MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Ways and Means
By: Representatives Lamar, Anthony, Grady
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE "MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SCHOOL SAFETY (MS ROSS) ACT" FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO ASSIST LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SCHOOL GOVERNING BODIES WITH THE COST OF EMPLOYING A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER (SRO) AT EACH SCHOOL CAMPUS WITHIN THE JURISDICTIONS OF THEIR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND GOVERNING AUTHORITIES; TO DEFINE TERMINOLOGY; TO PROVIDE THAT THE ASSISTANCE OF EMPLOYING SROS SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ALLOCATE A PERCENTAGE OF THE COST FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF ONE SRO FOR EACH SCHOOL CAMPUS; TO REQUIRE THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND/OR THE SCHOOL GOVERNING BOARD TO PROVIDE THE REMAINING PERCENTAGE OF THE COST FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF ONE SRO FOR EACH SCHOOL CAMPUS WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION OF CONTROL; TO REQUIRE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SCHOOL GOVERNING BODIES TO MAKE JOINT APPLICATION TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE APPROVAL OF ALLOCATION OF FUNDS; TO SPECIFY THE INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE APPLICATION; TO PRESCRIBE THE DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM INCLUDING THE REQUIREMENT OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING OR INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN A LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND A SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-321, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SCHOOL SAFETY (MS ROSS) FUND AS A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY; TO PROVIDE THAT MONIES IN THE SPECIAL FUND SHALL BE USED TO PROVIDE FUNDS TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND SCHOOL GOVERNING BODIES FOR THE PURPOSES DESCRIBED IN THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF STATE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SCHOOL SAFETY (MS ROSS) FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety (MS ROSS) Act."
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless context or use requires otherwise:
(a) "Act" means the "Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety (MS ROSS) Act."
(b) "Applicable percentage" means:
(i) For the 2024 - 2025 scholastic year, thirty percent (30%);
(ii) For the 2025 - 2026 scholastic year, forty percent (40%);
(iii) For the 2026 - 2027 scholastic year, fifty percent (50%);
(iv) For the 2027 - 2028 scholastic year, sixty percent (60%); and
(v) For the 2028 - 2029 scholastic year and each scholastic year thereafter, seventy percent (70%).
(c) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
(d) "Local law enforcement agency" means the local police department or county sheriff's office that has primary law enforcement authority over the schools within its jurisdiction.
(e) "Independent school" means a nonpublic school operating within the State of Mississippi that:
(i) Is a member of the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) and located in the State of Mississippi;
(ii) Is accredited by a state, regional or national accrediting organization, including the State Board of Education; and
(iii) Is not subject to the purview of authority of the State Board of Education, unless such school is accredited by the board.
(f) "Program" means the Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety (MS ROSS) program, established in and administered by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
(g) "School governing body" means:
(i) The local school board of a public school district;
(ii) The charter school governing board of a charter school; and
(iii) The board or other governing body of an accredited independent school, as such governing body is prescribed in the charter, bylaws or other governing documents of the independent school.
(h) "School resource officer" or "SRO" means a sworn law enforcement officer employed by a local law enforcement agency and assigned to public or private elementary or secondary school campuses to provide community policing efforts to combat school violence and improve student and school safety in or on the property of the school campus to which he or she is assigned.
SECTION 3. (1) There is hereby established the Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety (MS ROSS) program in the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to provide funding to assist local law enforcement agencies in providing school resource officers (SROs) to all public and private elementary and secondary school campuses within the jurisdictions over which such agencies have primary law enforcement authority for the purpose of providing enhanced security and community policing in and around all elementary and secondary schools therein.
(2) The MS ROSS program shall meet the following requirements and standards:
(a) The program shall provide an incentive for law enforcement agencies to build collaborative partnerships with the school community and to use community policing efforts to combat school violence and implement educational programs to improve student and school safety;
(b) (i) The department shall provide the funds under the authority of this act for the administration of the program to provide the applicable percentage of the cost associated with the employment of one (1) school resource officer (SRO) by a local law enforcement agency for each school campus within the jurisdiction over which the agency has primary law enforcement authority, to be applied towards the SRO's salary and benefits, training, equipment and other costs deemed necessary by the local law enforcement agency and school governing body to enable the SRO to perform his or her duties in and around elementary and secondary schools up to a total salary cost of Fifty-five Thousand Dollars ($55,000.00). However, if the total cost associated with the employment of a SRO employed under the provisions of this act exceeds Fifty-five Thousand Dollars ($55,000.00) then the department shall only pay the applicable percentage of the Fifty-five Thousand Dollars ($55,000.00), and any amount in excess of the applicable percentage shall be borne by the local law enforcement agency or school district, or combination of both; and
(ii) The department shall require the parties making joint application for funds under paragraph (c) to commit to paying the remaining percentage of the cost associated with the employment of one (1) school resource officer (SRO) by a local law enforcement agency for each school campus under the authority and control of the school governing board that falls within the jurisdiction of the local law enforcement agency, to be applied towards the SRO's salary and benefits, training, equipment and other costs deemed necessary by the local law enforcement agency and school governing body to enable the SRO to perform his or her duties in and around elementary and secondary schools;
(c) Local law enforcement agencies and school governing bodies shall make joint application to the department for funds under the authority of subsection (1) of this section for the purpose of funding the employment of SROs in the amount prescribed in paragraph (b) of this subsection. The joint application submitted by the local law enforcement agency and school governing body shall, at a minimum:
(i) Identify the local law enforcement agency to provide the school resource officers, and the name of chief law enforcement officer of the agency;
(ii) Identify the school governing body to be served by the local law enforcement agency, and the names of the president of such governing body and the superintendent or head of schools under the governing body's authority and control;
(iii) The total number of schools, the total number of school campuses and the names of all schools under the schools governing body's authority and control;
(iv) The names of the principals of each school under the schools governing body's authority and control;
(v) The name, address and phone number of each school campus to be served a school resource officer (SRO)
(vi) The proposed salary of each school resource officer (SRO), with the acknowledged understanding that the department will only pay the applicable percentage under paragraph (b) of this subsection of salaries that do not exceed Fifty-five Thousand Dollars ($55,000.00); and
(vii) The approximate number of school resource officers (SROs) necessary for employment to accomplish the goal of assigning one (1) SRO to each school campus as required by this act;
(d) The local law enforcement agency and the appropriate school governing body shall enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or an interlocal agreement, signed by the chief law enforcement officer and the appropriate school officials, which provides:
(i) Documentation of the roles and responsibilities to be undertaken by the law enforcement agency and the educational school partners through this collaborative effort;
(ii) That school resource officers (SROs) will be official employees of the local law enforcement agency that has primary law enforcement authority over the schools within its jurisdiction;
(iii) Which party to the MOU or interlocal agreement, the local law enforcement agency or school governing body, will be financially responsible for funding the match of the cost associated with the employment of each school resource officer (SRO) by a local law enforcement agency, if only one (1) such party will bear the financial responsibility;
(iv) If both parties to the MOU or interlocal agreement will share the financial responsibility of funding the required match of the cost associated with the employment of each school resource officer (SRO) by a local law enforcement agency, then the MOU or interlocal agreement shall stipulate the portion of the percentage of the matching funds each party shall be obligated to commit for each SRO employed and assigned to school campuses under the authority and control of the school governing body; and
(v) A Narrative Addendum to document that school resource officers (SROs) will be assigned to work in and around public and private elementary or secondary school campuses and provide supporting documentation in the following areas:
1. Problem identification and justification;
2. Community policing strategies to be used by the SROs;
3. Quality and level of commitment to the effort; and
4. The link to community policing; and
(e) Upon the employment of an individual to serve as a school resource officer under the provisions of this act, the employing school district, in conjunction with said school resource officer, shall complete the development and/or enhancement of a comprehensive school safety plan for each school campus in the school district under the school resource officer's enforcement authority within sixty (60) days of the approval of the individual's employment by the local school governing authority. Before the expiration of the sixty-day period, the local school governing authority shall provide copies of the comprehensive school safety plan to the local law enforcement agency having primary law enforcement authority over each school impacted by the school safety plan(s) within their jurisdiction, and to the Department of Public Safety.
(3) School resource officers (SROs) may serve in a variety of roles, including, but not limited to, that of a law enforcement officer, safety specialist, law-related educator, problem-solver and community liaison. These officers may teach programs such as crime prevention, substance abuse prevention and gang resistance, as well as monitor and assist troubled students through mentoring programs. The SROs may also identify physical changes in the environment that may reduce crime in and around school campuses, as well as assist in developing school policies which address criminal activity and school safety.
(4) All agencies receiving funds through the Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety (MS ROSS) program are required to send the individuals employed as school resource officers (SROs) to the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy or a law enforcement training academy approved by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, where they shall be required to participate in training through the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Program at such academy.
(5) The Mississippi Department of Public Safety shall promulgate rules and regulations prescribing procedures for the application, expenditure requirements and the administration of the Mississippi Community Oriented Policing Services in Schools (MS ROSS) program established in this section, and shall make a report on the implementation of the MS ROSS program with any recommendations to the 2025 Regular Session of the Legislature.
SECTION 4. There is created in the State Treasury a special fund, to be designated as the "Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety (MS ROSS) Fund", which shall consist of funds made available by the Legislature in any manner. The fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer as a separate and special fund, separate and apart from the General Fund of the state. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund. Monies in the fund shall be disbursed, in the discretion of the Department of Public Safety, to provide funds to local law enforcement agencies and school governing bodies for the purposes described in this section.
The department may use an amount equal to one percent (1%) of the monies in the fund, not to exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars, for the purpose of defraying the costs of the department in administering the program.
SECTION 5. Section 37-7-321, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-321. (1) (a) The school board of any school district within the State of Mississippi, in its discretion, may employ one or more persons as security personnel and may designate such persons as peace officers in or on any property operated for school purposes by such board upon their taking such oath and making such bond as required of a constable of the county in which the school district is situated.
(b) Local law enforcement agencies having primary law enforcement authority over schools within their jurisdiction, in conjunction with the school boards of every school district within the State of Mississippi, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or interlocal agreement, signed by the law enforcement executive and the appropriate school official(s), shall employ individuals to serve as school resource officers (SROs), provided that the MOU or interlocal agreement shall require a minimum of one (1) school resource officer to be assigned each school campus operating under the authority and control of the local school board.
(2) Any person employed by
a school board as a security guard or school resource officer (SRO) or
in any other position that has the powers of a peace officer, who is not a sworn
law enforcement officer, must receive a minimum level of basic law
enforcement training, as jointly determined and prescribed by the Board on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Training and the State Board of Education,
within two (2) years of the person's initial employment in such position. * * * The failure of any person employed in such
position to receive the required training within the designated time * * * will result in the withdrawal of that
person's * * *
authority to exercise the powers of a peace officer in or on the
property of the school district.
(3) The school board is authorized and empowered, in its discretion, and subject to the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, to install and operate a noncommercial radio broadcasting and transmission station for educational and vocational educational purposes.
(4) If a law enforcement officer is duly appointed to be a peace officer by a school district under this section, the local school board may enter into an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement entities for the provision of equipment or traffic control duties, however, the duty to enforce traffic regulations and to enforce the laws of the state or municipality off of school property lies with the local police or sheriff's department which cannot withhold its services solely because of the lack of such an agreement.
SECTION 6. (1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Accreted value" of any bond means, as of any date of computation, an amount equal to the sum of (i) the stated initial value of such bond, plus (ii) the interest accrued thereon from the issue date to the date of computation at the rate, compounded semiannually, that is necessary to produce the approximate yield to maturity shown for bonds of the same maturity.
(b) "State" means the State of Mississippi.
(c) "Commission" means the State Bond Commission.
(2) (a) The commission, at one time, or from time to time, may declare by resolution the necessity for issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi to provide funds for the program authorized in Section 3 of this act. Upon the adoption of a resolution by the Department of Public Safety, declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the general obligation bonds authorized by this subsection, the department shall deliver a certified copy of its resolution or resolutions to the commission. Upon receipt of such resolution, the commission, in its discretion, may act as the issuing agent, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The total amount of bonds issued under this section shall not exceed One Hundred Seven Million Dollars ($107,000,000.00). However, not more than Thirteen Million Dollars ($13,000,000.00) of such bonds may be issued during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025; not more than Seventeen Million Dollars ($17,000,000.00) of such bonds may be issued during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026; not more than Twenty-one Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($21,500,000.00) of such bonds may be issued during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027; not more than Twenty-five Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($25,500,000.00) of such bonds may be issued during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027, and ending June 30, 2028; and not more than Thirty Million Dollars ($30,000,000.00) of such bonds may be issued during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2028, and ending June 30, 2029.
(b) Any investment earnings on amounts deposited into the special fund created in Section 4 of this act shall be used to pay debt service on bonds issued under this section, in accordance with the proceedings authorizing issuance of such bonds.
(3) The principal of and interest on the bonds authorized under this section shall be payable in the manner provided in this subsection. Such bonds shall bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, bear interest at such rate or rates (not to exceed the limits set forth in Section 75-17-101, Mississippi Code of 1972), be payable at such place or places within or without the State of Mississippi, shall mature absolutely at such time or times not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from date of issue, be redeemable before maturity at such time or times and upon such terms, with or without premium, shall bear such registration privileges, and shall be substantially in such form, all as shall be determined by resolution of the commission.
(4) The bonds authorized by this section shall be signed by the chairman of the commission, or by his facsimile signature, and the official seal of the commission shall be affixed thereto, attested by the secretary of the commission. The interest coupons, if any, to be attached to such bonds may be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Whenever any such bonds shall have been signed by the officials designated to sign the bonds who were in office at the time of such signing but who may have ceased to be such officers before the sale and delivery of such bonds, or who may not have been in office on the date such bonds may bear, the signatures of such officers upon such bonds and coupons shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes and have the same effect as if the person so officially signing such bonds had remained in office until their delivery to the purchaser, or had been in office on the date such bonds may bear. However, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, such bonds may be issued as provided in the Registered Bond Act of the State of Mississippi.
(5) All bonds and interest coupons issued under the provisions of this section have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, and in exercising the powers granted by this section, the commission shall not be required to and need not comply with the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(6) The commission shall act as the issuing agent for the bonds authorized under this section, prescribe the form of the bonds, determine the appropriate method for sale of the bonds, advertise for and accept bids or negotiate the sale of the bonds, issue and sell the bonds so authorized to be sold, pay all fees and costs incurred in such issuance and sale, and do any and all other things necessary and advisable in connection with the issuance and sale of such bonds. The commission is authorized and empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery of the bonds authorized under this section from the proceeds derived from the sale of such bonds. The commission may sell such bonds on sealed bids at public sale or may negotiate the sale of the bonds for such price as it may determine to be for the best interest of the State of Mississippi. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually.
If such bonds are sold by sealed bids at public sale, notice of the sale of any such bonds shall be published at least one time, not less than ten (10) days before the date of sale, and shall be so published in one or more newspapers published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi, to be selected by the commission.
The commission, when issuing any bonds under the authority of this section, may provide that bonds, at the option of the State of Mississippi, may be called in for payment and redemption at the call price named therein and accrued interest on such date or dates named therein.
(7) The bonds issued under the provisions of this section are general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and for the payment thereof the full faith and credit of the State of Mississippi is irrevocably pledged. If the funds appropriated by the Legislature are insufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on such bonds as they become due, then the deficiency shall be paid by the State Treasurer from any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All such bonds shall contain recitals on their faces substantially covering the provisions of this subsection.
(8) Upon the issuance and sale of bonds under the provisions of this section, the commission shall transfer the proceeds of any such sale or sales to the special fund created in Section 4 of this act. The proceeds of such bonds shall be disbursed solely upon the order of the Department of Finance and Administration under such restrictions, if any, as may be contained in the resolution providing for the issuance of the bonds.
(9) The bonds authorized under this section may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things other than those proceedings, conditions and things which are specified or required by this section. Any resolution providing for the issuance of bonds under the provisions of this section shall become effective immediately upon its adoption by the commission, and any such resolution may be adopted at any regular or special meeting of the commission by a majority of its members.
(10) The bonds authorized under the authority of this section may be validated in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the manner and with the force and effect provided by Chapter 13, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1972, for the validation of county, municipal, school district and other bonds. The notice to taxpayers required by such statutes shall be published in a newspaper published or having a general circulation in the City of Jackson, Mississippi.
(11) Any holder of bonds issued under the provisions of this section or of any of the interest coupons pertaining thereto may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, protect and enforce any and all rights granted under this section, or under such resolution, and may enforce and compel performance of all duties required by this section to be performed, in order to provide for the payment of bonds and interest thereon.
(12) All bonds issued under the provisions of this section shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi, and such bonds shall be legal securities which may be deposited with and shall be received by all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and political subdivisions for the purpose of securing the deposit of public funds.
(13) Bonds issued under the provisions of this section and income therefrom shall be exempt from all taxation in the State of Mississippi.
(14) The proceeds of the bonds issued under this section shall be used solely for the purposes herein provided, including the costs incident to the issuance and sale of such bonds.
(15) The State Treasurer is authorized, without further process of law, to certify to the Department of Finance and Administration the necessity for warrants, and the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and directed to issue such warrants, in such amounts as may be necessary to pay when due the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, or the accreted value of, all bonds issued under this section; and the State Treasurer shall forward the necessary amount to the designated place or places of payment of such bonds in ample time to discharge such bonds, or the interest thereon, on the due dates thereof.
(16) This section shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers herein granted, but this section shall not be deemed to repeal or to be in derogation of any existing law of this state.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.