House Bill 562

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT IN THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD'S EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY TO FIX THE OPENING AND CLOSING DATES OF THE SCHOOL TERM, THE BOARD SHALL NOT SET THE OPENING DATE BEFORE THE FOURTH MONDAY IN AUGUST; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD IN ESTABLISHING THE OPENING AND CLOSING DATES TO SATISFY THE REQUIRED MINIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS FOR A SCHOLASTIC YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH FULFILLING THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR BEGINNING WITH THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL TERM; TO PROHIBIT STAFF DEVELOPMENT TRAINING DURING A REGULAR SCHOOL DAY; TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH TRAINING MAY BE CONDUCTED AFTER REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS OR DURING THE SUMMER INTERIM; TO PROVIDE THAT ONLY CERTAIN HOLIDAYS SHALL BE OBSERVED AS SCHOOL HOLIDAYS; TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE TASK FORCE"; TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPOSITION OF ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ITS DUTIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-13-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-13-61. The local school board shall have the power and authority to fix the date for the opening of the school term, which shall not be before the fourth Monday of August, and the date for the closing of the school term. In establishing the opening and closing dates of the school term, the school board must satisfy the required minimum number of days which schools must be in session during a scholastic year, as prescribed under Section 37-13-63. However, local school boards are authorized to keep school in session in excess of the minimum number of days prescribed in Section 37-13-63.

SECTION 2. (1) Beginning with the 2010-2011 school term, all instructional days in the public schools shall be conducted in a manner that is consistent with fulfilling the minimum number of days for the academic calendar year prescribed in Section 37-13-63, but does not impede student attendance or student performance.

(2) In satisfying the requirement of subsection (1) of this section, staff development training shall not be held during a regular school day; however, staff development training may be offered after the regular school day has been completed or conducted during the interim summer term between the closing date of an academic year and the beginning date of the immediately following academic year.

(3) All holidays shall be days of instruction, except for the following, which shall be observed as school holidays: Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Spring Break and Good Friday. Permanent early release days are prohibited.

SECTION 3. (1) There is created a task force to be known as the "Mississippi Successful School Performance Task Force" to monitor and evaluate two (2) successfully performing school districts in each of the state's four (4) congressional districts to develop a plan to increase the aptitude of the State of Mississippi's educable and compulsory-school-age children and to improve the accreditation levels of those schools in our state that are failing as defined by the State Board of Education. In making its selection of schools to be monitored and evaluated, the task force shall select only those schools that are performing at the highest level of accreditation as defined by the State Board of Education, and that also have increased ethnic and socio-economic diversity among the students enrolled and increased participation in the federal free and reduced lunch program. The task force shall make a report of its findings and recommendations, including any recommended legislation, to the Governor and Legislature before December 15, 2010.

(2) The task force shall be composed of the following fifteen (15) members:

(a) The Chairman of the House of Representatives Education Committee, or his or her designee;

(b) The Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, or his or her designee;

(d) The Director of the Office of Accreditation within the State Department of Education, or his or her designee;

(e) Two (2) persons from each of the four (4) congressional districts who are current or former educators, one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House, for a total of eight (8) members.

(f) One (1) person to be appointed by the Governor, who shall have ten (10) or more years experience in school administration;

(g) One (1) person to be appointed by the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents to serve as representative of the association; and

(h) One (1) person to be appointed by the Mississippi School Boards Association to serve as representative of the association.

(3) All members of the task force must be appointed within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this act. The task force shall hold its first meeting no later than August 15, 2010, on the call of the Governor at a place designated by him. At that first meeting, the task force shall elect from among its membership a chairman and other officers, if any, determined to be necessary. A majority of the membership of the task force shall constitute a quorum, and an affirmative vote of a majority of the task force shall be required for all actions taken. 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) The task force shall make an assessment of the monitored schools' curriculums, academic performances, nonathletic extracurricular activities, teacher retention, career and guidance counseling, parental involvement, administrator-teacher relationships, students-to-teacher ratios, class sizes, duration of instructional periods, availability of after-school programs and the frequency with which those programs meet, approaches to educating students determined to be at risk, community involvement, and any other areas that the task force deems necessary for an efficient evaluation of the schools. The task force shall use the information gathered from the monitored schools' evaluations to compare those schools' similarities and differences and to formulate and recommend a plan for implementing a structured model program with clear and consistent goals for those schools and districts that are failing as defined by the State Board of Education, and a framework of educational benchmarks to be used in order for those schools to achieve the stated goals.

(5) 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 compensation authorized for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session. Payment of these expenses must be from funds made available specifically for that purpose by the Legislature or from any other public or private source.

(6) The State Department of Education, any state agency to which a request for support is made and the local school districts in which the school under monitoring and evaluation are located, acting collaboratively, shall provide appropriate staff support to assist the task force in carrying out its duties. Each entity shall designate an appropriate employee to act as a point of contact for the provision of staff support to the task force.

(7) Upon presentation of its report, the task force shall be dissolved.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.