MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Hopkins
AN ACT TO CREATE THE "ACADEMIC TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2023"; TO REQUIRE EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL AND CHARTER SCHOOL TO MAKE AVAILABLE CERTAIN INSTRUCTIONAL, TRAINING AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION ON ITS INTERNET WEBSITE; TO REQUIRE SUCH INFORMATION TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC NO LATER THAN THE SEVENTH DAY AFTER ITS PRODUCTION; TO REQUIRE A TWO YEAR PERIOD OF INFORMATION RETENTION AFTER ITS FIRST POSTING; TO REQUIRE EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL AND CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL DESIGNATE AN ADMINISTRATOR TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS TO DELIVER A STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TO THE LEGISLATURE NO LATER THAN JANUARY 1 OF EACH ODD-NUMBERED YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT NOTHING IN THIS ACT MAY BE CONSTRUED TO REQUIRE THE DIGITAL REPRODUCTION OR POSTING OF COPIES OF THE LEARNING MATERIALS THEMSELVES, WHERE REPRODUCTION WOULD VIOLATE COPYRIGHT; TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF ACCESSING LEARNING MATERIALS THAT WOULD VIOLATE COPYRIGHT PROTECTION IF REPRODUCED; TO PROVIDE A CAUSE OF LEGAL ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT AND IDENTIFY WHICH PUBLIC OFFICIALS MAY INITIATE THE LEGAL ACTION; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO HAVE A PROCEDURE FOR THE PARENT, GUARDIAN OR AN ADULT STUDENT, 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, TO REVIEW THE CONTENT OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, OBJECT TO THE CONTENT OF SUCH INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL AND MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR STUDENTS TO BE PROVIDED ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTION; TO STIPULATE THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL NOT PAY THE COST OF THE ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTION PROVIDED BY A PARENT, GUARDIAN OR ADULT STUDENT; TO PROHIBIT SCHOOL PERSONNEL FROM IMPOSING AN ACADEMIC OR OTHER PENALTY UPON A STUDENT MERELY FOR ARRANGING ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTION; TO REQUIRE THE CLASSROOM TEACHER OF RECORD MUST MAKE ELECTRONICALLY AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS A SYLLABUS WITHIN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE SCHOOL TERM; TO REQUIRE THE ISSUANCE OF A NEW SYLLABUS IF MORE THAN 20% OF THE TOPIC COVERED IN THE TERM DEVIATES FROM THE ORIGINAL SYLLABUS; TO PROHIBIT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND ANY PUBLIC SCHOOL OR CHARTER SCHOOL FROM CONTRACTING WITH ANY VENDOR FOR PROPRIETARY MATERIALS AND USING SUCH MATERIALS THAT ARE PROHIBITED FROM PUBLIC REVIEW; TO REQUIRE STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, OTHER THAN THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL SCHOOL, TO MAKE INFORMATION FOR EACH UNDERGRADUATE CLASSROOM COURSE OFFERED FOR CREDIT BY THE INSTITUTION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON THE INSTITUTION'S INTERNET WEBSITE; TO REQUIRE SUCH INFORMATION TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC NO LATER THAN THE SEVENTH DAY AFTER ITS PRODUCTION; TO REQUIRE A TWO YEAR PERIOD OF INFORMATION RETENTION AFTER ITS FIRST POSTING; TO REQUIRE EACH STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO DESIGNATE AN ADMINISTRATOR TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REQUIRE SUCH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO DELIVER A STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TO THE LEGISLATURE NO LATER THAN JANUARY 1 OF EACH ODD-NUMBERED YEAR; TO REQUIRE SUCH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO CONDUCT END-OF-COURSE STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF FACULTY AND DEVELOP A PLAN TO MAKE EVALUATIONS AVAILABLE ON THE INSTITUTION'S WEBSITE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Academic Transparency Act of 2023."
SECTION 2. (1) Each public school and charter school shall make available to the public on the institution's Internet website all expenditures, vendors, contracts, monthly expenditures, strategic plans, board meeting agendas and minutes, regulations, guidelines, training materials, learning materials, course syllabi, a general description of the subject matter of each class, books and articles required or recommended, course assessments and course assignments.
(2) Each public school and charter school shall make available to the public on the institution's Internet website all information listed in subsection (1) no later than the seventh day after the document is produced.
(3) Each public school and charter school shall update the information required by subsection (1) as soon as practicable after the information changes.
(4) Each public school shall retain the required information on the website for a minimum of two (2) years from date of posting.
(5) Each public school and charter school shall designate an administrator to be responsible for ensuring the implementation of this section. The administrator may assign duties under this section to one or more administrative employees.
(6) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the district will deliver a statement of compliance with this section to the State Department of Education and to the Legislature.
SECTION 3. (1) The information required by Section 2 of this act must be accessible from the institution's Internet website home page by use of not more than three (3) links, searchable by keywords and phrases and accessible to the public without requiring registration or use of a user name, a password or another user identification, and include, at a minimum, the following:
(a) All instructional or training materials and activities used for staff and faculty training;
(b) All learning materials and activities used for student instruction. The display of materials or activities must identify, at a minimum:
(i) The title, author, organization and any website associated with each material and activity;
(ii) A link to the learning material, if publicly available on the Internet or, if not freely and publicly available, a brief description of the learning material and information on how to request review of a copy of the learning material according to the curriculum review procedure under Section 4 of this act;
(iii) If the learning material was created for nonpublic use the identity of the teacher, staff member, school official or outside presenter who created it. A teacher, staff member or school official may be indicated by a personal title and last initial;
(iv) The full text or a copy of any learning materials or educational activities, including presentations, videos and audio recordings used for student instruction at the school, if those works were created by the school's governing board or a teacher or staff member employed under the authority of the governing board. This section does not require the posting of academic assessments or academic tests; and
(v) If the activity involves service-learning, internships, or collaboration with outside organizations after regular school hours for course credit, the name of the organization and the number of students engaged in service- learning, internships or collaboration with that organization. The names of the students involved must not be posted;
(c) Any procedures for documentation, review, or approval of lesson plans, training, learning, curricular materials or activities used for staff and faculty training or student
instruction at the school, including by the principal, curriculum administrators or other teachers; and
(d) At each school with a catalog or documented inventory of the resources available to students in its school library, a listing of available resources in the library.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section may be construed to require the digital reproduction or posting of copies of the learning materials themselves, where reproduction would violate copyright. When reproduction would violate copyright, a school must offer a link to a publicly available website describing and offering access to the learning materials. If the materials are not available free of charge, a school must offer, if available and upon request, the learning materials for public inspection, as required under subsection (1)(b), at the school building where the learning materials or activities are used for
student instruction. Materials must be provided, if available, no later than thirty (30) days after requested. To the extent practicable, a school must make all learning materials, including
original materials, available for public inspection and allow the public to copy, scan, duplicate or photograph portions of original materials within the limits of "fair use" as provided by 17 USCS Section 107.
(3) The information required by subsection (1) must be displayed online no later than fourteen (14) days after the first instance of training or instruction. The information must be organized by school, grade, teacher and subject and remain
displayed on a school website for at least two (2) years. For privacy purposes, teachers and staff employed by a school may request that a school use a personal title and last initial in lieu of a full name. The date of the latest modification or update to the information must be displayed on the same website location.
(4) To prepare and host the listing of materials
and activities under subsection (1), a school:
(a) May, but is not required to, utilize a collaborative online document or spreadsheet software that allows multiple authorized users to update or make additions to posted content on an ongoing basis if a link to the listing is publicly accessible via a school website; or
(b) May, but is not required to, satisfy the requirements of subsection (1)(b), by posting a copy or the full text of the lesson plans submitted to a school principal or other staff by instructors at a school in the current year, provided that the lesson plans provide equivalent detail of the learning materials and activities used for student instruction as required by subsection (1)(b), and that any learning materials and activities not recorded on the lesson plans are also disclosed via a publicly accessible portion of a school website in the manner prescribed by subsection (1)(b).
(5) The attorney general, State Superintendent of Public Education, state auditor, district attorney for the county in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, or a resident of a school district in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, may initiate legal action in the district court in the jurisdiction in which the school district, public school, charter school or other governmental entity responsible for the oversight of public secondary or elementary schools is located for the purpose of complying with this section.
SECTION 4. (1) Each school district shall have a procedure for a parent, guardian or an adult student, eighteen (18) years of age or older, to review the content of the instructional materials to be provided to a minor child or to an adult student and, if the parent, guardian or adult student objects to the content, to make reasonable arrangements with school personnel for alternative instruction. Alternative instruction may be provided by the parent, guardian or adult student if the alternative instruction, if any, offered by the school board does not meet the concerns of the parent, guardian, or adult student. The school board is not required to pay for the costs of alternative instruction provided by a parent, guardian or adult student. School personnel may not impose an academic or other penalty upon a student merely for arranging alternative instruction under this section. School
personnel may evaluate and assess the quality of the student's work.
(2) Within the first two (2) weeks of the school term, the classroom teacher of record must make electronically available to students and parents a syllabus for the class. The syllabus must cover the term of the class and provide an outline of the topics
to be covered and the order in which they will be covered. During the term of the class, the teacher may deviate from the syllabus in order to accommodate the pace of advancement of the students, topics of interest to the students or other pedagogical reasons. If more than twenty percent (20%) of the topics to be covered during the term change or if the teacher of record changes, a new syllabus must be made available.
SECTION 5. (1) Neither the State Board of Education nor any public school or charter school shall contract with any vendor for proprietary materials that are prohibited from public review.
(2) Neither the State Board of Education nor any public school or charter school shall use proprietary materials that are protected from public review.
SECTION 6. (1) Each institution of higher education, other than the University of Mississippi Medical School, shall make available to the public on the institution's Internet website the following information for each undergraduate classroom course offered for credit by the institution:
(a) A syllabus that:
(i) Satisfies any standards adopted by the institution;
(ii) Provides a brief description of each major course requirement, including each major assignment and examination;
(iii) Lists any required or recommended reading; and
(iv) Provides a general description of the subject matter of each lecture or discussion;
(b) A curriculum vitae of each regular instructor that lists the instructor's:
(i) Postsecondary education;
(ii) Teaching experience; and
(iii) Significant professional publications; and
(c) If available, a departmental budget report of the department under which the course is offered, from the most recent semester or other academic term during which the institution offered the course.
(2) A curriculum vitae made available on the institution's Internet website under subsection (1) may not include any personal information, including the instructor's home address or home telephone number.
(3) The information required by subsection (1) must be:
(a) Accessible from the institution's Internet website home page by use of not more than three (3) links;
(b) Searchable by keywords and phrases; and
(c) Accessible to the public without requiring registration or use of a user name, a password or another user identification.
(4) The institution shall make the information required by subsection (1) available not later than the seventh day after the first day of classes for the semester or other academic term during which the course is offered. The institution shall continue to make the information available on the institution's Internet website until at least the second anniversary of the date on which the institution initially posted the information.
(5) The institution shall update the information required by subsection (1) as soon as practicable after the information changes.
(6) The governing body of the institution shall designate an administrator to be responsible for ensuring implementation of this section. The administrator may assign duties under this section to one or more administrative employees.
(7) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, each institution of higher education shall submit a written report regarding the institutions compliance with this section to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education.
(8) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may adopt rules necessary to administer this section.
(9) Institutions of higher education included in this section shall conduct end-of-course student evaluations of faculty and develop a plan to make evaluations available on the institution's website.
SECTION 7. If any provision of this act, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this chapter and the application of its provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.