HB1448 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE) - 2001 Regular Session

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Education; Appropriations

By: Representative Brown, Whittington, Eads, Mayo, Denny, Baker, Banks, Blackmon, Broomfield, Clark, Clarke, Creel, Davis, Flaggs, Fleming, Ford, Frierson, Green, Holloway, Ishee, Livingston, Martinson, Middleton, Moak, Montgomery (74th), Moore (60th), Reeves, Robinson (84th), Scott (17th), Smith (27th), Snowden, Straughter, Thomas, Wallace, Warren, Watson, Fillingane

House Bill 1448
(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS (JROTC) PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO EMPLOY OR CONTRACT WITH THE MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL GUARD FOR A STATEWIDE COORDINATOR FOR JROTC PROGRAMS AND TO ESTABLISH THE DUTIES OF THE STATEWIDE COORDINATOR; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO STUDY ISSUES RELATING TO THE FUNDING OF JROTC AND THE LICENSURE OF JROTC INSTRUCTORS AND TO REQUIRE THE BOARD TO REPORT ITS FINDINGS TO THE EDUCATION COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE BEFORE THE 2002 SESSION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-61-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE JROTC INSTRUCTORS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR CLASSROOM SUPPLIES; TO ESTABLISH A JROTC MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM TO ASSIST LOCAL SCHOOLS IN FUNDING JROTC PROGRAMS; TO ESTABLISH A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR JROTC STUDENTS WHO CONTINUE THEIR PARTICIPATION IN ROTC IN COLLEGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) Subject to the availability of funding for such purpose, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall employ within the State Department of Education or, in the alternative, contract with the Mississippi National Guard for a statewide coordinator for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs in the public schools. If employed by the State Department of Education, the JROTC statewide coordinator must be an active or retired member of the military and must meet any additional qualifications that may be established for the position by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Personnel Board.

(2) The following are the powers and duties of the JROTC statewide coordinator:

(a) To coordinate training of new JROTC instructors and continuing education programs for certified instructors;

(b) To facilitate communication between JROTC programs in the various public schools;

(d) To assist in the development of the JROTC curriculum;

(e) To compile information on scholarships available to JROTC participants and to solicit support for such scholarships;

(f) To assist in establishing support groups for parents of students participating in a JROTC program;

(g) To solicit financial support for JROTC programs from private sector donors;

(h) To promote the involvement of JROTC units within their local communities;

(i) To facilitate interaction between JROTC units and the Mississippi National Guard;

(j) To promote, in general, the JROTC program in high schools throughout the state;

(k) To assist local schools with the application process for establishing new JROTC programs in high schools; and

(l) To perform such other duties relating to the JROTC program established by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Board of Education.

SECTION 2. The State Board of Education shall study the issues relating to the funding of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and the licensing of JROTC instructors. In studying the licensing issue, the board shall consider the credentials required for certification as a JROTC instructor. The board shall present a report on its findings concerning these issues along with any other issues related to JROTC to the Chairman of the Education Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate before December 15, 2001, which report must include recommended legislation necessary to effectuate the board's recommendations relating to JROTC.

SECTION 3. Section 37-61-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until July 1, 2002, this section reads as follows:]

37-61-33. (1) There is * * * created within the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "Education Enhancement Fund" into which shall be deposited all the revenues collected pursuant to Sections 27-65-75(7) and (8), 27-67-31(a) and (b) and 27-103-203(1).

(2) Of the amount deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund, excluding revenues deposited pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00) shall be appropriated each fiscal year to the State Department of Education to be distributed to all school districts. Such money shall be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state for the following purposes:

(a) Purchasing, erecting, repairing, equipping, remodeling and enlarging school buildings and related facilities, including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training buildings, libraries, teachers' homes, school barns, transportation vehicles (which shall include new and used transportation vehicles) and garages for transportation vehicles, and purchasing land therefor.

(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land therefor.

(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, air conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and purchasing land therefor.

(d) As a pledge to pay all or a portion of the debt service on debt issued by the school district under Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, 37-7-351 through 37-7-359, 37-41-89 through 37-41-99, 37-7-301, 37-7-302 and 37-41-81, or debt issued by boards of supervisors for agricultural high schools pursuant to Section 37-27-65, if such pledge is accomplished pursuant to a written contract or resolution approved and spread upon the minutes of an official meeting of the district's school board or board of supervisors. The annual grant to such district in any subsequent year during the term of the resolution or contract shall not be reduced below an amount equal to the district's grant amount for the year in which the contract or resolution was adopted. The intent of this provision is to allow school districts to irrevocably pledge a certain, constant stream of revenue as security for long-term obligations issued under the code sections enumerated in this paragraph or as otherwise allowed by law. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this paragraph shall be cumulative and supplemental to any existing funding programs or other authority conferred upon school districts or school boards. Debt of a district secured by a pledge of sales tax revenue pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to any debt limitation contained in the foregoing enumerated code sections.

(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund, excluding funds deposited pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), shall be appropriated as follows:

(a) To the State Department of Education as follows:

(i) Eight and thirty-five one-hundredths percent (8.35%) to be distributed to public school districts for the funding of textbooks and other educational materials and to be used by the State Department of Education for the purchase of textbooks to be loaned under Sections 37-43-1 through 37-43-59 to approved nonpublic schools, as described under Section 37-43-1. The amount of funds under this item to be used by the department for purchasing textbooks to loan to approved nonpublic schools shall be in the proportion that the average daily attendance of the nonpublic schools that are loaned textbooks by the state bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts in the state. The funds distributed to the school districts under this item shall be in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state and shall be used to assist in the funding of textbooks and other educational materials, to include not more than Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) each year for technology enhancement projects for elementary and secondary education programs;

(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent (7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23;

(iii) Eight and twenty-six one-hundredths percent (8.26%) to assist the funding of the Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Program pursuant to Section 37-22-1; and

(iv) Nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (9.61%) for classroom supplies, instructional materials and equipment, including computers and computer software, to be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state.

Such funds shall not be expended for administrative purposes. Local school districts shall allocate classroom supply funds equally among all classroom teachers and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) instructors in the school district. For purposes of this subparagraph, "teacher" shall mean any employee of the school board of a school district who is required by law to obtain a teacher's license from the State Board of Education and who is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the State Department of Education, but shall not include a federally funded teacher. Two (2) or more teachers or JROTC instructors may agree to pool their classroom supply funds for the benefit of a school within the district pursuant to the development of a spending plan that supports the overall goals of the school which includes the type, quantity and quality of such supplies, instructional materials, equipment, computers or computer software. This plan shall be submitted, in writing, to the school principal for approval. Classroom supply funds allocated under this subparagraph shall supplement, not replace, other local and state funds available for the same purposes. School districts need not fully expend the funds received under this subparagraph in the year in which they are received, but such funds may be carried forward for expenditure in any succeeding school year. The State Board of Education shall develop and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this subparagraph consistent with the above criteria, with particular emphasis on allowing the individual teachers and JROTC instructors to expend funds as they deem appropriate, with minimum input from school principals;

(b) Twenty-two and nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and (c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent (14.41%) to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges for the purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges.

(4) The amount remaining in the Education Enhancement Fund after funds are distributed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, excluding funds deposited pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), shall be disbursed as follows:

(a) Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund created pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), until the balance in such fund reaches the maximum balance of seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) of the General Fund appropriations in the appropriate fiscal year. After the maximum balance in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund is reached, such money shall remain in the Education Enhancement Fund to be appropriated in the manner provided for in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) The remainder shall be appropriated for other educational needs.

(5) None of the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section shall be used to reduce the state's general fund appropriation for the categories listed in an amount below the following amounts:

(a) For subsection (3)(a)(i) of this section, Six Million Three Hundred Thirty Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty Dollars ($6,330,920.00);

(b) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($36,700,000.00);

(d) For the aggregate of minimum program allotments provided for in Chapter 19, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, excluding those funds for transportation as provided for in subsection (5)(b) herein.

(6) At the end of a fiscal year, such amounts as required by Section 27-103-203(1) to be transferred to the Education Enhancement Fund shall be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund and shall be kept separate from other monies in the fund by the State Treasurer. * * * The monies in such special fund deposited pursuant to * * * Section 27-103-203(1) shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the following manner: (a) fifty percent (50%) to support public education, including but not limited to, Grades K through 12, Mississippi Educational Television and/or the Mississippi Library Commission; (b) twenty-five percent (25%) to support institutions of higher learning; and (c) twenty-five percent (25%) to support the junior or community colleges. Any amount of such monies transferred into the separate fund pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1) which is not appropriated by the Legislature shall not lapse but shall carry over and be subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the succeeding fiscal year in the same manner provided in this subsection * * *. The interest earned on the investment of such monies transferred pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1) shall be paid into the separate fund within the Education Enhancement Fund.

[From and after July 1, 2002, this section reads as follows:]

(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land therefor.

(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, air conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and purchasing land therefor.

(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund, excluding funds deposited pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), shall be appropriated as follows:

(a) To the State Department of Education as follows:

(i) Sixteen and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (16.61%) to the cost of the adequate education program determined under Section 37-151-7;

(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent (7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23; and

(iii) Nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (9.61%) for classroom supplies, instructional materials and equipment, including computers and computer software, to be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that all classroom teachers and Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) instructors shall be involved in the development of a spending plan that addresses individual classroom needs and supports the overall goals of the school regarding supplies, instructional materials, equipment, computers or computer software under the provisions of this subparagraph, including the type, quantity and quality of such supplies, materials and equipment. This plan shall be submitted to the school principal for approval. School districts need not fully expend the funds received under this subparagraph in the year in which they are received, but such funds may be carried forward for expenditure in any succeeding school year;

(b) Twenty-two and nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and

(c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent (14.41%) to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges for the purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges.

(b) The remainder shall be appropriated for other educational needs.

(a) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($36,700,000.00); and

(b) For the aggregate of minimum program allotments in the 1997 fiscal year, formerly provided for in Chapter 19, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, excluding those funds for transportation as provided for in subsection (5)(a) herein.

(6) At the end of a fiscal year, such amounts as required by Section 27-103-203(1) to be transferred to the Education Enhancement Fund shall be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund and shall be kept separate from other monies in the fund by the State Treasurer. * * * The monies in such special fund deposited pursuant to said Section 27-103-203(1) shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the following manner: (a) fifty percent (50%) to support public education, including but not limited to, Grades K through 12, Mississippi Educational Television and/or the Mississippi Library Commission; (b) twenty-five percent (25%) to support institutions of higher learning; and (c) twenty-five percent (25%) to support the junior or community colleges. Any amount of such monies transferred into the separate fund pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1) which is not appropriated by the Legislature shall not lapse but shall carry over and be subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the succeeding fiscal year in the same manner provided in this subsection * * *. The interest earned on the investment of such monies transferred pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1) shall be paid into said separate fund within the Education Enhancement Fund.

SECTION 4. Subject to the availability of funding appropriated specifically for such purpose, there is established within the State Department of Education a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) grant program available to public schools to assist in financing JROTC programs. The school board of a local school district may apply annually to the department on behalf of a high school or high schools within that district which have a JROTC program for a grant in the amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each JROTC program per school year. The department shall create a grant application form and shall designate the date by which applications must be received by the department. In order to be eligible for a grant under the program during any school year, the school district or high school receiving the grant must agree to provide to the school's JROTC program Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), in addition to an amount equal to the local funding allocated to the program in the 2000-2001 school year, from local school funds. Funds received through the JROTC grant program may be used for expenses associated with a high school's JROTC program, including: supplies; travel costs for students and instructors on official JROTC sponsored trips or attending JROTC functions; instructional materials; JROTC uniforms; official JROTC sponsored social events; and any other expenses incurred in the operations of the JROTC program.

SECTION 5. (1) There is established a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship program, the purpose of which is to encourage and aid eligible high school graduates to continue their participation in an ROTC program while pursuing a college education.

(2) Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, any student classified as a freshman at a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher learning in the state accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and approved by the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation or an accredited, nonprofit community or junior college in the state who graduated from a high school in Mississippi and who maintained a 2.00 grade point average calculated on a 4.00 scale in a Junior ROTC program for four (4) years in high school may apply for a scholarship under this program. An application must be accompanied by written letters of recommendation from the principal and Junior ROTC instructor of the high school from which the applicant graduated and any other information that may be required pursuant to rules or regulations established under subsection (5) of this section. In order to be eligible for a scholarship, an applicant must enroll in the first year of a two-year or four-year ROTC program at the institution in which the applicant is enrolled or accepted for enrollment.

(3) The maximum annual scholarship that may be awarded to a student under this program is One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per academic year. For purposes of this section, the term "academic year" means August 1 through the next succeeding July 31. The Junior ROTC scholarship is additional to any other scholarship or financial aid that the student receives, except for awards made under the Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant Program created under Section 37-106-29 or the Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant Program created under Section 37-106-31, and may be used for any expenses associated with the student pursuing a higher education. A student may not receive more than two (2) annual awards under the Junior ROTC scholarship program.

(4) As a condition for renewal of a scholarship, a student must make steady academic progress toward a certificate or associate or baccalaureate degree, as certified by the institution's registrar, and must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 calculated on a 4.00 scale at the end of each term. In addition, the student must maintain a 3.00 grade point average calculated on a 4.00 scale in the ROTC program.

(5) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board of Education jointly shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this section. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be the administering agency of the program.

(6) It is the intent of the Legislature to fully fund scholarships to eligible students under this program. If funds are insufficient to fully fund scholarships to all eligible applicants, the board shall award the scholarships to first-time freshman students on a first-come, first-served basis; however, priority consideration must be given to persons previously receiving awards under the program.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2001.