MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representatives Summers, Brown (70th), Porter
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP CURRICULA FOR COURSES IN CODING AND EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE PUBLIC AND CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE STATE AND TAUGHT ON AN AGE-AND GRADE-APPROPRIATE BASIS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE PHASED-IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CODING CURRICULUM FOR STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12, BEGINNING WITH THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO IMPLEMENT A POLICY REQUIRING ALL LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ADOPT A POLICY ON REGULATING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT BY EMPLOYEES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO PRESCRIBE THE COMPONENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN COURSES OFFERED IN CODING AND EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The Mississippi Legislature finds that:
(a) Education in computer science is a critical need for the students of Mississippi for the twenty-first century;
(b) Less than five-tenths percent (0.5%) of high school graduates take a computer science course;
(c) There are countless numbers of unfulfilled computer science jobs in the state; and
(d) The logical thinking skills taught by computer science are now very valuable in many noncomputer science jobs, as technology has become embedded in most professions.
(2) As used in this act, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Computer science" means logical reasoning, computing systems, coding, networks and the internet, data and analysis, algorithms and programming, impacts of computing, and structured problem solving skills applicable in many contexts from science and engineering to the humanities and business.
(b) "Computer science courses and content" means high school courses that teach computer science as stand-alone implementations and middle school courses that provide instruction in computer science in stand-alone implementations or embedded in other subjects and focus on how to create and understand technology, rather than simply using technology.
(c) "High-quality professional learning" means professional development activities that:
(i) Clarify the conceptual foundations of computer science;
(ii) Teach research based practices, including hands-on and inquiry based learning; and
(iii) Are intended for teachers with or without prior exposure to computer science.
(d) "High-quality professional learning providers" means state institutions of higher learning, community or junior colleges, local school districts, nonprofit organizations or private entities that have successfully designed, implemented and scaled high-quality professional learning for teachers, and are approved or recommended by the State Board of Education in coordination with the Department of Education.
(e) "Offer" means providing a course taught by a computer science teacher:
(i) Who is onsite at the physical location of the school; or
(ii) Who is not onsite at the physical location of the school but conducts the course through virtual means with a proctor on site at the physical location of the school.
SECTION 2. Not later than June 30, 2020, the State Board of Education shall adopt standards and a model curriculum for instruction in computer science for students in kindergarten through Grade 12, which shall include standards for introductory, exploratory, and advanced computer science courses in Grades 9 through 12. When developing the standards and curriculum, the State Board of Education shall consider recommendations from computer science education stakeholder groups, including teachers and representatives from higher education, industry, computer science organizations in Mississippi and national computer science organizations. Any school district or school may utilize the computer science standards or model curriculum or any part thereof adopted pursuant to this section. However, no school district or school shall be required to utilize all or any part of the standards or curriculum.
SECTION 3. (1) Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year:
(a) Each local school district shall require at least one (1) high school in its school district to offer a course in computer science;
(b) Each local school district shall require all middle schools in its school district to offer instruction in exploratory computer science;
(c) Each local school district shall require all elementary schools in its school district to offer instruction in introductory computer science;
(d) Each state charter school that serves high school students shall offer a course in computer science;
(e) Each state charter school that serves middle school students shall offer instruction in exploratory computer science;
(f) Each state charter school that serves elementary school students shall offer instruction in introductory computer science;
(g) Each local school district may provide that all elementary schools in its school district offer instruction in exploratory computer science; and
(h) Each state charter school that serves elementary school students may offer instruction in exploratory computer science.
(2) Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, each local school district shall require at least fifty percent (50%) of the high schools in its school district to offer a course in computer science.
(3) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, each local school district shall require all high schools in its school district to offer a course in computer science.
(4) The Department of Education shall ensure that the Mississippi Virtual School operated pursuant to Section 37-161-3 has sufficient capacity to enable schools to utilize computer science courses to meet the needs of such schools.
(5) (a) Subject to appropriations, grants shall be provided to eligible entities to deliver professional development programs for teachers providing instruction in computer science courses and content.
(b) Eligible entities shall include local school districts, consortia of local school districts, local charter schools, state charter schools, and high-quality professional learning providers working in partnership with local school districts.
(c) Criteria for grant awards to eligible entities pursuant to this subsection shall include:
(i) The number of teachers in a local school district that require training and the number of teachers in a local school district that have already received training; and
(ii) The willingness of local school districts to make available their teachers who have received training in computer science courses and content to provide computer science instruction in another local school district or systems.
(d) The Department of Education shall submit a report on December 1 of each year to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairmen of the Senate and House Education Committees. The report shall include the number of teachers trained, the number of schools offering training, the number of students served and the demographics of such students, and a list of the eligible entities that provided the training.
SECTION 4. (1) As used in these sections the term "social media" means forms of communication, either Internet or text-based, that support social interactions of individuals, which may include:
(a) Blogs (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, etc.);
(b) Social Networking Sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.);
(c) Photo, Audio and Video Sharing Sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Instagram, Snapchat, SoundCloud, etc.);
(d) Social Bookmarking Sites (Pinterest, Reddit, etc.);
(e) Wikis (collaborative and openly editable content, such as Wikipedia); and
(f) Other common electronic communication tools that include online forums, messaging apps and text messaging. While these tools listed in this paragraph (f) are not technically defined as social media, it is important to note that the same rules apply to them.
(2) Beginning with the 2020-2021 school term, the State Board of Education shall implement a policy requiring all local school districts to adopt a policy on regulating the use of social media in the school environment. Additionally, the board shall develop a curriculum on the effects of social media in social environments to be offered by school districts as a component of their course offerings, and delivered in an instructional manner that is both age- and grade-appropriate.
(3) The policy to be adopted by local school boards shall:
(a) Clearly differentiate between professional and personal social media;
(b) Establish a system of best practices for professional social media;
(c) Ensure that professional accounts are used exclusively for educational purposes;
(d) Provide reasonable notice to school administrators of the intent to establish a professional social media account;
(e) Provide advance notice to parents or legal guardians regarding any new social media activities in which their children will be asked to participate;
(f) Maintain the privacy and security of professional social media accounts;
(g) Maintain the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics - Standards of Conduct the curriculum;
(h) Not be discriminatory, in any manner, against students, parents or guardians, coworkers or administrative supervisors;
(i) Not engage in any political, religious or ideological philosophies;
(j) Not engage in one-to-one interaction with any student regarding subjects not directly related to instruction or class assignments; and
(k) Establish a procedure for reporting incidents of misconduct that occur on social media, including:
(i) Child abuse and neglect;
(ii) Illegal activity;
(iii) Cyberbullying, harassment and/or intimidation by an employee, student or any other individual, directed toward another employee or student.
(4) The curriculum on the effects of social media in social environments developed by the board shall be designed to provide age- and grade-appropriate instruction that shall address the positive and negative implications of social media in the educational setting and the available tools to successfully navigate issues arising from the interactions of students using social media platforms. The curriculum shall address:
(a) The speed, frequency and availability of social media communications through posts;
(b) The ability of educators, parents and other caregivers to assess and respond to a crises, threats or situations evolving from accurate or inaccurate information disseminated on social media that would be disruptive to the educational environment;
(c) The potential risks associated with social media use, which can contribute to psychological trauma and other challenges. Potential risks include:
(i) Cyberbullying or other online conflicts;
(ii) Widespread and direct public ridicule of a student, staff member or school;
(iii) Quick and widespread communication of crisis-related rumors or other false information;
(iv) Quick and widespread communication of embarrassing or inappropriate information, personal photos or shameful information;
(v) Potential for triggering crises, increasing perceptions of threat and fear, or creating crisis contagion, which include up to five percent (5%) of suicide related deaths;
(vi) Affects of privacy and risks associated with oversharing;
(vii) Potential for overuse or as a consistent substitute for face-to-face socializing, which may lead to social media depression; and
(viii) The implications of time consumption placed upon educators, parents and other caregivers to learn, understand and police social media presence and behavior;
(d) The potential benefits of social media, including its ability to address the following:
(i) Crisis prevention, by:
1. Helping to create an extended sense of community or culture through postings of positive messages or achievements, opportunity for diverse audiences to connect;
2. Encouraging positive behavior, responsibility and healthy relationships in schools, homes and in the community; and
3. Conducting online surveillance to monitor crisis warning signs or threats;
(ii) Crisis intervention, by:
1. Quickly communicating accurate information following a crisis;
2. Rapidly dispelling rumors or other false information;
3. Quickly disseminating crisis prevention resources;
4. Evaluating or triaging individuals who may be affected by a crisis situation by monitoring student use of social media for trauma warning signs;
5. Quickly disseminating information about how others can access mental health resources following a crisis; and
6. Quickly coordinating crisis response efforts;
(iii) Postvention approaches to social media crisis assistance, through the:
1. Dissemination of accurate crisis situation updates in real time from any location to a wide audience;
2. Dissemination of information about public services or planned memorials;
3. Consideration of smartphone applications use in crisis situations to gain additional information on how to respond to the event, such as:
A. Psychological First Aid Mobile (NCTSN);
B. Psychological First Aid Tutorial (UMN);
C. National Incident Management System (NIMS ICS Guide); or
D. FEMA App.
(5) In its approach to providing instruction on social media and it social effects, each school district shall understand the barriers to social media use, provided that not everyone has access to or regularly uses social media, given the individual variations in age, language, culture and other demographic variables, information must also be delivered via other low-tech formats. School districts are encouraged to create social media policy councils with community organizations to afford parents, caregivers and others in the community the opportunity to familiarize themselves with social media policies implemented by the board.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.