MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Education; Juvenile Justice

By: Senator(s) Smith

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVISE AND IMPLEMENT A GENERAL EQUIVALENCY DIPLOMA PROGRAM FOR PREGNANT TEENAGERS, TO BE BROADCAST ON MISSISSIPPI EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-63-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION TO ASSIST IN DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

SECTION 1. The State Department of Education is hereby designated as the state agency responsible for the administration and supervision of a general equivalency diploma curriculum to be broadcast on Mississippi Educational Television for the benefit of pregnant teenagers desiring to obtain a general equivalency diploma. The State Department of Education is hereby authorized to establish an office of televised GED curriculum within the framework of the State Department of Education for the purpose of developing standards, procedures and criteria for the administration and supervision of a statewide program for pregnant teenagers to obtain a general equivalency diploma, and shall assume the further responsibility for promoting a statewide effort to publicize the availability of this resource for pregnant teens.

SECTION 2. Section 37-63-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-17. (1) The Mississippi Authority for Educational Television is empowered to provide noncommercial production or reproduction services for other public agencies and may collect the costs of providing the services from the public agency plus a separate equipment usage fee in an amount determined by the authority and based upon the equipment used. The costs shall be deposited to the credit of the authority. The separate equipment usage fee shall be deposited in the Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund.

(2) The Authority for Educational Television may establish a Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund into which shall be deposited equipment usage fees collected under subsection (1) and funds from other sources designated for deposit in the Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund. The authority may expend monies from the Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund subject to appropriation therefor by the Legislature to purchase technical equipment for operating the educational radio and television facilities.

(3) The Authority for Educational Television shall cooperate with the State Department of Education in developing for broadcast a general equivalency diploma curriculum for the benefit of pregnant teenagers desiring to obtain a general equivalency diploma as required by Section 1 of Senate Bill No. 2670, 1999 Regular Session.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1999.