SB2715_S_Amend

SECTION 1. (1) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a viability study of the Mississippi University for Women. The purpose of the study shall be to address challenges and find solutions which help strengthen the campus and ensure its future success. The study shall:

(a) Evaluate the budget and current fiscal status of the university;

(b) Evaluate the physical plant of the university and the plan to ensure it is maintained;

(c) Evaluate current collaborations or opportunities for collaboration with other institutions related to course offerings or efficiency opportunities;

(d) Collect and analyze data and statistics related to enrollment and graduation rates and projections, with particular focus on the enrollment and graduation rates of Mississippi residents, as well as other data relating to shifting demographics;

(e) Examine any existing or developing plans to address projected nationwide demographic shifts and enrollment declines; and

(f) Review any other matters related to the viability, efficiency and effectiveness of Mississippi University for Women.

(2) Subject to appropriations, PEER may hire an expert in higher education to assist in the study. PEER may also request the assistance of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, the Legislative Budget Office, and any other related agency, entity or organization with expertise in higher education or a related area.

(3) By October 1, 2024, PEER shall submit the final feasibility study to the Chairmen of the Universities and Colleges Committees in the Mississippi Senate and Mississippi House of Representatives, the Chairmen of the Appropriations Committees in the Mississippi Senate and Mississippi House of Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

SECTION 2. Section 37-117-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-117-1. The institution incorporated by the act of the legislature, approved March 12, 1884, and established in pursuance thereof, shall continue to exist as a body politic and corporate by the name of the "Mississippi College for Women," with all its property and franchises, rights, powers and privileges conferred on it by law, or properly incident to such a body and necessary to accomplish the purpose of its creation; said college may receive and hold all real estate and personal property conveyed or given to it for such purposes. However, the name "Mississippi State College for Women" is hereafter changed to "Mississippi University for Women," without interference with the rights, powers and prerogatives of said college which continue in all respects. Whenever the name "Mississippi College for Women" appears the same is construed to denote "Mississippi University for Women."

SECTION 3. Section 37-139-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-139-3. (1) There is hereby created the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science which shall be a residential school for eleventh and twelfth grade high school students located on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women.

(2) The school shall be governed by the State Board of Education.

(3) The board shall develop a plan relating to the opening, the operation and the funding of the school. Such plan shall be presented to the Legislature during the 1988 Regular Session and shall include an equitable and reasonable plan for student recruitment without regard to race, creed or color.

(4) The purpose of the school shall be to educate the gifted and talented students of the state, and its curriculum and admissions policies shall reflect such purpose.

(5) The board shall prepare the annual budget for the school.

SECTION 4. Section 37-101-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-101-1. The following state institutions of higher learning shall be under the management and control of a board of trustees to be known as the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, namely:

(a) The University of Mississippi;

(b) Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science;

(d) The University of Southern Mississippi;

(e) Delta State University;

(f) Alcorn State University;

(g) Jackson State University;

(h) Mississippi Valley State University;

(i) And any other of like kind which may be hereafter established by the state.

SECTION 5. Section 25-65-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

25-65-7. The provisions of this chapter shall only apply (a) to the following universities: (i) Alcorn State University, (ii) Delta State University, (iii) Jackson State University, (iv) Mississippi State University, (v) Mississippi State University Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, (vi) Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Service, (vii) Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research Center, (viii) Mississippi State University State Chemical Laboratory, (ix) Mississippi University for Women, (x) Mississippi Valley State University, (xi) The University of Mississippi, (xii) University of Mississippi Medical Center and * * *~~the~~ (xiii) The University of Southern Mississippi; (b) to the following community/junior colleges: (i) Coahoma Community College, (ii) Copiah-Lincoln Community College, (iii) East Central Community College, (iv) East Mississippi Community College, (v) Hinds Community College, (vi) Holmes Community College, (vii) Itawamba Community College, (viii) Jones County Junior College, (ix) Meridian Community College, (x) Mississippi Delta Community College, (xi) Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, (xii) Northeast Mississippi Community College, (xiii) Northwest Mississippi Community College, (xiv) Pearl River Community College and (xv) Southwest Mississippi Community College; and (c) to the following agencies: (i) the Department of Finance and Administration, (ii) the State Tax Commission, (iii) the Department of Education, (iv) the State Department of Health, (v) the Department of Mental Health, (vi) the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, (vii) the Mississippi Development Authority, (viii) the Department of Environmental Quality, (ix) the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, (x) the Department of Corrections, (xi) the Division of Medicaid, (xii) the Department of Rehabilitation Services, (xiii) the Department of Public Safety, (xiv) the Mississippi Employment Security Commission, (xv) the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services, (xvi) the Public Employees Retirement System, (xvii) the Mississippi Department of Transportation, (xviii) the Mississippi Gaming Commission and (xix) the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

SECTION 6. Section 37-117-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-117-5. The right belongs to each county to have a number of girls admitted, proportionate to its number of educable girls as compared with the whole number in the state. The total attendance at any session shall not exceed the entire allotment to the several counties for such session.

SECTION 7. Section 37-117-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-117-7. The apportionment of students to be admitted to the Mississippi State College for Women shall be made and announced by the president of the college annually, and communicated to the county superintendents of education by the first of August, or as soon thereafter as practicable. No applicant under sixteen years of age shall be admitted to the institution.

SECTION 8. Section 37-117-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-117-9. The superintendent of education of each county, after due notice published, shall examine applicants, not qualified to enter by certificate from an accredited school, upon questions prepared and submitted by the president of the Mississippi State College for Women, and, with the consent of the board of supervisors, shall give certificates of selection to the number of girls to which his county is entitled, in addition to those already in the said college, if any. County superintendents shall make their appointments of students to the said college not later than July 1 of each year.

The certificate of selection shall be attested by the clerk of the board of supervisors, under its seal, and shall entitle the holder to admission into the said college, with all the privileges thereof, to pursue all the industrial branches selected, and to enter the subclass or class for which she is fitted.

SECTION 9. Section 37-117-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-117-11. The privilege of rooming in the dormitories at the Mississippi State College for Women belongs to the free students, and to the due quota of girls from each county, in preference to all others. The basis of apportionment is hereby fixed at the present dormitory capacity. However, this provision shall not be construed to exclude pupils from free tuition who pay their board elsewhere.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2024.