MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Henley
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE SCHOOL BOARD OF A LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ADOPT THE CURRICULUM TO BE TAUGHT IN THE SCHOOLS IN THAT DISTRICT; TO REQUIRE A SCHOOL DISTRICT'S CURRICULUM TO BE APPROVED ANNUALLY BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN ORDER TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT STANDARDS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO RECOMMEND CHANGES THAT SHOULD BE MADE TO THE STATE CURRICULUM GUIDELINES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-1-3, 37-3-49 AND 37-9-14, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The school board of a local school district, in its discretion, may develop and establish the curriculum of instruction to be taught in the public schools within that district. The school district's curriculum must include, at a minimum, instruction in all courses or subject areas mandated by state law or required by the State Board of Education pursuant to state law, as well as those courses comprising the core curriculum, as defined by the State Board of Education. A curriculum developed by a school district must be aligned with the state assessment standards and may not be less stringent than the curriculum guidelines established by the State Board of Education.
(2) Each school district developing a curriculum under this section shall submit the curriculum adopted for the schools in that district to the State Department of Education for approval on an annual basis to ensure that the curriculum is in compliance with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section. Upon the request of a school district, the department shall provide guidance to the district in the development of the curriculum. If, in the determination of the department, a curriculum being reviewed does not meet the requirements of this section, the department must return the curriculum to the district along with recommended changes necessary to rectify the curriculum's deficiencies. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations governing the annual submission of the curriculum by the local school districts.
SECTION 2. Section 37-13-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-9.
The State Board of Education is hereby authorized to appoint a curriculum
committee, composed of professional and lay members, not to exceed seven (7) in
number, to make a continuous study of the curriculum of the public schools and
to make recommendations to the State Board of Education from time to time as to
changes which should be made in the curriculum * * *
guidelines prescribed in the Mississippi Curriculum Frameworks. The
members * * * of
such committee shall be appointed and serve for a term of two (2) years
and until their successors are appointed. Each member of said committee shall
receive a per diem * * * in the amount authorized under Section
25-3-69 for each day actually spent attending the meetings of the committee
and, in addition, each member shall be reimbursed for actual travel expenses at
the rate * * * authorized under Section 25-3-41 for each
mile traveled in the member's privately owned motor vehicle in attending
the meetings of the committee. However, the total amount paid to any member of
the committee for per diem shall not exceed the sum of One Hundred Fifty
Dollars ($150.00) in any one (1) year. The per diem and travel expenses
provided for herein shall be paid out of such appropriation as may be made for
such purpose by the Legislature.
SECTION 3. Section 37-1-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-1-3. (1) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations and set standards and policies for the organization, operation, management, planning, budgeting and programs of the State Department of Education.
(a) The board is directed to identify all functions of the department that contribute to or comprise a part of the state system of educational accountability and to establish and maintain within the department the necessary organizational structure, policies and procedures for effectively coordinating such functions. Such policies and procedures shall clearly fix and delineate responsibilities for various aspects of the system and for overall coordination of the total system and its effective management.
(b) The board shall establish and maintain a system-wide plan of performance, policy and directions of public education not otherwise provided for.
(c) The board shall effectively use the personnel and resources of the department to enhance technical assistance to school districts in instruction and management therein.
(d) The board shall establish and maintain a central budget policy.
(e) The board shall establish and maintain within the State Department of Education a central management capacity under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Education.
(f) The board, with recommendations from the superintendent, shall design and maintain a five-year plan and program for educational improvement that shall set forth objectives for system performance and development and be the basis for budget requests and legislative initiatives.
(2)
(a) The State Board of Education shall adopt and maintain a curriculum and a
course of study to be used in the public school districts that do not elect
to develop their own curriculum of instruction. The State Board of Education
shall ensure that the state curriculum and any curriculum adopted by a local
school district is designed to prepare the state's children and youth to be
productive, informed, creative citizens, workers and leaders * * *. If the school board of a school
district elects to develop the curriculum of instruction to be taught in the
schools within that district, the curriculum and course of study adopted by the
State Board of Education under this paragraph may be used as a guide by the
local school board. The State Board of Education shall regulate all
matters arising in the practical administration of the school system not
otherwise provided for.
(b)
* * * The State Board of Education shall develop personal
living and finances objectives that focus on money management skills for
individuals and families for appropriate, existing courses at the secondary
level. The objectives must require the teaching of those skills necessary to
handle personal business and finances and must include instruction in the
following:
(i) Opening a bank account and assessing the quality of a bank's services;
(ii) Balancing a checkbook;
(iii) Managing debt, including retail and credit card debt;
(iv) Completing a loan application;
(v) The implications of an inheritance;
(vi) The basics of personal insurance policies;
(vii) Consumer rights and responsibilities;
(viii) Dealing with salesmen and merchants;
(ix) Computing state and federal income taxes;
(x) Local tax assessments;
(xi) Computing interest rates by various mechanisms;
(xii) Understanding simple contracts; and
(xiii) Contesting an incorrect billing statement.
(3) The State Board of Education shall have authority to expend any available federal funds, or any other funds expressly designated, to pay training, educational expenses, salary incentives and salary supplements to licensed teachers employed in local school districts or schools administered by the State Board of Education. Such incentive payments shall not be considered part of a school district's local supplement as defined in Section 37-151-5(o), nor shall the incentives be considered part of the local supplement paid to an individual teacher for the purposes of Section 37-19-7(1). MAEP funds or any other state funds shall not be used to provide such incentives unless specifically authorized by law.
(4) The State Board of Education shall through its actions seek to implement the policies set forth in Section 37-1-2.
SECTION 4. Section 37-3-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-49.
(1) The State Department of Education shall provide an instructional program
and establish guidelines and procedures for managing such program in the public
schools within the school districts throughout the state as part of the State
Program of Educational Accountability and Assessment of Performance as
prescribed in Section 37-3-46. Public school districts may: (a) elect
to adopt the instructional program and management system provided by the State Department
of Education * * *;
or (b) elect to adopt an instructional program and management system which
meets or exceeds criteria established by the State Department of Education for
such. This provision shall begin with the courses taught in Grades K-8 which
contain skills tested through the Mississippi Basic Skills Assessment Program
and shall proceed through all secondary school courses mandated for graduation
and all secondary school courses in the Mississippi end-of-course testing
program. Other state core objectives must be included in the district's
instructional program as they are provided by the State Department of Education
along with instructional practices, resources, evaluation items and management
procedures. Districts are encouraged to * * * adopt this program or a program that
is no less stringent than this program and accompanying procedures to all
other instructional areas. The department shall provide that such program and
guidelines, or a program and guidelines developed by a local school district
which incorporates the core objectives from the curriculum structure,
are enforced through the performance-based accreditation system. It is the
intent of the Legislature that every effort be made to protect the
instructional time in the classroom and reduce the amount of paperwork which
must be completed by teachers. The State Department of Education shall take
steps to insure that school districts properly use staff development time to
work on the districts' instructional management plans.
(2) The State Department of Education shall provide such instructional program and management guidelines which shall require for every public school district that:
(a) All courses taught in Grades K-8 which contain skills which are tested through the Mississippi Basic Skills Assessment Program, all secondary school courses mandated for graduation, and all courses in the end-of-course testing program shall include the State Department of Education's written list of learning objectives.
(b) The local school board must adopt the objectives that will form the core curriculum which will be systematically delivered throughout the district.
(c) The set of objectives provided by the State Department of Education must be accompanied by suggested instructional practices and resources that would help teachers organize instruction so as to promote student learning of the objectives. Objectives added by the school district must also be accompanied by suggested instructional practices and resources that would help teachers organize instruction. The instructional practices and resources that are identified are to be used as suggestions and not as requirements that teachers must follow. The goal of the program is to have students to achieve the desired objective and not to limit teachers in the way they teach.
(d) Standards for student performance must be established for each core objective in the local program and those standards establish the district's definition of mastery for each objective.
(e) There shall be an annual review of student performance in the instructional program against locally established standards. When weaknesses exist in the local instructional program, the district shall take action to improve student performance.
(3) The State Board of Education and the board of trustees of each school district shall adopt policies to limit and reduce the number and length of written reports that classroom teachers are required to prepare.
(4) This section shall not be construed to limit teachers from using their own professional skills to help students master instructional objectives, nor shall it be construed as a call for more detailed or complex lesson plans or any increase in testing at the local school district level.
(5) Districts meeting the highest levels of accreditation standards, as defined by the State Board of Education, shall be exempted from the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
SECTION 5. Section 37-9-14, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-9-14. (1) It shall be the duty of the superintendent of schools to administer the schools within his district and to implement the decisions of the school board.
(2) In addition to all other powers, authority and duties imposed or granted by law, the superintendent of schools shall have the following powers, authority and duties:
(a) To enter into contracts in the manner provided by law with each assistant superintendent, principal and teacher of the public schools under his supervision, after such assistant superintendent, principal and teachers have been selected and approved in the manner provided by law.
(b) To enforce in the public schools of the school district the courses of study comprising the curriculum adopted by the school board for the schools within the district, or if the district has not adopted a curriculum, the courses of study provided by law or the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, and to comply with the law with reference to the use and distribution of free textbooks.
(c) To administer oaths in all cases to persons testifying before him relative to disputes relating to the schools submitted to him for determination, and to take testimony in such cases as provided by law.
(d) To examine the monthly and annual reports submitted to him by principals and teachers for the purpose of determining and verifying the accuracy thereof.
(e) To preserve all reports of superintendents, principals, teachers and other school officers, and to deliver to his successor or clerk of the board of supervisors all money, property, books, effects and papers.
(f) To prepare and keep in his office a map or maps showing the territory embraced in his school district, to furnish the county assessor with a copy of such map or maps, and to revise and correct same from time to time as changes in or alterations of school districts may necessitate.
(g) To keep an accurate record of the names of all of the members of the school board showing the districts for which each was elected or appointed, the post office address of each, and the date of the expiration of his term of office. All official correspondence shall be addressed to the school board, and notice to such members shall be regarded as notice to the residents of the district, and it shall be the duty of the members to notify such residents.
(h) To deliver in proper time to the assistant superintendents, principals, teachers and board members such forms, records and other supplies which will be needed during the school year as provided by law or any applicable rules and regulations, and to give to such individuals such information with regard to their duties as may be required.
(i) To make to the school board reports for each scholastic month in such form as the school board may require.
(j) To distribute promptly all reports, letters, forms, circulars and instructions which he may receive for the use of school officials.
(k) To keep on file and preserve in his office all appropriate information concerning the affairs of the school district.
(l) To visit the schools of his school district in his discretion, and to require the assistant superintendents, principals and teachers thereof to perform their duties as prescribed by law.
(m) To observe such instructions and regulations as the school board and other public officials may prescribe, and to make special reports to these officers whenever required.
(n) To keep his office open for the transaction of business upon the days and during the hours to be designated by the school board.
(o) To make such reports as are required by the State Board of Education.
(p) To make an enumeration of educable children in his school district as prescribed by law.
(q) To keep in his office and carefully preserve the public school record provided, to enter therein the proceedings of the school board and his decision upon cases and his other official acts, to record therein the data required from the monthly and term reports of principals and teachers, and from the summaries of records thus kept.
(r) To delegate student disciplinary matters to appropriate school personnel.
(s) To make assignments to the various schools in the district of all noninstructional and nonlicensed employees and all licensed employees, as provided in Sections 37-9-15 and 37-9-17, and to make reassignments of such employees from time to time; however, a reassignment of a licensed employee may only be to an area in which the employee has a valid license issued by the State Department of Education. Upon request from any employee transferred, such assignment shall be subject to review by the school board.
(t) To employ substitutes for licensed employees, regardless of whether or not such substitute holds the proper license, subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as may be adopted by the State Board of Education.
(u) To comply in a timely manner with the compulsory education reporting requirements prescribed in Section 37-13-91(6).
(v) To perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.
(w) To notify, in writing, the parent, guardian or custodian, the youth court and local law enforcement of any expulsion of a student for criminal activity as defined in Section 37-11-29.
(x) To notify the youth court and local law enforcement agencies, by affidavit, of the occurrence of any crime committed by a student or students upon school property or during any school-related activity, regardless of location and the identity of the student or students committing the crime.
(y) To employ and dismiss noninstructional and nonlicensed employees as provided by law.
(z) To temporarily employ licensed and nonlicensed employees to fill vacancies which may occur from time to time without prior approval of the board of trustees, provided that the board of trustees is notified of such employment and the action is ratified by the board at the next regular meeting of the board. A school district may pay a licensed employee based on the same salary schedule as other contracted licensed employees in the district until school board action, at which time a licensed employee approved by the school board enters a contract. If the board, within thirty (30) days of the date of employment of such employee under this subsection, takes action to disapprove of the employment by the superintendent, then the employment shall be immediately terminated without further compensation, notice or other employment rights with the district. The terminated employee shall be paid such salary and fringe benefits that such employee would otherwise be entitled to from the date of employment to the date of termination for days actually worked.
(3) All funds to the credit of a school district shall be paid out on pay certificates issued by the superintendent upon order of the school board of the school district properly entered upon the minutes thereof, and all such orders shall be supported by properly itemized invoices from the vendors covering the materials and supplies purchased. All such orders and the itemized invoices supporting same shall be filed as a public record in the office of the superintendent for a period of five (5) years. The superintendent shall be liable upon his official bond for the amount of any pay certificate issued in violation of the provisions of this section. The school board shall have the power and authority to direct and cause warrants to be issued against such district funds for the purpose of refunding any amount of taxes erroneously or illegally paid into such fund when such refund has been approved in the manner provided by law.
(4) The superintendent of schools shall be special accounting officer and treasurer with respect to any and all district school funds for his school district. He or his designee shall issue all warrants without the necessity of registration thereof by the chancery clerk. Transactions with the depositories and with the various tax collecting agencies which involve school funds for such school district shall be with the superintendent of schools, or his designee.
(5) The superintendent of schools will have no responsibility with regard to agricultural high school and junior college funds.
All agricultural high school and junior college funds shall be handled and expended in the manner provided for in Sections 37-29-31 through 37-29-39.
(6) It shall be the duty of the superintendent of schools to keep and preserve the minutes of the proceedings of the school board.
(7) The superintendent of schools shall maintain as a record in his office a book or a computer printout in which he shall enter all demands, claims and accounts paid from any funds of the school district. The record shall be in a form to be prescribed by the State Auditor. All demands, claims and accounts filed shall be preserved by the superintendent of schools as a public record for a period of five (5) years. All claims found by the school board to be illegal shall be rejected or disallowed. To the extent allowed by board policy, all claims which are found to be legal and proper may be paid and then ratified by the school board at the next regularly scheduled board meeting, as paid by the superintendent of schools. All claims as to which a continuance is requested by the claimant and those found to be defective but which may be perfected by amendment shall be continued. The superintendent of schools shall issue a pay certificate against any legal and proper fund of the school district in favor of the claimant in payment of claims. The provisions of this section, however, shall not be applicable to the payment of salaries and applicable benefits, travel advances, amounts due private contractors or other obligations where the amount thereof has been previously approved by a contract or by an order of the school board entered upon its minutes, or paid by board policy, or by inclusion in the current fiscal year budget, and all such amounts may be paid by the superintendent of schools by pay certificates issued by him against the legal and proper fund without allowance of a specific claim therefor as provided in this section, provided that the payment thereof is otherwise in conformity with law.
SECTION 6. Section 1 of this act shall be codified as a new section in Chapter 13, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.