House Bill 356

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL RISK MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE TASK FORCE WILL CONTINUALLY STUDY ENSURING AND ENHANCING RISK MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST PRACTICES FOR PREVENTION AND RESPONSE; TO PROVIDE THE DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE TASK FORCE; TO REQUIRE THE TASK FORCE TO REPORT ITS FINDINGS AND ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Mississippi School Risk Management Task Force for the purpose of the continual study of ensuring and enhancing risk management in school environments for administrators and the implementation of best practices for prevention and response.

(2) The task force shall perform the following duties:

(a) Assess the needs of school districts regarding risk management and response by gathering input from school board members, administrators and other relevant stakeholders;

(b) Review emergency action plans currently in place across Mississippi's school districts and identify if existing plans address temporary school planning if a school is destroyed or damaged by a natural or manmade disaster;

(c) Recommend best practices for emergency response to include in emergency action plans, including, but not limited to, annual tabletop exercises for floods, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, derechos, manmade disasters and other disaster types;

(d) Determine the feasibility of implementation of and/or the necessity of exemptions or waivers for recommended risk management strategies in private, religious, charter, military or home schools;

(e) Review existing resources for risk management across school districts and identify how school boards may work with their local county emergency managers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to increase resources, including, but not limited to, applying for grants under the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program;

(f) Develop a plan for the implementation of emergency action plans and the construction of safe rooms for any new school construction in each school district;

(g) Ensure oversight for the implementation of emergency action plans, safe rooms, and any other risk management strategies identified by the task force by establishing a system of review and recommending an agency or entity to monitor risk management effectiveness and make needed improvements; and

(h) Recommend relevant changes to Mississippi law and other state and local policies that can be implemented by state and local government entities to accomplish the goals of the task force.

(3) The task force shall be composed of the following twenty-seven (27) members:

(a) The Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, who shall serve as the Chairman, and three (3) members of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, one (1) of whom shall be from the Public Assistance Office;

(b) The State Superintendent of Public Education, who shall serve as the Vice Chairman, and four (4) members of the State Department of Education, one (1) of whom shall be from the Office of School Financial Services and one (1) of whom shall be the Director of the Office of Safe and Orderly Schools within the State Department of Education;

(d) The Chairmen of the Judiciary A Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate;

(e) Three (3) members of the State Department of Health;

(f) A representative from the Office of the Governor;

(g) The Attorney General;

(h) Six (6) county emergency managers, two (2) selected from the northern, central and southern areas of the state;

(i) A school superintendent, appointed by the Governor from the state-at-large;

(j) A representative of the Mississippi School Board Association;

(k) A school resource officer, appointed by the Governor from the state-at-large;

(l) A parent representative, appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education from the state-at-large; and

(m) A representative of the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents.

(3) The members of the task force shall be appointed within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act. Any vacancy on the task force shall not affect its powers but shall be filled within thirty (30) days. The task force shall hold its first meeting within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this act, on a call of the chairman of the task force. A majority of the membership of the task force shall constitute a quorum and shall meet at the call of the chairman. All members must be notified in writing of all meetings at least five (5) days before the date on which a meeting of the task force is scheduled.

(4) Members of the task force shall receive a per diem in the amount provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day engaged in the business of the task force. Members of the task force, other than the legislative members, shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses incurred while engaged in official business of the task force in accordance with Section 25-3-41 and the legislative members of the task force shall receive the expense allowance provided for in Section 5-1-47.

(5) The task force shall verify that each school district is included in the local county emergency hazard mitigation plan.

(6) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations, including any recommended legislation and funding needs, to the Legislature annually not later than December 1 each year.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.