MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Scott
AN ACT TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT PREVENTION ACT OF 2024"; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO WORK WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE THE LOWEST HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO DEVELOP METHODS OF TARGETED INTERVENTION FOR LOW PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO PROVIDE THAT CHILDREN OF A CERTAIN AGE MAY NOT WITHDRAW FROM SCHOOL UNLESS CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MET; 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 "Mississippi High School Dropout Prevention Act of 2024."
SECTION 2. (1) The State Department of Education shall work with the school districts that have the lowest high school graduation rates. The department shall incorporate into its progressive support and intervention specific dropout prevention strategies, target resources, and gather data that will include graduation rates and educational outcomes in all public schools.
(2) The department shall develop specific methods of targeted intervention or identify appropriate existing methods for low performing school districts. These intervention methods may include the following:
(a) Early intervention for students who fail Algebra I or any Grade 9 math class and have insufficient credits to be promoted;
(b) Alternative programs designed to reengage dropouts, including dual enrollment courses at the community college level;
(c) Increased availability of advanced placement courses;
(d) Offering full course fee waivers for students eligible for free and reduced lunches, when enrolled in dual credit courses;
(e) Flexible programs for older students who currently are not enrolled;
(f) Comprehensive supplemental education programs for middle school students who are below grade level in reading and math;
(g) Teacher advisories and other supports that are designed to specifically address the needs of youth most at risk of dropping out of school;
(h) Strategies that are specifically designed to improve high school graduation rate of teens at highest risk for dropping out, including youth in the foster care system, pregnant and parenting youth, English as a second language learners, and teens with special education needs; and
(i) Communicating with parents and students about the availability of local afterschool programs and the academic enrichment and other activities the programs offer.
(3) The department shall gather the following data to ensure that all programs are research-based and data-driven and use such data for continuous program improvement:
(a) The total number of high school suspensions related to truancy;
(b) Total number of students enrolled in alternative programs;
(c) Total number of students who have been reenrolled in programs with flexible schedules or community college programs;
(d) Total number of freshmen who have individualized educational programs (IEPs);
(e) Total number of students who have failed Algebra I or Grade 9 math;
(f) Total number of students who are repeating Grade 9;
(g) Total number of students receiving remedial programming in Grade 9; and
(h) The percentage of children in the care of the Mississippi Department of Human Services who do not graduate from high school.
(4) In school districts involved in progressive support intervention, the department shall prepare and submit each year a written report that documents the following:
(a) The outcomes of the dropout prevention strategies to date, at the school district level; and
(b) How the school district dropout prevention strategies and activities will be modified, based on the data.
SECTION 3. (1) Children who are seventeen (17) of age may not withdraw from school before graduation unless:
(a) The student, student's parent or guardian, and an administrator agree to the withdrawal;
(b) At the exit interview, the student and the student's parent or guardian provide written acknowledgement of the withdrawal that meets the requirements of paragraph (d) of this subsection;
(c) The school principal provides written consent for the student to withdraw from school; and
(d) The withdrawal is:
(i) Due to documented financial hardship and the need of the individual to be employed to support the individual's family or a dependent;
(ii) Due to documented illness;
(iii) By order of a court that has jurisdiction over the student; and
(iv) Accompanied by a written acknowledgement of a withdrawal under paragraph (b) of this subsection which must include a statement that the student and the student's parent or guardian understand that withdrawal from school is likely to reduce the student's future earnings and increase the student's likelihood of being unemployed in the future.
(2) If a child of the age described in subsection (1) is habitually absent from school and the school is unable to contact the parent or guardian, the school may withdraw the child from enrollment if its attempts to contact the parent or guardian by telephone, regular and registered mail, and home visit are documented. If a child who has been withdrawn from enrollment under this subsection returns to school, or if the school mistakenly withdraws the child from enrollment, the child shall be reenrolled promptly.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.