MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Representative Moore
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 25-9-127 AND 25-9-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FOR A PERIOD OF TWO YEARS, THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SUBJECT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE STATE PERSONNEL BOARD SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM STATE PERSONNEL BOARD PROCEDURES, AND ALL EMPLOYEES OF THOSE AGENCIES SHALL BE CLASSIFIED AS NONSTATE SERVICE DURING THAT PERIOD; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-3-13, 37-3-25, 37-3-95, 37-13-80, 37-13-83, 37-13-87, 37-13-89 AND 43-5-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 25-9-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-9-127. (1) No employee of any department, agency or institution who is included under this chapter or hereafter included under its authority, and who is subject to the rules and regulations prescribed by the state personnel system may be dismissed or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or employment status except for inefficiency or other good cause, and after written notice and hearing within the department, agency or institution as shall be specified in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board complying with due process of law; and any employee who has by written notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status shall, on hearing and on any appeal of any decision made in such action, be required to furnish evidence that the reasons stated in the notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status are not true or are not sufficient grounds for the action taken; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply (a) to persons separated from any department, agency or institution due to curtailment of funds or reduction in staff when such separation is in accordance with rules and regulations of the state personnel system; (b) during the probationary period of state service of twelve (12) months; and (c) to an executive officer of any state agency who serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor, board, commission or other appointing authority.
(2) The operation of a state-owned motor vehicle without a valid Mississippi driver's license by an employee of any department, agency or institution that is included under this chapter and that is subject to the rules and regulations of the state personnel system shall constitute good cause for dismissal of such person from employment.
(3) Beginning July 1, 1999,
every male between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26) who is
required to register under the federal Military Selective Service Act, 50 USCS
App. 453, and who is an employee of the state shall not be promoted to any
higher position of employment with the state until he submits to the person,
commission, board or agency by which he is employed satisfactory documentation
of his compliance with the draft registration requirements of the Military
Selective Service Act. The documentation shall include a signed affirmation
under penalty of perjury that the male employee has complied with the
requirements of the * * *
Military Selective Service Act.
(4) For a period of two (2) years beginning July 1, 2014, the provisions of subsection (1) shall not apply to the personnel actions of the State Department of Education that are subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, and all employees of the department shall be classified as nonstate service during that period. However, any employee hired after July 1, 2014, by the department shall meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment. Whenever an employee of the department is dismissed or involuntarily terminated under the authority of this section during that period of time, the employee's position and PIN number shall be eliminated. Upon the elimination of such PIN numbers, the department shall not be allowed to add any additional positions and PIN numbers for four (4) years following the date the PIN numbers were eliminated. The State Superintendent of Public Education and the State Board of Education shall consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions authorized by this section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal law.
SECTION 2. Section 25-9-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-9-105. It is the intent
of this chapter to consolidate into one (1) state personnel system all agencies
and employees now administered by the Mississippi Classification Commission,
agencies and employees now administered by the Mississippi Coordinated Merit
System Council, and such other agencies and employees except as excluded by
this chapter. The State Personnel Board established herein shall assume the
total functions of personnel administration services (a) for those agencies and
positions now required and operating under merit system rules due to federal
statutory and regulatory provisions or state law, and (b) for all state
agencies, departments and institutions except as excluded by this chapter. * * * However, * * * state agencies which are not required by
law to operate under merit system rules may request an exemption from the
applicant selection process by specific job class or on an agency-wide basis
when such exemption is justifiable. * * *
SECTION 3. Section 37-3-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-13. * * *
( * * *1) * * * The deputy
superintendents, associate superintendents and directors shall be selected by
and hold office subject to the will of the State Superintendent of Public
Education subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. All other
personnel shall be competitively appointed by the State Superintendent and
shall be dismissed only for cause in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the State Personnel Board. The State Board of Education shall set the
salary of the deputy superintendents, associate superintendents and divisional
directors, and the members of the teaching staffs and employees of the
Mississippi School of the Arts. The State Superintendent, subject to the
approval of the State Personnel Board, shall fix the amount of compensation of
all other employees of the State Department of Education. All salaries,
compensation or expenses of any of the personnel of the department shall be
paid upon the requisition of the State Superintendent of Public Education and
warrant issued thereunder by the State Auditor out of funds appropriated by the
Legislature in a lump sum upon the basis of budgetary requirements submitted by
the Superintendent of Education or out of funds otherwise made available. The
entire expense of administering the department shall never exceed the amount
appropriated therefor, plus funds received from other sources other than state
appropriations. For a violation of this provision, the superintendent shall be
liable, and he and the sureties on his bond shall be required to restore any
such excess.
(2) For a period of two (2) years beginning July 1, 2014, the provisions of subsection (1) regarding the personnel actions of the State Department of Education shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board for all personnel employed by the department within that period. All personnel hired within the period of exemption from the state personnel system shall be classified as nonstate service and must meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment.
SECTION 4. Section 37-3-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-25. (1) The Director of the Division of Vocational and Technical Education of the State Department of Education who shall be an associate state superintendent of education shall be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education. The director's salary shall be set by the State Board of Education subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. His salary, compensation, travel expenses or other expenses shall be provided for out of any funds made available for such purpose by the Legislature, the federal government, or other gifts or grants.
The director shall be responsible to the State Superintendent of Public Education for the proper administration of the programs of vocational and technical education in conformity with the policies adopted by the State Board of Education and shall be responsible for appointing any necessary supervisors, assistants, and employees to assist in carrying out the programs of vocational and technical education. The director shall have the authority to employ, compensate, terminate, promote, demote, transfer or reprimand employees of the division. The salary and compensation of such employees shall be subject to the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Personnel Board as created under Section 25-9-101 et seq. However, if for any reason within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, a new Director of the Division of Vocational and Technical Education or other personnel within the division are employed by the department, the employment shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
(2) The Director of the Division of Vocational and Technical Education, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, shall have charge of and be responsible for vocational and technical education training in:
(a) Agriculture;
(b) Occupational and consumer home economics;
(c) Consumer and homemaking education;
(d) Trades and industry;
(e) Distributive education;
(f) Secondary adult education;
(g) Teacher training and supervision;
(h) Business and office;
(i) Health;
(j) Industrial arts;
(k) Guidance services;
(l) Technical education;
(m) Cooperative education; and
(n) All other specialized training not requiring a bachelors degree, with the exception of programs of nursing education regulated under the provisions of Section 37-129-1.
SECTION 5. Section 37-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-95. (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 Military Department 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. However, if for any reason within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, a new JROTC statewide coordinator is employed by the department, the employment of such individual shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
(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;
(c) To assist in organizing competitions among JROTC units from different high 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 and accept 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 and Mississippi Air 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 6. Section 37-13-80, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-80. (1) There is created the Office of Dropout Prevention within the State Department of Education. The office shall be responsible for the administration of a statewide dropout prevention program.
(2) The State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint a director for the Office of Dropout Prevention, who shall meet all qualifications established by the State Superintendent of Public Education and the State Personnel Board. The director shall be responsible for the proper administration of the Office of Dropout Prevention and any other regulations or policies that may be adopted by the State Board of Education. However, if for any reason within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, a new director for the Office of Dropout Prevention is employed by the department, the employment of such individual shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
(3) Each school district shall implement a dropout prevention program approved by the Office of Dropout Prevention of the State Department of Education by the 2012-2013, and annually thereafter, school year.
(4) Each local school district will be held responsible for reducing and/or eliminating dropouts in the district. The local school district will be responsible for the implementation of dropout plans focusing on issues such as, but not limited to:
(a) Dropout Prevention initiatives that focus on the needs of individual local education agencies;
(b) Establishing policies and procedures that meet the needs of the districts;
(c) Focusing on the student-centered goals and objectives that are measureable;
(d) Strong emphasis on reducing the retention rates in grades kindergarten, first and second;
(e) Targeting subgroups that need additional assistance to meet graduation requirements; and
(f) Dropout recovery initiatives that focus on students age seventeen (17) through twenty-one (21), who dropped out of school.
(5) The Office of Dropout Prevention may provide technical assistance upon written request by the local school district. The Office of Dropout Prevention will collaborate with program offices within the Mississippi Department of Education to develop and implement policies and initiatives to reduce the state's dropout rate.
(6) Each school district's dropout prevention plan shall address how students will transition to the home school district from the juvenile detention centers.
(7) It is the intent of the Legislature that, through the statewide dropout prevention program and the dropout prevention programs implemented by each school district, the graduation rate for cohort classes will be increased to not less than eighty-five percent (85%) by the 2018-2019 school year. The Office of Dropout Prevention shall establish graduation rate benchmarks for each two-year period from the 2008-2009 school year through the 2018-2019 school year, which shall serve as guidelines for increasing the graduation rate for cohort classes on a systematic basis to eighty-five percent (85%) by the 2018-2019 school year.
SECTION 7. Section 37-13-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-83. The State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint a director for the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement, who shall meet all qualifications established for school attendance officer supervisors and any additional qualifications that may be established by the State Superintendent of Public Education or State Personnel Board. The director shall be responsible for the proper administration of the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement in conformity with the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law and any other regulations or policies that may be adopted by the State Board of Education. The director shall report directly to the Director of the Office of Dropout Prevention. However, if for any reason within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, a new director for the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement is employed by the department, the employment of such individual shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
SECTION 8. Section 37-13-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-87. (1) The Director of the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement shall employ three (3) school attendance officer supervisors, each to maintain an office within a different Supreme Court district. Each supervisor shall be responsible for the enforcement of the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law within his district and shall exercise direct supervision over the school attendance officers in the district. The supervisors, who shall report to the director of the office, shall assist the school attendance officers in the performance of their duties as established by law or otherwise.
(2) No person having less than eight (8) years combined actual experience as a school attendance officer, school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer possessing a college degree with a major in a behavioral science or a related field, and/or social worker in the state shall be employed as a school attendance officer supervisor. Further, a school attendance officer supervisor shall possess a college degree with a major in a behavioral science or a related field or shall have actual experience as a school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer possessing such degree or social worker; however, these requirements shall not apply to persons employed as school attendance officers before January 1, 1987. School attendance officers shall meet any additional qualifications established by the State Personnel Board for school attendance officers or school attendance officer supervisors. The school attendance officer supervisors shall receive an annual salary to be set by the State Superintendent of Public Education, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board. However, any school attendance officer supervisor employed by the department within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
SECTION 9. Section 37-13-89, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-89. (1) In each school district within the state, there shall be employed the number of school attendance officers determined by the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement to be necessary to adequately enforce the provisions of the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law; however, this number shall not exceed one hundred fifty-three (153) school attendance officers at any time. From and after July 1, 1998, all school attendance officers employed pursuant to this section shall be employees of the State Department of Education. The State Department of Education shall employ all persons employed as school attendance officers by district attorneys before July 1, 1998, and shall assign them to school attendance responsibilities in the school district in which they were employed before July 1, 1998. The first twelve (12) months of employment for each school attendance officer shall be the probationary period of state service. Any school attendance officers employed by the department within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, including the provisions of subsection (6) of this section, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
(2) (a) The State Department of Education shall obtain current criminal records background checks and current child abuse registry checks on all persons applying for the position of school attendance officer after July 2, 2002. The criminal records information and registry checks must be kept on file for any new hires. In order to determine an applicant's suitability for employment as a school attendance officer, the applicant must be fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, the Department of Public Safety shall forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a national criminal history record check. The applicant shall pay the fee, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00), for the fingerprinting and criminal records background check; however, the State Department of Education, in its discretion, may pay the fee for the fingerprinting and criminal records background check on behalf of any applicant. Under no circumstances may a member of the State Board of Education, employee of the State Department of Education or any person other than the subject of the criminal records background check disseminate information received through any such checks except insofar as required to fulfill the purposes of this subsection.
(b) If the fingerprinting or criminal records check discloses a felony conviction, guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offense listed in Section 45-33-23(h), child abuse, arson, grand larceny, burglary, gratification of lust or aggravated assault which has not been reversed on appeal or for which a pardon has not been granted, the applicant is not eligible to be employed as a school attendance officer. Any employment of an applicant pending the results of the fingerprinting and criminal records check is voidable if the new hire receives a disqualifying criminal records check. However, the State Board of Education, in its discretion, may allow an applicant aggrieved by an employment decision under this subsection to appear before the board, or before a hearing officer designated for that purpose, to show mitigating circumstances that may exist and allow the new hire to be employed as a school attendance officer. The State Board of Education may grant waivers for mitigating circumstances, which may include, but are not necessarily limited to: (i) age at which the crime was committed; (ii) circumstances surrounding the crime; (iii) length of time since the conviction and criminal history since the conviction; (iv) work history; (v) current employment and character references; and (vi) other evidence demonstrating the ability of the person to perform the responsibilities of a school attendance officer competently and that the person does not pose a threat to the health or safety of children.
(c) A member of the State Board of Education or employee of the State Department of Education may not be held liable in any employment discrimination suit in which an allegation of discrimination is made regarding an employment decision authorized under this section.
(3) Each school attendance officer shall possess a college degree with a major in a behavioral science or a related field or shall have no less than three (3) years combined actual experience as a school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer possessing such degree, and/or social worker; however, these requirements shall not apply to persons employed as school attendance officers before January 1, 1987. School attendance officers also shall satisfy any additional requirements that may be established by the State Personnel Board for the position of school attendance officer.
(4) It shall be the duty of each school attendance officer to:
(a) Cooperate with any public agency to locate and identify all compulsory-school-age children who are not attending school;
(b) Cooperate with all courts of competent jurisdiction;
(c) Investigate all cases of nonattendance and unlawful absences by compulsory-school-age children not enrolled in a nonpublic school;
(d) Provide appropriate counseling to encourage all school-age children to attend school until they have completed high school;
(e) Attempt to secure the provision of social or welfare services that may be required to enable any child to attend school;
(f) Contact the home or place of residence of a compulsory-school-age child and any other place in which the officer is likely to find any compulsory-school-age child when the child is absent from school during school hours without a valid written excuse from school officials, and when the child is found, the officer shall notify the parents and school officials as to where the child was physically located;
(g) Contact promptly the home of each compulsory-school-age child in the school district within the officer's jurisdiction who is not enrolled in school or is not in attendance at public school and is without a valid written excuse from school officials; if no valid reason is found for the nonenrollment or absence from the school, the school attendance officer shall give written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the requirement for the child's enrollment or attendance;
(h) Collect and maintain information concerning absenteeism, dropouts and other attendance-related problems, as may be required by law or the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement; and
(i) Perform all other duties relating to compulsory school attendance established by the State Department of Education or district school attendance supervisor, or both.
(5) While engaged in the performance of his duties, each school attendance officer shall carry on his person a badge identifying him as a school attendance officer under the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education and an identification card designed by the State Superintendent of Public Education and issued by the school attendance officer supervisor. Neither the badge nor the identification card shall bear the name of any elected public official.
(6) The State Personnel Board shall develop a salary scale for school attendance officers as part of the variable compensation plan. The various pay ranges of the salary scale shall be based upon factors including, but not limited to, education, professional certification and licensure, and number of years of experience. School attendance officers shall be paid in accordance with this salary scale. The minimum salaries under the scale shall be no less than the following:
(a) For school attendance officers holding a bachelor's degree or any other attendance officer who does not hold such a degree, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as a school attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no less than as follows:
Years of Experience Salary
0 - 4 years $19,650.00
5 - 8 years 21,550.00
9 - 12 years 23,070.00
13 - 16 years 24,590.00
Over 17 years 26,110.00
(b) For school attendance officers holding a license as a social worker, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as a school attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no less than as follows:
Years of Experience Salary
0 - 4 years $20,650.00
5 - 8 years 22,950.00
9 - 12 years 24,790.00
13 - 16 years 26,630.00
17 - 20 years 28,470.00
Over 21 years 30,310.00
(c) For school attendance officers holding a master's degree in a behavioral science or a related field, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as a school attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no less than as follows:
Years of Experience Salary
0 - 4 years $21,450.00
5 - 8 years 24,000.00
9 - 12 years 26,040.00
13 - 16 years 28,080.00
17 - 20 years 30,120.00
Over 21 years 32,160.00
(7) (a) Each school attendance officer employed by a district attorney on June 30, 1998, who became an employee of the State Department of Education on July 1, 1998, shall be awarded credit for personal leave and major medical leave for his continuous service as a school attendance officer under the district attorney, and if applicable, the youth or family court or a state agency. The credit for personal leave shall be in an amount equal to one-third (1/3) of the maximum personal leave the school attendance officer could have accumulated had he been credited with such leave under Section 25-3-93 during his employment with the district attorney, and if applicable, the youth or family court or a state agency. The credit for major medical leave shall be in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the maximum major medical leave the school attendance officer could have accumulated had he been credited with such leave under Section 25-3-95 during his employment with the district attorney, and if applicable, the youth or family court or a state agency. However, if a district attorney who employed a school attendance officer on June 30, 1998, certifies, in writing, to the State Department of Education that the school attendance officer had accumulated, pursuant to a personal leave policy or major medical leave policy lawfully adopted by the district attorney, a number of days of unused personal leave or major medical leave, or both, which is greater than the number of days to which the school attendance officer is entitled under this paragraph, the State Department of Education shall authorize the school attendance officer to retain the actual unused personal leave or major medical leave, or both, certified by the district attorney, subject to the maximum amount of personal leave and major medical leave the school attendance officer could have accumulated had he been credited with such leave under Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95.
(b) For the purpose of determining the accrual rate for personal leave under Section 25-3-93 and major medical leave under Section 25-3-95, the State Department of Education shall give consideration to all continuous service rendered by a school attendance officer before July 1, 1998, in addition to the service rendered by the school attendance officer as an employee of the department.
(c) In order for a school attendance officer to be awarded credit for personal leave and major medical leave or to retain the actual unused personal leave and major medical leave accumulated by him before July 1, 1998, the district attorney who employed the school attendance officer must certify, in writing, to the State Department of Education the hire date of the school attendance officer. For each school attendance officer employed by the youth or family court or a state agency before being designated an employee of the district attorney who has not had a break in continuous service, the hire date shall be the date that the school attendance officer was hired by the youth or family court or state agency. The department shall prescribe the date by which the certification must be received by the department and shall provide written notice to all district attorneys of the certification requirement and the date by which the certification must be received.
(8) (a) School attendance officers shall maintain regular office hours on a year-round basis; however, during the school term, on those days that teachers in all of the school districts served by a school attendance officer are not required to report to work, the school attendance officer also shall not be required to report to work. (For purposes of this subsection, a school district's school term is that period of time identified as the school term in contracts entered into by the district with licensed personnel.) A school attendance officer shall be required to report to work on any day recognized as an official state holiday if teachers in any school district served by that school attendance officer are required to report to work on that day, regardless of the school attendance officer's status as an employee of the State Department of Education, and compensatory leave may not be awarded to the school attendance officer for working during that day. However, a school attendance officer may be allowed by the school attendance officer's supervisor to use earned leave on such days.
(b) The State Department of Education annually shall designate a period of two (2) consecutive weeks in the summer between school years during which school attendance officers shall not be required to report to work. A school attendance officer who elects to work at any time during that period may not be awarded compensatory leave for such work and may not opt to be absent from work at any time other than during the two (2) weeks designated by the department unless the school attendance officer uses personal leave or major medical leave accrued under Section 25-3-93 or 25-3-95 for such absence.
(9) The State Department of Education shall provide all continuing education and training courses that school attendance officers are required to complete under state law or rules and regulations of the department.
SECTION 10. Section 43-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-5-8. The Superintendent of the School for the Blind and the Superintendent of the School for the Deaf and all principals and directors shall be selected by and hold office subject to the will and pleasure of the State Superintendent of Education, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education may provide housing for the two (2) superintendents so employed either on- or off-campus. Each superintendent shall at all times maintain supervision of the physical properties of the school he serves unless otherwise provided. All other personnel shall be competitively appointed by the state superintendent and shall be dismissed only for cause in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The state superintendent, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board, shall fix the amount of compensation or expenses of any of the personnel of the schools, which shall be paid upon the requisition of the state superintendent and warrant issued thereunder by the State Auditor out of the funds appropriated by the Legislature in a lump sum upon the basis of budgetary requirements submitted by the Superintendent of Education or out of funds otherwise made available. The entire expense of administering the schools shall never exceed the amount appropriated therefor, plus funds received from sources other than state appropriations. For a violation of this provision, the superintendent shall be liable, and he and the sureties on his bond shall be required to restore any excess. However, if for any reason within the two-year period beginning July 1, 2014, a new Superintendent of the School for the Blind, Superintendent of the School for the Deaf or other administrative or instructional personnel are employed by the department, the employment shall not be subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided in Section 25-9-127(4).
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.