current year's expenses of such school district in anticipation of the collection of ad valorem taxes and other revenues of such school district for the then current fiscal year. The money so borrowed shall bear interest at a rate not greater than that allowed in Section 75-17-105 and shall be repaid within fourteen (14) months from the date of such borrowing out of the taxes and revenues in anticipation of which such money is borrowed. Such money shall be used for no other purpose than the payment of the current year's expenses of such school district. Pending the expenditure of funds borrowed under the provisions of this section, such funds may be invested in any manner in which any school district, municipality, county, state agency or other public body may invest surplus funds.

The amount borrowed under the provisions of this section shall in no event exceed the estimated amount of taxes and revenues collected or to be collected during the last preceding fiscal year, unless the tax levy for the current fiscal year has been made, then the amount borrowed under the provisions of this section shall in no event exceed the estimated amount of taxes and revenues collected or to be collected during the current fiscal year. Revenue anticipation notes issued under the provisions of this section shall be issued within the same fiscal year during which the tax levy is or will be made and other revenues received which it is anticipated will produce the funds from which the said notes will be repaid.

In borrowing money under the provisions of this section, it shall not be necessary to publish notice of intention so to do or to secure the consent of the qualified electors of such school district, either by election or otherwise. Such borrowing shall be authorized by order or resolution of the school board and may be evidenced by negotiable note or notes, signed and executed in such form as may be prescribed in such order or resolution. Such note or notes may be sold at a negotiated sale. Money may be borrowed in anticipation of ad valorem taxes and other revenues under the provisions of this section, regardless of whether or not such borrowing shall create an indebtedness in excess of statutory limitations.

Money may likewise be borrowed by any such school district, as herein provided, for the purpose of paying current interest maturities on any bonded indebtedness of such school district in anticipation of the collection of taxes for the retirement of such bonded indebtedness and the payment of any interest thereon.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-139-13 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 139-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-139-13
Status: in_force

All expenditures shall be authorized by the board. Such expenditures shall be paid therefrom by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the State Fiscal Management Board. Said State Fiscal Management Board shall issue its warrant upon requisition signed by the proper person, officer or officers in the manner provided by law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-16-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 16-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-16-3
Status: in_force

(1) The State Department of Education is directed to implement a program of statewide assessment testing which shall provide for the improvement of the operation and management of the public schools. The statewide program shall be timed, as far as possible, so as not to conflict with ongoing district assessment programs. As part of the program, the department shall:

(a) Establish, with the approval of the State Board of Education, minimum performance standards related to the goals for education contained in the state's plan including, but not limited to, basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics. The minimum performance standards shall be approved by April 1 in each year they are established.

(b) Conduct a uniform statewide testing program in grades deemed appropriate in the public schools, including charter schools, which shall include the administration of a career-readiness assessment, such as, but not limited to, the ACT WorkKeys Assessment, deemed appropriate by the Mississippi Department of Education working in coordination with the Office of Workforce Development, to any students electing to take the assessment. Each individual school district shall determine whether the assessment is administered in the tenth, eleventh or twelfth grade. The program may test skill areas, basic skills and high school course content.

(c) Monitor the results of the assessment program and, at any time the composite student performance of a school or basic program is found to be below the established minimum standards, notify the district superintendent or the governing board of the charter school, as the case may be, the school principal and the school advisory committee or other existing parent group of the situation within thirty (30) days of its determination. The department shall further provide technical assistance to a school district in the identification of the causes of this deficiency and shall recommend courses of action for its correction.

(d) Provide technical assistance to the school districts, when requested, in the development of student performance standards in addition to the established minimum statewide standards.

(e) Issue security procedure regulations providing for the security and integrity of the tests that are administered under the basic skills assessment program.

(f) In case of an allegation of a testing irregularity that prompts a need for an investigation by the Department of Education, the department may, in its discretion, take complete control of the statewide test administration in a school district or any part thereof, including, but not limited to, obtaining control of the test booklets and answer documents. In the case of any verified testing irregularity that jeopardized the security and integrity of the test(s), validity or the accuracy of the test results, the cost of the investigation and any other actual and necessary costs related to the investigation paid by the Department of Education shall be reimbursed by the local school district from funds other than federal funds, total funding formula funds provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 , or any other state funds within six (6) months from the date of notice by the department to the school district to make reimbursement to the department.

(2) Uniform basic skills tests shall be completed by each student in the appropriate grade. These tests shall be administered in such a manner as to preserve the integrity and validity of the assessment. In the event of excused or unexcused student absences, make-up tests shall be given. The school superintendent of every school district in the state and the principal of each charter school shall annually certify to the State Department of Education that each student enrolled in the appropriate grade has completed the required basic skills assessment test for his or her grade in a valid test administration.

(3) Within five (5) days of completing the administration of a statewide test, the principal of the school where the test was administered shall certify under oath to the State Department of Education that the statewide test was administered in strict accordance with the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System as adopted by the State Board of Education. The principal's sworn certification shall be set forth on a form developed and approved by the Department of Education. If, following the administration of a statewide test, the principal has reason to believe that the test was not administered in strict accordance with the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System as adopted by the State Board of Education, the principal shall submit a sworn certification to the Department of Education setting forth all information known or believed by the principal about all potential violations of the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System as adopted by the State Board of Education. The submission of false information or false certification to the Department of Education by any licensed educator may result in licensure disciplinary action pursuant to Section 37-3-2 and criminal prosecution pursuant to Section 37-16-4 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-16-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 16-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-16-9
Status: in_force

(1) The state board shall, after a public hearing and consideration, make provision for appropriate accommodations for testing instruments and procedures for students with identified handicaps or disabilities in order to ensure that the results of the testing represent the student's achievement, rather than reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual, speaking or psychological process skills, except when such skills are the factors the test purports to measure.

(2) The public hearing and consideration required hereunder shall not be construed to amend or nullify the requirements of security relating to the contents of examinations or assessment instruments and related materials or data.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(d) Data relating to the performance of children with disabilities shall be disaggregated for assessments conducted after July 1, 1998.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-75 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 29-75
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-75
Status: in_force

When any land or other property owned by a junior college/community college district shall cease to be used or needed by the district, the same may be sold by the board of trustees upon sealed bids or at public auction after three (3) weeks' advertisement in a newspaper in the county where the said property is located. Personal property having a value determined by the board of less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) may be sold without such advertisement; however, in such event, notice shall be posted in at least three public places in the county where such property is situated or where it is to be sold, giving notice of the time and place of such sale, and such property shall be sold to the highest and best bidder for cash. Such notice shall be posted for ten (10) days before the sale.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-201 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 151-201
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-201
Status: in_force

The following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) “ Base amount ” or “ student base amount ” means the student base funding level that is established in the funding formula as the estimated cost of educating a student with no additional measured needs or special factors.

(b) “ Career and technical education course ” or “ CTE course ” means a credit-bearing course that has been approved and classified by the department as a career and technical education, or CTE, course.

(c) “ Charter school ” means a public school that is established and operating under the terms of a charter contract pursuant to Chapter 28, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(d) “ Department ” means the State Department of Education.

(e) “ English Language Learner ” or “ ELL ” means a student identified in accordance with federal law as entitled to English as a second language or bilingual services on the basis of the student's English language proficiency.

(f) “ Final weighted enrollment ” means the final product of applying weights to the net enrollment of a school district or charter school after accounting for the sparsity of a school district or charter school, as determined in Section 37-151-205 .

(g) “ Gifted student ” means a student identified as eligible to participate in a gifted education program for the instruction of intellectually or academically gifted children, as defined and provided for in Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181 .

(h) “ Local contribution ” means the amount of local tax money that school districts or charter schools must contribute to the cost of the funding formula for their district or charter school in a given fiscal year, as determined under Section 37-151-211 .

(i) “ Local minimum tax effort ” means the amount in taxes that the local levying authority for each school district must raise on behalf of the school districts and charter schools in its geographic boundaries, as determined under Section 37-151-211 .

(j) “ Low income student ” means a student who has been identified by the department, through inclusion in the identified student percentage, as having been approved for free meals based on documentation of:

(i) Receipt of benefits from the following federally funded programs:

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);

2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);

3. Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR); or

4. Medicaid, where applicable, as approved by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct matching with Medicaid data to identify children eligible for free meals; or

(ii) The inclusion of students who are identified as homeless children, migrant children, runaway children or Head Start children, who are approved for free school meals without application and not subject to verification, which includes foster children certified for free meals through means other than an application for free and reduced price school meals.

(k) “ Net enrollment ” means the average of the total aggregate student enrollment of a school district or charter school on the last day of months two (2) and three (3) of the previous school year. The total aggregate student enrollment for each day may be determined by calculating the total number of students enrolled plus or minus the total number of new student enrollments or withdrawals, respectively, with the resulting amount being considered the total aggregate student enrollment on a given day. However, if a local school board or the governing board of a charter school adopts a class schedule that operates throughout the year for any or all schools in the district or the charter school, net enrollment must be computed by the State Department of Education so that the resulting net enrollment will not be higher or lower than if the local school board or the governing board had not adopted a year-round schedule.

(l) “ Preliminary weighted enrollment ” means the initial product of applying weights to the net enrollment of a school district or charter school, as determined in Section 37-151-205 .

(m) “ School board ” means a governmental board exercising management and control over a school district and the schools of that district pursuant to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 and state statutes.

(n) “ School district ” or “ district ” means a governmental entity that establishes and supervises one or more public schools within its geographical limits pursuant to state statutes.

(o) “ Sparsely populated district or charter school ” means a school district or charter school with a density of less than eight (8) students per square mile, as determined by dividing the net enrollment of a district or charter school by the square mileage within its geographic boundaries. For the purpose of determining the sparsity of a charter school, the square mileage of a charter school is equivalent to the square mileage within the geographic boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located.

(p) “ Special education program ” means a program that provides services for exceptional children, as defined and authorized by Chapter 23, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(q) “ State share ” means the amount the state contributes to the funding formula for the annual operating funding of each school district or charter school.

(r) “ Superintendent ” means the administrative head of a school district.

(s) “ Total funding formula ” means the formula used to determine annual operating funding for public schools, as prescribed in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 .

(t) “ Weight ” or “ weighting ” means a multiplier used to adjust the preliminary weighted enrollment and final weighted enrollment to support the additional costs of educating students in defined student populations or in a defined geographic context.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-163 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 13-163
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-163
Status: in_force

(1) Any teacher, administrator, school council or local school board in any public school district in this state may post in a public school building, classroom or at any school event or read from any historical document or writing relating to the founding of the United States of America or this state, or both, notwithstanding the fact that such materials may include religious quotations, references or illustrations. There shall be no content-based censorship of American or Mississippi History, heritage or culture based on any religious references contained in such documents, writings or records.

(2) Principals and teachers in each public elementary and secondary school of each school district in this state shall display on an appropriately framed background with minimum dimensions of eleven (11) inches by fourteen (14) inches, the following motto of the United States of America in each classroom, school auditorium and school cafeteria under his or her supervision: “IN GOD WE TRUST.” For purposes of this provision, “ classroom ” shall mean any room of a public school where instruction takes place.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-127-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 127-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-127-5
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Valley State College shall be located at some appropriate place in the delta section of the state, to be determined by the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-181-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 181-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-181-11
Status: in_force

(1) To ensure that funds are spent appropriately, the State Department of Education shall adopt rules and policies necessary for the administration of the ESA program, including the auditing of Education Scholarship Accounts, and shall conduct or contract for random audits throughout the year.

(2)(a) The department shall develop a system for payment of benefits, including, but not limited to, allowing educational service providers to invoice the department for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2) , or allowing the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application to seek reimbursement for qualified expenses consistent with Section 37-181-5(2) .

(b) The department may make payments to educational service providers or reimbursement to the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA program application via check or warrant or electronic funds transfer or any other means of payment deemed to be commercially viable or cost-effective.

(c) The department may also establish by rule that some payments to educational service providers will be made on a quarterly basis, rather than an annual basis, if the educational services will be rendered over an extended period of time.

(3) The department shall adopt a process for removing educational service providers that defraud parents and for referring cases of fraud to law enforcement.

(4) The department shall establish or contract for the establishment of an online anonymous fraud reporting service.

(5) The department shall establish or contract for the establishment of an anonymous telephone hotline for fraud reporting.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 23-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-3
Status: in_force

(1) An exceptional child shall be defined as any child as herein defined, in the age range birth through twenty (20) years of age with an intellectual disability, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. Such children shall be determined by competent professional persons in such disciplines as medicine, psychology, special education, speech pathology and social work and shall be considered exceptional children for the purposes of Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-159 . Such professional persons shall be approved by the State Department of Education. The mandate for the provision of educational programs to exceptional children shall only apply to the children in the age range three (3) through twenty (20). Children who are potentially in need of special educational and related services must be considered for the services on an individual basis.

(2) During the fiscal year 1995 and fiscal year 1996, the State Department of Education shall conduct a pilot project in one or more school districts which shall test the method of providing language services described in this subsection. For purposes of this pilot project, a child with a disability as defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) may not be denied language services because his measured cognitive functioning is equivalent to or lower than his measured functioning level in the language area. In order for language services to be provided for a child, the measured functioning level of the child in the language area must indicate a delay relative to the child's chronological age. Individual determination of a child's needs must take into consideration the need for development in the language area, the need for support for basic adaptive skills in language development and the extent to which the child's lack of ability in the language area may have interfered with academic achievement or development milestones. In the area of language development, a child's need of alternative or augmentative communication modes and the need for language development must be considered fundamental in making their determination of need for services.

(3) The State Department of Education shall report to the Education Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate by December 1, 1995, and December 1, 1996, on the results of the pilot project described in subsection (2) of this section. Such reports shall include, but not be limited to, the project; the number and ages of the children who applied for participation and who did participate in the pilot project; and evaluation of the benefits obtained by the children who participated in the pilot project; an estimate of the number of children who would likely utilize similar services if provided on a statewide basis; and an estimate of the cost of providing such services on a statewide basis.

(4) The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations which ensure services are provided to children as such services are defined in this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-35 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 31-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-35
Status: in_force

Sections 37-31-31 through 37-31-41 , together with funds made available through that section of those sections of the federal social security act which relates to crippled children, together with any and all available state and federal appropriations, shall be administered by the state board of education, and shall be used in the further development of the state's program of physical restoration of crippled children. The state board of education is hereby authorized to accept donations, gifts and bequests and to expend same on approval of the executive officer of the board, for purposes approved under regulations of the state board of education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-131 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / 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. § 37-106-23 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 106-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-23
Status: in_force

The board shall use the funds available to make possible the implementation of a guaranteed student loan program as provided for by any act of congress.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-185-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 185-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-185-7
Status: in_force

(1) Any eligible independent school desiring to participate in the program shall make application for a grant to the MDA in a form satisfactory to the MDA. The application shall include verified documentation, signed under penalty of perjury.

(2) The MDA shall use the funds appropriated by the Legislature from the Budget Contingency Fund to make grants to eligible independent schools pursuant to applications submitted under subsection (1) of this section, to cover future COVID-19-eligible expenses or provide reimbursement for previously incurred COVID-19-eligible expenses.

(3) The use of grants shall be subject to audit by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Inspector General and the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. An eligible independent school found to be fully or partially noncompliant with grant requirements shall return to the state all or a portion of the grant monies received and used for unallowable expenditures. Applicants shall confirm their understanding of these terms.

(4) The program shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:

(a) The eligible maximum amount of grant funds which may be awarded to any eligible independent school under the provisions of Sections 37-185-1 through 37-185-9 shall not exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00);

(b) Any grant funds awarded shall be the lesser of the amount indicated in the independent school's application as itemized eligible COVID-19-related expenses or the eligible maximum amount, subject to approval by the MDA; and

(c) An eligible independent school is not limited to submitting only one (1) application for grant funds, but may submit new applications for grant funds, following the guidelines required by the MDA, until such time that it has received the aggregate amount of funds for which it is eligible to be awarded.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-63 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 151-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-63
Status: in_force

Sections 37-151-63 through 37-151-75 shall be known and may be cited as the “Work Force Education Act of 1994.” 1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-73-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 73-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-73-5
Status: in_force

The Mississippi Department of Education shall work in conjunction with the Mississippi Community College Board to ensure alignment of career technical education courses across the public school system and community college system. If a community college chooses not to participate in the dual credit program or does not have certain courses available for participating students, eligible high school students may enroll in dual credit courses and attend such courses at the campus of another participating community college within the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-105 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 7-105
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-105
Status: in_force

(1) In cases where two (2) or more school boards determine that it is appropriate that their existing boundaries be altered to provide better service to students, each school board shall enter on its minutes the legal description of new district lines and shall publish the order altering such districts in some newspaper published and having a general circulation in such district(s) once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, which said order shall be duly certified by the president of said school board. If no newspaper be published in said school district, then such order shall be published for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation therein, and, in addition, a copy of said order shall be posted for the required time at three (3) public places in the school district. The order so published shall contain a provision giving notice that said order shall become final thirty (30) days after the first publication of said notice unless a petition is filed protesting against same within such time. In the event no such petition be filed, the said order shall become final at said time. However, in the event twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of any school district altered by such order shall file a petition with the school board, within thirty (30) days after the first publication of said notice, protesting against the alteration of such district, then an election shall be called and held, on order of the school board, by the county election commission(s), after publication of legal notice of such election, which said election shall be held within thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice of such election. At such election the question shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the district or districts in which a petition is filed as to whether or not such district or districts shall be altered as provided in the said order of the school board. If a majority of those voting in said election in each district affected and from which a petition is filed shall vote in favor of the order of the school board then such order shall become final. If a majority of those voting in said election in any district from which a petition is filed shall vote against the order of the school board then such order shall be void and of no effect and no further attempt to make the proposed change in such district shall be made for a period of at least two (2) years after the date of said election.

(2) When the orders of all boards adopting the new lines have been entered and are final, all orders shall be submitted to and considered by the State Board of Education as prescribed in Section 37-7-113, Mississippi Code of 1972 . If the new lines are approved by the State Board of Education, the new district lines shall be submitted to the Attorney General of the United States for preclearance or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a declaratory judgment in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. In the event the change in the school district lines are either precleared by the United States Department of Justice, or approved by the United States District Court, the State Board of Education shall formally declare the new lines as the new boundaries of the school districts.

(3) Should two (2) or more school districts determine that they wish to consolidate, the following actions shall be taken by the districts to perfect this consolidation: (a) Each board shall state its intent to consolidate with the other district or districts by passing a resolution of the board to that effect and spreading it on the minutes of the districts; and (b) each school board shall publish the order consolidating such districts in some newspaper having a general circulation in such district(s) once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, which said order shall be duly certified by the president of said school board. The order so published shall contain a provision giving notice that said order shall become final thirty (30) days after the first publication of said notice unless a petition is filed protesting against same within such time. In the event no such petition be filed, the said order shall become final on said date. However, in the event twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of any one (1) of the school districts affected by the proposed consolidation shall file a petition with the applicable school board, within thirty (30) days after the first publication of said notice, protesting against the consolidation of such district or districts, then an election shall be called and held in such school districts where petitions were filed, on order of the school board, by the county election commission(s), after publication of legal notice of such election, which said election shall be held within thirty (30) days after the first publication of the notice of such election. At such election the question shall be submitted to the qualified electors of any district or districts in which petitions were filed as to whether or not such district or districts shall be consolidated as provided in the said order of the school boards. If a majority of those voting in said election shall vote in favor of the order of the school boards then such order shall become final. Should less than a majority of the electors of any single school district vote in favor of the adoption of the proposed consolidation, such school district shall not participate in any voluntary consolidation as authorized in this subsection, and the proposed consolidation plan adopted by such districts shall be void.

After the order of the local school boards becomes final, it shall be submitted to and considered by the State Board of Education. If approved by the State Board of Education, the consolidation shall be submitted by the local school boards to the appropriate federal agencies for approval. After all preclearance has been received, the State Board of Education shall declare the new boundaries of the consolidated school district and all action shall proceed as outlined under law using the new boundaries.

Upon preclearance of such consolidation, all school boards shall approve a joint resolution for the election of five (5) new board members from single member districts as provided by law. These elections shall be scheduled prior to May 1 of the year in which the consolidation is to become effective. The new consolidated district shall become effective on July 1 of that same year. The superintendent of any district created through consolidation shall be appointed if all of the school districts which are consolidating had previously appointed their superintendents. The superintendent of any district created through consolidation shall be elected if all of the school districts which are consolidating had previously elected their superintendents. In the event two (2) or more school districts consolidating under the provisions of this section shall have previously appointed one or more superintendents and elected the remainder, the superintendent shall be elected or appointed in accordance with the method utilized by the consolidating school district or districts with the larger or largest student populations. The superintendent shall begin work as the superintendent on July 1 of such year when the consolidation becomes effective. The order to consolidate shall invalidate the contracts of the superintendents of the preceding districts and shall terminate the term of the superintendent if that person was elected. The order to consolidate shall invalidate the term of any school board member beyond July 1 of that year whether they are elected or appointed. Any school board member from any school district may be eligible to run for election to the new consolidated school board.

Each school board shall be responsible for establishing the contracts for teachers and principals for the next school year with the consultation of the successor school board if they have been selected at the time such decisions are to be made. The selection of administrator in the central administration office shall be the responsibility of the successor school board. No existing dates for renewal of contracts shall invalidate the responsibility of the successor school board in taking such action. The successor school board may enter into these contracts at any time following their election, but no later than July 1 of that year. It shall also be the responsibility of the successor school board to prepare and approve the budget of the new district. The successor school board may use staff from the existing districts to prepare the budget. The school board shall have authority to approve the budget prior to the July 1 date and shall follow the time line established for budget preparation under the law. Should either district at the time of consolidation have more liabilities than assets, then the successor school board shall be authorized to levy an ad valorem tax upon the taxable property in the territory of the district where the deficit exists, a tax not to exceed five percent (5%) of the existing tax levy for the sole purpose of reducing the deficit. When the deficit is eliminated, then such tax levy shall be terminated. Any taxes levied to bring about the equalization of funding, to equalize pay scales or levied in the territory of a newly created district where a deficit exists, shall constitute a “new program” for the purposes of ad valorem tax limitations as prescribed in Sections 27-39-321 and 37-57-107, Mississippi Code of 1972 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-65 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 101-65
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-65
Status: in_force

All bonds issued by an educational building corporation may be executed and delivered at any time and from time to time, may be in such form and denominations, may be of such tenor, may be payable in such installments and at such time or times not exceeding thirty (30) years from their date, may be payable at such place or places, may bear interest at such rate or rates payable at such place or places and evidenced in such manner, and may contain such provisions not inconsistent herewith, all as may be provided by resolution of its board of directors. The bonds issued by any such corporation shall be signed by the chairman of its board of directors or other chief executive officer and attested by its secretary, and the seal of such corporation shall be affixed thereto. Any such bonds may be sold at public or private sale in such manner and from time to time as may be determined by the board of directors to be most advantageous, and the corporation may pay all expenses, premiums and commissions which its board of directors may deem necessary or advantageous in connection with the authorization, sale and issuance thereof. All such bonds shall be construed to be negotiable instruments, despite the fact that they are payable solely from a specified source.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-93 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 27-93
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-93
Status: in_force

(1) The Board of Trustees of Coahoma Agricultural High School are authorized to make application to the Mississippi Department of Education for the approval of converting the facilities and programs of the agricultural high school to an Early College High School. In the event the State Board of Education approves this application, effective July 1, 2018, the Coahoma Agricultural High School shall be transferred to the Coahoma Community College District and shall be used as an Early College High School serving up to four hundred (400) students from the following counties: Bolivar, Coahoma, Tunica, Tallahatchie and Quitman. The conversion from Coahoma Agricultural High School to the Early College High School shall be administered on a phased-in basis beginning with ninth-grade students and adding on one (1) grade level every year from the applicable counties until the school has full enrollment. Students who are currently enrolled in Coahoma Agricultural High School in Grades 10-12 may be enrolled at the facility as students at the Early College High School and continue in the system. From July 1, 2016, through July 1, 2018, the President and Board of Trustees of Coahoma Agricultural High School shall cooperate with the Board of Trustees of the Coahoma Community College District for the transition of the facilities and programs. The Board of Trustees of the Coahoma Agricultural High School and the Board of Trustees of the Coahoma Community College District shall redesign the facilities in order to establish an environment that supports college readiness for all students through a required college preparatory curriculum, access to college courses, counseling for college admissions, and other college readiness activities, such as explicit instruction in college behavior and expectations. All real property titled to or used by Coahoma Agricultural High School will become the property of the Coahoma Community College District.

(2) All personal property used by the Coahoma Agricultural High School for secondary school purposes, including all nondisposable sports and/or extracurricular equipment (i.e., football helmets, shoulder pads, baseball bats and helmets, and band equipment) will become the property of the Coahoma Community College District. The division of such personal property will be determined by joint order of the Boards of Trustees of the Coahoma Community College District and the Coahoma County School District. Any cost of transferring title of such real or personal property will be paid by the Coahoma Community College District.

(3) Any such joint order directing the transfer of the personal property of the Coahoma Agricultural High School shall be submitted and approved by the State Board of Education. The finding of the State Board of Education shall be final and conclusive for the purpose of the transfer of property required by such administrative consolidation.

(4) The students attending the said agricultural high school shall be deemed to be students of the school district where they reside. After transfer of the Coahoma Agricultural High School, any student who is enrolled at the Coahoma Agricultural High School when the transfer is effected may receive two (2) diplomas upon successful completion of all graduation requirements of the school district they subsequently attend: one (1) diploma to be the official completion with the school district they subsequently attend and the second to be a courtesy diploma reflecting graduation from Coahoma Agricultural High School.

(5) The State Board of Education shall issue regulations providing for the automatic transfer of students in the surrounding counties who wish to enroll in the Early College High School.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-69 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 33-69
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-69
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful, except for purposes directly connected with the administration of the vocational rehabilitation program for individuals who are blind, 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 services, 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. § 37-141-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 141-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-1
Status: in_force

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as “The University Research Center Act of 1988.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-15-15
Status: in_force

In making assignments of children to schools or attendance centers, the school board shall take into consideration the educational needs and welfare of the child involved, the welfare and best interest of all the pupils attending the school or schools involved, the availability of school facilities, sanitary conditions and facilities at the school or schools involved, health and moral factors at the school or schools, and in the community involved, and all other factors which the school board may consider pertinent, relevant or material in their effect on the welfare and best interest of the school district and the particular school or schools involved. All such assignments shall be on an individual basis as to the particular child involved and, in making such assignment, the school board shall not be limited or circumscribed by the boundaries of any attendance areas which may have been established by such board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 145-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-7
Status: in_force

(1) There is hereby created a special fund of the company to be known as the “Mississippi Opportunity Loan Fund.” The fund shall consist of amounts paid into the fund by donations from private sources, by legislative appropriation, from the proceeds of the issuance of bonds or from any other source. All of the earnings on the investment of monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund.

(2) The monies in the fund shall be used to increase the educational opportunities of students by providing low interest rate loans to assist Mississippi students in furthering their higher education goals.

(3) The Mississippi Opportunity Loan Fund shall be maintained by the company. The company is authorized to maintain such fund in an official state depository, and, in accordance with Section 27-105-21 , shall invest such funds at interests as required by said section, said depository so selected shall be capable of serving as Trustee for the Mississippi Opportunity Loan Fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-63 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 153-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-63
Status: in_force

Grant funds shall be available under this article through December 31, 2026, or on the date of the fund expenditure deadline provided by the federal government, whichever occurs later. Each grant recipient shall certify, for any project for which a grant is awarded, that if the project is not completed by December 31, 2026, and the United States Congress does not enact an extension of the deadline on the availability of ARPA funds, then the grant recipient will complete the project through other funds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-145 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / 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. § 37-41-23 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 41-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-41-23
Status: in_force

The State Board of Education shall prescribe keeping and preservation of all records and the making of all reports and the description thereof as the board may deem necessary for the efficient operation of the school district transportation system of this state. It shall be unlawful for any pay certificate to be issued to any school district carrier or bus driver until all such reports required by the regulations of the State Board of Education shall have been filed in accordance with said regulations. Any person making a false list, report, or record required by the aforesaid rules and regulations of the State Board of Education shall be subject to the penalties provided by Section 37-41-25 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-121-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / 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. § 37-27-29 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 27-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-29
Status: in_force

The trustees of agricultural high schools by and with the consent of the board of supervisors of the county or counties affected are hereby authorized to lease all or any part of the lands belonging to them for the purpose of investigating, exploring, prospecting, drilling and mining for and producing oil, gas and all other minerals, laying pipe lines, building roads, tanks, power stations, telephone lines and other structures thereon to produce, save, take care of, treat, transport and dispose of and own said products, and housing its employees, and to collect royalties from such leases. Any lease of such land shall contain a provision to retain at least a one-eighth interest in the royalties and proceeds and receipts of any oil, gas and/or minerals produced thereon for the benefit of such school.

Any funds arising from or collected under this section shall be deposited in the county depository of the county in which said school is located to the credit of said agricultural high school. Such funds may be disbursed as other funds belonging to said institution.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-25 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 33-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-25
Status: in_force

Any individual applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation who is aggrieved by any action or inaction of the office shall be entitled, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the state board, to a fair hearing.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-305 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / 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. § 37-45-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 12 / Section 45-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-5
Status: in_force

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

One (1) member shall be appointed from each congressional district of the state as presently existing. In making the original appointments, two (2) members shall be appointed for a term expiring April 1st, 1956; two (2) members shall be appointed for a term expiring April 1st, 1958; and two (2) members shall be appointed for a term expiring April 1st, 1960. Thereafter all appointments shall be for terms of six (6) years commencing on April 1st of the year in which the appointments are made. New members of the commission shall be appointed from the same district as their predecessor. Any vacancy in the membership of the commission occurring before the expiration of a term shall be filled in the manner hereinabove provided for, but only for the unexpired term.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 141-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-141-11
Status: in_force

The Department of Economic Development is hereby authorized to cooperate with the planning commissions and development boards, or other similar agencies of other states, and with county, municipal and regional planning commissions or other agencies thereof, for the purposes of securing coordinated community and statewide planning within this state. The Department of Economic Development is further authorized to provide services to include, but not be limited to, planning assistance to cities and other political subdivisions within the state and county; joint municipal, county, regional and metropolitan commissions in the solution of their planning problems; and to contract for, receive and expend federal, state and other funds, whether private or public, for such planning activities, and to that end, there is hereby created within the Department of Economic Development a special fund designated as the “planning fund” to be kept separate and apart from all other funds received by the Department of Economic Development and into which all funds received for planning purposes shall be deposited. Planning assistance, as used in this chapter, shall include the preparation of population, land use, traffic, parking and economic base studies, the preparation of proposed subdivision regulations and zoning ordinances, and the development of plans to guide public and private development.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-261 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 33-261
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-261
Status: in_force

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

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

(2) The department shall issue a report to the Legislature and the Governor by January 1 of each year, summarizing the activities supported by the trust fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-183-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 183-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-183-7
Status: in_force

(1) Any eligible postsecondary educational institution desiring to participate in the program shall make application for a grant to the department in a form satisfactory to the department. The application shall include verified documentation, signed under penalty of perjury.

(2) The department shall use the funds appropriated by the Legislature from the Budget Contingency Fund to make grants to eligible postsecondary educational institutions pursuant to applications submitted under subsection (1) of this section, to cover future COVID-19-eligible expenses or provide reimbursement for previously incurred COVID-19-eligible expenses.

(3) The use of grants shall be subject to audit by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Inspector General and the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. An eligible postsecondary educational institution found to be fully or partially noncompliant with grant requirements shall return to the state all of the grant monies received and used for unallowable expenditures. Applicants shall confirm their understanding of these terms.

(4) The program shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:

(a) The aggregate amount of grant funds which may be awarded to any single postsecondary educational institution under the provisions of this chapter shall not exceed the dollar amount specified for such postsecondary educational institution authorized under subsections (3)(b) and (4)(b) of Section 37-183-5 ;

(b) Grant funds shall only be awarded in the amount indicated in the eligible postsecondary educational institution's application as itemized eligible expenses, subject to approval by the department; and

(c) An eligible postsecondary educational institution is not limited to submitting only one (1) application for grant funds, but may submit new applications for grant funds, following the guidelines required by the department, until such time that it has received the aggregate amount of funds for which it is eligible to be awarded.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-181-21 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 181-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-181-21
Status: in_force

If any provision of this law or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this law which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and to this end the provisions of this law are severable.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-65 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 27-65
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-65
Status: in_force

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

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

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-103-15 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 103-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-103-15
Status: in_force

A married person may claim the residence status of his or her spouse, or he or she may claim independent residence status under the same regulations set forth in Section 37-103-13 as any other adult.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-3 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 4 / Section 101-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-101-3
Status: reserved

(1) The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint the members of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, one (1) member from each congressional district of the state as existing as of March 31, 1944, one (1) member from each Supreme Court district and two (2) members from the state at large, with the terms of each to begin on May 8, 1944. One-third ( 1 / 3 ) of the membership of said board so appointed shall be appointed for a period of four (4) years, one-third ( 1 / 3 ) for a period of eight (8) years and one-third ( 1 / 3 ) for a period of twelve (12) years. On the expiration of any of said terms of office the Governor shall appoint successors, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of twelve (12) years in each case.

The current president, or his/her designee, of the Student Body President's Council of Mississippi (SBPCM) shall have a reserved seat at each meeting of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. No less than once a year, the board shall seek the advise and counsel of the student body president's organization.

(2) In case of a vacancy on said board by death or resignation of a member or from any other cause than the expiration of such member's term of office, the board shall elect his successor who shall hold office until the end of the next session of the Legislature. During such term of the session of the Legislature, the Governor shall appoint the successor member of the board from the district from which his predecessor was appointed to hold office until the end of the period or term for which said original trustee was appointed, to the end that one-third ( 1 / 3 ) of such trustees' terms shall expire each four (4) years.

(3) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board, or his designee, and one (1) member of the Mississippi Community College Board, to be designated by the chairman of said board, shall attend all regular meetings of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. Said community/junior college representatives shall have no jurisdiction or vote on any matter within the jurisdiction of the board. The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board and any designee who is a state employee shall receive no per diem for attending meetings of the board, but shall be entitled to actual and necessary expense reimbursement and mileage for attending meetings at locations other than Jackson, Mississippi. The designee of the Mississippi Community College Board shall receive per diem compensation as authorized by Section 25-3-69, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for attending said meetings, and shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual expense reimbursement and mileage, which shall be paid from funds appropriated to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-193 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 23-193
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-193
Status: in_force

For purposes of Sections 37-23-191 through 37-23-203 , the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) “ Blind student ” means an individual who is eligible for special education services or 504 services and who has an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects the student's educational performance. This includes a student who:

(i) Has a visual acuity of 20 / 200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses or has a limited field of vision such that the widest diameter subtends an angular distance of less than twenty-one (21) degrees;

(ii) Has a medically indicated expectation of visual deterioration; or

(iii) Is functionally blind due to visual problems affecting reading and writing skills.

(b) “ Braille ” means the system of reading and writing through touch and includes literary code, designated commonly as the Unified English Braille Code or the Standard English Braille Code, Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, Music Braille Code and Computer Braille Code.

(c) “ Individualized educational program ” (IEP) means a statement developed for a student eligible for special education services under Section 602(a)(20) of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(d) “ Assistive technology service ” means any service or provision of devices which directly assists the functional capabilities of a blind or visually impaired student.

(e) “ Compensatory skills ” or “ alternative techniques ” means those skills or techniques needed by blind or visually impaired students to access all areas of the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks. These skills include, but are not limited to: the use of Braille, large print, optical devices, tactile symbols, calendar systems and abacus; study and organizational skills; listening skills; concept development; the use of assistive technology and recorded materials; social interaction; independent living; recreation and leisure skills; and career education.

(f) “ 504 Plan ” means a legal document under the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which is designed to plan a program of instructional services to assist a student with specialized needs who is in a general education setting.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-27 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / Section 43-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-27
Status: in_force

No book or books shall be purchased from any person, firm or corporation who is a member of, or connected with, any trust. In the event that it is established that this provision has been violated, the contract shall be forfeited and monies paid out under this contract shall be returned to the state, and all books heretofore purchased under said contract shall be kept by the state or the public school district which purchased the textbooks.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-21 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 145-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-145-21
Status: in_force

The company, the board of trustees and the State Bond Commission are hereby authorized to enter into any and all agreements and contracts as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-91 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 23-91
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-91
Status: in_force

The board of education in any Class 1 county of the state having a total population of more than one hundred thousand (100,000) according to the 1960 census and having a total assessed valuation in excess of Sixty Million Dollars ($60,000,000.00), bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and in which there is a federal military base, under the methods set out in Sections 37-23-91 through 37-23-111 , may establish a child development center for children in the county who have an intellectual or physical disability or are otherwise unable to attend public school, including, but not limited to, any child of educable or trainable mind under twenty-one (21) years of age for whose particular educational needs institutional care and training are not available in such county, or who cannot pursue regular classwork due to reason or reasons of defective hearing, vision, speech, intellectual disability or physical conditions, as determined by competent medical authorities and psychologists who are approved by the State Board of Education. This specifically includes, but shall not be limited to, provision for the deaf and blind of an age under six (6) years, where early training is in accordance with the most advanced and best approved scientific methods of instruction, always taking into consideration the best interests of the child and his improvement at a time during which he is most susceptible to improvement.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-134.1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 13-134.1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-134.1
Status: in_force

(1) Subject to available funding, the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Health, shall establish the school health grant pilot program to improve student health by assisting local school districts in implementing a school health program. In order to qualify for a school health grant, a school district shall submit a detailed implementation plan, developed in accordance with the guidelines for a school health program developed by the State Department of Education, and including the following components:

(a) A dedicated school health coordinator and technical and administrative support for collection of data and program evaluation.

(b) A description of how the school district currently addresses physical activity, nutrition, and other obesity prevention measures.

(c) A description of how the school district would use the state grant to augment what it is currently doing, including defining priorities based on the students' health need and meeting education performance indicators, developing an action plan for addressing those needs based on realistic goals and measurable objectives, establishing a timeline for implementation, and developing and maintaining a system to evaluate progress and outcomes for the program.

(d) All school districts receiving grants will report annually to the State Department of Education progress towards the achievement of state education performance indicators and standards and requirements relating to physical activity and nutrition.

(2) The amount in the school health grant pilot program shall be limited to the amount appropriated and shall be available to school districts based on the guidelines developed by the State Department of Education.

(3) Any grants made to school district shall be expended to supplement and not supplant any funds already expended as school health programs. For this purpose, expenditures of components enumerated in subsection (2) of this section for the current fiscal year shall be considered the base expenditure on school health and any school district receiving grant funds shall maintain this base.

(4) There is created in the State Treasury a fund into which any public or private funds from any source shall be deposited for the support of the activities of coordinated school health grant pilot program.

(5) State grants are only for coordination and improvement of school health programs to improve student health in accordance with the detailed plan submitted in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.

(6) The State Department of Education and the State Department of Health shall coordinate existing school health programs, grants and initiatives. To the extent possible, existing contracts and waiver requirements and funding, including Medicaid funding, shall also be coordinated.

(7) The use of grant funds shall be subject to audit by the Office of the State Auditor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-11 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 31-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-11
Status: in_force

The State of Mississippi shall appropriate sums of money for the support of vocational education from year to year, sufficient at least to equal the amounts allotted year by year to the State of Mississippi for vocational education by the federal government under the provisions of the “Smith-Hughes Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-22 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 59-22
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-22
Status: in_force

Whenever a school district lies in two (2) or more counties of the State of Mississippi before any money shall be borrowed under the provisions of this chapter, the school board of the school district shall adopt a resolution declaring the necessity for borrowing such money, declaring its intention to borrow such money and to issue the negotiable bonds of the school district as evidence of same, specifying the approximate amount to be so borrowed, and how such indebtedness is to be evidenced. Such resolution shall also set forth the nature and approximate cost of the alterations, additions and repairs to be made, and shall declare in said resolution that no funds are available in the school funds of the district or from any other source with which to make such repairs, alterations, additions, purchases, erections or improvements.

Whenever a resolution is adopted by the school board as provided in this paragraph, or a petition signed by not less than ten percent (10%) of the qualified electors of a school district, fixing the maximum amount of such school bonds and the purpose or purposes for which they are to be issued, the school board shall adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within such school district for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors thereof the question of the issuance of bonds in the amount and for the purpose or purposes as set forth in such resolution or petition. The resolution calling such election shall designate the date upon which the election shall be held and the place or places within such district at which such election shall be held, which place or places may or may not be the schoolhouse or schoolhouses in such district.

The board of supervisors of the county which authorizes the issuance of the bonds shall annually levy upon all the taxable property within such district, without regard to county lines, a special tax, which shall be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds according to the terms thereof. Such board shall annually certify to the board of supervisors of the other county or counties in which a portion of the district is situated, the rate of taxation so fixed, and it shall be the duty of such other board or boards to cause such rate of taxation to be levied upon all the taxable property within the boundaries of such district situated within their respective counties. The taxes shall be collected and deposited as other taxes are collected and deposited in such county or counties, and the board of supervisors thereof shall thereupon cause such taxes to be remitted to the county depository for the county in which the bonds were issued.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-105-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 105-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-105-7
Status: in_force

The board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning is hereby authorized and empowered to prevent or regulate the running at large of animals of all kinds on the campus and the streets of any state institution of higher learning under the supervision of such board, and to cause such animals as may be running at large to be impounded and a charge made against the owner to discharge the cost and expenses of keeping the same. If the owner of any such animal does not pay such cost within the time prescribed by the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning, such impounded animal may be sold to discharge the cost and expense of impounding and selling the same.

If the owner of any such animal does not pay such cost within the time prescribed by the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning and if such impounded animal cannot be sold to discharge the cost and expense of impounding and selling the same, such impounded animal may be sold or donated to research organizations.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-43 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 15 / Section 45-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-43
Status: in_force

The fees of the reporter, per diem, and for the transcription of any evidence taken by him upon any hearing before the commission, shall not be in excess of the customary per diem, transcription and filing fees made by the chancery court reporters of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-81 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-81
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-81
Status: in_force

The district, in the discretion of the board of trustees, may charge fees and tuitions in accordance with Section 37-103-25 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-211 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 31-211
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-31-211
Status: in_force

The Legislature shall appropriate to the State Board of Education those state funds to be expended by the board through the Division of Vocational and Technical Education of the State Department of Education.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-27 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 59-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-59-27
Status: in_force

All bonds issued by a school district shall mature annually, with all maturities not longer than twenty (20) years. Not less than one-fiftieth ( 1 / 50 ) total issue shall mature each year during the first five (5) years of the life of such bonds, and not less than one-twenty-fifth ( 1 / 25 ) of the total issue shall mature each year during the succeeding period of ten (10) years of the life of such bonds, and the remainder shall be amortized, as to principal and interest, into approximately equal annual payments, one (1) payment to mature each year for the remaining life of such bonds. However, in cases where bonds shall be issued or dated subsequent to the date fixed for making the school tax levy in the year in which such bonds are to be issued, the first maturity date of not less than one-fiftieth ( 1 / 50 ) of the total issue may be fixed for any period not exceeding two (2) years from the date of the bonds with the same schedule of subsequent maturities as hereinabove set forth. Such bonds shall not bear a greater overall maximum interest rate to maturity than that allowed in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972 . No bond shall bear more than one (1) rate of interest. Each bond shall bear interest from its date to its stated maturity date at the interest rate specified in the bid. All bonds of the same maturity shall bear the same rate of interest from date to maturity. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually, except that the first interest coupon attached to any such bond may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year.

No interest payment shall be evidenced by more than one (1) coupon and neither cancelled nor supplemental coupons shall be permitted. The lowest interest rate specified for any bonds issued shall not be less than seventy percent (70%) of the highest interest rate specified for the same bond issue. The interest rate of any one (1) interest coupon shall not exceed the maximum interest rate allowed on such bonds. Each interest rate specified in any bid must be in multiples of one-eighth of one percent ( 1 / 8 of 1%) or in multiples of one-tenth of one percent ( 1 / 10 of 1%), and a zero rate of interest cannot be named.

The form and place or places of payment of such bonds shall be fixed in the resolution or order of the school board of such school district issuing such bonds. Such bonds shall be executed by the manual or facsimile signature of the president of the school board and the superintendent of schools, with the official seal or facsimile thereof of such school district affixed thereto. At least one (1) signature on each bond shall be a manual signature, as specified in the issuing resolution. The coupons may bear only the facsimile signatures of such president of the school board and superintendent of schools. However, if so provided in the issuing resolution, if the manual signature of the trustee or other fiduciary or agent charged with authenticating and issuing the bonds is required to be thereon, both the signatures of the president of the school board and the superintendent of schools may be by facsimile. No bonds shall be issued and sold under the provisions of this article for less than par and accrued interest.

The bond register for all outstanding bond issues of such school district shall be maintained by the school board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-109 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 11 / Section 65-109
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-65-109
Status: in_force

Upon or during any period of closure in accordance with the provisions of this article, any teacher or other employee affected thereby may be, by the board of trustees of such school district, placed in any other school within the district, or in a school or schools of another convenient district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-459 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 13 / Section 29-459
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-459
Status: in_force

The President and the Board of Trustees of the Copiah-Lincoln Junior College District shall have the powers to do all things necessary for the successful operation of said district and the campuses located therein.

The several colleges of the district shall be under the direction of the board of trustees and the president. The board of trustees shall, by resolution or order, provide for the government, maintenance and operation of each campus of the district.

The President and the Board of Trustees of the Copiah-Lincoln Junior College District shall have the same powers as the presidents and trustees of other junior colleges in the State of Mississippi.

The delineation and enumeration of the powers and purposes set out in Sections 37-29-451 through 37-29-471 shall be deemed to be supplemental and additional and shall not be construed to restrict the powers of the governing authorities of the district or of any college or campus located therein so as to deny any of the rights, privileges and powers enjoyed by other junior colleges and junior college districts in the State of Mississippi.

The said Copiah-Lincoln Junior College District shall remain subject to the jurisdiction and control of the Mississippi Community College Board as now established or as the same may be hereafter changed by law, and shall be subject to all rules and regulations and all statutory limitations which are now in effect or may hereafter be imposed, except as the same may be in direct conflict with the provisions of Sections 37-29-451 through 37-29-471 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 45-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-45-9
Status: in_force

The members of the commission shall receive a per diem, mileage and expenses as is authorized by law per day for each day spent in attending meetings of the commission and in performing such other duties as may be required of them by law or the directives of the commission. However, except for regular or called meetings no member shall receive per diem, mileage or other expenses in performing duties unless such duties shall have been directed by an order duly entered on the minutes of a meeting of the commission prior to the performance thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-55 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 27-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-27-55
Status: in_force

When any pupils shall attend any agricultural high school or community or junior college under the provisions of Section 37-27-51 , such pupils shall be reported and accounted for the allocation of total funding formula funds provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 and building funds just as though such pupils were attending the regular schools of the district in which they reside. For this purpose reports shall be made to the board of trustees of the school district involved by the agricultural high school or community or junior college of the number of children in net enrollment, and the net enrollment of such pupils shall thereupon be included in reports made to the county or school district. The allocation of total funding formula funds and state public school building funds shall be made for such children just as though such children were attending the regular schools of the district. However, all total funding formula funds which accrue to any district as a result of the pupils who are in attendance at such agricultural high school or community or junior college shall be paid by the board of trustees of the municipal separate school district or the county board of education, as the case may be, to the agricultural high school or community or junior college at which the pupils are in attendance, and shall be expended by said agricultural high school or community or junior college for the instruction of said pupils. Funds allotted to the school district for building purposes under Chapter 47 of this title, shall, however, be retained by the school district entitled thereto. The term “ school district ” as used in Sections 37-27-51 through 37-27-59 shall be defined as including all public school districts in this state and also all agricultural high schools not located on the campus of a community or junior college.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-161 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 29-161
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-161
Status: in_force

Sections 37-29-161 through 37-29-173 may be cited as the “Mississippi Junior College Vocational and Technical Training Law of 1964.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-24-9 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 5 / 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. § 37-33-213 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 33-213
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-213
Status: in_force

The department, through the office, shall cooperate, under agreements with the federal government, in carrying out the purposes of any federal statutes pertaining to special disability programs, and may adopt such methods of administration as are found by the federal government to be necessary for the proper and efficient operation of those agreements or plans for special disability programs and comply with such conditions as may be necessary to secure the full benefits of those federal statutes and appropriations, administer any legislation under federal statutes and appropriations that is enacted by the State of Mississippi, direct the disbursement and administer the use of all funds provided by the federal government or this state for the persons of this state, and do all things necessary to ensure the provision of services to the person served by the special disability programs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-67 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 33-67
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-67
Status: in_force

The right of an individual who is blind to maintenance under the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law shall not be transferable or assignable at law or in equity and shall be exempt from the claims of creditors.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-20-5 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 20-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-20-5
Status: in_force

The funds which may be appropriated annually for this chapter shall be based on a formula developed by the State Department of Education and allocated to each school district on the basis of (a) the number of students whose scores on the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) tests are at the twenty-fifth percentile or below, and (b) the number of students identified as failing any section of the Functional Literacy Exam (FLE).
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-3-79 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 3-79
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-3-79
Status: in_force

The State Department of Education shall employ a Curriculum Coordinator of Music and Art Education who holds certification as a music and/or art teacher. The supervisor's responsibilities shall include the oversight of the elementary music/art programs as well as secondary programs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-201 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 3 / Section 151-201
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-201
Status: in_force

The following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) “ Base amount ” or “ student base amount ” means the student base funding level that is established in the funding formula as the estimated cost of educating a student with no additional measured needs or special factors.

(b) “ Career and technical education course ” or “ CTE course ” means a credit-bearing course that has been approved and classified by the department as a career and technical education, or CTE, course.

(c) “ Charter school ” means a public school that is established and operating under the terms of a charter contract pursuant to Chapter 28, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(d) “ Department ” means the State Department of Education.

(e) “ English Language Learner ” or “ ELL ” means a student identified in accordance with federal law as entitled to English as a second language or bilingual services on the basis of the student's English language proficiency.

(f) “ Final weighted enrollment ” means the final product of applying weights to the net enrollment of a school district or charter school after accounting for the sparsity of a school district or charter school, as determined in Section 37-151-205 .

(g) “ Gifted student ” means a student identified as eligible to participate in a gifted education program for the instruction of intellectually or academically gifted children, as defined and provided for in Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181 .

(h) “ Local contribution ” means the amount of local tax money that school districts or charter schools must contribute to the cost of the funding formula for their district or charter school in a given fiscal year, as determined under Section 37-151-211 .

(i) “ Local minimum tax effort ” means the amount in taxes that the local levying authority for each school district must raise on behalf of the school districts and charter schools in its geographic boundaries, as determined under Section 37-151-211 .

(j) “ Low income student ” means a student who has been identified by the department, through inclusion in the identified student percentage, as having been approved for free meals based on documentation of:

(i) Receipt of benefits from the following federally funded programs:

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);

2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF);

3. Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR); or

4. Medicaid, where applicable, as approved by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct matching with Medicaid data to identify children eligible for free meals; or

(ii) The inclusion of students who are identified as homeless children, migrant children, runaway children or Head Start children, who are approved for free school meals without application and not subject to verification, which includes foster children certified for free meals through means other than an application for free and reduced price school meals.

(k) “ Net enrollment ” means the average of the total aggregate student enrollment of a school district or charter school on the last day of months two (2) and three (3) of the previous school year. The total aggregate student enrollment for each day may be determined by calculating the total number of students enrolled plus or minus the total number of new student enrollments or withdrawals, respectively, with the resulting amount being considered the total aggregate student enrollment on a given day. However, if a local school board or the governing board of a charter school adopts a class schedule that operates throughout the year for any or all schools in the district or the charter school, net enrollment must be computed by the State Department of Education so that the resulting net enrollment will not be higher or lower than if the local school board or the governing board had not adopted a year-round schedule.

(l) “ Preliminary weighted enrollment ” means the initial product of applying weights to the net enrollment of a school district or charter school, as determined in Section 37-151-205 .

(m) “ School board ” means a governmental board exercising management and control over a school district and the schools of that district pursuant to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 and state statutes.

(n) “ School district ” or “ district ” means a governmental entity that establishes and supervises one or more public schools within its geographical limits pursuant to state statutes.

(o) “ Sparsely populated district or charter school ” means a school district or charter school with a density of less than eight (8) students per square mile, as determined by dividing the net enrollment of a district or charter school by the square mileage within its geographic boundaries. For the purpose of determining the sparsity of a charter school, the square mileage of a charter school is equivalent to the square mileage within the geographic boundaries of the school district in which the charter school is located.

(p) “ Special education program ” means a program that provides services for exceptional children, as defined and authorized by Chapter 23, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(q) “ State share ” means the amount the state contributes to the funding formula for the annual operating funding of each school district or charter school.

(r) “ Superintendent ” means the administrative head of a school district.

(s) “ Total funding formula ” means the formula used to determine annual operating funding for public schools, as prescribed in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 .

(t) “ Weight ” or “ weighting ” means a multiplier used to adjust the preliminary weighted enrollment and final weighted enrollment to support the additional costs of educating students in defined student populations or in a defined geographic context.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-119-7 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 119-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-119-7
Status: in_force

The University of Southern Mississippi (herein sometimes referred to as the “university”) is authorized and empowered to require the state building commission to issue bonds in an amount not exceeding the sum of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00), bearing interest at a rate not exceeding six per cent per annum, for the purpose of and to be expended in extending, adding to and improving the athletic stadium on its campus; to impose student athletic fees; to impose charges, in addition to and distinguished from the established price of admission, upon persons, other than students, for the privilege of attending events held in such stadium, which such charges shall be exempt from any amusement tax now levied and collected in the State of Mississippi, and to immediately commence, prior to the issuance and sale of the bonds herein authorized and to continue, the collection of such charges; and to apply to the satisfaction and retirement, as and when due, of the principal of and interest on such bonds, said athletic fees and said charges, and also, rental income from the dormitory facilities now in the stadium, and income, not otherwise appropriated or allocated, from any other sources. Such bonds shall be authorized by the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning in the manner now provided by Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103 , and all of the provisions of said sections (except as herein otherwise provided and as are not in conflict with the provisions hereof) shall be applicable to the authorization and issuance of such bonds. Reference in Sections 37-101-95 , 37-101-101 , to “dormitories, dwellings or apartments” shall be understood to apply also to all other projects authorized to be financed under the provisions of Section 37-101-99 .

Upon request of the university, acting through its president and financial secretary, authorization having been first obtained from the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning, the state building commission shall issue and sell bonds of the university at not less than par and accrued interest in the manner provided by Section 21-27-45, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for the sale of bonds of municipalities issued thereunder and upon terms and at interest rates, not to exceed the maximum therein authorized, to be fixed by the state building commission. The state building commission is hereby authorized to supervise the contracting for, and the erection of, all buildings erected, extended, added to, or improved under the provisions of this section. The board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning is hereby authorized and empowered to specify the nature of such extensions, additions, improvements or new construction, and shall approve the plans and specifications therefor prior to the letting of any new contract for any such work. All contracts let under the supervision of the state building commission shall be let as provided by law for other contracts let by said commission.

The board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning, in the resolution authorizing such bonds, may provide for the imposition of such student athletic fees, such charges for the privilege of attending events held in such stadium (as hereinabove distinguished from the price of admission), such rental charges for use of the dormitories facilities now in the stadium and for application to the retirement of such bonds of such other sources of income, not otherwise appropriated or allocated, as it may consider desirable. Said board may provide for the collection and the allocation of such fees and charges. Such fees and charges or other income shall always be in such amounts as will assure the prompt payment of principal of and interest on such bonds and the carrying out of all of the covenants and agreements contained in such resolution authorizing such bonds.

All bonds so issued shall constitute negotiable instruments within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code of Mississippi.

Any bonds authorized under authority of this section may be validated in the chancery court of first judicial district, Hinds County in the manner and with the force and effect now or hereafter provided by general law for the validation of municipal bonds.

This section, without reference to any other statute or law of Mississippi other than the portions of Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103 , not in conflict herewith, and Section 31-19-25 , shall constitute full authority for the extension, adding to and improvement of the aforesaid stadium and the authorization and issuance of bonds hereunder and no other provisions of the statutes pertinent thereto, except as herein expressly provided, shall be construed as applying to any proceedings had hereunder or any acts done pursuant hereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-51-19 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 6 / Section 51-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-51-19
Status: in_force

Any loans made or granted to any applicant shall be made and based upon the following conditions of repayment:

(a) Repayment in full of the principal of the loan may be made at any time prior to three years after graduation from or termination of attendance in an approved school, plus simple interest at the rate of three percent per annum from the date of each payment made to applicant.

(b) Repayment of the principal of the loan after three years from the date of graduation from or termination of attendance in an approved school shall be with interest at the rate of four percent per annum from the date of each payment made to applicant. From and after the fourth year following graduation or termination of attendance in an approved school, the rate of interest to be paid on the remaining unpaid balance, after such fourth year, shall increase at the rate of one-half percent per annum to a maximum of eight percent.

(c) No applicant shall be entitled to more than twelve years after said graduation or termination of attendance in an approved school within which to repay said loan.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-125 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 9 / Section 33-125
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-125
Status: in_force

Funds for the purpose of providing grants to assist in the establishing and operating of community rehabilitation programs for severely disabled individuals may be received by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, State Department of Rehabilitation Services from appropriations by the Legislature, from grants from other state agencies, departments, divisions, commissions and boards having funds available for this purpose, and from the federal government. The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, State Department of Rehabilitation Services, shall promulgate and publish rules and regulations that shall govern the distribution of those grants and the matching basis incumbent thereto.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-1 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 155-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-155-1
Status: in_force

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-17 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 1 / Section 106-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-106-17
Status: in_force

Any student desiring financial assistance shall submit an application to the board on an annual basis. The director shall adhere to the board's rules and regulations promulgated under authority of this chapter in determining the eligibility of each applicant and in administering the programs authorized in this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-173 — MS Code / Title 37 / Chapter 14 / Section 33-173
Miss. Code Ann. § 37-33-173
Status: in_force

(1) As used in this section:

(a) “ Certification ” means the credentials that has been granted or recognized, or both, by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), or any other national certifying body that is recognized by the Mississippi Office on Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH), including, but not limited to: RID/NAD National Interpreter Certification (NIC)(NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master), NAD (III, IV or V), Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC), Certificate of Interpretation (CI), Certificate of Transliteration (CT), Ed:K-12 (Educational Interpreter Performance Appraisal [EIPA] Level 4 or 5), Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI). It further includes the documentation that supports the certification level the interpreter has achieved.

(b) “ Deaf or hard of hearing person ” means a person who has either no hearing or who has significant hearing loss so as to need the services of an interpreter to communicate. “ Deafblind person ” means a person who has either the dual loss of hearing and sight or who has significant hearing and vision losses so as to need the services of an interpreter to communicate.

(c) “ Interpreter training program ” means a postsecondary degree program of at least two (2) years in duration that is accredited by the Mississippi Community College Board, the Mississippi institutions of higher learning or a comparable agency in another state.

(d) “ Interpreter ” means an individual who is certified or credentialed by the National Association of the Deaf, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, any other national certifying organization which is recognized by the Mississippi Office on Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH), or an individual who holds a valid ODHH-approved quality assurance screening level. Registered interpreters are required to adhere to professional standards and a Code of Ethics as established by the National Association of the Deaf and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.

(e) “ Interpreting ” is the process of providing accessible communication between and among consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing and those who are hearing. This process includes, but is not limited to, communication between persons who use American Sign Language, English, cued speech and oral communication. It may also include various other modalities that involve visual, gestural and tactile methods.

(f) “ Quality assurance level (QA level) ” means the level granted through an ODHH-approved quality assurance screening evaluation. It further includes the documentation that supports the QA level the interpreter has achieved.

(g) “ Register ” means the process whereby the certification and quality assurance level of qualified interpreters are documented and maintained so as to permit those individuals to act as an interpreter for pay in the State of Mississippi.

(h) “ Registering authority ” means the agency that registers the credentials an interpreter holds, issues the registration documentation to do business in the State of Mississippi, and maintains the records to support the registration. The registering authority is the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, Office on Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

(i) “ EIPA ” means the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment.

(2)(a) Commencing on July 1, 2005, no person, except as noted in subsection (2)(f), shall do any of the following with respect to providing interpreting services for consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing for a fee or other remuneration unless the person is registered with the registering authority:

(i) Engage in the practice of, or offer to engage in the practice of, interpreting for a fee.

(ii) Use the title of interpreter in connection with the person's name.

(iii) Assume the identity of an interpreter.

(iv) Use the title of interpreter in advertisements or descriptions.

(v) Perform the function of or convey the impression that the person is an interpreter.

(b) On or after July 1, 2010, no person shall provide interpreting services and/or represent himself or herself as an interpreter for deaf or hard of hearing consumers for compensation unless such person is registered with the registering authority according to the provisions of this section. To register as an interpreter, one must satisfy one (1) of the following requirements: (i) hold certification recognized by the National Association of the Deaf or the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, (ii) hold a quality assurance screening level that is accepted by the Registering Authority, or (iii) score 3.0 or higher on the EIPA.

(c) In situations where there is extreme hardship or where deaf and hard of hearing consumers would be left with no interpreting services, a provisional permit may be granted on an annual basis, provided that documentation of improved interpreting skills is shown.

(d) The registering authority shall be charged with the responsibility for keeping all records and verifying the accuracy of the credentials of each applicant.

(e) Registration shall be for a period of two (2) years, and is renewable.

(f) The following shall be exceptions to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection (2):

(i) A person may engage in the practice of interpreting for religious services without being registered under the provisions of this section.

(ii) Students enrolled in an approved Interpreter Training Program (ITP) are granted a student level registration provided the ITP has an instructor who also is registered under the provisions of this section and the student pays the appropriate fees.

(iii) A graduate of an approved Interpreter Training Program (ITP) can continue to utilize their student level for two (2) years without registering provided they are supervised by an interpreter who is registered under the provisions of this section and the graduate pays the appropriate fees.

(g) The registering authority shall establish an Advisory Council to assist in writing the rules and setting the fees for registering. The Advisory Council shall have three (3) members. One (1) member shall be a deaf consumer; one (1) member shall be a registered interpreter who is actively engaged in the interpreting business; and one (1) member shall be at large. The Advisory Council may ask additional persons who are knowledgeable about the process and business of interpreting to assist them with the business of the council as needed.

(3) The deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind consumer(s) and the hearing person(s) who employ, contract or otherwise engage the services of an interpreter are the principal parties in the interpreted communication or conversation, and as such hold exclusive rights to any information conveyed therein. Interpreters may not disclose or be compelled to disclose, through reporting or testimony or by subpoena, the contents of the conversations, except an interpreter working in conjunction with and paid by a state agency, private organization or primary or secondary school for the therapeutic, educational or rehabilitation purposes. This communication remains confidential, but may be shared with the appropriate agency or educational staff working to assist the deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind person.

(4) The registering authority shall develop forms and assist in referring grievances to the appropriate professional organization and/or authorities.

(5) The registering authority shall have oversight authority regarding in-state quality assurance evaluations to ensure that proper assessment tools, methods and procedures are followed and that evaluators are trained and qualified, as well as the authority to employ personnel as necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(6) Whoever is in violation of subsection (2) or (3) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), and may be imprisoned for not more than six (6) months.

(7) Mississippi shall recognize interpreters who are licensed and/or certified in other states with equal or higher certification than the interpreting levels prescribed by the rules and regulations incumbent in this section. A nonresident interpreter may work up to fifteen (15) days per year without seeking a valid permit from the registering authority. The person who utilizes a nonresident interpreter is charged with the responsibility of verifying the credentials and type of interpreting the interpreter is qualified to do. If a nonresident interpreter works more than fifteen (15) calendar days per year in the State of Mississippi for compensation or other remuneration, the interpreter must become registered under the provisions of this section and pay the appropriate fees.

(8) The registering authority shall establish fair and equitable rules and a fee schedule, not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per annual registration, to cover the cost of administering this section. The rules and fee schedule will be published for the general public.