2019 House Education Bill Summaries – Office of Communications and Government Relations

The summaries attempt to highlight major components of each bill. Click on the bill number to read the bill in its entirety and to view the latest action.

HB 150 – Mississippi Dyslexia Forgivable Loan Program; clarify type of service committee to qualify for

To authorize loan forgiveness to individuals providing instructional or clinical service as a licensed dyslexia therapist in a public or eligible nonpublic school for the Mississippi Dyslexia Forgivable Loan Program
Also provides awards granted under the William Winter Teacher Forgivable Loan Program to non-traditional licensed teacher showing documented need for repayment
Teachers must work in the SBE designated in a geographical area of the state or in subject area or curriculum in which there is a critical shortage of teachers
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 398 – Patriotic societies; authorize principal to allow to speak to the student body on importance of civic duty

To authorize school principals to permit representatives of patriotic societies to speak to the student body regarding civic involvement
To prescribe the process by which such societies shall be allotted dates and times to speak
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 572 – Educator use of personal leave; authorize use of by employees on certain days in the event of death or funeral of an immediate family member.

To revise the policy on the use of personal leave taken by educators on the day before the first day of the school term, the day before the last day of the school term, the day before a holiday or the day after a holiday
To authorize the use of personal leave without penalty in the event of death or funeral of an immediate family member
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 576 – State and School Health Insurance Management Board; authorize State Superintendent of Public Education to designate individual to serve on.

To clarify the composition of the state ABD School Employees Health Insurance Management Board by authorization the State Superintendent of Public Education to designate an individual to serve in his or her capacity
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 578 – Teacher and administrator licenses; clarify grounds for disciplinary action and reinstatement.

To clarify the membership of the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development
To clarify procedures for appeal of educator licensure decisions by the Commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer
To revise the grounds for denial of educator licensure applications and to provide authority for licensures probation
To clarify grounds for education licensure suspension or revocation and to clarify procedures for educator licensure reinstatement following suspension
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019. (Due from Governor 4.19.19)

HB 623 – School districts; exempt those with “A” and “B” accountability ratings from certain duties.

To exempt school districts with “A” and “B” accountability ratings, as defined by the State Board of Education, from performing certain duties imposed on school districts
To require the State Board of Education to develop a grant program exclusively for school districts with “A” and “B” accountability ratings to receive funds for the implementation of innovative educational programs
To require school attendance officers to visit the home or place of residence of a compulsory-school-age child within 72 hours of an unexcused absence for consultation with the parent or legal guardian of that child
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 654 – County school board trustees; require runoff election if no candidate receives majority of votes cast.

To provide that in a contest for office of Board of Education trustees, the persons in each respective supervisor’s districts who receives the majority of votes cast for the position sought shall be declared the winner
To provide for a runoff between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in instances where neither candidate receives the majority of votes cast in the election
To provide that the runoff election shall occur three weeks after the first election
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 688 – Districts of Innovations; require SDE to recognize use of Cambridge Assessment or other nationally recognized assessment for purposes of school accountability designations.

To require the State Department of Education to acknowledge student performance in schools within Districts of Innovation that administer the Cambridge Assessment or other nationally recognized assessment to determine student proficiency for the purpose of assigning school and district accountability ratings
To require the department to develop a procedure for the acceptance of the Cambridge Assessment or other nationally recognized assessments used by school within Districts of Innovation in lieu of the map assessments and subject area testing program
To require the department to assign accountability designations to schools within Districts of Innovation based upon student performance on the selected nationally recognized assessment administered by the school, in comparison to the student performance cut scores used for each accountability designation on the statewide assessment system
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

HB 689 – MS School for the Deaf; authorize creation of nonprofit entity for fundraising activities.

To authorize the State Board of Education to establish a private foundation or nonprofit corporation for the purpose of engaging in fundraising activities and receiving and disbursing nonpublic funds for the benefit of the Mississippi School for the Deaf
To require the board to include financial data on the foundation or nonprofit corporation in its annual legislative report on the schools for the Blind and the Deaf
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 691 – Mississippi School for the Blind; authorize creation of nonprofit entity for fundraising activities.

To authorize the State Board of Education to establish a private foundation or nonprofit corporation for the purpose of engaging in fundraising activities and receiving and disbursing nonpublic funds for the benefit of the Mississippi School for the Blind
To require the board to include financial data on the foundation or nonprofit corporation in its annual legislative report on the schools for the Blind and the Deaf
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 723 – Nuclear High School Academy; authorize certain school district to enter into partnership for the establishment of.

To authorize the Board Of Trustees of the Vicksburg-Warren School District and the Claiborne County Board of Education to establish a partnership with the Entergy Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Warren County and the Mississippi Development Authority for a Nuclear High School Academy
To prescribe the membership of the Nuclear High School Academy Partnership Council to administer the academy
To provide that the academy model shall provide qualified students from eighth grade through high school with career exploration and internships within the Entergy Grand Gulf Nuclear Station
To provide criteria for the Nuclear High School Academy
To authorize the use of buildings, teachers and transportation funding for the operation of the academy to be provided on a phased-in basis
To establish a Nuclear Academy fund for start-up and operational costs administered by the Mississippi Development Authority consisting of public and private funds
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1074 – School district superintendents; clarify duty to submit reports of unlawful activity to SDE as well as law enforcement.

To clarify that reports of unlawful activity occurring on educational property or during school-related activities which a school district superintendent is required to make to a local law enforcement agency also must be submitted to the State Department of Education
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1116 – School enrollment; allow for children with documentation of a parent’s pending military relocation to the state.

To provide that a pupil complies with the residency requirements of a school district if the pupil’s parent is transferred or is pending transfer to a military installation within the state while on active military duty pursuant to an official military order;
To require a parent to provide proof of residence in the school district within ten days after the published arrival date provided on official documentation
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1151 – “Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program”; delete automatic repealer on and other applicable provisions.

To establish the “Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program”
To amend provision of the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998 to delete the automatic repealer on those provisions
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1181 – Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Program; require that it be administered in conjunction with any conforming loan.

To require that the Mississippi employer-assisted housing teacher program be administered in conjunction with any conforming loan
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1182 – Corporal punishment; prohibit use of in public schools to discipline a student with a disability.

To prohibit the use of corporal punishment in public schools to discipline a student with a disability who has an IEP or Section 504 Plan
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1246 – Mississippi Teacher Leadership Program; establish to provide stipend to teacher assuming leadership positions while remaining in the classroom.

To amend provisions of the Beginning Teacher Support Program
To create the Mississippi Teacher Leadership Program as a pilot program within the State Department of Education to provide financial incentives to teacher leaders to promote the support and retention of effective classroom teachers
To increase the amount of the compensation to teacher leaders in the amount of $2,000.00 for each beginning teacher mentored under the Beginning Teacher Support Program
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1247 – Community college districts boards of trustees; remove requirement for automatic appointment of county superintendent of education to serve on.

To remove the requirement that the county superintendent of education shall automatically serve as a member of the board of a community college district
To provide that the Board of Supervisors of any county within a community college district may appoint the county superintendent or another qualified elector from the respective county at large to serve on the Board of Trustees
To remove the requirement that the superintendent of Special Municipal Separate School District in Adams County automatically serve as a member of the Copiah-Lincoln Community College District Board of Trustees
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019. (Due from Governor 4.19.19)

HB 1283 – The “Mississippi School Safety Act of 2019”; enact.

To require school districts to develop and conduct an active shooter drill within the first 60 days of each new school semester for students and staff and to require all school district employees to attend Civilian Response To Active Shooter Events (CRASE) training annually
To provide that the school safety grant program administered by the State Department of Education shall include a pilot program to implement a developmentally appropriate social and emotional curriculum for students in grades K-5
To require school employees to complete a training or professional development course in mental health every two years
To require the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security to develop a curriculum, train and certify threat assessment officers
To require certified threat assessment officers to conduct annual inspections and threat assessment of each public school in the state, develop an improvement plan for each school inspected and provide reports of such findings to local law enforcement agencies and the local school board within four (4) weeks of completion
To expand student access to local mental health resources under the Regional Behavioral Management Program with the development of state standardized Memorandum of Understanding (mou) between community mental health centers and facilities and school districts to include referral protocols and to train school personnel to conduct initial behavioral health screenings of students who experience stress or are at risk of harm
To authorize additional state funding of School Resource Officers by the State Department of Education under the Mississippi Community Oriented Policing Services in Schools (mcops) program
To authorize the State Department of Education to raise statewide awareness regarding the “See Something Say Something Act” and provide immunity from liability for good faith reporting of suspicious activity or behavior
To direct the Department of Public Safety to establish the Mississippi Analysis and Information Center (MSAIC Fusion Center) in the Office of Homeland Security and to employ regional analysts dedicated to statewide social media intelligence platform threats and the dissemination of school safety information
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1317 – Dual enrollment; require community colleges to provide first 15 credit hours free of charge to juniors and seniors.

To require public community and junior colleges, subject to the availability of state funding, to waive tuition and required fees for the first fifteen semester credit hours taken by high school juniors and seniors through a dual enrollment-dual credit program
To provide that the statewide accountability system may include consideration of no more than the first fifteen semester credit hours earned by an individual dually enrolled student in calculating a school and school district’s accountability rating
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its July 1, 2019, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2019.

HB 1321 – MS Speech-language Therapy Scholarship Program; revise various provisions.

To revise certain definitions used under the Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship for students with speech-language impairments program
To delete the limitation on scholarships under the program to students in kindergarten through grade six
To revise the procedure by which a parent of an eligible student requests a scholarship from the state department of education
To delete certain criteria that render a student ineligible for a scholarship
To revise parental obligations of students receiving a scholarship to attend a nonpublic speech-language therapy and intervention school
To decrease the maximum amount of a scholarship under the program and to revise the manner in which payments are made by the state department of education to participating nonpublic schools
To delete the authority of a parent to opt out of the mandatory screening for speech disorders provided by a school district
To repeal code that requires a school district to make an initial determination of whether a student has an eligibility ruling of speech-language impairment under the individuals with disabilities education act
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1322 – Eye examinations; SBE to require all children six and younger to have comprehensive face-to-face before enrolling in public school for first time.

Known as the Mississippi for Better Sight Better Learning Program
The state board of education shall recommend to children entering the first grade whose eye screening indicates a need to have a face-to-face eye examination
Must be completed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist by January 1 of the child’s first grade year.
A principal, director or other person in charge of the public school shall collect the information from the child’s legal guardian, evidence of the child’s comprehensive eye examination or a signed request from the parent or guardian opting out of the comprehensive eye examination
A face-to-face exam conducted before the child’s initial enrollment shall by deemed satisfactory
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

HB 1349 – “Mississippi Great Teachers Act of 2019”; enact to incentive individuals to enter teaching profession and address critical teacher shortage.

To establish the “Mississippi Great Teachers Act of 2019” for the purpose of providing incentives to individuals to enter into the teaching profession and to address the critical teacher shortage in the state
To revise the eligibility qualifications for teacher preparation programs for purposes of issuance of a standard educator license
To clarify the membership of the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development
To clarify procedures for appeal of educator licensure decisions by the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer
To revise the grounds for denial of educator licensure applications and to provide authority for licensures probation
To clarify grounds for education licensure suspension or revocation and to clarify procedures for educator licensure reinstatement following suspension
To authorize the State Department of Education to issue a nontraditional teaching route standard license to individuals holding advanced degrees and achieving the nationally recommended passing score on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators examination and Praxis II Examination providing that such individuals completed the course of study for the advanced degree program with the grade of a “C” or higher at the time application for licensure is submitted
To amend provisions of the beginning teacher support program
To provide financial incentives to teacher leaders to promote the support and retention of effective classroom teachers
To increase the minimum teacher salary scale by $2,000.00, to be phased in over a two-year period at $1,000.00 per year beginning with the 2019-2020 school year
To increase the amount of the compensation to teacher leaders in the amount of $2,000.00 for each beginning teacher mentored under the beginning teacher support program
To revise the assistant teacher forgivable loan program to increase the amount of financial assistance available to teacher assistants to equal the actual cost of six three-hour courses per year
To remove the provision limiting the purpose of the loan for critical teacher shortage areas
To establish scholarship programs for the military and expert citizens to enter the teaching profession
To establish the Mississippi Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing and Retention Grant program for the purpose of providing scholarships to assistant teachers and paraprofessionals as an opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Education Degree for the purpose of employment as licensed teachers in geographical critical teacher shortage areas as determined by the State Board of Education
To require participating Institutions of Higher Learning to collaborate with the Mississippi Teacher Center to identify, recruit and place teacher education graduates in geographical critical teacher shortage areas
To require assistant teachers and paraprofessionals who complete the program with a Bachelor of Education Degree to commit to teaching in a public school in a geographical critical teacher shortage area for a period of not less than three years after completion
To provide that individuals that fail to complete the program or comply with employment requirements shall be liable for the sum of all awards received under the programs, plus interest accruing at the current stafford loan rate
To provide that persons who have at least 25 years of creditable service in the public employees’ retirement system, who were employed as public schoolteachers at the time of their retirement and who have been retired and receiving a retirement allowance for at least one year, may be employed as teachers by a public school district after their retirement and receive a retirement allowance from the public employees’ retirement system during their employment as teachers in addition to receiving a beginning teacher’s salary
To increase the minimum salary of assistant teachers by $1,000.00, to be phased in over a two-year period at $500.00 per year beginning with the 2019-2020 school year
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1392– School athletics and extracurricular activities; require SBE to review and recommend revisions for administration of for public schools.

To impose conditions upon a school board’s authority to regulate athletics and extracurricular activities
To provide that the State Board of Education shall select three of its members to study the oversight and regulation of school athletics and extracurricular activities and
To decide by January 1, 2020, whether the regulation shall be accomplished by a private not-for-profit corporation created by the three-member committee or by any not-for-profit corporation currently involved in the regulation of school athletics and extracurricular activities
To restrict the school board’s authority to pay funds under their control to organizations that currently regulate school athletics and extracurricular activities
To prohibit any such not-for-profit established for the purpose of regulating public high school athletics and extracurricular activities from denying member schools from competing against nonmember schools when it is the desire of said schools to compete one against the other
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1400 – School transportation; authorize motor vehicles other than buses for small groups of students traveling to school activities.

To authorize school boards to allow motor vehicles other than school buses to be used to transport small groups of students for school-related activities
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.

HB 1643 – Appropriation; Education, Department of.

Appropriation for the purpose of funding K-12 and other related educational activities, including certain agencies and programs, in the State of Mississippi, for the fiscal year 2020.
Includes line item appropriations for the $1500 teacher pay raise
Includes funds to cover PERs increase in the MAEP formula
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019 and shall stand repealed June 30, 2019.