MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Senator(s) Chaney
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-3-93, 37-7-301, 37-9-77, 37-11-18.1, 37-11-54, 37-11-61 AND 37-15-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE AUTOMATIC REPEALERS ON CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICT PROGRAMS RELATING TO SCHOOL CRISIS MANAGEMENT, REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCIES, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS SABBATICAL LEAVE, EXPULSION OF HABITUALLY DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS, CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEER MEDIATION CURRICULA, PARENTAL INFORMATION ON MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE AND EVIDENCE OF AGE FOR PUPIL ENROLLMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-3-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-93. (1) Subject to the availability of funding specifically appropriated for such purpose, there is established a School Crisis Management Program under the State Department of Education. This program is to be initiated and executed by the department using only existing staff and resources. Under this program, the State Department of Education shall create an office making available a quick response team of personnel trained in school safety and crisis management to respond to traumatic or violent situations that impact students and faculty in the public schools in Mississippi. The School Crisis Management Program shall operate in accordance with the following:
(a) The basic response team shall consist of those personnel designated by the State Superintendent of Public Education, or their designees, depending on the size of the school and the nature of the event.
(b) In order to access the services of a response team, the request must be made by the local school principal or the superintendent of schools, who shall make the request to the State Department of Education or its contact designee.
(c) A response team shall enter a school to work with students and faculty for a period of no more than three (3) days, unless otherwise requested by the school district.
(d) The State Department of Education, or its designee, shall operate a toll-free incoming wide area telephone service for the purpose of receiving reports of suspected cases of school violence and other traumatic situations impacting on students and faculty in the public schools.
(e) The request made by a school district to access the services of a response team following a school safety incident may seek a review of the local school district's safety plan, and the results of this evaluation may be published by the local school board in a newspaper with wide circulation in the district.
(f) Subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the expenses of the quick response teams and their administrative support shall be provided from state funds. The State Department of Education may apply for and expend funds for the support and maintenance of this program from private and other funding sources.
(2) Local school districts, school superintendents and principals may request and utilize the services of quick response teams provided for under this section; however, this section does not require school officials to request the services of quick response teams.
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SECTION 2. Section 37-7-301, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-301. The school boards of all school districts shall have the following powers, authority and duties in addition to all others imposed or granted by law, to wit:
(a) To organize and operate the schools of the district and to make such division between the high school grades and elementary grades as, in their judgment, will serve the best interests of the school;
(b) To introduce public school music, art, manual training and other special subjects into either the elementary or high school grades, as the board shall deem proper;
(c) To be the custodians of real and personal school property and to manage, control and care for same, both during the school term and during vacation;
(d) To have responsibility for the erection, repairing and equipping of school facilities and the making of necessary school improvements;
(e) To suspend or to expel a pupil or to change the placement of a pupil to the school district's alternative school or homebound program for misconduct in the school or on school property, as defined in Section 37-11-29, on the road to and from school, or at any school-related activity or event, or for conduct occurring on property other than school property or other than at a school-related activity or event when such conduct by a pupil, in the determination of the school superintendent or principal, renders that pupil's presence in the classroom a disruption to the educational environment of the school or a detriment to the best interest and welfare of the pupils and teacher of such class as a whole, and to delegate such authority to the appropriate officials of the school district;
(f) To visit schools in the district, in their discretion, in a body for the purpose of determining what can be done for the improvement of the school in a general way;
(g) To support, within reasonable limits, the superintendent, principal and teachers where necessary for the proper discipline of the school;
(h) To exclude from the schools students with what appears to be infectious or contagious diseases; provided, however, such student may be allowed to return to school upon presenting a certificate from a public health officer, duly licensed physician or nurse practitioner that the student is free from such disease;
(i) To require those vaccinations specified by the State Health Officer as provided in Section 41-23-37;
(j) To see that all necessary utilities and services are provided in the schools at all times when same are needed;
(k) To authorize the use of the school buildings and grounds for the holding of public meetings and gatherings of the people under such regulations as may be prescribed by said board;
(l) To prescribe and enforce rules and regulations not inconsistent with law or with the regulations of the State Board of Education for their own government and for the government of the schools, and to transact their business at regular and special meetings called and held in the manner provided by law;
(m) To maintain and operate all of the schools under their control for such length of time during the year as may be required;
(n) To enforce in the schools the courses of study and the use of the textbooks prescribed by the proper authorities;
(o) To make orders directed to the superintendent of schools for the issuance of pay certificates for lawful purposes on any available funds of the district and to have full control of the receipt, distribution, allotment and disbursement of all funds provided for the support and operation of the schools of such school district whether such funds be derived from state appropriations, local ad valorem tax collections, or otherwise. The local school board shall be authorized and empowered to promulgate rules and regulations that specify the types of claims and set limits of the dollar amount for payment of claims by the superintendent of schools to be ratified by the board at the next regularly scheduled meeting after payment has been made;
(p) To select all school district personnel in the manner provided by law, and to provide for such employee fringe benefit programs, including accident reimbursement plans, as may be deemed necessary and appropriate by the board;
(q) To provide athletic programs and other school activities and to regulate the establishment and operation of such programs and activities;
(r) To join, in their discretion, any association of school boards and other public school-related organizations, and to pay from local funds other than minimum foundation funds, any membership dues;
(s) To expend local school activity funds, or other available school district funds, other than minimum education program funds, for the purposes prescribed under this paragraph. "Activity funds" shall mean all funds received by school officials in all school districts paid or collected to participate in any school activity, such activity being part of the school program and partially financed with public funds or supplemented by public funds. The term "activity funds" shall not include any funds raised and/or expended by any organization unless commingled in a bank account with existing activity funds, regardless of whether the funds were raised by school employees or received by school employees during school hours or using school facilities, and regardless of whether a school employee exercises influence over the expenditure or disposition of such funds. Organizations shall not be required to make any payment to any school for the use of any school facility if, in the discretion of the local school governing board, the organization's function shall be deemed to be beneficial to the official or extracurricular programs of the school. For the purposes of this provision, the term "organization" shall not include any organization subject to the control of the local school governing board. Activity funds may only be expended for any necessary expenses or travel costs, including advances, incurred by students and their chaperons in attending any in-state or out-of-state school-related programs, conventions or seminars and/or any commodities, equipment, travel expenses, purchased services or school supplies which the local school governing board, in its discretion, shall deem beneficial to the official or extracurricular programs of the district, including items which may subsequently become the personal property of individuals, including yearbooks, athletic apparel, book covers and trophies. Activity funds may be used to pay travel expenses of school district personnel. The local school governing board shall be authorized and empowered to promulgate rules and regulations specifically designating for what purposes school activity funds may be expended. The local school governing board shall provide (i) that such school activity funds shall be maintained and expended by the principal of the school generating the funds in individual bank accounts, or (ii) that such school activity funds shall be maintained and expended by the superintendent of schools in a central depository approved by the board. The local school governing board shall provide that such school activity funds be audited as part of the annual audit required in Section 37-9-18. The State Department of Education shall prescribe a uniform system of accounting and financial reporting for all school activity fund transactions;
(t) To contract, on a shared savings, lease or lease-purchase basis, for energy efficiency services and/or equipment as provided for in Section 31-7-14, not to exceed ten (10) years;
(u) To maintain accounts and issue pay certificates on school food service bank accounts;
(v) (i) To lease a school building from an individual, partnership, nonprofit corporation or a private for-profit corporation for the use of such school district, and to expend funds therefor as may be available from any nonminimum program sources. The school board of the school district desiring to lease a school building shall declare by resolution that a need exists for a school building and that the school district cannot provide the necessary funds to pay the cost or its proportionate share of the cost of a school building required to meet the present needs. The resolution so adopted by the school board shall be published once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper having a general circulation in the school district involved, with the first publication thereof to be made not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date upon which the school board is to act on the question of leasing a school building. If no petition requesting an election is filed prior to such meeting as hereinafter provided, then the school board may, by resolution spread upon its minutes, proceed to lease a school building. If at any time prior to said meeting a petition signed by not less than twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the school district involved shall be filed with the school board requesting that an election be called on the question, then the school board shall, not later than the next regular meeting, adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within such school district upon the question of authorizing the school board to lease a school building. Such election shall be called and held, and notice thereof shall be given, in the same manner for elections upon the questions of the issuance of the bonds of school districts, and the results thereof shall be certified to the school board. If at least three-fifths (3/5) of the qualified electors of the school district who voted in such election shall vote in favor of the leasing of a school building, then the school board shall proceed to lease a school building. The term of the lease contract shall not exceed twenty (20) years, and the total cost of such lease shall be either the amount of the lowest and best bid accepted by the school board after advertisement for bids or an amount not to exceed the current fair market value of the lease as determined by the averaging of at least two (2) appraisals by certified general appraisers licensed by the State of Mississippi. The term "school building" as used in this paragraph (v)(i) shall be construed to mean any building or buildings used for classroom purposes in connection with the operation of schools and shall include the site therefor, necessary support facilities, and the equipment thereof and appurtenances thereto such as heating facilities, water supply, sewage disposal, landscaping, walks, drives and playgrounds. The term "lease" as used in this paragraph (v)(i) may include a lease/purchase contract;
(ii) If two (2) or more school districts propose to enter into a lease contract jointly, then joint meetings of the school boards having control may be held but no action taken shall be binding on any such school district unless the question of leasing a school building is approved in each participating school district under the procedure hereinabove set forth in paragraph (v)(i). All of the provisions of paragraph (v)(i) regarding the term and amount of the lease contract shall apply to the school boards of school districts acting jointly. Any lease contract executed by two (2) or more school districts as joint lessees shall set out the amount of the aggregate lease rental to be paid by each, which may be agreed upon, but there shall be no right of occupancy by any lessee unless the aggregate rental is paid as stipulated in the lease contract. All rights of joint lessees under the lease contract shall be in proportion to the amount of lease rental paid by each;
(w) To employ all noninstructional and noncertificated employees and fix the duties and compensation of such personnel deemed necessary pursuant to the recommendation of the superintendent of schools;
(x) To employ and fix the duties and compensation of such legal counsel as deemed necessary;
(y) Subject to rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, to purchase, own and operate trucks, vans and other motor vehicles, which shall bear the proper identification required by law;
(z) To expend funds for the payment of substitute teachers and to adopt reasonable regulations for the employment and compensation of such substitute teachers;
(aa) To acquire in its own name by purchase all real property which shall be necessary and desirable in connection with the construction, renovation or improvement of any public school building or structure. Whenever the purchase price for such real property is greater than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), the school board shall not purchase the property for an amount exceeding the fair market value of such property as determined by the average of at least two (2) independent appraisals by certified general appraisers licensed by the State of Mississippi. If the board shall be unable to agree with the owner of any such real property in connection with any such project, the board shall have the power and authority to acquire any such real property by condemnation proceedings pursuant to Section 11-27-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, and for such purpose, the right of eminent domain is hereby conferred upon and vested in said board. Provided further, that the local school board is authorized to grant an easement for ingress and egress over sixteenth section land or lieu land in exchange for a similar easement upon adjoining land where the exchange of easements affords substantial benefit to the sixteenth section land; provided, however, the exchange must be based upon values as determined by a competent appraiser, with any differential in value to be adjusted by cash payment. Any easement rights granted over sixteenth section land under such authority shall terminate when the easement ceases to be used for its stated purpose. No sixteenth section or lieu land which is subject to an existing lease shall be burdened by any such easement except by consent of the lessee or unless the school district shall acquire the unexpired leasehold interest affected by the easement;
(bb) To charge reasonable fees related to the educational programs of the district, in the manner prescribed in Section 37-7-335;
(cc) Subject to rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, to purchase relocatable classrooms for the use of such school district, in the manner prescribed in Section 37-1-13;
(dd) Enter into contracts or agreements with other school districts, political subdivisions or governmental entities to carry out one or more of the powers or duties of the school board, or to allow more efficient utilization of limited resources for providing services to the public;
(ee) To provide for in-service training for employees of the district;
(ff) As part of their duties to prescribe the use of textbooks, to provide that parents and legal guardians shall be responsible for the textbooks and for the compensation to the school district for any books which are not returned to the proper schools upon the withdrawal of their dependent child. If a textbook is lost or not returned by any student who drops out of the public school district, the parent or legal guardian shall also compensate the school district for the fair market value of the textbooks;
(gg) To conduct fund-raising activities on behalf of the school district that the local school board, in its discretion, deems appropriate or beneficial to the official or extracurricular programs of the district; provided that:
(i) Any proceeds of the fund-raising activities shall be treated as "activity funds" and shall be accounted for as are other activity funds under this section; and
(ii) Fund-raising activities conducted or authorized by the board for the sale of school pictures, the rental of caps and gowns or the sale of graduation invitations for which the school board receives a commission, rebate or fee shall contain a disclosure statement advising that a portion of the proceeds of the sales or rentals shall be contributed to the student activity fund;
(hh) To allow individual lessons for music, art and other curriculum-related activities for academic credit or nonacademic credit during school hours and using school equipment and facilities, subject to uniform rules and regulations adopted by the school board;
(ii) To charge reasonable fees for participating in an extracurricular activity for academic or nonacademic credit for necessary and required equipment such as safety equipment, band instruments and uniforms;
(jj) To conduct or participate in any fund-raising activities on behalf of or in connection with a tax-exempt charitable organization;
(kk) To exercise such powers as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions of this section;
(ll) To expend funds for the services of nonprofit arts organizations or other such nonprofit organizations who provide performances or other services for the students of the school district;
(mm) To expend federal No Child Left Behind Act funds, or any other available funds that are expressly designated and authorized for that use, to pay training, educational expenses, salary incentives and salary supplements to employees of local school districts; except that incentives shall not be considered part of the local supplement as defined in Section 37-151-5(o), nor shall incentives be considered part of the local supplement paid to an individual teacher for the purposes of Section 37-19-7(1). Mississippi Adequate Education Program funds or any other state funds may not be used for salary incentives or salary supplements as provided in this paragraph (mm);
(nn) To use any available funds, not appropriated or designated for any other purpose, for reimbursement to the state-licensed employees from both in state and out of state, who enter into a contract for employment in a school district, for the expense of moving when the employment necessitates the relocation of the licensed employee to a different geographical area than that in which the licensed employee resides before entering into the contract. The reimbursement shall not exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for the documented actual expenses incurred in the course of relocating, including the expense of any professional moving company or persons employed to assist with the move, rented moving vehicles or equipment, mileage in the amount authorized for county and municipal employees under Section 25-3-41 if the licensed employee used his personal vehicle or vehicles for the move, meals and such other expenses associated with the relocation. No licensed employee may be reimbursed for moving expenses under this section on more than one (1) occasion by the same school district. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the actual residence to which the licensed employee relocates to be within the boundaries of the school district that has executed a contract for employment in order for the licensed employee to be eligible for reimbursement for the moving expenses. However, the licensed employee must relocate within the boundaries of the State of Mississippi. Any individual receiving relocation assistance through the Critical Teacher Shortage Act as provided in Section 37-159-5 shall not be eligible to receive additional relocation funds as authorized in this paragraph;
(oo) To use any available funds, not appropriated or designated for any other purpose, to reimburse persons who interview for employment as a licensed employee with the district for the mileage and other actual expenses incurred in the course of travel to and from the interview at the rate authorized for county and municipal employees under Section 25-3-41;
(pp) Consistent with the report of the Task Force to Conduct a Best Financial Management Practices Review, to improve school district management and use of resources and identify cost savings as established in Section 8 of Chapter 610, Laws of 2002, local school boards are encouraged to conduct independent reviews of the management and efficiency of schools and school districts. Such management and efficiency reviews shall provide state and local officials and the public with the following:
(i) An assessment of a school district's governance and organizational structure;
(ii) An assessment of the school district's financial and personnel management;
(iii) An assessment of revenue levels and sources;
(iv) An assessment of facilities utilization, planning and maintenance;
(v) An assessment of food services, transportation and safety/security systems;
(vi) An assessment of instructional and administrative technology;
(vii) A review of the instructional management and the efficiency and effectiveness of existing instructional programs; and
(viii) Recommended methods for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in providing educational services to the public;
(qq) To enter into agreements with other local school boards for the establishment of an educational service agency (ESA) to provide for the cooperative needs of the region in which the school district is located, as provided in Section 37-7-345. * * *
(rr) To implement a financial literacy program for students in Grades 10 and 11. The board may review the national programs and obtain free literature from various nationally recognized programs. After review of the different programs, the board may certify a program that is most appropriate for the school districts' needs. If a district implements a financial literacy program, then any student in Grade 10 or 11 may participate in the program. The financial literacy program shall include, but is not limited to, instruction in the same areas of personal business and finance as required under Section 37-1-3(2)(b). The school board may coordinate with volunteer teachers from local community organizations, including, but not limited to, the following: United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Junior Achievement, bankers and other nonprofit organizations. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as to require school boards to implement a financial literacy program;
(ss) To collaborate with the State Board of Education, Community Action Agencies or the Department of Human Services to develop and implement a voluntary program to provide services for a full-day prekindergarten program that addresses the cognitive, social, and emotional needs of four-year-old and three-year-old children. The school board may utilize nonstate source special funds, grants, donations or gifts to fund the voluntary program;
(tt) With respect to any lawful, written obligation of a school district, including, but not limited to, leases (excluding leases of sixteenth section public school trust land), bonds, notes, or other agreement, to agree in writing with the obligee that the State Tax Commission or any state agency, department or commission created under state law may:
(i) Withhold all or any part (as agreed by the school board) of any monies which such local school board is entitled to receive from time to time under any law and which is in the possession of the State Tax Commission, or any state agency, department or commission created under state law; and
(ii) Pay the same over to any financial institution, trustee or other obligee, as directed in writing by the school board, to satisfy all or part of such obligation of the school district.
The school board may make such written agreement to withhold and transfer funds irrevocable for the term of the written obligation and may include in the written agreement any other terms and provisions acceptable to the school board. If the school board files a copy of such written agreement with the State Tax Commission, or any state agency, department or commission created under state law then the State Tax Commission or any state agency, department or commission created under state law shall immediately make the withholdings provided in such agreement from the amounts due the local school board and shall continue to pay the same over to such financial institution, trustee or obligee for the term of the agreement.
This paragraph (tt) shall not grant any extra authority to a school board to issue debt in any amount exceeding statutory limitations on assessed value of taxable property within such school district or the statutory limitations on debt maturities, and shall not grant any extra authority to impose, levy or collect a tax which is not otherwise expressly provided for, and shall not be construed to apply to sixteenth section public school trust land;
(uu) With respect to any matter or transaction that is competitively bid by a school district, to accept from any bidder as a good faith deposit or bid bond or bid surety, the same type of good faith deposit or bid bond or bid surety that may be accepted by the state or any other political subdivision on similar competitively bid matters or transactions. This paragraph (uu) shall not be construed to apply to sixteenth section public school trust land. The school board may authorize the investment of any school district funds in the same kind and manner of investments, including pooled investments, as any other political subdivision, including community hospitals;
(vv) To utilize the alternate method for the conveyance or exchange of unused school buildings and/or land, reserving a partial or other undivided interest in the property, as specifically authorized and provided in Section 37-7-485, Mississippi Code of 1972;
(ww) To delegate, privatize or otherwise enter into a contract with private entities for the operation of any and all functions of nonacademic school process, procedures and operations including, but not limited to, cafeteria workers, janitorial services, transportation, professional development, achievement and instructional consulting services materials and products, purchasing cooperatives, insurance, business manager services, auditing and accounting services, school safety/risk prevention, data processing and student records, and other staff services; however, the authority under this paragraph does not apply to the leasing, management or operation of sixteenth section lands. Local school districts, working through their regional education service agency, are encouraged to enter into buying consortia with other member districts for the purposes of more efficient use of state resources as described in Section 37-7-345;
(xx) To partner with entities, organizations and corporations for the purpose of benefiting the school district; and
(yy) To borrow funds from the Rural Economic Development Authority for the maintenance of school buildings.
SECTION 3. Section 37-9-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-9-77. (1) There is established the Mississippi School Administrator Sabbatical Program which shall be available to licensed teachers employed in Mississippi school districts for not less than three (3) years, for the purpose of allowing such teachers to become local school district administrators under the conditions set forth in this section. The State Board of Education, in coordination with the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, shall develop guidelines for the program. Application shall be made to the State Department of Education for the Mississippi School Administrator Sabbatical Program by qualified teachers meeting the criteria for a department-approved administration program and who have been recommended by the local school board. Administration programs that are eligible for the administrator sabbatical program shall be limited to those that have been approved by the department by the January 1 preceding the date of admission to the program. Admission into the program shall authorize the applicant to take university course work and training leading to an administrator's license.
(2) The salaries of the teachers approved for participation in the administrator sabbatical program shall be paid by the employing school district from nonminimum education program funds. However, the State Department of Education shall reimburse the employing school districts for the cost of the salaries and paid fringe benefits of teachers participating in the administrator sabbatical program for one (1) contract year. Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the then current minimum education program salary schedule under Section 37-19-7, except that the maximum amount of the reimbursement from state funds shall not exceed the minimum education program salary for a teacher holding a Class A license and having five (5) years' experience. The local school district shall be responsible for that portion of a participating teacher's salary attributable to the local supplement and for any portion of the teacher's salary that exceeds the maximum amount allowed for reimbursement from state funds as provided in this subsection, and the school board may not reduce the local supplement payable to that teacher. Any reimbursements made by the State Department of Education to local school districts under this section shall be subject to available appropriations and may be made only to school districts determined by the State Board of Education as being in need of administrators.
(3) Such teachers participating in the program on a full-time basis shall continue to receive teaching experience and shall receive the salary prescribed in Section 37-19-7, including the annual experience increments. Such participants shall be fully eligible to continue participation in the Public Employees' Retirement System and the Public School Employees Health Insurance Plan during the time they are in the program on a full-time basis.
(4) As a condition for participation in the School Administrator Sabbatical Program, such teachers shall agree to employment as administrators in the sponsoring school district for not less than five (5) years following completion of administrator licensure requirements. Any person failing to comply with this employment commitment in any required school year, unless the commitment is deferred as provided in subsection (5) of this section, shall immediately be in breach of contract and become liable to the State Department of Education for that amount of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the state while the teacher was on sabbatical, less twenty percent (20%) of the amount of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the state for each year that the person was employed as an administrator following completion of the administrator licensure requirements. In addition, the person shall become liable to the local school district for any portion of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the local school district while the teacher was on sabbatical that is attributable to the local salary supplement or is attributable to the amount that exceeds the maximum amount allowed for reimbursement from state funds as provided in subsection (2) of this section, less twenty percent (20%) of the amount of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the school district for each year that the person was employed as an administrator following completion of the administrator licensure requirements. Interest on the amount due shall accrue at the current Stafford Loan rate at the time the breach occurs. If the claim for repayment of such salary and fringe benefits is placed in the hands of an attorney for collection after default, then the obligor shall be liable for an additional amount equal to a reasonable attorney's fee.
(5) If there is not an administrator position immediately available in the sponsoring school district after a person has completed the administrator licensure requirements, or if the administrator position in the sponsoring school district in which the person is employed is no longer needed before the completion of the five-year employment commitment, the local school board shall defer any part of the employment commitment that has not been met until such time as an administrator position becomes available in the sponsoring school district. If such a deferral is made, the sponsoring school district shall employ the person as a teacher in the school district during the period of deferral, unless the person desires to be released from employment by the sponsoring school district and the district agrees to release the person from employment. If the sponsoring school district releases a person from employment, that person may be employed as an administrator in another school district in the state that is in need of administrators as determined by the State Board of Education, and that employment for the other school district shall be applied to any remaining portion of the five-year employment commitment required under this section. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a school district from not renewing the person's contract before the end of the five-year employment commitment in accordance with the School Employment Procedures Law (Section 37-9-101 et seq.). However, if the person is not employed as an administrator by another school district after being released by the sponsoring school district, or after his contract was not renewed by the sponsoring school district, he shall be liable for repayment of the amount of his salary and fringe benefits as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
(6) All funds received by the State Department of Education from the repayment of salary and fringe benefits paid by the state from program participants shall be deposited in the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Fund.
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SECTION 4. Section 37-11-18.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-11-18.1. (1) For the purposes of this section:
(a) The term "disruptive behavior" means conduct of a student that is so unruly, disruptive or abusive that it seriously interferes with a school teacher's or school administrator's ability to communicate with the students in a classroom, with a student's ability to learn, or with the operation of a school or school-related activity, and which is not covered by other laws related to violence or possession of weapons or controlled substances on school property, school vehicles or at school-related activities. Such behaviors include, but are not limited to: foul, profane, obscene, threatening, defiant or abusive language or action toward teachers or other school employees; defiance, ridicule or verbal attack of a teacher; and willful, deliberate and overt acts of disobedience of the directions of a teacher; and
(b) The term "habitually disruptive" refers to such actions of a student which cause disruption in a classroom, on school property or vehicles or at a school-related activity on more than two (2) occasions during a school year, and to disruptive behavior that was initiated, willful and overt on the part of the student and which required the attention of school personnel to deal with the disruption. However, no student shall be considered to be habitually disruptive before the development of a behavior modification plan for the student in accordance with the code of student conduct and discipline plans of the school district.
(2) Any student who is thirteen (13) years of age or older for whom a behavior modification plan is developed by the school principal, reporting teacher and student's parent and which student does not comply with the plan shall be deemed habitually disruptive and subject to automatic expulsion on the occurrence of the third act of disruptive behavior during a school year. After the second act of disruptive behavior during a school year by a student who is younger than thirteen (13) years of age, a psychological evaluation shall be performed upon the child.
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SECTION 5. Section 37-11-54, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-11-54. The State Board of Education, using only existing staff and resources, shall develop a list of recommended conflict resolution and mediation materials, models and curricula that address responsible decision making, the causes and effects of school violence and harassment, cultural diversity, and nonviolent methods for resolving conflict, including peer mediation, and shall make the list available to local school administrative units and school buildings before the beginning of the 2002-2003 school year. However, no monies from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant may be used for developing this list. In developing this list, the board shall emphasize materials, models and curricula that currently are being used in Mississippi and which the board determines to be effective. The board shall include at least one (1) model that includes instruction and guidance for the voluntary implementation of peer mediation programs and one (1) model that provides instruction and guidance for teachers concerning the integration of conflict resolution and mediation lessons into the existing classroom curriculum.
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SECTION 6. Section 37-11-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-11-61. (1) Local school boards shall ensure that all public schools and agricultural high schools provide parents and guardians with information about meningococcal disease and the effectiveness of vaccination against meningococcal disease. Such information may be provided through the school district Web site, student handbook or other appropriate means of dissemination of information. Such information shall be updated annually if new information on such disease is available. This information shall include the causes, symptoms and means by which meningococcal disease is spread and the places where parents and guardians may obtain additional information and vaccinations for their children. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a local school board or school to provide or purchase vaccine against meningococcal disease.
(2) The State Board of Health shall develop and make available educational materials appropriate for distribution so that the information required by this section can be provided to parents and guardians. The Department of Health may provide this information, at its discretion, electronically, on its Web site. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the Department of Health to provide or purchase vaccine against meningococcal disease.
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SECTION 7. Section 37-15-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-15-1. The State Board of Education shall prepare and provide necessary forms for keeping permanent records and cumulative folders for each pupil in the public schools of the state. In the permanent record and cumulative folders, the teachers and principals shall keep information concerning the pupil's date of birth, as verified by the documentation authorized in this section, record of attendance, grades and withdrawal from the school, including the date of any expulsion from the school system and a description of the student's act or behavior resulting in the expulsion. The records also shall contain information pertaining to immunization and such other information as the State Board of Education may prescribe. The cumulative folder, in addition to that information maintained in the permanent records, also shall contain such other information as the State Board of Education shall prescribe. It shall be the responsibility of the person in charge of each school to enforce the requirement for evidence of the age of each pupil before enrollment. If the first prescribed evidence is not available, the next evidence obtainable in the order set forth below shall be accepted:
(a) A certified birth certificate;
(b) A duly attested transcript of a certificate of baptism showing the date of birth and place of baptism of the child, accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by a parent, grandparent or custodian;
(c) An insurance policy on the child's life which has been in force for at least two (2) years;
(d) A bona fide contemporary Bible record of the child's birth accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the parent, grandparent or custodian;
(e) A passport or certificate of arrival in the United States showing the age of the child;
(f) A transcript of record of age shown in the child's school record of at least four (4) years prior to application, stating date of birth; or
(g) If none of these evidences can be produced, an affidavit of age sworn to by a parent, grandparent or custodian. Any child enrolling in Kindergarten or Grade 1 shall present the required evidence of age upon enrollment. Any child in Grades 2 through 12 not in compliance at the end of sixty (60) days from enrollment shall be suspended until in compliance.
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SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after June 30, 2007.