MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Appropriations
By: Representative Moore
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 37-154-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-154-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATE LONGITUDINAL DATA SYSTEM (SLDS) ON JULY 1, 2012; TO ESTABLISH A MULTIAGENCY DATABASE TO TRACK EDUCATION AND STUDENT OUTCOMES IN THE WORKFORCE; TO PROVIDE FOR INTERAGENCY COOPERATION WITH THE SLDS; TO PROVIDE FOR A SLDS GOVERNING BOARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-154-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
37-154-1. State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS); establishment. (1) To improve quality of life, education and employment opportunities for all citizens, the appropriate agencies of the State of Mississippi listed in subsection (2) of this section shall develop and maintain a State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). The system will allow stakeholders and policymakers access data on state residents from birth to the workforce to drive accountability and investment decisions. The system will include data from multiple state agencies and entities. The system will provide decision makers a tool to develop policies to support objectives, including, but not limited to:
(a) Enabling Mississippians to secure and retain employment and receive better pay after completing training or postsecondary degrees;
(b) Enabling Mississippi to meet the education and job skill demands of business and industry;
(c) Developing an early warning system, which allows the state to intervene early, improving the graduation rates in high school and college;
(d) Identifying teachers, teaching methods and programs that lead to positive student outcomes; and
(e) Encouraging the sharing of electronic data across educational and other entities.
(2) Individual state agencies and state entities will send data from their internal system to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System. These initial agencies and entities shall provide data to the SLDS under the provisions developed by the SLDS Governing Board established in Section 37-154-3:
(a) Mississippi Department of Education (MDE);
(b) State Board for Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC);
(c) Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL);
(d) State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB);
(e) Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES);
(f) Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS); and
(g) State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC).
Any agencies or entities added to SLDS shall provide a representative to the SLDS Governing Board and be governed in the same manner as the initial agencies and entities.
(3) The system will be based on an existing system currently housed, developed and maintained by the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (nSPARC) at Mississippi State University. The initial agencies participating in the SLDS Governing Board and nSPARC have worked collaboratively to secure funding through the United States Department of Education to expand and enhance the capacity of the state's existing technology infrastructure for the purposes of developing the SLDS. The State Data Center, operated by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS), will provide application hosting services for the SLDS until such time the SLDS Governing Board approves that another entity should perform these services.
SECTION 2. Section 37-154-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-154-3. Governance. (1) The SLDS will be governed by a SLDS Governing Board (the board), which shall be composed of a representative from each agency or entity providing data to the system. Each agency or entity will appoint their representative to sit on the Governing Board. For the two (2) years following July 1, 2012, the State Workforce Investment Board Chair will also serve as Chair of the SLDS Governing Board. In subsequent years, the SLDS Governing Board will elect a chair from among its members. The Chair of the SLDS Governing Board will serve a two-year term.
(2) The SLDS Governing Board shall develop and promulgate all rules and regulations governing the activities of the SLDS in accordance with applicable state and federal laws. The board is authorized to contract with a third party to manage and maintain the system and to insure the policies and procedures developed by the board are enforced.
(3) The SLDS Governing Board shall be responsible for, but not limited to, the following objectives:
(a) Identifying critical research and policy questions that need to be addressed by education (P-20) and workforce programs;
(b) Identifying reports and other information that should be available to education and workforce entities and other public stakeholders;
(c) Developing a funding mechanism for sustaining the system after it is developed;
(d) Defining and maintaining standards for privacy, confidentiality and security of data; and
(e) Performing other advisory functions that are necessary for the successful continuation and management of the longitudinal data system.
(4) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent an individual agency or entity from maintaining control of their agency's individual data.
(5) All data provided to the SLDS shall be provided in accordance with all local, state and federal laws governing the protection and sharing of such data.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.