Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 181 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ACT (§§ 37-181-1 — 37-181-23) › Section 37-181-13 - [Repealed effective 7/1/2028] PEER to prepare biannual report on sufficiency of funds for Education Scholarship Accounts

(1)
The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall prepare a biannual report, beginning in 2018 and every two (2) years thereafter, assessing efficacy of Education Scholarship Accounts, to include the sufficiency of funding, and recommending any suggested changes in state law or policy necessary to improve the ESA program.
(2)
The report shall assess:
(a)
The degree to which eligible schools are meeting the needs of participating students as defined by the participating students' IEPs;
(b)
The level of participating students' satisfaction with the ESA program;
(c)
The level of parental or guardian satisfaction with the ESA program;
(d)
Participating students' performance, both pre-assessment and post-assessment, on the eligible school's current assessment used to demonstrate academic progress, a nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test, or a current state board-approved screener, as required in Section
37-181-15(f)
;
(e)
Participating students' performance on Advanced Placement examinations or similar courses and any examinations related to college or university admission; provided that eligible schools must report participating students' performance on Advance Placement examinations and any examinations related to college or university admission;
(f)
The four-year high school graduation rates and college acceptance rates of participating students; provided that eligible schools must report participating students' high school graduation rates and, if known, college acceptance rates;
(g)
The percentage of funds used for each qualifying expense identified in Section
37-181-5(2)
; and
(h)
The fiscal impact to the state and home school districts of the ESA program, which must consider both the impact on revenue and the impact on expenses. Furthermore, the fiscal savings associated with students departing public schools must be explicitly quantified, even if the public school losing the student(s) does not reduce its spending accordingly.
(3)
The report shall:
(a)
Apply appropriate analytical and behavioral science methodologies to ensure public confidence in the study; and
(b)
Protect the identity of participating students and schools by, among other things, keeping anonymous all disaggregated data.
(4)
PEER shall provide the Legislature with a final copy of the report of the ESA program before December 31 each year the report is due. At the same time, the study shall also be placed in a prominent location on the PEER website.
(5)
PEER must make its data and methodology available for public review while complying with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 USCS Section 1232(g)).
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 518, HB 1229,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 386, SB 2594,§ 7, eff. 6/25/2020.
Added by Laws, 2015, ch. 441, § 7, eff. 4/16/2015.