House Bill 511

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "EDUCATION STANDARDS LEGISLATIVE REVIEW ACT"; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL SUBJECT MATTER STANDARDS AND REVISIONS TO THOSE STANDARDS ADOPTED BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO LEGISLATIVE REVIEW BEFORE SUCH STANDARDS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE BOARD; TO PRESCRIBE THE PROCESS TO BE ADHERED TO BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE LEGISLATION IN THE ADOPTION, REVIEW AND FINAL IMPLEMENTATION OF STANDARDS UPON COMPLETION OF THE LEGISLATIVE REVIEW PROCESS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 37-1-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-1-2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CORRECT GRAMMATICAL ERRORS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Education Standards Legislative Review Act."

SECTION 2. (1) All subject matter standards and revisions to the standards adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to the authority provided to the board to do so under Sections

37-1-2 and 37-1-3 shall be subject to legislative review as set forth in this section. The standards shall not be implemented by the State Board of Education until the legislative review process is completed as provided for in this section.

(2) Upon adoption of any subject matter standards, the State Board of Education shall submit the adopted standards to the Speaker of the House of Representatives or a designee and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or a designee before the last thirty (30) days of the legislative session of the year in which such standards are scheduled to be implemented by the board.

(3) By adoption of a joint resolution, the Legislature shall approve the standards, disapprove the standards in whole or in part, amend the standards in whole or in part or disapprove the standards in whole or in part with instructions to the State Board of Education. If the Legislature fails to adopt a joint resolution within thirty (30) legislative days following submission of the standards, the standards shall be deemed approved.

(4) If the subject matter standards are disapproved in whole or are disapproved in whole with instructions as provided for in this section, the State Board of Education may adopt new standards and submit the new standards for legislative review pursuant to this section. The State Board of Education shall continue to implement current standards in place until the new standards have been reviewed by the Legislature and approved as provided for in this section. If the subject matter standards are amended, approved in part or are disapproved in part with instructions, the State Board of Education may revise the standards in accordance with the legislative changes and implement the standards.

(5) Upon final approval of the standards, the standards shall be considered final agency rules. The board shall submit a copy of the standards to the Secretary of State, who shall include the standards in the publication known as the "Mississippi Administrative Code" in the same manner as agency rules are published in the "Code" as provided for in the Administrative Procedures Act. All standards approved and published as provided for in this subsection shall have the same force and effect of law as agency rules promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.

(6) Unless otherwise provided by specific vote of the Legislature, joint resolutions introduced for purposes of approving, disapproving, amending or disapproving with instructions any subject matter standards shall not be subject to regular legislative cutoff dates, shall be limited to such provisions as may be necessary for approving, disapproving, amending or disapproving with instructions any subject matter standards and any such other direction or mandate regarding the standards deemed necessary by the Legislature. The joint resolution shall contain no other provisions.

SECTION 3. Section 37-1-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-1-2. The Legislature finds and determines that the quality of public education and its effect upon the social, cultural and economic enhancement of the people of Mississippi is a matter of public policy, the object of which is the education and performance of its children and youth. The Legislature hereby declares the following to be the policy of the State of Mississippi:

(a) That the students, parents, general citizenry, local schoolteachers and administrators, local governments, local school boards, and state government have a joint and shared responsibility for the quality of education delivered through the public education system in the State of Mississippi;

(b) To produce a functionally literate school population;

(d) To establish, raise and maintain educational standards;

(e) To improve the quality of education by strengthening it and elevating its goals;

(f) To provide quality education for all school-age children in the state;

(g) That excellence and high achievement of all students should be the ultimate goal;

(h) To encourage the common efforts of students, parents, teachers, administrators and business and professional leaders for the establishment of specific goals for performance;

(i) To improve instructional and administrative quality, to relate the education community to other policymakers, to achieve increased competency among students, teachers and administrators, to provide for continuing professional development for teachers, counselors and administrators, to assure that the budget process, the planning function and the allocation of personnel of the State Department of Education are commensurate with its educational goals;

(j) That the return on public education which is the single largest investment for the state be the effectiveness of the delivery system and the product it is designed to produce;

(k) That the investment in public education can be justified on the basis of the economic benefits that will accrue both to the individual and to society, recognizing that the return on such investment is long term and dramatic progress is not immediate;

(l) That emphasis must be placed upon early mastery of the skills necessary to * * *~~success~~ be successful in school and that quality, performance-based early childhood education programs are an essential element of a comprehensive education system;

(m) That local school districts and their public schools be required to account for the product of their efforts;

(n) That the children of this state receive a period of instruction sufficient to train each in the basic educational skills adequate for the student to take his or her place in society and make a contribution as a citizen of this state, and that all children be encouraged to continue their education until they have completed high school;

(o) To establish an accreditation system based upon measurable elements in school known to be related to instructional effectiveness, to establish a credible process for measuring and rating schools, to establish a method for monitoring continued performance, and to provide for a state response when performance is inadequate;

(p) That the teachers of this state, to the extent possible, receive salaries that are at least equal to the average of the salaries received by teachers in the southeastern United States.

SECTION 4. Section 37-1-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward 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 is designed to prepare the state's children and youth to be productive, informed, creative citizens, workers and leaders, and it shall regulate all matters arising in the practical administration of the school system not otherwise provided for.

(b) Before the 1999-2000 school year, 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 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.