House Bill 826

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-31-15 AND 37-31-61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE SCHOOL BOARDS, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, TO ESTABLISH VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT OR AUTHORIZE TWO OR MORE DISTRICTS TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR THE JOINT OPERATION OF A VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM TO SERVE STUDENTS WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF PARTICIPANTS TO THE AGREEMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 37-31-71, 37-31-73 AND 37-31-205, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-31-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-31-15. The school board * * *~~may, in its discretion,~~ shall cooperate with the State Board of Education in the establishment and maintenance of vocational and technical schools or classes giving instruction in vocational and technical training which does not terminate in a bachelors degree to persons in need of such instruction, and may use for paying the cost of such cooperation any monies raised by public taxation in the same manner as monies for other school purposes are used for the maintenance and support of public schools.

SECTION 2. Section 37-31-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-31-61. (1) The State Board of Education is hereby authorized and empowered to establish and conduct schools, classes or courses, for preparing, equipping and training citizens of the State of Mississippi for employment in gainful vocational and technical occupations which do not terminate in a bachelors degree, in conjunction with any public school, agricultural high school or community/junior college.

(2) The trustees of such school districts, as classified and defined by law, including those already having this authority, and the trustees of agricultural high schools and community/junior colleges * * *~~may~~ shall, with the consent in writing of the State Board of Education, establish and conduct such schools, classes or courses, under the provisions herein stated and under the general supervision of the board.

(3) The trustees of school boards of two (2) or more school districts of this state located within the same county, or for any school district which encompasses an entire county, if there is no vocational program within either of said school districts, are authorized to enter into agreements with each other providing for the construction or joint operation of a vocational education center that services all students enrolled in the school districts that are parties to the agreement. The agreement shall designate which participating school district to the agreement shall serve as fiscal agent, and among other provisions, provide for the method of financing the construction and operation of the facilities to house the vocational programs, and the manner in which the facilities are to be controlled, operated and staffed.

SECTION 3. Section 37-31-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-31-71. For the purposes of Sections 37-31-71 through 37-31-79, the term "regional education center" means all facilities utilized for the carrying out of instruction on the level of secondary or postsecondary education or both which are jointly operated by or which accept students on a contractual basis from two (2) or more school districts of this state, or for any school district which encompasses an entire county.

SECTION 4. Section 37-31-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-31-73. The various school districts, counties, municipalities and community/junior college districts of this state are authorized to enter into agreements between each other and between the school districts and any of the boards of supervisors of any county, the governing authorities of any municipality, or the boards of trustees of any community/junior college district providing for the construction or operation of regional education centers. Any agreement entered into pursuant to this section shall be subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. The agreement shall designate the fiscal agent, among other provisions, provide for the method of financing the construction and operation of the facilities, the manner in which the facilities are to be controlled, operated and staffed, the basis upon which students are to be admitted to the regional education center and transportation provided for students in attendance at the center. The agreement or any subsequent modification to it shall be spread at large upon the minutes of each party to the agreement after having been duly adopted by the governing authorities of each party.

The agreements may provide for the establishment of regional education advisory councils to serve in an advisory capacity to regional education centers, to be made up of representatives of the board of trustees of school districts or community/junior college districts which may be parties to the agreement. Regional education advisory councils of the parties to the agreement will operate at the will of the fiscal agent for the regional education center. The fiscal agent shall have all powers designated to it in the agreement by the parties to the agreement, except for the power to request or require the levy of taxes or the power to issue or require the issuance of any bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, or to call for an election on the question of the issuance of any bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness.

SECTION 5. Section 37-31-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-31-205. (1) The State Board of Education shall have the authority to:

(a) Expend funds received either by appropriation or directly from federal or private sources;

(b) Channel funds to secondary schools, community and junior colleges and regional vocational-technical facilities according to priorities set by the board;

(d) Set standards for and approve all vocational and technical education programs in the public school system and community and junior colleges or other agencies or institutions which receive state funds and federal funds for such purposes, including, but not limited to, the following vocational and technical education programs: agriculture, trade and industry, occupational home economics, consumer and homemaking education, distributive education, business and office, health, industrial arts, guidance services, technical education, cooperative education, and all other specialized training not requiring a bachelor's degree, with the exception of programs of nursing education regulated under the provisions of Section 37-129-1. The State Board of Education shall authorize local school boards, within such school board's discretion, to offer distributive education as a one-hour or two-hour block course. There shall be no reduction of payments from state funding for distributive education due to the selection of either the one-hour or two-hour course offering;

(e) Set and publish licensure standards for vocational and technical education personnel. The State Board of Education shall recognize a vocational and technical education teacher's work when school is not in session which is in the teacher's particular field of instruction as a means for the teacher to fulfill the requirements for renewal of the teacher's license. The board shall establish, by rules and regulations, the documentation of such work which must be submitted to the board and the number of actual working hours required to fulfill renewal requirements. If a vocational and technical education teacher who does not have a bachelor's degree takes classes in fulfillment of licensure renewal requirements, such classes must be in furtherance of a bachelor's degree;

(f) Require data and information on program performance from those programs receiving state funds;

(g) Expend funds to expand career information;

(h) Supervise and maintain the Division of Vocational and Technical Education and to utilize, to the greatest extent possible, the division as the administrative unit of the board responsible for coordinating programs and services with local institutions;

(i) Utilize appropriate staff of the State Department of Education to perform services for the vocational student organizations, including, but not limited to, procurement, accounting services, tax services and banking services. The department may also procure and pay for annual audits of the vocational student organizations using vocational funds or other available funds of the State Department of Education. It is the intent of this provision that any related costs be paid with vocational funds appropriated by the Legislature;

(j) Promulgate such rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter in accordance with Section 25-43-1 et seq.;

(k) Set standards and approve all vocational and technical education equipment and facilities purchased and/or leased with state and federal vocational funds;

(l) Encourage provisions for lifelong learning and changing personal career preferences and advancement of vocational and technical education students through articulated programs between high schools and community and junior colleges;

(m) Encourage the establishment of new linkages with business and industry which will provide for a better understanding of essential labor market concepts;

(n) Periodically review the funding and reporting processes required of local school districts by the board or division with the aim of simplifying or eliminating inefficient practices and procedures;

(o) Assist in the development of high technology programs and resource centers to support current and projected industrial needs;

(p) Assist in the development of a technical assistance program for business and industry which will provide for industrial training and services, including the transfer of information relative to new applications and advancements in technology; and

(q) Enter into contracts and agreements with the Mississippi Community College Board for conditions under which vocational and technical education programs in community and junior colleges shall receive state and federal funds which flow through the State Board of Education for such purposes.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that no vocational and technical education course or program existing on June 30, 1982, shall be eliminated by the State Board of Education under the authority vested in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section prior to June 30, 1985. It is further the intent of the Legislature that no vocational and technical education teacher or other personnel employed on June 30, 1983, shall be discharged due to licensure standards promulgated by the board under paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of this section, if any such teacher or personnel shall have complied with any newly published licensure standards by June 30, 1985. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to abrogate or affect in any manner the authority of local public school districts or community and junior colleges to eliminate vocational and technical education courses or programs or to discharge any vocational and technical education teacher or other personnel.

(3) The State Board of Education and the Mississippi Community College Board may provide that every vocational and technical education course or program in Mississippi may integrate academic and vocational-technical education through coherent sequences of courses, so that students in such programs achieve both academic and occupational competencies. The boards may expend federal funds available from the 1990 Perkins Act, or other available federal funds, for the alignment of vocational-technical programs with academic programs through the accreditation process and the teacher licensure process.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.