House Bill 788

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT SCHOOL BOARDS WHICH HAVE ADOPTED POLICIES ALLOWING STUDENTS MEETING CERTAIN CRITERIA TO BE EXEMPT FROM PERIODIC, QUARTERLY OR SEMESTER EXAMS FROM PROHIBITING STUDENTS WHO HAVE MAINTAINED ALL A'S ON HIS OR HER REPORT CARD FROM BEING EXEMPT FROM SUCH EXAMINATIONS DUE TO ABSENTEEISM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The school board of any school district which has adopted a policy allowing students meeting certain criteria to be exempt from periodic, quarterly or semester exams which determine a student's final grade in the courses offered and for which exams are administered, shall not prohibit any student who has demonstrated superior academic performance by achieving and maintaining all A's on his or her report card from being exempt from such examination due to absenteeism. This section shall not apply to any assessments administered by the State Department of Education under the Mississippi Statewide Testing Program, which determine a student's level of proficiency and are used by the Commission on School Accreditation in designating statewide accountability performance classifications to the public schools.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.