MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Hines
AN ACT TO CREATE THE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY SAFETY ACT; TO REQUIRE SCHOOLS TO ANNUALLY REPORT CERTAIN UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC DATA CONCERNING SUCH UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE ONGOING STAFF TRAINING, STRATEGIES AND EVIDENCED-BASED PRACTICES TO CREATE SAFE, POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT IMPROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT SAFETY FOR YOUTH, LAW ENFORCEMENT, DISTRICT STAFF AND PARENTS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 37-11-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) Each school shall annually report the unlawful activity, as required under Section 37-11-29, to the local school district. Further, each school district shall submit quarterly reports to the Mississippi Department of Education for a minimum of two (2) years beginning from and after July 1, 2026, of the reported unlawful activity. The Mississippi Department of Education shall release an annual report concerning the collected data from the unlawful activity reports submitted by each school district, and the annual report shall be made available online via the department's Mississippi Achievement and Accountability Reporting System (MAARS) database.
(2) The required public report of the Mississippi Department of Education shall be released by the department and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) The number of students referred to the juvenile justice system; and
(b) The classification of such students on the basis of race and ethnicity.
Such report shall be separate from the required reporting that is set out under Section 37-11-29.
SECTION 2. (1) No later than July 1, 2027, the Mississippi Department of Education shall develop and provide evidenced-based training curriculum to support school districts in creating safe, positive learning environments that improve district safety and benefit all youth, law enforcement, district staff and parents. The training curriculum developed under this section shall include on-going staff training in the following areas:
(a) Reducing the number of youth referred to law enforcement agencies for unlawful activity defined under Section 37-11-29;
(b) Alternatives to arrest;
(c) Training in cultural competency and the ability to form a positive relationship with students;
(d) Methods for improving and coordinating all aspects of law enforcement's role in youth disciplinary matters;
(e) Developing new methods for the prevention and reduction of incidents referred to law enforcement agencies;
(f) Evidenced-based positive behavior intervention;
(g) Restorative justice principals;
(h) Implementation of successful, evidenced-based programs, services, and systems that already exist to target improving school discipline.
The training curriculum required in this subsection (1) shall be made available on the Mississippi Department of Education's website.
(2) In addition, the State Department of Education shall develop strategies for school districts, law enforcement agencies and other community organizations to collaborate on reducing student involvement in the juvenile justice system. Such strategies shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Educating all parties on the unforeseen negative consequences of arresting a youth;
(b) Timing of notification of when district staff administrators should be informed before a student is arrested;
(c) The types of youth arrests that are counter-productive to community safety and should not occur;
(d) Evidenced-based practices for:
(i) Alternatives to arresting students and reducing the number of youth entering the criminal justice system;
(ii) Improving interactions with youth, parents, law enforcement, administrators and educators;
(iii) De-escalation methods, alternatives to the use of force against students and reducing the use of force;
(iv) Improving the opportunities for positive interaction with the students;
(v) Reducing the opportunities for negative school resource officer interaction with students;
(vi) Eliminating the use of zero tolerance policies; and
(vii) Maximizing resources in order to increase staff assigned to improving and evaluating student behavior across the district.
SECTION 3. Section 37-11-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
37-11-29. (1) Any principal, teacher or other school employee who has knowledge of any unlawful activity which occurred on educational property or during a school related activity or which may have occurred shall report such activity to the superintendent of the school district or his designee who shall notify the appropriate law enforcement officials as required by this section. In the event of an emergency or if the superintendent or his designee is unavailable, any principal may make a report required under this subsection.
(2) Whenever any person who shall be an enrolled student in any school or educational institution in this state supported in whole or in part by public funds, or who shall be an enrolled student in any private school or educational institution, is arrested for, and lawfully charged with, the commission of any crime and convicted upon the charge for which he was arrested, or convicted of any crime charged against him after his arrest and before trial, the office or law enforcement department of which the arresting officer is a member, and the justice court judge and any circuit judge or court before whom such student is tried upon said charge or charges, shall make or cause to be made a report thereof to the superintendent or the president or chancellor, as the case may be, of the school district or other educational institution in which such student is enrolled.
If the charge upon which such student was arrested, or any other charges preferred against him are dismissed or nol prossed, or if upon trial he is either convicted or acquitted of such charge or charges, same shall be reported to said respective superintendent or president, or chancellor, as the case may be. A copy of said report shall be sent to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi, at Jackson, Mississippi.
Said report shall be made within one (1) week after the arrest of such student and within one (1) week after any charge placed against him is dismissed or nol prossed, and within one (1) week after he shall have pled guilty, been convicted, or have been acquitted by trial upon any charge placed against him. This section shall not apply to ordinary traffic violations involving a penalty of less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) and costs.
The State Superintendent of Public Education shall gather annually all of the reports provided under this section and prepare a report on the number of students arrested as a result of any unlawful activity which occurred on educational property or during a school related activity. All data must be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, school, offense and law enforcement agency involved. However, the report prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Education shall not include the identity of any student who was arrested.
On or before January 1 of each year, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall report to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Joint PEER Committee on this section. The report must include data regarding arrests as a result of any unlawful activity which occurred on educational property or during a school related activity.
(3) When the superintendent or his designee has a reasonable belief that an act has occurred on educational property or during a school related activity involving any of the offenses set forth in subsection (6) of this section, the superintendent or his designee shall immediately report the act to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. For purposes of this subsection, "school property" shall include any public school building, bus, public school campus, grounds, recreational area or athletic field in the charge of the superintendent. The State Board of Education shall prescribe a form for making reports required under this subsection. Any superintendent or his designee who fails to make a report required by this section shall be subject to the penalties provided in Section 37-11-35.
(4) The law enforcement authority shall immediately dispatch an officer to the educational institution and with probable cause the officer is authorized to make an arrest if necessary as provided in Section 99-3-7.
(5) Any superintendent, principal, teacher or other school personnel participating in the making of a required report pursuant to this section or participating in any judicial proceeding resulting therefrom shall be presumed to be acting in good faith. Any person reporting in good faith shall be immune from any civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
(6) For purposes of this section, "unlawful activity" means any of the following:
(a) Possession or use of a deadly weapon, as defined in Section 97-37-1;
(b) Possession, sale or use of any controlled substance;
(c) Aggravated assault, as defined in Section 97-3-7;
(d) Simple assault, as defined in Section 97-3-7, upon any school employee;
(e) Rape, as defined under Mississippi law;
(f) Sexual battery, as defined under Mississippi law;
(g) Murder, as defined under Mississippi law;
(h) Kidnapping, as defined under Mississippi law; or
(i) Fondling, touching, handling, etc., a child for lustful purposes, as defined in Section 97-5-23.
For the purposes of this subsection (6), the term "controlled substance" does not include the possession or use of medical cannabis that is lawful under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act and in compliance with rules and regulations adopted thereunder.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.