MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Education

By: Representative Martinson

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PREPARE THE MISSISSIPPI ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REPORT FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXPLICITLY STATING THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS THAT TEACHERS MUST TEACH AND THAT STUDENTS SHOULD ACQUIRE IN EACH GRADE AND COURSE; TO SPECIFY THE CONTENTS AND COMPONENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

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

SECTION 1. (1) Before July 1, 1998, the State Department of Education shall prepare a report to be known as the "Mississippi Essential Knowledge and Skills Report." The purpose of the Mississippi Essential Knowledge and Skills Report shall be to explicitly state the knowledge and skills that teachers must teach and that students should acquire in each grade and course.

(2) The Mississippi Essential Knowledge and Skills Report shall:

(a) Describe its requirements in terms of specific knowledge and skills and not in terms of affective feelings or emotions;

(b) Describe the explicit requirements for each grade level;

(c) State the knowledge and skills that teachers must cover during a school year's time and that students should acquire during that school year;

(d) Form the foundation for: selecting textbooks having sufficient content to meet the report's requirements; day-to-day classroom instruction; and teacher education courses in state colleges and universities; and

(e) Address the content of each course, not the methodology. For the purposes of this section, the term "content" refers to: (i) the knowledge and skills that the teacher shall teach; and (ii) the knowledge and skills that the students should acquire. The term "methodology" refers to how the teacher teaches the course and consists of how the teacher plans to present the content and guide the students to acquiring and maintaining that content.

(3) The Mississippi Essential Knowledge and Skills Report shall be comprised of two (2) components, Teacher Elements and Student Elements. The Teacher Elements shall describe the specific knowledge and skills that the teachers are required to teach their students. The Student Elements shall specify the knowledge and skills that students should acquire. Each person applying for teacher certification in the state shall be required to demonstrate that his or her college education sufficiently prepared that person to teach the content identified under the Teacher Elements of the Mississippi Essential Knowledge and Skills Report.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.