MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Representatives Holloway, Summers, Mickens, Porter, Sanford
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-89, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PRESCRIBE THE FORMULA TO BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOCATING STATE FUNDS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS BASED ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF ONE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICER FOR EVERY 2,000 COMPULSORY-SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN OR A MAJOR FRACTION THEREOF ENROLLED IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY; TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM BASE SALARY FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-13-89, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-89. (1) In each
school district within the state, there shall be employed the number of school
attendance officers determined by the Office of Compulsory School Attendance
Enforcement to be necessary to adequately enforce the provisions of the Mississippi
Compulsory School Attendance Law * * *, as prescribed in accordance
with subsection (6) of this section. From and after July 1, 1998, all
school attendance officers employed pursuant to this section shall be employees
of the State Department of Education. The State Department of Education shall
employ all persons employed as school attendance officers by district attorneys
before July 1, 1998, and shall assign them to school attendance
responsibilities in the school district in which they were employed before July
1, 1998. The first twelve (12) months of employment for each school attendance
officer shall be the probationary period of state service.
(2) (a) The State Department of Education shall obtain current criminal records background checks and current child abuse registry checks on all persons applying for the position of school attendance officer after July 2, 2002. 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, in its discretion, may pay the fee for the fingerprinting and criminal records background check on behalf of any applicant. Under no circumstances may a member of the State Board of Education, employee of the State Department of Education 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, in its discretion, may allow an applicant aggrieved by an employment decision under this subsection to appear before the 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 may grant waivers for mitigating circumstances, which may include, but are not necessarily limited to:
(i) The age at which the crime was committed;
(ii) The circumstances surrounding the crime;
(iii) The length of time since the conviction and criminal history since the conviction;
(iv) Prior work history;
(v) Current employment status and character references; and
(vi) Any 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) A member of the State Board of Education or employee of the State Department of Education may not 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; however, these requirements shall not apply to persons employed as school attendance officers before January 1, 1987. School attendance officers also shall satisfy any additional requirements that may be established by the State Personnel Board for the position of school attendance officer.
(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 or the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement; and
(i) Perform all other duties relating to compulsory school attendance established by the State Department of Education 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 under the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education and an identification card designed by the State Superintendent of Public Education and issued by the school attendance officer supervisor. Neither the badge nor the identification card shall bear the name of any elected public official.
(6) The state shall provide funding for one (1) school attendance officer employed by the State Department of Education for every two thousand (2,000) students who are compulsory-school-age children, as defined in Section 37-13-91(2)(f), or a major fraction thereof, enrolled in the public schools of the entire county for the purpose of employing school attendance officers, as defined in Section 37-13-91(2)(g). For purposes of this subsection, the term "major fraction thereof" means the number of students determined by the department to be indicative of the reasonable number of compulsory-school-age children for which a school attendance officer shall be responsible with respect to the potential assignment of the maximum two thousand (2,000) students established herein.
( * * *7) 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. The
minimum salaries under the scale shall be no less than the following:
(a) For school attendance officers holding a bachelor's degree or any other attendance officer who does not hold such a degree, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as a school attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no less than as follows:
Years of Experience Salary
0 - 4 years $ * * *41,500.00
5 - 8 years
* * *44,300.00
9 - 12 years
* * *45,900.00
13 - 16 years
* * *50,300.00
Over 17 years
* * *50,700.00
(b) For school attendance officers holding a license as a social worker, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as a school attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no less than as follows:
Years of Experience Salary
0 - 4 years $ * * *43,100.00
5 - 8 years
* * *45,500.00
9 - 12 years
* * *47,900.00
13 - 16 years
* * *50,300.00
17 - 20 years
* * *52,700.00
Over 21 years
* * *53,100.00
(c) For school attendance officers holding a master's degree in a behavioral science or a related field, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as a school attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no less than as follows:
Years of Experience Salary
0 - 4 years $ * * *45,100.00
5 - 8 years
* * *47,925.00
9 - 12 years
* * *50,750.00
13 - 16 years
* * *53,575.00
17 - 20 years
* * *56,400.00
Over 21 years
* * *56,925.00
( * * *8) (a) Each school attendance officer
employed by a district attorney on June 30, 1998, who became an employee of the
State Department of Education on July 1, 1998, shall be awarded credit for
personal leave and major medical leave for his continuous service as a school
attendance officer under the district attorney, and if applicable, the youth or
family court or a state agency. The credit for personal leave shall be in an
amount equal to one-third (1/3) of the maximum personal leave the school
attendance officer could have accumulated had he been credited with such leave
under Section 25-3-93 during his employment with the district attorney, and if
applicable, the youth or family court or a state agency. The credit for major
medical leave shall be in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the maximum
major medical leave the school attendance officer could have accumulated had he
been credited with such leave under Section 25-3-95 during his employment with
the district attorney, and if applicable, the youth or family court or a state
agency. However, if a district attorney who employed a school attendance
officer on June 30, 1998, certifies, in writing, to the State Department of
Education that the school attendance officer had accumulated, pursuant to a
personal leave policy or major medical leave policy lawfully adopted by the
district attorney, a number of days of unused personal leave or major medical
leave, or both, which is greater than the number of days to which the school
attendance officer is entitled under this paragraph, the State Department of
Education shall authorize the school attendance officer to retain the actual
unused personal leave or major medical leave, or both, certified by the
district attorney, subject to the maximum amount of personal leave and major
medical leave the school attendance officer could have accumulated had he been
credited with such leave under Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95.
(b) For the purpose of determining the accrual rate for personal leave under Section 25-3-93 and major medical leave under Section 25-3-95, the State Department of Education shall give consideration to all continuous service rendered by a school attendance officer before July 1, 1998, in addition to the service rendered by the school attendance officer as an employee of the department.
(c) In order for a school attendance officer to be awarded credit for personal leave and major medical leave or to retain the actual unused personal leave and major medical leave accumulated by him before July 1, 1998, the district attorney who employed the school attendance officer must certify, in writing, to the State Department of Education the hire date of the school attendance officer. For each school attendance officer employed by the youth or family court or a state agency before being designated an employee of the district attorney who has not had a break in continuous service, the hire date shall be the date that the school attendance officer was hired by the youth or family court or state agency. The department shall prescribe the date by which the certification must be received by the department and shall provide written notice to all district attorneys of the certification requirement and the date by which the certification must be received.
( * * *9) (a) School attendance officers
shall maintain regular office hours on a year-round basis; however, 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, regardless of the school attendance officer's status as an
employee of the State Department of Education, and compensatory leave may not
be awarded to the school attendance officer for working during that day.
However, a school attendance officer may be allowed by the school attendance officer's
supervisor to use earned leave on such days.
(b) The State Department of Education 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 department 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.
( * * *10) 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 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.