MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Miles
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION FROM REQUIRING STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE A PASSING SCORE ON END-OF-COURSE TESTS ADMINISTERED UNDER THE SUBJECT AREA TESTING PROGRAM AS A REQUIREMENT FOR GRADUATION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-16-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM USING THE END-OF-COURSE TESTS TO DETERMINE IF STUDENTS HAVE MASTERED MINIMUM ACADEMIC SKILLS REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-3-49, 37-16-17 AND 37-35-3, 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. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, students enrolled in Mississippi public schools may not be required to pass any end-of-course test administered under the Subject Area Testing Program as a requirement for graduation. The State Board of Education shall adopt a policy requiring the administration of those end-of-course tests mandated under the federal requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act and Title I. However, the policy must provide that a student who fails to achieve a passing score on an end-of-course test may not be prohibited from graduating from high school if the student has fulfilled the requirements for a standard Mississippi high school diploma, as demonstrated by having achieved the requisite number of academic credits or Carnegie units and successful mastery of each course of instruction with a satisfactory grade.
SECTION 2. Section 37-16-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-16-7. (1) Each district school board shall establish standards for graduation from its schools which shall include as a minimum:
(a) Mastery of minimum academic skills as measured by assessments developed and administered by the State Board of Education. However, passage of end-of-course assessments administered under the Subject Area Testing Program may not be required for graduation; and
(b) Completion of a minimum number of academic credits, and all other applicable requirements prescribed by the district school board.
( * * *2) The school board of each school district
shall maintain, by school, information on high school graduation rates.
High schools with graduation rates lower than eighty percent (80%) must submit
a detailed plan to the * * * Department of Education to restructure the high school
experience to improve graduation rates.
( * * *3) A student who meets all
requirements prescribed in subsection (1) of this section shall be awarded a
standard diploma in a form prescribed by the State Board of Education.
( * * *4) The State Board of Education may
establish student proficiency standards for promotion to grade levels leading
to graduation.
SECTION 3. Section 37-3-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-49. (1) The State Department of Education shall provide an instructional program and establish guidelines and procedures for managing such program in the public schools within the school districts throughout the state as part of the State Program of Educational Accountability and Assessment of Performance as prescribed in Section 37-3-46. Public school districts may (a) elect to adopt the instructional program and management system provided by the State Department of Education, or (b) elect to adopt an instructional program and management system which meets or exceeds criteria established by the State Department of Education for such. This provision shall begin with the courses taught in Grades K-8 which contain skills tested through the Mississippi Basic Skills Assessment Program and shall proceed through all secondary school courses mandated for graduation and all secondary school courses in the Mississippi end-of-course testing program, except as otherwise provided under Section 1 of this act. Other state core objectives must be included in the district's instructional program as they are provided by the State Department of Education along with instructional practices, resources, evaluation items and management procedures. Districts are encouraged to adapt this program and accompanying procedures to all other instructional areas. The department shall provide that such program and guidelines, or a program and guidelines developed by a local school district which incorporates the core objectives from the curriculum structure are enforced through the performance-based accreditation system. It is the intent of the Legislature that every effort be made to protect the instructional time in the classroom and reduce the amount of paperwork which must be completed by teachers. The State Department of Education shall take steps to insure that school districts properly use staff development time to work on the districts' instructional management plans.
(2) The State Department of Education shall provide such instructional program and management guidelines which shall require for every public school district that:
(a) All courses taught in Grades K-8 which contain skills which are tested through the Mississippi Basic Skills Assessment Program, all secondary school courses mandated for graduation, and all courses in the end-of-course testing program shall include the State Department of Education's written list of learning objectives.
(b) The local school board must adopt the objectives that will form the core curriculum which will be systematically delivered throughout the district.
(c) The set of objectives provided by the State Department of Education must be accompanied by suggested instructional practices and resources that would help teachers organize instruction so as to promote student learning of the objectives. Objectives added by the school district must also be accompanied by suggested instructional practices and resources that would help teachers organize instruction. The instructional practices and resources that are identified are to be used as suggestions and not as requirements that teachers must follow. The goal of the program is to have students to achieve the desired objective and not to limit teachers in the way they teach.
(d) Standards for student performance must be established for each core objective in the local program and those standards establish the district's definition of mastery for each objective.
(e) There shall be an annual review of student performance in the instructional program against locally established standards. When weaknesses exist in the local instructional program, the district shall take action to improve student performance.
(3) The State Board of Education and the board of trustees of each school district shall adopt policies to limit and reduce the number and length of written reports that classroom teachers are required to prepare.
(4) This section shall not be construed to limit teachers from using their own professional skills to help students master instructional objectives, nor shall it be construed as a call for more detailed or complex lesson plans or any increase in testing at the local school district level.
(5) Districts meeting the highest levels of accreditation standards, as defined by the State Board of Education, shall be exempted from the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
SECTION 4. Section 37-16-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-16-17. (1) Purpose. (a) The purpose of this section is to create a quality option in Mississippi's high schools for students not wishing to pursue a baccalaureate degree, which shall consist of challenging academic courses and modern career-technical studies. The goal for students pursuing the career technical education pathways is to graduate from high school with a standard diploma and credit toward a community college certification in a career-technical field. These students also shall be encouraged to take the national assessment in the career-technical field in which they become certified.
(b) The State Board of Education shall develop and adopt course and curriculum requirements for career technical education pathways offered by local public school boards in accordance with this section. The Mississippi Community College Board and the State Board of Education jointly shall determine course and curriculum requirements for the career technical education pathways. The State Board of Education shall require school districts to provide notice to all incoming middle school students and junior high students of the career technical education pathways offered by local school boards. Such notice shall include the career technical education pathways available, the course requirements of each pathway, how to enroll in the pathway and any other necessary information as determined by the State Board of Education.
(2) Career technical education pathway; description; curriculum. (a) A career technical education pathway shall provide a student with greater technical skill and a strong academic core and shall be offered to each high school student enrolled in a public school district. The career technical education pathway shall be linked to postsecondary options and shall prepare students to pursue either a degree or certification from a postsecondary institution, an industry-based training or certification, an apprenticeship, the military, or immediate entrance into a career field. The career technical education pathway shall provide students with alternatives to entrance into a four-year university or college after high school graduation.
(b) Students pursuing a career technical education pathway shall be afforded the opportunity to dually enroll in a community or technical college or to participate in a business internship or work-study program, when such opportunities are available and appropriate.
(c) Each public school district shall offer a career technical education pathway approved by the State Board of Education.
(d) Students in a career technical education pathway shall complete an academic core of courses and a career and technical sequence of courses.
(e) Students pursuing a career technical education pathway must complete the twenty-four (24) course unit requirements for a regular high school diploma, which may include, but not be limited to the following course content:
(i) English I;
(ii) English II;
(iii) Technical writing;
(iv) Computer programming;
(v) Algebra I;
(vi) Personal Finance;
(vii) Advanced technical mathematics;
(viii) Computer Science;
(ix) Biology;
(x) Earth and Space Science;
(xi) U.S. History;
(xii) Mississippi Studies/U.S. Government;
(xiii) Health;
(xiv) Physical Education;
(xv) Soft skills, which include, but are not limited to, communication ability, language skills, time management, teamwork and leadership traits;
(xvi) Career technical education pathway courses; and
(xvii) Integrated technology.
Academic courses within the career technical education pathway of the standard diploma shall provide the knowledge and skill necessary for proficiency on the state subject area tests, which may be used only for purposes of determining levels of proficiency and not as a requirement for graduation.
(f) The courses provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection may be tailored to the individual needs of the school district as long as the amendments align with the basic course requirements of paragraph (e).
(3) Nothing in this section shall disallow the development of a dual enrollment program with a technical college so long as an individual school district, with approval from the State Department of Education, agrees to implement such a program in connection with a technical college and the agreement is also approved by the proprietary school's commission.
SECTION 5. Section 37-35-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-35-3. (1) The board of trustees of any school district, including any community/junior college, may establish and maintain classes for adults, including general educational development classes, under the regulations authorized in this chapter and pursuant to the standards prescribed in subsection (3). The property and facilities of the public school districts may be used for this purpose where such use does not conflict with uses already established.
(2) The trustees of any school district desiring to establish such program may request the taxing authority of the district to levy additional ad valorem taxes for the support of this program. The board of supervisors, in the case of a county school district, a special municipal separate school district, or a community/junior college district, and the governing authority of any municipality, in the case of a municipal separate school district, is authorized, in its discretion, to levy a tax not exceeding one (1) mill upon all the taxable property of the district for the support of this program. The tax shall be in addition to all other taxes authorized by law to be levied. In addition to the funds realized from any such levy, the board of trustees of any school district is authorized to use any surplus funds that it may have or that may be made available to it from local sources to supplement this program.
(3) (a) Any student participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option program administered by a local school district or a local school district with an approved contractual agreement with a community/junior college or other local entity shall not be considered a dropout. Students in such a program administered by a local school district shall be considered as enrolled within the school district of origin for the purpose of enrollment for minimum program funding only. Such students shall not be considered as enrolled in the regular school program for academic or programmatic purposes.
(b) Students participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option program shall have an individual career plan developed at the time of placement to insure that the student's academic and job skill needs will be met. The Individual Career Plan will address, but is not limited to, the following:
(i) Academic/instructional needs of the student;
(ii) Job readiness needs of the student; and
(iii) Work experience program options available for the student.
(c) Students participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option program may participate in existing job and skills development programs or in similar programs developed in conjunction with the High School Equivalency Diploma Option program and the vocational director.
(d) High School
Equivalency Diploma Option programs may be operated by local school districts
or may be operated by two (2) or more adjacent school districts, pursuant to a
contract approved by the State Board of Education. When two (2) or more school
districts contract to operate a High School Equivalency Diploma Option
program, the school board of a district designated to be the lead district
shall serve as the governing board of the High School Equivalency
Diploma Option program. Transportation for students placed in the High
School Equivalency Diploma Option program shall be the responsibility of the
school district of origin. The expense of establishing, maintaining and
operating such High School Equivalency Diploma Option programs
may be paid from funds made available to the school district through contributions, * * * adequate program funds or from
local district maintenance funds.
(e) The State Department of Education will develop procedures and criteria for placement of a student in the High School Equivalency Diploma Option programs. Students placed in High School Equivalency Diploma Option programs shall have parental approval for such placement and must meet the following criteria:
(i) The student must be at least sixteen (16) years of age;
(ii) The student must be at least one (1) full grade level behind his or her ninth grade cohort or must have acquired less than four (4) Carnegie units;
(iii) The student must have taken every opportunity to continue to participate in coursework leading to a diploma; and
(iv) The student must be certified to be eligible to participate in the GED course by the school district superintendent, based on the developed criteria.
(f) Students participating in an approved High School Equivalency Diploma Option program, who are enrolled in subject area courses through January 31 in a school with a traditional class schedule or who are enrolled in subject area courses through October 31 or through March 31 in a school on a block schedule, shall be required to take the end-of-course subject area tests for those courses in which they are enrolled. However, passage of end-of-course assessments may not be required as a condition of receipt of a High School Equivalency Diploma.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.