MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Education

By: Representative Frierson

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER OF CERTAIN PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN WHICH THEY RESIDE TO OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THOSE DISTRICTS, WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM WHICH THE STUDENTS TRANSFER; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-15-29 AND 37-19-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-15-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-15-31. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section, upon the petition in writing of a parent or guardian * * * of a * * * student filed * * * with the president or secretary of the school board of a school district in which the student seeks to be enrolled and is qualified to be enrolled as a student under Section 37-15-9 * * *, an individual student living in one (1) school district * * * may be legally transferred to another school district, upon the * * * consent to the transfer by the school board of the school district to which the student is transferring. The consent shall be given in writing and spread upon the minutes of the school board. Upon the initiative of the school board of a school district, a grade or grades of a school within the district may be legally transferred to another school district, subject to the mutual consent of the school board of each school district concerned. The consent shall be given in writing and spread upon the minutes of each school board.

(b)  * * * If the transfer of an individual student is refused by the school board of the school district, the decision of the school board shall be final.

(c)  * * * The school board of the * * * school district involved (the transferee board), * * * shall act on each request for a transfer * * * no later than the next regular meeting of the transferee board. * * * A failure of the transferee board to act within such time shall constitute a rejection of the request. If * * * a transfer is approved by the transferee board, * * * then such decision shall be final. * * *

(d) 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 certificated 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 on January 1, 1993, is an instructional or certificated 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 noncertificated 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 under this subsection 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.

SECTION 2. Section 37-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-15-29. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section, no minor child may enroll in or attend any school except in the school district of his residence, unless such child is lawfully transferred from the school district of his residence to a school in another school district under Section 37-15-31.

(2) Those children whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) are instructional personnel or certificated employees of a school district, * * * at such employee's discretion, may enroll and attend the school or schools of their parent's or legal guardian's employment regardless of the residence of the child.

(3) No child shall be required to be transported in excess of thirty (30) miles on a school bus from his or her home to school, or in excess of thirty (30) miles from school to his or her home, if there is another school in an adjacent school district located on a shorter school bus transportation route by the nearest traveled road. Those children residing in such geographical situations * * *, at the discretion of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), may enroll and attend the nearer school, regardless of the residence of the child. In the event the parent or legal guardian of such child and the school board are unable to agree on the school bus mileage required to transport the child from his or her home to school, an appeal shall lie to the State Board of Education, or its designee, whose decision shall be final.

(4) Any child lawfully transferred from the school district of his residence to a school in another school district before July 1, 1992, may, at the discretion of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), continue to enroll and attend school in the transferee school district. In addition, the brother(s) and sister(s) of those children lawfully transferred before July 1, 1992, * * * at the discretion of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), also may enroll and attend school in the transferee school district.

SECTION 3. Section 37-19-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-19-27. (1) Legally transferred students going from one school district to another shall be counted for teacher allotment and allotments for supportive services by the school district wherein the pupils attend school, including cost allotments prescribed in Sections 37-19-19 and 37-19-31 for school district administrative and clerical salaries and other expenses, but shall be counted for transportation allotment purposes in the school district which furnishes or provides the transportation. The school boards of the school districts which approve the transfer of a student under the provisions of subsections (2), (3) or (4) of Section 37-15-31 shall enter into an agreement and contract for the payment or nonpayment of any portion of their local maintenance funds which they deem fair and equitable in support of any transferred student. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, local maintenance funds shall be transferred only to the extent specified in the agreement and contract entered into by the affected school districts. The terms of any local maintenance fund payment transfer contract shall be spread upon the minutes of both of the affected school district school boards. A school district accepting any transfer student under Section 37-15-31(1) shall be authorized to accept tuition from the student. The amount of the tuition shall be established by agreement, which may remain in effect for any length of time designated in the agreement. The terms of * * * student transfer contracts and the amounts of any tuition charged any transfer student shall be spread upon the minutes of all affected school boards. No school district accepting any transfer students under the provisions of Section 37-15-31(2), which provides for the transfer of certain school district employee dependents, shall be authorized to charge such transfer students any tuition fees.

(2) Local maintenance funds shall be paid by the home school district to the transferee school district for students granted transfers under the provisions of Sections 37-15-29(3) and 37-15-31(3), not to exceed the "individual student entitlement" as defined in Section 37-22-1(2)(d) multiplied by the number of such legally transferred students.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.