MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 Regular Session
To: Education; Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Brown
AN ACT TO CREATE THE JOINT EDUCATION AND MENTAL HEALTH STUDY COMMITTEE TO STUDY AND MAKE ANNUAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE REGARDING THE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE IN SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY TO IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE TASK FORCE; TO SET FORTH THE DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, a Children's Mental Health Summit was held on October 25, 2010, and as a result, the major issues reports by families from focus groups were related to their children's educational needs; and
WHEREAS, depending on their specific situations, children with behavioral, emotional or social disorders can be identified and helped in either regular education or special education; and WHEREAS, although these two (2) systems were designed to insure that all children in need get help, in reality the two (2) processes are confusing and sometimes used against each other; and
WHEREAS, in a small pilot survey done by families with families in preparation for the recent Children's Mental
Health Summit, forty-two percent (42%) of respondents endorsed the statement, "My child's school makes it harder, rather than easier, for him to get help."; and
WHEREAS, according to Child Find Data, 2008, children with emotional disturbances that qualify for special education services are under-identified in Mississippi, where only one thousand eight hundred twenty-eight (1,828) were identified, which, using the most conservative statistical estimates, should have been at least four thousand four hundred (4,400); and
WHEREAS, according to the State Department of Education's 2008 Exit Data, there were one hundred forty-eight (148) Mississippi public school students between ages fourteen (14) and twenty-one (21) with emotional disturbance (EmD) rulings, among whom, twenty-seven (27) received regular diplomas, eighty-two (82) received certificates, seventeen (17) returned to regular education and twenty-two (22) dropped out; and
WHEREAS, when it comes to further education or employment of theses individuals, having a certificate is equivalent to having no diploma at all, and both regular education and special education teachers need better training and more support; and
WHEREAS, it is critical that all state systems that serve children, work collaboratively to address these complex and challenging issues, and it is imperative that the State Department of Education be an active partner in practice, policy and reimbursement reform; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Joint Education and Mental Health Study Committee to study and make annual recommendations to the Mississippi Legislature and to assist in shaping public policy to improve student outcomes and educational opportunities for students with serious emotional, behavioral disorders in regular and special education in the State of Mississippi. The study group shall be composed of the following members:
(a) One (1) person who is a member of the governing body of a school district, to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education;
(b) One (1) appointed by the Executive Director of the Mississippi State Department of Education (no designee);
(c) One (1) person who is the Director of Special Education services in a school district, to be appointed
by the State Superintendent of Public Education;
(d) One (1) person who is a representative of the State Department of Mental Health, to be appointed by the executive director of the department;
(e) One (1) regular education teacher to be appointed by a local school district;
(f) One (1) special education teacher to be appointed by a local school district;
(g) The Executive Director of Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health;
(h) One (1) person each who is a representative of Parent and Training Institute, Mississippi Disability Rights, Southern Echo, Mississippi Center for Justice and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), to be appointed by the executive directors of each respective organization;
(i) One (1) person who is a representative of the Department of Rehabilitation Services appointed by the
executive director of the department;
(j) One (1) person who is a representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by the executive director of the department;
(k) One (1) person who is a representative of a local school district Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS) model; and
(l) Two (2) family members and one (1) youth designated by each of the advocacy organizations listed above and Mississippi Families as Allies.
(2) Members of the study group shall work together to insure that family members are representative of the regions of the state and the various types of relevant issues in both special education and regular education specific issues.
(3) The study committee is tasked with the following responsibilities:
(a) Collecting and analyzing data on out-of-school suspensions;
(b) Collecting and analyzing data on alternative school placement;
(c) Collecting and analyzing data on the use of corporal punishment;
(d) Reviewing the use of Medicaid payments for mental health services in schools;
(e) Determining the use of funds being used by LEAs for due process hearings, and other procedures;
(f) Requiring the State Department of Education to report on LEAs compliance with IDEA;
(g) Eliminating the confusion between regular education and special education;
(h) Establishing a clear defined process for requesting services;
(i) Evaluating the accountability of IEPs being carried out in the local school districts;
(j) Reviewing training provided for school personnel, beyond classroom management, interventions and preventions;
(k) Promoting mandatory professional development training on disabilities and specific disorders;
(l) Urging districts to use psychiatrists in the IEP process;
(m) Evaluating how districts pay for legal services to attend IEP meetings; and
(n) Evaluating why dropout rates for children and youth with mental health issues are higher than the average rate.
(4) Appointments to the task force shall be made within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this act. The task force shall hold its first meeting not later than August 15, 2011, with the date, time and location of the meeting to be designated by the State Superintendent of Public Education. At the first meeting the task force shall elect from among its membership a chairman, vice chairman and any other officers determined to be necessary, who shall organize the task force for business and determine the date and locations of subsequent meetings.
(5) Members of the task force shall serve without compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for necessary expense in attending to the actual business of the task force from any available funds, as provided by law. Legislative members shall be reimbursed from the contingent expense fund of their respective house, but only with the specific approval of the Rules Committee of the respective house. The task force, by approval of a majority of its membership, may accept funds that may be donated or provided in the form of grants from public or private sources.
(6) Any department, agency or court of this state, at the request of the chairman of the task force, shall provide staff and other support necessary for the task force to perform its duties.
(7) The study committee shall report to the Governor and the Legislature by not later than January 1, 2012, and by January 1 every year thereafter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.