MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Bennett
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-13-81, 37-13-85, 37-13-87 AND 37-13-89, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSFER THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMPLOYING AND ESTABLISHING THE DUTIES OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO TRANSFER ALL FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY JULY 15 OF EACH YEAR; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS TO MAINTAIN REGULAR OFFICE HOURS, BEGINNING WITH THE DATE OF THEIR RETURN FROM DESIGNATED LEAVE UNTIL THE LAST DAY PRIOR TO THE ATTENDANCE OFFICER'S DESIGNATED LEAVE IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN; TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-91, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 37-13-83 AND 37-9-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-13-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-81. There is created
the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement within the Office of
Dropout Prevention of the State Department of Education. The office shall be
responsible for the administration of a statewide system of enforcement of the
Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law (Section 37-13-91) and for the * * * receipt, recording and analysis
of data reported by school attendance officers throughout the state.
SECTION 2. Section 37-13-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
37-13-83. The State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint a director for the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement, who shall meet all qualifications established for school attendance officer supervisors and any additional qualifications that may be established by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Personnel Board. The director shall be responsible for the proper administration of the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement in conformity with the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law and any other regulations or policies that may be adopted by the State Board of Education. The director shall report directly to the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention.
SECTION 3. Section 37-13-85, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-85. The Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement shall have the following powers and duties, in addition to all others imposed or granted by law:
(a) To establish any
policies or guidelines * * *
to be used by local school districts for the employment of school
attendance officers which serve to effectuate a uniform system of enforcement
under the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law throughout the state * * *;
(b) To supervise and assist school attendance officer supervisors in the performance of their duties;
(c) To establish minimum standards for enrollment and attendance for the state and each individual school district, and to monitor the success of the state and districts in achieving the required levels of performance;
(d) To provide to school districts failing to meet the established standards for enrollment and attendance assistance in reducing absenteeism or the dropout rates in those districts;
(e) To establish any qualifications, in addition to those required under Section 37-13-89, for school attendance officers as the office deems necessary to further the purposes of the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law;
(f) To develop and implement a system under which school districts are required to maintain accurate records that document enrollment and attendance in such a manner that the records reflect all changes in enrollment and attendance, and to require school attendance officers to submit information concerning public school attendance on a monthly basis to the office;
(g) To prepare the form of the certificate of enrollment required under the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law and to furnish a sufficient number of the certificates of enrollment to each school attendance officer in the state;
(h) To provide to the State Board of Education statistical information concerning absenteeism, dropouts and other attendance-related problems as requested by the State Board of Education;
(i) To provide for the certification of school attendance officers;
(j) To provide for a course of training and education for school attendance officers, and to require successful completion of the course as a prerequisite to certification by the office as school attendance officers;
(k) To adopt any guidelines or policies the office deems necessary to effectuate an orderly transition from the supervision of school attendance officers by district attorneys to the supervision by the school attendance officer supervisors;
(l) Beginning on July
1, * * * 2022,
to require local school * * * boards to
employ * * *
school attendance officers currently serving their local school districts and
employed by * * * the State Department of Education before July 1, * * * 2022, as school attendance officers
without requiring such persons to submit an application or interview for
employment with the * * * local school board;
(m) To adopt policies or guidelines to assist local school districts with linking the duties of school attendance officers to the appropriate courts, law enforcement agencies and community service providers; and
(n) To adopt any other
policies or guidelines that the office deems necessary for the enforcement of
the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law; however, the policies or
guidelines shall not add to or contradict with the requirements of Section 37-13-91 * * *; and
(o) To transfer all funds appropriated for school attendance officers to local school districts by July 15 of each year.
SECTION 4. Section 37-13-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-87. (1) The Director
of the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement shall employ three
(3) school attendance officer supervisors, each to maintain an office within a
different Supreme Court district. Each supervisor shall be responsible for the
enforcement of the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law within his or
her district * * *. The supervisors, who shall report to the director of the
office, shall assist the school attendance officers employed by school districts
in his or her assigned Supreme Court district in the performance of their
duties as established by law or otherwise.
(2) No person having less than eight (8) years combined actual experience as a school attendance officer, school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer possessing a college degree with a major in a behavioral science or a related field, and/or social worker in the state shall be employed as a school attendance officer supervisor. Further, a school attendance officer supervisor shall possess a college degree with a major in a behavioral science or a related field or shall have actual experience as a school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer possessing such degree or social worker; however, these requirements shall not apply to persons employed as school attendance officers before January 1, 1987. School attendance officers shall meet any additional qualifications established by the State Personnel Board for school attendance officers or school attendance officer supervisors. The school attendance officer supervisors shall receive an annual salary to be set by the State Superintendent of Public Education, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board.
SECTION 5. Section 37-13-89, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-89. (1) * * * Each school district within the state * * * shall * * * employ the requisite number
of school attendance officers as determined by the * * *
local school board to be necessary to adequately enforce the provisions
of the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law * * *. From and after July
1, * * * 2022,
all school attendance officers * * * shall be employees
of the * * * school district in which they have been employed
to serve, and shall be subject to same employment procedures as are required for
other district employees as prescribed in Chapter 9, Title 37, Mississippi Code
of 1972. * * *
(2) (a) The State
Department of Education shall * * * transfer the current criminal records
background checks and current child abuse registry checks on all * * * school
attendance officers employed by the department * * * before July * * * 1, * * * 2022, to the superintendents of the local
school districts wherein the school attendance officer served under the authority
of the department. Beginning July 1, 2022, any person applying to serve
as a school attendance officer with a local school district shall submit to a criminal
records background check and current child abuse registry check as required by Section
37-9-17. The criminal records information and registry checks must be kept
on file for any new hires. In order to determine an applicant's suitability
for employment as a school attendance officer, the applicant must be
fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level,
the Department of Public Safety shall forward the fingerprints to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a national criminal history record check.
The applicant shall pay the fee, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00), for the
fingerprinting and criminal records background check; however, the State Department
of Education * * *
or the local school board, in its discretion, may elect to pay
the fee for the fingerprinting and criminal records background check on behalf
of any applicant. Under no circumstances * * * shall a member of the State Board of
Education, * * * superintendent/director of
schools under the purview of the State Board of Education, local school
district superintendent, local school board member or any person other than
the subject of the criminal records background check disseminate information
received through any such checks except insofar as required to fulfill the
purposes of this subsection.
(b) If the fingerprinting or criminal records check discloses a felony conviction, guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offense listed in Section 45-33-23(h), child abuse, arson, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust or aggravated assault which has not been reversed on appeal or for which a pardon has not been granted, the applicant is not eligible to be employed as a school attendance officer. Any employment of an applicant pending the results of the fingerprinting and criminal records check is voidable if the new hire receives a disqualifying criminal records check. However, the State Board of Education or the local school board, in its discretion, may allow an applicant aggrieved by an employment decision under this subsection to appear before the respective board, or before a hearing officer designated for that purpose, to show mitigating circumstances that may exist and allow the new hire to be employed as a school attendance officer. The State Board of Education or the local school board may grant waivers for mitigating circumstances, which may include, but are not necessarily limited to: (i) age at which the crime was committed; (ii) circumstances surrounding the crime; (iii) length of time since the conviction and criminal history since the conviction; (iv) work history; (v) current employment and character references; and (vi) other evidence demonstrating the ability of the person to perform the responsibilities of a school attendance officer competently and that the person does not pose a threat to the health or safety of children.
(c) * * * No local school district, local school
district employee, member of the State Board of Education or employee of * * * a
school under the purview of the State Board of Education shall be held
liable in any employment discrimination suit in which an allegation of
discrimination is made regarding an employment decision authorized under this
section.
(3) Each school attendance
officer shall possess a college degree with a major in a behavioral science or
a related field or shall have no less than three (3) years combined actual experience
as a school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer possessing
such degree, and/or social worker * * *. School
attendance officers also shall satisfy any additional requirements that may be
established by the * * * hiring
local school district.
(4) It shall be the duty of each school attendance officer to:
(a) Cooperate with any public agency to locate and identify all compulsory-school-age children who are not attending school;
(b) Cooperate with all courts of competent jurisdiction;
(c) Investigate all cases of nonattendance and unlawful absences by compulsory-school-age children not enrolled in a nonpublic school;
(d) Provide appropriate counseling to encourage all school-age children to attend school until they have completed high school;
(e) Attempt to secure the provision of social or welfare services that may be required to enable any child to attend school;
(f) Contact the home or place of residence of a compulsory-school-age child and any other place in which the officer is likely to find any compulsory-school-age child when the child is absent from school during school hours without a valid written excuse from school officials, and when the child is found, the officer shall notify the parents and school officials as to where the child was physically located;
(g) Contact promptly the home of each compulsory-school-age child in the school district within the officer's jurisdiction who is not enrolled in school or is not in attendance at public school and is without a valid written excuse from school officials; if no valid reason is found for the nonenrollment or absence from the school, the school attendance officer shall give written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the requirement for the child's enrollment or attendance;
(h) Collect and maintain information concerning absenteeism, dropouts and other attendance-related problems, as may be required by law, the local school district or the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement; and
(i) Perform all other
duties relating to compulsory school attendance established by the * * * local school district
or district school attendance supervisor, or both.
(5) While engaged in the performance
of his duties, each school attendance officer shall carry on his person a badge
identifying him as a school attendance officer * * * for the employing local school
district and an identification card designed by * * *
and issued by the * * * local school district. Neither
the badge nor the identification card shall bear the name of any elected public
official.
(6) The State Personnel Board
shall develop a salary scale for school attendance officers as part of the
variable compensation plan. The various pay ranges of the salary scale shall
be based upon factors including, but not limited to, education, professional
certification and licensure, and number of years of experience. School
attendance officers shall be paid in accordance with this salary scale. * * *
* * *
( * * *7) (a) * * * During the school term,
on those days that teachers in all of the school districts served by a school attendance
officer are not required to report to work, the school attendance officer also
shall not be required to report to work. (For purposes of this subsection, a
school district's school term is that period of time identified as the school
term in contracts entered into by the district with licensed personnel.) A
school attendance officer shall be required to report to work on any day
recognized as an official state holiday if teachers in any school district served
by that school attendance officer are required to report to work on that day * * *.
(b) * * * School attendance
officers shall maintain regular office hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., beginning
with the date of their return from designated leave, during the school term most
representative of all the school districts served by that school attendance officer,
and until the last day prior to the attendance officer's designated leave is scheduled
to begin. Each local school district annually shall designate a period of
six (6) consecutive weeks in the summer between school years during which
school attendance officers shall not be required to report to work. A school
attendance officer who elects to work at any time during that period may not be
awarded compensatory leave for such work and may not opt to be absent from work
at any time other than during the six (6) weeks designated by the * * * school district unless the
school attendance officer uses personal leave or major medical leave accrued
under Section 25-3-93 or 25-3-95 for such absence. School attendance
officers are expected to regularly and routinely check their district-assigned email
and district-issued cellular phone to remain abreast of important announcements
or messages from the school district, their immediate supervisor or other personnel,
during their six (6) weeks of designated leave.
( * * *8) The State Department of Education
shall provide all continuing education and training courses that school
attendance officers are required to complete under state law or rules and
regulations of the department.
SECTION 6. Section 37-13-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-91. (1) This section shall be referred to as the "Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law."
(2) The following terms as used in this section are defined as follows:
(a) "Parent" means the father or mother to whom a child has been born, or the father or mother by whom a child has been legally adopted.
(b) "Guardian" means a guardian of the person of a child, other than a parent, who is legally appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) "Custodian" means any person having the present care or custody of a child, other than a parent or guardian of the child.
(d) "School day" means not less than five and one-half (5-1/2) and not more than eight (8) hours of actual teaching in which both teachers and pupils are in regular attendance for scheduled schoolwork.
(e) "School" means any public school, including a charter school, in this state or any nonpublic school in this state which is in session each school year for at least one hundred eighty (180) school days, except that the "nonpublic" school term shall be the number of days that each school shall require for promotion from grade to grade.
(f) "Compulsory-school-age child" means a child who has attained or will attain the age of six (6) years on or before September 1 of the calendar year and who has not attained the age of seventeen (17) years on or before September 1 of the calendar year; and shall include any child who has attained or will attain the age of five (5) years on or before September 1 and has enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program.
(g) "School
attendance officer" means a person employed by * * * a local school
district pursuant to Section 37-13-89.
(h) "Appropriate school official" means the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, or, in the case of a nonpublic school, the principal or the headmaster.
(i) "Nonpublic school" means an institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical plant, whether owned or leased, including a home, instructional staff members and students, and which is in session each school year. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, private, church, parochial and home instruction programs.
(3) A parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child in this state shall cause the child to enroll in and attend a public school or legitimate nonpublic school for the period of time that the child is of compulsory school age, except under the following circumstances:
(a) When a compulsory-school-age child is physically, mentally or emotionally incapable of attending school as determined by the appropriate school official based upon sufficient medical documentation.
(b) When a compulsory-school-age child is enrolled in and pursuing a course of special education, remedial education or education for handicapped or physically or mentally disadvantaged children.
(c) When a compulsory-school-age child is being educated in a legitimate home instruction program.
The parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child described in this subsection, or the parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child attending any charter school or nonpublic school, or the appropriate school official for any or all children attending a charter school or nonpublic school shall complete a "certificate of enrollment" in order to facilitate the administration of this section.
The form of the certificate of enrollment shall be prepared by the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education and shall be designed to obtain the following information only:
(i) The name, address, telephone number and date of birth of the compulsory-school-age child;
(ii) The name, address and telephone number of the parent, guardian or custodian of the compulsory-school-age child;
(iii) A simple description of the type of education the compulsory-school-age child is receiving and, if the child is enrolled in a nonpublic school, the name and address of the school; and
(iv) The signature of the parent, guardian or custodian of the compulsory-school-age child or, for any or all compulsory-school-age child or children attending a charter school or nonpublic school, the signature of the appropriate school official and the date signed.
The certificate of enrollment shall be returned to the school attendance officer where the child resides on or before September 15 of each year. Any parent, guardian or custodian found by the school attendance officer to be in noncompliance with this section shall comply, after written notice of the noncompliance by the school attendance officer, with this subsection within ten (10) days after the notice or be in violation of this section. However, in the event the child has been enrolled in a public school within fifteen (15) calendar days after the first day of the school year as required in subsection (6), the parent or custodian may, at a later date, enroll the child in a legitimate nonpublic school or legitimate home instruction program and send the certificate of enrollment to the school attendance officer and be in compliance with this subsection.
For the purposes of this subsection, a legitimate nonpublic school or legitimate home instruction program shall be those not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory attendance law.
(4) An "unlawful absence" is an absence for an entire school day or during part of a school day by a compulsory-school-age child, which absence is not due to a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance. For purposes of reporting absenteeism under subsection (6) of this section, if a compulsory-school-age child has an absence that is more than thirty-seven percent (37%) of the instructional day, as fixed by the school board for the school at which the compulsory-school-age child is enrolled, the child must be considered absent the entire school day. Days missed from school due to disciplinary suspension shall not be considered an "excused" absence under this section. This subsection shall not apply to children enrolled in a nonpublic school.
Each of the following shall constitute a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance of a compulsory-school-age child enrolled in a noncharter public school, provided satisfactory evidence of the excuse is provided to the superintendent of the school district, or his designee:
(a) An absence is excused when the absence results from the compulsory-school-age child's attendance at an authorized school activity with the prior approval of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee. These activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals and any similar activity.
(b) An absence is excused when the absence results from illness or injury which prevents the compulsory-school-age child from being physically able to attend school.
(c) An absence is excused when isolation of a compulsory-school-age child is ordered by the county health officer, by the State Board of Health or appropriate school official.
(d) An absence is excused when it results from the death or serious illness of a member of the immediate family of a compulsory-school-age child. The immediate family members of a compulsory-school-age child shall include children, spouse, grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, including stepbrothers and stepsisters.
(e) An absence is excused when it results from a medical or dental appointment of a compulsory-school-age child.
(f) An absence is excused when it results from the attendance of a compulsory-school-age child at the proceedings of a court or an administrative tribunal if the child is a party to the action or under subpoena as a witness.
(g) An absence may be excused if the religion to which the compulsory-school-age child or the child's parents adheres, requires or suggests the observance of a religious event. The approval of the absence is within the discretion of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, but approval should be granted unless the religion's observance is of such duration as to interfere with the education of the child.
(h) An absence may be excused when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, that the purpose of the absence is to take advantage of a valid educational opportunity such as travel, including vacations or other family travel. Approval of the absence must be gained from the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, before the absence, but the approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(i) An absence may be excused when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, that conditions are sufficient to warrant the compulsory-school-age child's nonattendance. However, no absences shall be excused by the school district superintendent, or his designee, when any student suspensions or expulsions circumvent the intent and spirit of the compulsory attendance law.
(j) An absence is excused when it results from the attendance of a compulsory-school-age child participating in official organized events sponsored by the 4-H or Future Farmers of America (FFA). The excuse for the 4-H or FFA event must be provided in writing to the appropriate school superintendent by the Extension Agent or High School Agricultural Instructor/FFA Advisor.
(k) An absence is excused when it results from the compulsory-school-age child officially being employed to serve as a page at the State Capitol for the Mississippi House of Representatives or Senate.
(5) Any parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child subject to this section who refuses or willfully fails to perform any of the duties imposed upon him or her under this section or who intentionally falsifies any information required to be contained in a certificate of enrollment, shall be guilty of contributing to the neglect of a child and, upon conviction, shall be punished in accordance with Section 97-5-39.
Upon prosecution of a parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child for violation of this section, the presentation of evidence by the prosecutor that shows that the child has not been enrolled in school within eighteen (18) calendar days after the first day of the school year of the public school which the child is eligible to attend, or that the child has accumulated twelve (12) unlawful absences during the school year at the public school in which the child has been enrolled, shall establish a prima facie case that the child's parent, guardian or custodian is responsible for the absences and has refused or willfully failed to perform the duties imposed upon him or her under this section. However, no proceedings under this section shall be brought against a parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child unless the school attendance officer has contacted promptly the home of the child and has provided written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the requirement for the child's enrollment or attendance.
(6) If a compulsory-school-age child has not been enrolled in a school within fifteen (15) calendar days after the first day of the school year of the school which the child is eligible to attend or the child has accumulated five (5) unlawful absences during the school year of the public school in which the child is enrolled, the school district superintendent, or his designee, shall report, within two (2) school days or within five (5) calendar days, whichever is less, the absences to the school attendance officer. The State Department of Education shall prescribe a uniform method for schools to utilize in reporting the unlawful absences to the school attendance officer. The superintendent, or his designee, also shall report any student suspensions or student expulsions to the school attendance officer when they occur.
(7) When a school attendance officer has made all attempts to secure enrollment and/or attendance of a compulsory-school-age child and is unable to effect the enrollment and/or attendance, the attendance officer shall file a petition with the youth court under Section 43-21-451 or shall file a petition in a court of competent jurisdiction as it pertains to parent or child. Sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and municipal law enforcement officers shall be fully authorized to investigate all cases of nonattendance and unlawful absences by compulsory-school-age children, and shall be authorized to file a petition with the youth court under Section 43-21-451 or file a petition or information in the court of competent jurisdiction as it pertains to parent or child for violation of this section. The youth court shall expedite a hearing to make an appropriate adjudication and a disposition to ensure compliance with the Compulsory School Attendance Law, and may order the child to enroll or re-enroll in school. The superintendent of the school district to which the child is ordered may assign, in his discretion, the child to the alternative school program of the school established pursuant to Section 37-13-92.
(8) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations for the purpose of reprimanding any school superintendents who fail to timely report unexcused absences under the provisions of this section.
(9) Notwithstanding any provision or implication herein to the contrary, it is not the intention of this section to impair the primary right and the obligation of the parent or parents, or person or persons in loco parentis to a child, to choose the proper education and training for such child, and nothing in this section shall ever be construed to grant, by implication or otherwise, to the State of Mississippi, any of its officers, agencies or subdivisions any right or authority to control, manage, supervise or make any suggestion as to the control, management or supervision of any private or parochial school or institution for the education or training of children, of any kind whatsoever that is not a public school according to the laws of this state; and this section shall never be construed so as to grant, by implication or otherwise, any right or authority to any state agency or other entity to control, manage, supervise, provide for or affect the operation, management, program, curriculum, admissions policy or discipline of any such school or home instruction program.
SECTION 7. Section 37-9-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
37-9-17. (1) On or before April 1 of each year, the principal of each school shall recommend to the superintendent of the local school district the licensed employees or noninstructional employees to be employed for the school involved except those licensed employees or noninstructional employees who have been previously employed and who have a contract valid for the ensuing scholastic year. If such recommendations meet with the approval of the superintendent, the superintendent shall recommend the employment of such licensed employees or noninstructional employees to the local school board, and, unless good reason to the contrary exists, the board shall elect the employees so recommended. If, for any reason, the local school board shall decline to elect any employee so recommended, additional recommendations for the places to be filled shall be made by the principal to the superintendent and then by the superintendent to the local school board as provided above. The school board of any local school district shall be authorized to designate a personnel supervisor or another principal employed by the school district to recommend to the superintendent licensed employees or noninstructional employees; however, this authorization shall be restricted to no more than two (2) positions for each employment period for each school in the local school district. Any noninstructional employee employed upon the recommendation of a personnel supervisor or another principal employed by the local school district must have been employed by the local school district at the time the superintendent was elected or appointed to office; a noninstructional employee employed under this authorization may not be paid compensation in excess of the statewide average compensation for such noninstructional position with comparable experience, as established by the State Department of Education. The school board of any local school district shall be authorized to designate a personnel supervisor or another principal employed by the school district to accept the recommendations of principals or their designees for licensed employees or noninstructional employees and to transmit approved recommendations to the local school board; however, this authorization shall be restricted to no more than two (2) positions for each employment period for each school in the local school district.
When the licensed employees have been elected as provided in the preceding paragraph, the superintendent of the district shall enter into a contract with such persons in the manner provided in this chapter.
If, at the commencement of the scholastic year, any licensed employee shall present to the superintendent a license of a higher grade than that specified in such individual's contract, such individual may, if funds are available from adequate education program funds of the district, or from district funds, be paid from such funds the amount to which such higher grade license would have entitled the individual, had the license been held at the time the contract was executed.
(2) Superintendents/directors of schools under the purview of the State Board of Education, the superintendent of the local school district and any private firm under contract with the local public school district to provide substitute teachers to teach during the absence of a regularly employed schoolteacher shall require, through the appropriate governmental authority, that current criminal records background checks and current child abuse registry checks are obtained, and that such criminal record information and registry checks are on file for any new hires applying for employment as a licensed or nonlicensed employee at a school and not previously employed in such school under the purview of the State Board of Education or at such local school district prior to July 1, 2000. In order to determine the applicant's suitability for employment, the applicant shall be fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, the fingerprints shall be forwarded by the Department of Public Safety to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. The fee for such fingerprinting and criminal history record check shall be paid by the applicant, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00); however, the State Board of Education, the school board of the local school district or a private firm under contract with a local school district to provide substitute teachers to teach during the temporary absence of the regularly employed schoolteacher, in its discretion, may elect to pay the fee for the fingerprinting and criminal history record check on behalf of any applicant. Under no circumstances shall a member of the State Board of Education, superintendent/director of schools under the purview of the State Board of Education, local school district superintendent, local school board member or any individual other than the subject of the criminal history record checks disseminate information received through any such checks except insofar as required to fulfill the purposes of this section. Any nonpublic school which is accredited or approved by the State Board of Education may avail itself of the procedures provided for herein and shall be responsible for the same fee charged in the case of local public schools of this state. The determination whether the applicant has a disqualifying crime, as set forth in subsection (3) of this section, shall be made by the appropriate governmental authority, and the appropriate governmental authority shall notify the private firm whether a disqualifying crime exists.
(3) If such fingerprinting or criminal record checks disclose a felony conviction, guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offense listed in Section 45-33-23(h), child abuse, arson, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust or aggravated assault which has not been reversed on appeal or for which a pardon has not been granted, the new hire shall not be eligible to be employed at such school. Any employment contract for a new hire executed by the superintendent of the local school district or any employment of a new hire by a superintendent/director of a new school under the purview of the State Board of Education or by a private firm shall be voidable if the new hire receives a disqualifying criminal record check. However, the State Board of Education or the school board may, in its discretion, allow any applicant aggrieved by the employment decision under this section to appear before the respective board, or before a hearing officer designated for such purpose, to show mitigating circumstances which may exist and allow the new hire to be employed at the school. The State Board of Education or local school board may grant waivers for such mitigating circumstances, which shall include, but not be limited to: (a) age at which the crime was committed; (b) circumstances surrounding the crime; (c) length of time since the conviction and criminal history since the conviction; (d) work history; (e) current employment and character references; (f) other evidence demonstrating the ability of the person to perform the employment responsibilities competently and that the person does not pose a threat to the health or safety of the children at the school.
(4) No local school district, local school district employee, member of the State Board of Education or employee of a school under the purview of the State Board of Education shall be held liable in any employment discrimination suit in which an allegation of discrimination is made regarding an employment decision authorized under this Section 37-9-17.
(5) The provisions of this section shall be fully applicable to licensed employees of the Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA), established in Section 37-140-1 et seq.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.