MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Harness
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DISCONTINUATION OF END-OF-COURSE SUBJECT AREA TESTING AND ALL STATEWIDE ASSESSMENTS OTHER THAN A SINGLE UNIFORM BASIC SKILLS TEST FOR GRADES 3, 8 AND 11; TO AMEND SECTION 37-16-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE STUDENTS IN GRADES 3, 8 AND 11 TO COMPLETE A SINGLE BASIC SKILLS TEST THAT ASSESSES ALL BASIC SKILLS AND CONTENT REQUIRED BY THE DEPARTMENT TO BE TESTED IN THE RESPECTIVE GRADES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-3-49, 37-15-38, 37-16-17 AND 37-35-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-177-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THIRD GRADE READING ASSESSMENTS TO BE CONDUCTED AS PART OF THE GRADE 3 BASIC SKILLS TEST; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, the State Board of Education shall discontinue requiring the administration of end-of-course subject area tests and all statewide assessment tests other than the uniform basic skills test in Grades 3, 8 and 11 which is required under Section 37-16-3.
SECTION 2. Section 37-16-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-16-3. (1) The State Department of Education is directed to implement a program of statewide assessment testing which shall provide for the improvement of the operation and management of the public schools. The statewide program shall be timed, as far as possible, so as not to conflict with ongoing district assessment programs. As part of the program, the department shall:
(a) Establish, with the approval of the State Board of Education, minimum performance standards related to the goals for education contained in the state's plan including, but not limited to, basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics. The minimum performance standards shall be approved by April 1 in each year they are established.
(b) Conduct a uniform statewide
testing program in Grades * * *deemed appropriate 3, 8 and 11 in the public schools, including
charter schools, which shall include the administration of a career-readiness assessment,
such as, but not limited to, the ACT WorkKeys Assessment, deemed appropriate by
the Mississippi Department of Education working in coordination with the Office
of Workforce Development, to any students electing to take the assessment. Each
individual school district shall determine whether the assessment is administered
in the tenth, eleventh or twelfth grade. The program may test skill areas, basic
skills and high school course content.
(c) Monitor the results of the assessment program and, at any time the composite student performance of a school or basic program is found to be below the established minimum standards, notify the district superintendent or the governing board of the charter school, as the case may be, the school principal and the school advisory committee or other existing parent group of the situation within thirty (30) days of its determination. The department shall further provide technical assistance to a school district in the identification of the causes of this deficiency and shall recommend courses of action for its correction.
(d) Provide technical assistance to the school districts, when requested, in the development of student performance standards in addition to the established minimum statewide standards.
(e) Issue security procedure regulations providing for the security and integrity of the tests that are administered under the basic skills assessment program.
(f) In case of an allegation of a testing irregularity that prompts a need for an investigation by the Department of Education, the department may, in its discretion, take complete control of the statewide test administration in a school district or any part thereof, including, but not limited to, obtaining control of the test booklets and answer documents. In the case of any verified testing irregularity that jeopardized the security and integrity of the test(s), validity or the accuracy of the test results, the cost of the investigation and any other actual and necessary costs related to the investigation paid by the Department of Education shall be reimbursed by the local school district from funds other than federal funds, Mississippi Adequate Education Program funds, or any other state funds within six (6) months from the date of notice by the department to the school district to make reimbursement to the department.
(2) A single uniform
basic skills * * *
test that includes an assessment of all basic skills and content required by
the department to be tested in a particular grade shall be completed by each
student in * * * Grades 3, 8 and 11. These tests shall be administered in
such a manner as to preserve the integrity and validity of the assessment. In the
event of excused or unexcused student absences, make-up tests shall be given. The
school superintendent of every school district in the state and the principal of
each charter school shall annually certify to the State Department of Education
that each student enrolled in the appropriate grade has completed the required basic
skills assessment test for his or her grade in a valid test administration.
(3) Within five (5) days of completing the administration of a statewide test, the principal of the school where the test was administered shall certify under oath to the State Department of Education that the statewide test was administered in strict accordance with the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System as adopted by the State Board of Education. The principal's sworn certification shall be set forth on a form developed and approved by the Department of Education. If, following the administration of a statewide test, the principal has reason to believe that the test was not administered in strict accordance with the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System as adopted by the State Board of Education, the principal shall submit a sworn certification to the Department of Education setting forth all information known or believed by the principal about all potential violations of the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System as adopted by the State Board of Education. The submission of false information or false certification to the Department of Education by any licensed educator may result in licensure disciplinary action pursuant to Section 37-3-2 and criminal prosecution pursuant to Section 37-16-4.
SECTION 3. 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 in Grades 3 and 8 through the Mississippi Basic
Skills Assessment Program and shall proceed through all secondary school
courses mandated for graduation and all secondary school courses * * * included in the Grade 11 statewide basic skills test.
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 adapt 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 in Grades 3 and 8 through
the Mississippi Basic Skills Assessment Program, all secondary school courses
mandated for graduation, and all courses in the * * * Grade
11 statewide basic skills test 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 4. Section 37-15-38, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-15-38. (1) The following phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) A dual enrolled student is a student who is enrolled in a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning while enrolled in high school.
(b) A dual credit student is a student who is enrolled in a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning while enrolled in high school and who is receiving high school and college credit for postsecondary coursework.
(2) A local school board, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Community College Board shall establish a dual enrollment system under which students in the school district who meet the prescribed criteria of this section may be enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Mississippi while they are still in school.
(3) Dual credit eligibility. Before credits earned by a qualified high school student from a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning may be transferred to the student's home school district, the student must be properly enrolled in a dual enrollment program.
(4) Admission criteria for dual enrollment in community and junior college or university programs. The Mississippi Community College Board and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may recommend to the State Board of Education admission criteria for dual enrollment programs under which high school students may enroll at a community or junior college or university while they are still attending high school and enrolled in high school courses. Students may be admitted to enroll in community or junior college courses under the dual enrollment programs if they meet that individual institution's stated dual enrollment admission requirements.
(5) Tuition and cost responsibility. Tuition and costs for university-level courses and community and junior college courses offered under a dual enrollment program may be paid for by the postsecondary institution, the local school district, the parents or legal guardians of the student, or by grants, foundations or other private or public sources. Payment for tuition and any other costs must be made directly to the credit-granting institution.
(6) Transportation responsibility. Any transportation required by a student to participate in the dual enrollment program is the responsibility of the parent, custodian or legal guardian of the student. Transportation costs may be paid from any available public or private sources, including the local school district.
(7) School district average daily attendance credit. When dually enrolled, the student may be counted, for adequate education program funding purposes, in the average daily attendance of the public school district in which the student attends high school.
(8) High school student transcript transfer requirements. Grades and college credits earned by a student admitted to a dual credit program must be recorded on the high school student record and on the college transcript at the university or community or junior college where the student attends classes. The transcript of the university or community or junior college coursework may be released to another institution or applied toward college graduation requirements.
(9) Determining factor of prerequisites for dual enrollment courses. Each university and community or junior college participating in a dual enrollment program shall determine course prerequisites. Course prerequisites shall be the same for dual enrolled students as for regularly enrolled students at that university or community or junior college.
(10) Process for determining
articulation of curriculum between high school, university, and community and
junior college courses. All dual credit courses must meet the standards
established at the postsecondary level. Postsecondary level developmental
courses may not be considered as meeting the requirements of the dual credit
program. A dual credit memorandum of * * * understanding must be
established between each postsecondary institution and the school district
implementing a dual credit program.
(11) [Deleted]
(12) Eligible courses for dual credit programs. Courses eligible for dual credit include, but are not necessarily limited to, foreign languages, advanced math courses, advanced science courses, performing arts, advanced business and technology, and career and technical courses. Distance Learning Collaborative Program courses approved under Section 37-67-1 shall be fully eligible for dual credit. All courses being considered for dual credit must receive unconditional approval from the superintendent of the local school district and the chief instructional officer at the participating community or junior college or university in order for college credit to be awarded. A university or community or junior college shall make the final decision on what courses are eligible for semester hour credits.
(13) High school Carnegie unit equivalency. One (1) three-hour university or community or junior college course is equal to one (1) high school Carnegie unit.
(14) Course alignment. The universities, community and junior colleges and the State Department of Education shall periodically review their respective policies and assess the place of dual credit courses within the context of their traditional offerings.
(15) Maximum dual credits allowed. It is the intent of the dual enrollment program to make it possible for every eligible student who desires to earn a semester's worth of college credit in high school to do so. A qualified dually enrolled high school student must be allowed to earn an unlimited number of college or university credits for dual credit.
(16) Dual credit program allowances. A student may be granted credit delivered through the following means:
(a) Examination preparation taught at a high school by a qualified teacher. A student may receive credit at the secondary level after completion of an approved course and passing the standard examination, such as an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course through which a high school student is allowed CLEP credit by making a three (3) or higher on the end-of-course examination.
(b) College or university courses taught at a high school or designated postsecondary site by a qualified teacher who is an employee of the school district and approved as an instructor by the collaborating college or university.
(c) College or university courses taught at a college, university or high school by an instructor employed by the college or university and approved by the collaborating school district.
(d) Online courses of any public university, community or junior college in Mississippi.
(17) Qualifications of dual credit instructors. A dual credit academic instructor must meet the requirements set forth by the regional accrediting association (Southern Association of College and Schools). University and community and junior college personnel have the sole authority in the selection of dual credit instructors.
A dual credit career and technical education instructor must meet the requirements set forth by the Mississippi Community College Board in the qualifications manual for postsecondary career and technical personnel.
(18) Guidance on local
agreements. The Chief Academic Officer of the * * * Board of Trustees of State Institutions
of Higher Learning and the Chief Instructional Officers of the Mississippi
Community College Board and the State Department of Education, working collaboratively,
shall develop a template to be used by the individual community and junior
colleges and institutions of higher learning for consistent implementation of
the dual enrollment program throughout the State of Mississippi.
(19) Mississippi Works
Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option. A local school board and the local
community * * *
college board shall establish a Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual
Credit Option Program under which potential or recent student dropouts may
dually enroll in their home school and a local community college in a dual
credit program consisting of high school completion coursework and a community
college credential, certificate or degree program. Students completing the
dual enrollment-credit option may obtain their high school diploma while
obtaining a community college credential, certificate or degree. The
Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall assist students who have
successfully completed the Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option
in securing a job upon the application of the student or the participating
school or community college. The Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit
Option Program will be implemented statewide in the 2012-2013 school year and
thereafter. The State Board of Education, local school board and the local
community college board shall establish criteria for the Dual Enrollment-Dual
Credit Program. Students enrolled in the program will not be eligible to participate
in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities at the home
school district. Tuition and costs for community college courses offered under
the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall not be charged to the student,
parents or legal guardians. When dually enrolled, the student shall be counted,
for adequate education program funding purposes, in the average daily
attendance of the public school district in which the student attends high
school, as provided in Section 37-151-7(1)(a). Any transportation required by
the student to participate in the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program is the
responsibility of the parent or legal guardian of the student, and
transportation costs may be paid from any available public or private sources, including
the local school district. Grades and college credits earned by a student
admitted to this Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall be recorded on the
high school student record and on the college transcript at the community
college and high school where the student attends classes. The transcript of
the community college coursework may be released to another institution or
applied toward college graduation requirements. * * * Courses eligible for dual credit * * * include career, technical and degree
program courses. All courses eligible for dual credit shall be approved by the
superintendent of the local school district and the chief instructional officer
at the participating community college in order for college credit to be
awarded. A community college shall make the final decision on what courses are
eligible for semester hour credits, and the local school superintendent,
subject to approval by the * * * State Department of
Education, shall make the final decision on the transfer of college courses
credited to the student's high school transcript.
SECTION 5. Section 37-16-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-16-17. (1) Purpose. (a) The purpose of this section is to create a quality option in Mississippi's high schools for students not wishing to pursue a baccalaureate degree, which shall consist of challenging academic courses and modern career-technical studies. The goal for students pursuing the career technical education pathways is to graduate from high school with a standard diploma and credit toward a community college certification in a career-technical field. These students also shall be encouraged to take the national assessment in the career-technical field in which they become certified.
(b) The State Board of Education shall develop and adopt course and curriculum requirements for career technical education pathways offered by local public school boards in accordance with this section. The Mississippi Community College Board and the State Board of Education jointly shall determine course and curriculum requirements for the career technical education pathways. The State Board of Education shall require school districts to provide notice to all incoming middle school students and junior high students of the career technical education pathways offered by local school boards. Such notice shall include the career technical education pathways available, the course requirements of each pathway, how to enroll in the pathway and any other necessary information as determined by the State Board of Education.
(2) Career technical education pathway; description; curriculum. (a) A career technical education pathway shall provide a student with greater technical skill and a strong academic core and shall be offered to each high school student enrolled in a public school district. The career technical education pathway shall be linked to postsecondary options and shall prepare students to pursue either a degree or certification from a postsecondary institution, an industry-based training or certification, an apprenticeship, the military, or immediate entrance into a career field. The career technical education pathway shall provide students with alternatives to entrance into a four-year university or college after high school graduation.
(b) Students pursuing a career technical education pathway shall be afforded the opportunity to dually enroll in a community or technical college or to participate in a business internship or work-study program, when such opportunities are available and appropriate.
(c) Each public school district shall offer a career technical education pathway approved by the State Board of Education.
(d) Students in a career technical education pathway shall complete an academic core of courses and a career and technical sequence of courses.
(e) Students pursuing a career technical education pathway must complete the twenty-four (24) course unit requirements for a regular high school diploma, which may include, but not be limited to the following course content:
(i) English I;
(ii) English II;
(iii) Technical writing;
(iv) Computer programming;
(v) Algebra I;
(vi) Personal Finance;
(vii) Advanced technical mathematics;
(viii) Computer Science;
(ix) Biology;
(x) Earth and Space Science;
(xi) U.S. History;
(xii) Mississippi Studies/U.S. Government;
(xiii) Health;
(xiv) Physical Education;
(xv) Soft skills, which include, but are not limited to, communication ability, language skills, time management, teamwork and leadership traits;
(xvi) Career technical education pathway courses; and
(xvii) Integrated technology.
Academic courses within the career
technical education pathway of the standard diploma shall provide the knowledge
and skill necessary for proficiency on the * * * Grade 11 statewide basic
skills test.
(f) The courses provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection may be tailored to the individual needs of the school district as long as the amendments align with the basic course requirements of paragraph (e).
(3) Nothing in this section shall disallow the development of a dual enrollment program with a technical college so long as an individual school district, with approval from the State Department of Education, agrees to implement such a program in connection with a technical college and the agreement is also approved by the proprietary school's commission.
SECTION 6. Section 37-35-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-35-3. (1) The board of trustees of any school district, including any community or junior college, may establish and maintain classes for adults, including general educational development classes, under the regulations authorized in this chapter and pursuant to the standards prescribed in subsection (3). The property and facilities of the public school districts may be used for this purpose where such use does not conflict with uses already established.
(2) The trustees of any school district desiring to establish such program may request the taxing authority of the district to levy additional ad valorem taxes for the support of this program. The board of supervisors, in the case of a county school district, a special municipal separate school district, or a community or junior college district, and the governing authority of any municipality, in the case of a municipal separate school district, is authorized, in its discretion, to levy a tax not exceeding one (1) mill upon all the taxable property of the district for the support of this program. The tax shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be levied. In addition to the funds realized from any such levy, the board of trustees of any school district is authorized to use any surplus funds that it may have or that may be made available to it from local sources to supplement this program.
(3) (a) Any student
participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option
program administered by a local school district or a local school district with
an approved contractual agreement with a community or junior college or
other local entity shall not be considered a dropout. Students in such a program
administered by a local school district shall be considered as enrolled within
the school district of origin for the purpose of enrollment for * * * adequate education program
funding only. Such students shall not be considered as enrolled in the regular
school program for academic or programmatic purposes.
(b) Students participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option program shall have an individual career plan developed at the time of placement to insure that the student's academic and job skill needs will be met. The Individual Career Plan will address, but is not limited to, the following:
(i) Academic/instructional needs of the student;
(ii) Job readiness needs of the student; and
(iii) Work experience program options available for the student.
(c) Students participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option program may participate in existing job and skills development programs or in similar programs developed in conjunction with the High School Equivalency Diploma Option program and the vocational director.
(d) High School
Equivalency Diploma Option programs may be operated by local school districts
or may be operated by two (2) or more adjacent school districts, pursuant to a
contract approved by the State Board of Education. When two (2) or more school
districts contract to operate a High School Equivalency Diploma Option
program, the school board of a district designated to be the lead district
shall serve as the governing board of the High School Equivalency Diploma
Option program. Transportation for students placed in the High School
Equivalency Diploma Option program shall be the responsibility of the school
district of origin. The expense of establishing, maintaining and operating
such High School Equivalency Diploma Option programs may be paid
from funds made available to the school district through contributions, * * * adequate education program
funds or from local district maintenance funds.
(e) The State Department
of Education will develop procedures and criteria for placement of a student in * * * a High School Equivalency Diploma
Option * * *
program. Students placed in High School Equivalency Diploma
Option programs shall have parental approval for such placement and must meet
the following criteria:
(i) The student must be at least sixteen (16) years of age;
(ii) The student must be at least one (1) full grade level behind his or her ninth grade cohort or must have acquired less than four (4) Carnegie units;
(iii) The student must have taken every opportunity to continue to participate in coursework leading to a diploma; and
(iv) The student must be certified to be eligible to participate in the GED course by the school district superintendent, based on the developed criteria.
(f) Students
participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option
program * * * shall not be
required to take the * * * Grade
11 basic skills test.
SECTION 7. Section 37-177-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-177-1. (1) There is established an act prohibiting social promotion to be known as the "Literacy-Based Promotion Act," the purpose of which is to improve the reading skills of kindergarten and first- through third-grade students enrolled in the public schools so that every student completing the third grade is able to read at or above grade level. It is the intent of the Legislature, in establishing this act, to ensure that: each kindergarten and first- through third-grade student's progression is determined, in part, upon the student's proficiency in reading; the policies of local school boards facilitate this proficiency; and each student and the student's parent or legal guardian is informed of the student's academic progress.
(2) Each public school
student who exhibits a substantial deficiency in reading at any time, as
demonstrated through performance on a reading screener approved or developed by
the State Department of Education or through locally determined assessments and
teacher observations conducted in kindergarten and Grades 1 through 3 or
through the statewide end-of-year * * *
Grade 3 basic skills test, must be given intensive reading instruction
and intervention immediately following the identification of the reading
deficiency. The intensive reading instruction and intervention must be
documented for each student in an individual reading plan, which includes, at a
minimum, the following:
(a) The student's specific, diagnosed reading skill deficiencies as determined (or identified) by diagnostic assessment data;
(b) The goals and benchmarks for growth;
(c) How progress will be monitored and evaluated;
(d) The type of additional instructional services and interventions the student will receive;
(e) The research-based reading instructional programming the teacher will use to provide reading instruction, addressing the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension;
(f) The strategies the student's parent is encouraged to use in assisting the student to achieve reading competency; and
(g) Any additional services the teacher deems available and appropriate to accelerate the student's reading skill development.
(3) The universal reading screener or locally determined reading assessment may be given in the first thirty (30) days of the school year and repeated if indicated at midyear and at the end of the school year to determine student progression in reading in kindergarten through third grade. If it is determined that the student continues to have a reading deficiency, the student must be provided with continued intensive reading instruction and intervention by the school district until the reading deficiency is remedied. A student exhibiting continued reading deficiency with continued intensive interventions should be considered for exceptional criteria evaluation.
(4) A kindergarten or first-, second- or third-grade student identified with a deficiency in reading must be provided intensive interventions in reading to ameliorate the student's specific reading deficiency, as identified by a valid and reliable diagnostic assessment. The intensive intervention must include effective instructional strategies, and appropriate teaching methodologies necessary to assist the student in becoming a successful reader, able to read at or above grade level, and ready for promotion to the next grade. A kindergarten, first-, second- or third-grade student identified with a reading deficiency or not promoted may be placed in a transition class.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.