Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 7 - SCHOOL DISTRICTS; BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS (§§ 37-7-1 — 37-7-1001) › Article 7 - BOARDS OF TRUSTEES; GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES (§§ 37-7-301 — 37-7-346) › Section 37-7-315.1 - [Contingent effective date - see note] Consolidation of system of high schools in Tate County; closure of Coldwater High School

(1)
Not later than July 1, 2020, the Tate County School Board, having jurisdiction over three (3) high schools within the Tate County School District, shall consolidate its system of high schools by closing Coldwater High School upon the completion of the 2019-2020 scholastic year. Factors used in determining the necessity to close Coldwater High School consists of the following criteria:
(a)
Coldwater High School has consistently and chronically underperformed, as determined by its grade designation under the statewide school accountability rating system, as determined by the State Board of Education for the last four (4) accreditation cycles as follows:
(i)
Maintained a "F" accountability rating for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 school years; and
(ii)
Achieved a "D" accountability rating for the 2019 school year;
(b)
Coldwater High School has maintained an average annual enrollment of approximately one hundred (100) students for the last four (4) scholastic terms;
(c)
Coldwater High School's average annual student enrollment for the last four (4) scholastic terms represents less than four percent (4%) of the overall student enrollment for the Tate County School District;
(d)
Coldwater High School provides a limited selection of robust and advanced course offerings as part of its adopted curriculum; and
(e)
An assessment of Coldwater High School's graduation percentage rates and dropout percentage rates in comparison to the other remaining two (2) high schools throughout Tate County, the Senatobia Municipal School District and in surrounding counties.
(2)
Under the authority provided in Section
37-7-315
, the Tate County School Board shall execute a plan to provide for the closure of Coldwater High School, which shall be spread upon the minutes of its regularly scheduled meeting or at a special meeting called for the specific purpose of the school closure. At said meeting, the Tate County School Board shall:
(a)
Issue an order to provide that the attendance zone of Coldwater High School shall be collapsed and redrawn for distribution in equal proportions to the school attendance zones for Independence High School and Strayhorn High School. The Tate County School Board shall thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general circulation in the county for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the school board, the new high school attendance zones will thereafter be effective;
(b)
Issue an order to provide that upon such closure, students attending Coldwater High School shall have the discretion to choose whether to:
(i)
Attend either Independence High School or Strayhorn High School in a manner that does not disparately impact the desegregation of either school; or
(ii)
Transfer to the Senatobia Municipal School District, provided that the appropriate high school located therein is closest in proximity to the student's residence than either of the two (2) high schools in the Tate County School District; and
(c)
Issue an order to enter agreement with the Senatobia Municipal School Board for the release by the Tate County School Board and subsequent acceptance by the Senatobia Municipal School District of students affected by the closure of Coldwater High School. The agreement between each school board made parties thereto must consider the composition of the district boundaries of the Tate County School District, as it existed on January 1, 2020, to ensure that the student population eligible to be transferred from the Coldwater High School attendance zone to the Senatobia Municipal School District does not disparately impact the desegregation of either school district entering into agreement.
Added by Laws, 2020, ch. 370, HB 669,§ 1.
Contingent effective date:
Section 4 of Laws, 2020, ch. 370, HB 669, which added this section, provides: "This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is approved by the District Court Judge for the United States District Court, Northern District of Mississippi."