MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Moore
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-9-127, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS, THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SUBJECT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE STATE PERSONNEL BOARD SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM STATE PERSONNEL BOARD PROCEDURES, AND ALL EMPLOYEES OF THE AGENCY SHALL BE CLASSIFIED AS NONSTATE SERVICE DURING THAT PERIOD; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-3-13, 37-3-25, 37-3-95, 37-13-80 AND 43-5-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 25-9-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-9-127. (1) No employee of any department, agency or institution who is included under this chapter or hereafter included under its authority, and who is subject to the rules and regulations prescribed by the state personnel system, may be dismissed or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or employment status except for inefficiency or other good cause, and after written notice and hearing within the department, agency or institution as shall be specified in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board complying with due process of law; and any employee who has by written notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status shall, on hearing and on any appeal of any decision made in such action, be required to furnish evidence that the reasons stated in the notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status are not true or are not sufficient grounds for the action taken; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply (a) to persons separated from any department, agency or institution due to curtailment of funds or reduction in staff when such separation is in accordance with rules and regulations of the state personnel system; (b) during the probationary period of state service of twelve (12) months; and (c) to an executive officer of any state agency who serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor, board, commission or other appointing authority.
(2) The operation of a state-owned motor vehicle without a valid Mississippi driver's license by an employee of any department, agency or institution that is included under this chapter and that is subject to the rules and regulations of the state personnel system shall constitute good cause for dismissal of such person from employment.
(3) Beginning July 1, 1999, every male between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26) who is required to register under the federal Military Selective Service Act, 50 USCS App. 453, and who is an employee of the state shall not be promoted to any higher position of employment with the state until he submits to the person, commission, board or agency by which he is employed satisfactory documentation of his compliance with the draft registration requirements of the Military Selective Service Act. The documentation shall include a signed affirmation under penalty of perjury that the male employee has complied with the requirements of the Military Selective Service Act.
(4) For a period of * * * three (3) years beginning July
1, 2014, the provisions of subsection (1) shall not apply to the personnel
actions of the State Department of Education that are subject to the rules and
regulations of the State Personnel Board, and all employees of the department
shall be classified as nonstate service during that period. However, any
employee hired after July 1, 2014, by the department shall meet the criteria of
the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment. The State
Superintendent of Public Education and the State Board of Education shall
consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions
authorized by this section to review those actions for compliance with
applicable state and federal law.
It is not the intention or effect of this section to include any school attendance officer in any exemption from coverage under the State Personnel Board policy or regulations, including, but not limited to, termination and conditions of employment.
(5) For a period of one (1) year beginning July 1, 2015, the provisions of subsection (1) shall not apply to the personnel actions of the Department of Corrections, and all employees of the department shall be classified as nonstate service during that period. However, any employee hired after July 1, 2015, by the department shall meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment. The Commissioner of Corrections shall consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions authorized by this section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal law.
(6) Any state agency whose personnel actions are exempted in this section from the rules, regulations and procedures of the State Personnel Board shall file with the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the members of the Senate and House Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency Committees an annual report no later than July 1, 2016, and each year thereafter while under the exemption. Such annual report shall contain the following information:
(a) The number of current employees who received an increase in salary during the past fiscal year;
(b) The number of employees who were dismissed from the agency or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or employment status during the past fiscal year; and
(c) The number of new employees hired during the past fiscal year and the starting salaries of each new employee.
SECTION 2. Section 37-3-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-13. (1) The deputy superintendents, associate superintendents and directors shall be selected by and hold office subject to the will of the State Superintendent of Public Education subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. All other personnel shall be competitively appointed by the State Superintendent and shall be dismissed only for cause in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The State Board of Education shall set the salary of the deputy superintendents, associate superintendents and divisional directors, and the members of the teaching staffs and employees of the Mississippi School of the Arts. The State Superintendent, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board, shall fix the amount of compensation of all other employees of the State Department of Education. All salaries, compensation or expenses of any of the personnel of the department shall be paid upon the requisition of the State Superintendent of Public Education and warrant issued thereunder by the State Auditor out of funds appropriated by the Legislature in a lump sum upon the basis of budgetary requirements submitted by the Superintendent of Education or out of funds otherwise made available. The entire expense of administering the department shall never exceed the amount appropriated therefor, plus funds received from other sources other than state appropriations. For a violation of this provision, the superintendent shall be liable, and he and the sureties on his bond shall be required to restore any such excess.
(2) For a period of * * * three (3) years beginning July
1, 2014, the provisions of subsection (1) regarding the personnel actions of
the State Department of Education shall not be subject to the rules and
regulations of the State Personnel Board for all personnel employed by the
department within that period. All personnel hired within the period of
exemption from the state personnel system shall be classified as nonstate
service and must meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently
exists for employment.
SECTION 3. Section 37-3-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-25. (1) The Director of the Division of Vocational and Technical Education of the State Department of Education who shall be an associate state superintendent of education shall be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education. The director's salary shall be set by the State Board of Education subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. His salary, compensation, travel expenses or other expenses shall be provided for out of any funds made available for such purpose by the Legislature, the federal government, or other gifts or grants.
The director shall be responsible
to the State Superintendent of Public Education for the proper administration
of the programs of vocational and technical education in conformity with the
policies adopted by the State Board of Education and shall be responsible for
appointing any necessary supervisors, assistants, and employees to assist in
carrying out the programs of vocational and technical education. The director
shall have the authority to employ, compensate, terminate, promote, demote,
transfer or reprimand employees of the division. The salary and compensation
of such employees shall be subject to the rules and regulations adopted and
promulgated by the State Personnel Board as created under Section 25-9-101 et
seq. However, if for any reason within the * * * three-year period beginning
July 1, 2014, a new Director of the Division of Vocational and Technical
Education or other personnel within the division are employed by the
department, the employment shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of
the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
(2) The Director of the Division of Vocational and Technical Education, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, shall have charge of and be responsible for vocational and technical education training in:
(a) Agriculture;
(b) Occupational and consumer home economics;
(c) Consumer and homemaking education;
(d) Trades and industry;
(e) Distributive education;
(f) Secondary adult education;
(g) Teacher training and supervision;
(h) Business and office;
(i) Health;
(j) Industrial arts;
(k) Guidance services;
(l) Technical education;
(m) Cooperative education; and
(n) All other specialized training not requiring a bachelors degree, with the exception of programs of nursing education regulated under the provisions of Section 37-129-1.
SECTION 4. Section 37-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-95. (1) Subject to
the availability of funding for such purpose, the State Superintendent of
Public Education shall employ within the State Department of Education or, in the
alternative, contract with the Mississippi Military Department for a statewide
coordinator for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs in the
public schools. If employed by the State Department of Education, the JROTC
statewide coordinator must be an active or retired member of the military and
must meet any additional qualifications that may be established for the
position by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Personnel
Board. However, if for any reason within the * * * three-year period beginning
July 1, 2014, a new JROTC statewide coordinator is employed by the department,
the employment of such individual shall not be subject to the rules and
regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in
Section 25-9-127(4).
(2) The following are the powers and duties of the JROTC statewide coordinator:
(a) To coordinate training of new JROTC instructors and continuing education programs for certified instructors;
(b) To facilitate communication between JROTC programs in the various public schools;
(c) To assist in organizing competitions among JROTC units from different high schools;
(d) To assist in the development of the JROTC curriculum;
(e) To compile information on scholarships available to JROTC participants and to solicit support for such scholarships;
(f) To assist in establishing support groups for parents of students participating in a JROTC program;
(g) To solicit and accept financial support for JROTC programs from private sector donors;
(h) To promote the involvement of JROTC units within their local communities;
(i) To facilitate interaction between JROTC units and the Mississippi National Guard and Mississippi Air National Guard;
(j) To promote, in general, the JROTC program in high schools throughout the state;
(k) To assist local schools with the application process for establishing new JROTC programs in high schools; and
(l) To perform such other duties relating to the JROTC program established by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Board of Education.
SECTION 5. Section 37-13-80, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-80. (1) There is created the Office of Dropout Prevention within the State Department of Education. The office shall be responsible for the administration of a statewide dropout prevention program.
(2) The State
Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint a director for the Office of
Dropout Prevention, who shall meet all qualifications established by the State
Superintendent of Public Education and the State Personnel Board. The director
shall be responsible for the proper administration of the Office of Dropout
Prevention and any other regulations or policies that may be adopted by the
State Board of Education. However, if for any reason within the * * * three-year period beginning
July 1, 2014, a new director for the Office of Dropout Prevention is employed
by the department, the employment of such individual shall not be subject to
the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise
provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
(3) Each school district shall implement a dropout prevention program approved by the Office of Dropout Prevention of the State Department of Education by the 2012-2013, and annually thereafter, school year.
(4) Each local school district will be held responsible for reducing and/or eliminating dropouts in the district. The local school district will be responsible for the implementation of dropout plans focusing on issues such as, but not limited to:
(a) Dropout Prevention initiatives that focus on the needs of individual local education agencies;
(b) Establishing policies and procedures that meet the needs of the districts;
(c) Focusing on the student-centered goals and objectives that are measureable;
(d) Strong emphasis on reducing the retention rates in grades kindergarten, first and second;
(e) Targeting subgroups that need additional assistance to meet graduation requirements; and
(f) Dropout recovery initiatives that focus on students age seventeen (17) through twenty-one (21), who dropped out of school.
(5) The Office of Dropout Prevention may provide technical assistance upon written request by the local school district. The Office of Dropout Prevention will collaborate with program offices within the Mississippi Department of Education to develop and implement policies and initiatives to reduce the state's dropout rate.
(6) Each school district's dropout prevention plan shall address how students will transition to the home school district from the juvenile detention centers.
(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that, through the statewide dropout prevention program and the dropout prevention programs implemented by each school district, the graduation rate for cohort classes will be increased to not less than eighty-five percent (85%) by the 2018-2019 school year. The Office of Dropout Prevention shall establish graduation rate benchmarks for each two-year period from the 2008-2009 school year through the 2018-2019 school year, which shall serve as guidelines for increasing the graduation rate for cohort classes on a systematic basis to eighty-five percent (85%) by the 2018-2019 school year.
SECTION 6. Section 43-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-5-8. The Superintendent
of the School for the Blind and the Superintendent of the School for the Deaf
and all principals and directors shall be selected by and hold office subject to
the will and pleasure of the State Superintendent of Education, subject to the
approval of the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education may
provide housing for the two (2) superintendents so employed either on- or off-campus.
Each superintendent shall at all times maintain supervision of the physical
properties of the school he serves unless otherwise provided. All other
personnel shall be competitively appointed by the state superintendent and
shall be dismissed only for cause in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the State Personnel Board. The state superintendent, subject to the
approval of the State Personnel Board, shall fix the amount of compensation or
expenses of any of the personnel of the schools, which shall be paid upon the
requisition of the state superintendent and warrant issued thereunder by the
State Auditor out of the funds appropriated by the Legislature in a lump sum
upon the basis of budgetary requirements submitted by the Superintendent of
Education or out of funds otherwise made available. The entire expense of
administering the schools shall never exceed the amount appropriated therefor,
plus funds received from sources other than state appropriations. For a
violation of this provision, the superintendent shall be liable, and he and the
sureties on his bond shall be required to restore any excess. However, if for
any reason within the * * *
three-year period beginning July 1, 2014, a new Superintendent of the
School for the Blind, Superintendent of the School for the Deaf or other
administrative or instructional personnel are employed by the department, the
employment shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State
Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.