2020 Senate Education Bill Summaries

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.

SB 2283 – School districts; revised employees and administrators subject to conflict-of-interest provisions

• To provide that conflict-of-interest provisions applicable to school districts do not apply to employees with no authority to negotiate school district contracts
• Approved by the Governor on June 11, 2020

SB 2353 – Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program; extend repealer on

• To extend the date of repeal on the provision creating the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program
• And for related purposes
• Approved by the Governor on June 23, 2020

SB 2506 – Winona-Montgomery School Board of Trustees; revise membership

• To reconstitute the membership of the Winona-Montgomery School District Board of Trustees
• And for related purposes
• Approved by Governor on June 11, 2020

SB 2508 – Provisions of Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998; extend repealer on

• To delete the Individual Automatic Repealers on the provisions that constitute the “Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act Of 1998”
• Approved by Governor on June 11, 2020

SB 2509 – Failing school districts, extend repealer on

• To extend the date of repeal on the provision authorizing the State Board of Education to appoint a new five-member board for the administration of a failing school district
• Approved by Governor on June 23, 2020

SB 2511 – Teachers; revise licensure

• To revise licensure qualifications and requirements
• Will allow students to enter a college of education by meeting one of three requirements…
  • 21 on ACT or SAT equivalent, or
  • Making a qualifying score on the PRAXIS assessment, or
  • Have 3.0 GPA
• Approved by Governor on June 23, 2020

SB 2565 – 16th section trust interest; authorize districts to spend once loan payments are current

• An act to amend Section 29-3-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, To authorize school districts to spend interest accrued from 16th Section Trusts once the school district is current on its loan payments
• Approved by Governor on June 11, 2020

SB 2594 – The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act; revise and extend repealer

• An act to reenact Section 37-181-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, which is the title section of the Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act
• To amend Section 37-181-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, To revise certain definitions
• To amend Section 37-181-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, To provide that qualifying expenses must have been incurred within the awarded ESA School Year
• To provide that computer hardware and software purchased with ESA Funds shall be donated to a public school or library once a student is no longer eligible for the ESA Program
• To provide that an original itemized receipt for expenses is to be returned to the department
• To provide that a student’s remaining ESA funds shall be distributed to the student’s home school district upon a student’s return to his or her home school district
• To amend Section 37-181-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, To require the department to maintain the waitlist for eligible students in chronological order
• To amend Section 37-181-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, To remove the authority of the department to contract with a qualified nonprofit organization to administer the ESA Program
• To amend Section 37-181-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, To clarify that only the parent or guardian who submitted the ESA application is authorized to seek reimbursement for qualified expenses
•  To amend Section 37-181-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, To revise peer’s review of the ESA Program
• To amend Section 37-181-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, To require eligible schools to provide parents with details of its students’ record of achievement and its capacity to serve the participating students within the scope of their IEP
• To require eligible schools to mandate a student assessment
• To require eligible schools to notify a parent or guardian applying for the ESA Program that the parent or guardian waives the right of the participating student to an individual entitlement to a free and appropriate public education
• To amend Section 37-181-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, to limit the department’s regulation of the Educational Program of a nonpublic school, Postsecondary Institution or Educational Service Provider to the authority of this chapter
• To require participating schools to submit student performance data to the department at the end of the school year
• To reenact Section 37-181-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides that the department may receive and expend contributions from any public or private source to fund ESAS for participating students
• To reenact Section 37-181-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides that the provisions of this act are severable
• To create new Section 37-181-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, To codify and extend the date of the automatic repealer on Sections 37-181-1 Through 37-181-23
• To amend Section 12, Chapter 441, Laws of 2015, To delete the automatic repealer from within the Chapter Laws
• And for related purposes
• Approved by Governor on June 25, 2020

SB 3044 – Equity in Distance Learning Act; enact

• An act to establish the “Equity in Distance Learning Act” to be administered by the Mississippi Department of Education to provide guidance, technical support and financial reimbursement to schools to provide distance learning and online services
• To provide for certain transfers by the state fiscal officer
• To state legislative findings and intent
• To define terms
• To establish the “equity in distance learning grant program”
• To provide that allocations under the program shall be made based on average daily membership
• To highly encourage each school to commit a portion of its federal elementary and secondary school emergency relief (ESSER) funds to purchase equipment for its distance learning plan
• To require the department to inform each school of its portion of available funds, to develop regulations and procedures to govern the grant program, and to compile an express products list
• To prescribe the eligibility requirements for schools to be reimbursed under the grant program
• To create a special fund in the state treasury to be known as the “equity in distance learning fund”
• To amend section 31-7-13, Mississippi code of 1972, to provide that purchases under the grant program created under this act and the directive that school districts create a distance learning plan and fulfill technology needs expeditiously shall be deemed an emergency purchase for purposes of the procurement and competitive bidding law
• To provide that the provisions of this act are severable
• And for related purposes
• Became law without the Governor’s signature