MSBA Legislative Report: February 3, 2023

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here.

February 3, 2023

The Legislative Report

The fifth week of the 2023 Mississippi legislative session was the busiest week of the session thus far. Committees in both the House and the Senate met multiple times this week in order to meet the January 31 deadline for committees to approve general bills or constitutional amendments. Any general bills not passed by the January 31 deadline died in committee. The focus for both chambers shifted to lengthy floor debates beginning on Wednesday, February 1, as they voted on all the bills that came out of those committees. Each house must pass its general bills by February 10, or the bills will die on the calendar.

Both the House and Senate Education Committees met this week and passed a variety of bills that will impact education. Below is a brief breakdown of the bills from the House Education Committee:

HB 63 – This bill would require school bus drivers to be trained and certified in first aid and CPR.

HB 260 – This bill simply extended the repeal date for subsection 4 under MS Code 37-17-13.

HB 365 – This bill will allow the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the United States of America to be able to come into the schools to talk to students about joining their respective organizations.

HB 823 – This bill establishes the Commission on Education and Economic Competitiveness in order to develop a vision for Mississippi’s future economy and to consider how to reform education to prepare all students for that future.

HB 859 – This bill would exempt public special purpose schools from certain audit requirements. In the past, these schools were cited in the audit due to their students taking the Chromebooks home that were provided during the pandemic.

HB 1000 – This bill expands the Education Scholarship Account to include those children in foster care. The bill would also give school choice options to foster parents of foster children.

HB 1070 – This bill establishes the Patriotic Education Grant Program for the purpose of promoting education that inspires American history in schools.

HB 1087 – This bill would increase the salaries for licensed employees of the Mississippi School for Math and Science due to these employees being inadvertently left out of the teacher pay raise last year.

HB 1150 – This bill is currently a placeholder in order to open the code sections regarding charter schools.

HB 1173 – This bill would allow the availability of procurement cards for teachers of charter schools.

HB 1176 – This bill would clarify that only those individuals who have received national board certification, who are employed by the school district, and who are actually serving students may receive the supplement under MS Code 37-19-7.

HB 1186 – This bill will allow school boards to enter into long-term leases for the sale of timber on sixteenth section land with oversight by the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

HB 1227 – This bill would provide guidelines for mental health providers in school districts and for MDE.

HB 1228 – This bill includes community schools under the district of innovation definitions.

HB 1264 – This bill would make feminine hygiene products available, at no cost to students, in school districts for students in grades 6-12.

HB 1365 – This bill would prohibit local school districts from using any state-funded increases to the minimum salary of assistant teachers as a substitute for the local contribution.

HB 1369 – This bill seeks to determine the cost of using average daily membership (ADM) in lieu of ADA.

HB 1373 – This bill would allow school boards to permit students to be taken out of school for periods of time for religious instruction.

HB 1390 – This bill would delete the repeal date on MS 37-13-171 which requires school districts to have a policy on abstinence education.

Below is a brief breakdown of the bills that passed from the Senate Education Committee:

SB 2079 – This bill would allow local school boards to name “Guardians” in the school district. These would be employees in the school district who would be designated and trained to carry concealed firearms for the protection of the students, employees, and others on the campus of the school.

SB 2333 – This bill would require each school district to have at least one employee or vendor at each school who has met the training requirements necessary to administer or assist with seizure disorder symptoms.

SB 2361 – This bill would establish a grant program for schools that intend to move to a modified calendar. The grant would be available for those schools transitioning in the 2023-2024 school year and those districts which have already transitioned over the last 3 years.

SB 2367 – This bill originally was aimed at changing the loan in the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund to a grant. However, the Senate struck that language and kept the original loan language. Instead, the Committee put a reverse repealer in the bill in order to hammer out the details through the legislative process.

SB 2524 – This bill would allow school boards to enter into long-term agreements for the sale of timber and forest products. The Mississippi Forestry Commission would oversee the process.

SB 2777 – This bill is currently a placeholder in order to open the code sections regarding the salary for school attendance officers.

SB 2585 – This bill amends the William F. Winter and Jack Reed, Sr. Teacher Loan Repayment Program, allowing teachers who are not in their first year and alternate route teachers to qualify. Over the first few years in the program, there has been surplus money in the account that can be granted to qualifying teachers.

SB 2586 – This bill amends definitions to include paraprofessionals regarding who can teach computer science at the elementary level.

SB 2599 – This bill would allow state-funded schools to participate in extracurricular activities against non-state funded schools at their discretion. This bill does not allow individuals to participate on other teams, rather it would allow different teams to participate against one another.

SB 2751 – This bill prohibits a restriction on school district's ability to build educational and extracurricular facilities on sixteenth section land.

SB 2811 – This bill would prohibit local school districts from using any state-funded increases to the minimum salary of assistant teachers as a substitute for the local contribution. If this section is violated, MAEP funding to that school will be reduced by twice the amount of the reduction of the supplement.

SB 2812 – This bill extends the repeal date for subsection 4 of MS Code 37-17-13.

There was one bill on the Senate Education Committee’s agenda that did not pass. That bill was SB 2767. Under this bill, students could be exempt from the requirement to have any specific vaccination in order to attend school if the child’s parent or guardian submits to the school a letter that documents which required vaccinations are against their religious beliefs. After a lengthy debate, Senator Blount moved to table the bill. The motion succeeded which effectively killed the bill.

Governor Reeves'

State of the State Address

Each year, the Governor of Mississippi is required to give a report on the current state of the State of Mississippi. On Monday, January 30, Governor Reeves delivered his State of the State address on the steps of the State Capitol. Members of the House and Senate were both present. Governor Reeves began his speech by stating that 2022 was perhaps the best year in Mississippi’s history and that the state’s brightest days still lie ahead. The Governor stated that Mississippi has weathered tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and a pandemic and has only come out stronger.

Governor Reeves said that one of the reasons that Mississippi is in such a good condition is that his administration has been laser focused on issues that matter. The first of these issues being wages. Mississippi currently has the lowest unemployment rate in the state’s history, and wages are up by 18% since 2019. Mississippi also is currently sitting on a 4 billion dollar surplus. The Governor stated that one of his main goals for this legislative session is the complete elimination of the state income tax in order to put more money back into the pockets of Mississippians.

Governor Reeves discussed education and stated that Mississippi currently has the best education numbers in the state’s history. High school graduation rates are at an all-time high, and currently exceed the national average. Mississippi also leads the nation in 4th grade math and reading gains. In 2012, Mississippi was dead last in 4th grade math results but has now risen above the national average to be ranked at 23. The Governor stated that Mississippi went from a state that needed improvement in education to the state which is now the most improved in the nation. Governor Reeves also remarked that he was proud to sign into law the largest teacher pay raise in the state’s history last year. This pay raise put Mississippi teachers above the national average.

Other topics from the address included police support and further investment in the Capitol police, the desire to remain tough on crime, the current struggles of Mississippi’s healthcare system, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the intent to give more support for mothers and families in Mississippi. The Governor attributed Mississippi’s success to all of the Mississippians who are proud to call this state home. In closing, he stated that the future for Mississippi is brighter than it has ever been. He challenged Mississippians to work together to continue to push the state forward.

Recent Bills

Due to this week’s major deadline, many bills died on the calendar. Below is a list of a few critical bills that died:

HB 1489 / HB 509 – Both HB 1489 and 509 sought to create the Families Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2023. Each of these bills provided parents with certain rights within the school district, such as the ability to review a syllabus for each class or course that the parent’s child is enrolled in at least seven days before the start of each class or course and to review the curriculum for each class or course offered by the school and any teacher training materials at least three days before the curriculum or materials are used for instruction.

HB 560 – This bill sought to streamline the school board election process by having all school board members serve the same term and be elected at the same time. Certain exceptions were present under the bill.

HB 1052 – This bill sought to authorize the levying authority for a school district to approve requests for an increase in the ad valorem tax effort for the school district.

SB 2761 / SB 2763 – Both SB 2761 and 2763 sought to create a parent’s bill of rights similar to HB 1489 and 509 above. These bills were the Senate’s version.

A couple of notable bills also survived the deadline. Those bills are:

SB 2749 – This bill would increase school board member pay based on student enrollment in the district. An identical bill made it past the halfway mark in the 2022 session. This bill has had favorable treatment thus far during this session and passed on the Senate floor this week.

HB 850 – This bill involves the levying authority for a school district. Though it survived the deadline, the bill had issues on the House floor. On Wednesday, February 1, an amendment was proposed for the bill which would have essentially put the language from HB 1052 into HB 850. That language would have authorized the levying authority for all school districts to approve or disapprove a request for an increase in the ad valorem tax effort for the school district. This amendment met heavy criticism on the House floor forcing the chairman of the ways and means committee to table the bill before even taking all of the questions. On Thursday, February 2, that amendment was withdrawn and the original text was then put before the House again. Though it still received pushback, the original text passed the House with a vote of 73 to 39. This bill would authorize the levying authority for only school districts in conservatorship to approve or disapprove certain requests for an increase in the ad valorem tax effort of the school district.

To view the bills that have been assigned to the House Education Committee, click here.

To view the bills that have been assigned to the Senate Education Committee, click here.

Deadlines

Thursday, February 9, 2023 — Original floor action on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in own house.
Friday, February 10, 2023 — Deadline for reconsideration and passage of general bills and constitutional amendments originating in own house.
Monday, February 13, 2023 — Deadline to dispose of motions to reconsider general bills and constitutional amendments originating in own house.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 — Deadline for original floor action on appropriations and revenue bills originating in own house.