MSBA Legislative Report: May 11-15, 2020

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May 15, 2020

The Legislative Report

May 11-15, 2020

The legislature came back on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, to make plans on how to appropriate the $1.25 billion of stimulus funds; and on Wednesday, both chambers held hearings to get input. The Mississippi Department of Education, Community Colleges, and the Institutions of Higher Learning made presentations. To read the Department of Education’s press release, click here.

On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, the House and Senate passed SB 2772, which authorizes the spending of $300 million of the stimulus funds directed to small businesses. To read SB 2772, click here.

On Thursday, May 14, 2020, Governor Reeves signed Executive Order 1484. The order directs state agencies, boards, commissions, counties, municipalities, public school districts, and other state and local entities to begin the process of returning employees whose duties were deemed non-essential back to work, subject to controlling law and the Mississippi State Department of Health’s and the Center for Disease Control’s regulations, orders, and guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To read a copy of the order, click here.

Senate Bills Status

Assigned to Education:

SB 2001 Teachers’ salaries; provide for increase; Bill History
SB 2283 School districts; revise employees and administrators subject to conflict-of interest provisions; Bill History
SB 2351 Mississippi High School Activities Association; require to comply with Mississippi Open Meetings Law to receive public funds; Bill History
SB 2506 Winona-Montgomery School Board of Trustees; revise membership; Bill History
SB 2508 Provisions of the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998; extend repealer on; Bill History
SB 2509 Failing school districts; extend repealer; Bill History
SB 2511 Teachers; revise licensure; Bill History
SB 2565 16th section trust interest; authorize districts to spend once loan payments are current; Bill History
SB 2864 Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Program; revise; Bill History

Education; Appropriations:

SB 2286 Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013; revise funding and specify teaching Standards; Bill History
SB 2353 Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program; extend repealer on; Bill History
SB 2395 School board members; increase pay; Bill History
SB 2594 The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act; revise and extend repealer; Bill History

Insurance; Education:

SB 2541 State and School Health Insurance Management Board; authorize superintendent of education to name designee; Bill History

House Bills Status

Assigned to Education:

HB 669 School consolidation; require local school districts to close certain schools within the district of underperforming schools; Bill History
HB 676 State and School Health Insurance Management Board; authorize State Agency executive heads to designate to serve in his or her capacity; Bill History
HB 751 Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Program; remove requirement that the Department of Education administer with the FNMA; Bill History
HB 888 Student club funds; clarify use and accounting practices by school districts; Bill History
HB 994 Teacher licensure; revise qualifications for candidates to enter an approved teacher education program; Bill History
HB 1139 Community schools; authorize implementation under the administration of a District of Innovation; Bill History
HB 1336 “Mississippi Learn to Earn Act”; enact to authorize the earning of graduation credit through apprenticeships and other alternative courses; Bill History

Education; Appropriations:

HB 666 Gifted education; require school districts to provide for students in grades 7th and 8th; Bill History
HB 667 Public special purpose schools; clarify provision related to administrative and licensed instructional personnel of; Bill History
HB 757 School mobile panic button program; require Department of Education to develop and implement in K-12 public schools; Bill History
HB 770 Trauma-Informed Discipline Practices Act; enact to establish procedures to assess and mediate effects of traumatic events in schools; Bill History
HB 1165 Computer science curriculum; require State Department of Education to Implement in K-12 public schools; Bill History
HB 1233 School athletic trainers; provide annual salary supplement for those acquiring national certification; Bill History
HB 1255 National board certification annual salary supplement; remove cap on the number of nurses and speech-language pathologists eligible for; Bill History

Education; Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency:

HB 278 Sixteen section land; authorizing leasing of certain land by cities/counties for less than minimum percentage of market value under certain circumstances; Bill History
HB 672 State Department of Education; permit to receive various contributions from public or private donors; Bill History

Education; Economic and Workforce Development:

HB 1556 Career and technical education; revise curriculum, instructor license requirements and certain assessments; Bill History

Education; Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks:

HB 1577 Hunter safety course; authorize school districts to offer as part of their curriculum; Bill History

Highways and Transportation; Education:

HB 1176 School bus drivers; increase maximum speed limit on interstate highways; Bill History

Universities and Colleges; Education:

HB 341 CTE students; provide tuition-free instruction and increased financial assistance for industry certification assessment; Bill History

Universities and Colleges:

HB 274 HELP Grant Program; align curriculum with changes for college preparatory as required by IHL; Bill History

Appropriations:

HB 263 School attendance officers; clarify salaries of; Bill History

Public Property:

HB 1439 Sixteenth section lands; revise provisions relating to reports and copies of leases To Secretary of State; Bill History

Unassigned:

HB 407 Reverse auction; revise method of receiving bids through for agencies and governing authorities; Bill History

USDA Announces Extension of

Three Nutrition Waivers

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the extension of three USDA nutrition waivers through August 31, 2020, giving child nutrition operators the flexibility needed to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The waiver extensions are as follows:

Non-Congregate Feeding: USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is allowing meals to be served to children outside of the normally required group setting to support social distancing.
Parent Pickup: FNS is allowing parents and/or guardians to pick up meals and bring them home to their children.
Meal Times: FNS is waiving requirements that meals be served at certain standard times to allow for grab-n-go options. This also allows for multiple days-worth of meals to be provided at once.

Read USDA's Press Release Here

REGULAR FEATURES

Technicalities

State Auditor's Office

Question: May a mayor and board of aldermen lawfully replace an appointed member of a municipal separate school district board of trustees who has not resigned nor been removed pursuant to statutory authority during the appointed member’s five-year term?

Answer: No. Once appointed to an office for a specific term, an appointee is entitled to serve the entire term without being subject to removal, as long as he remains qualified to hold office. (Attorney General’s Opinion to Rhodes, January 8, 2020)

Shad White, State Auditor of Mississippi

Ethics Opinion

Mississippi Ethics Commission

Question: May a school district contract with its employee in relation to providing computer software which is not reasonably available from any other commercial source?

Answer: Yes. While Section 25-4-105(3)(a), Miss. Code of 1972, prohibits an employee of a public school district from being a contractor, subcontractor or vendor to the district, under these particular facts, the software is not reasonably available from any other commercial source. Therefore, the exception codified in Section 25-4-105(4)(d) will apply, and no violation will occur. (Mississippi Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 20-016-E, May 1, 2020) Read more

Question: May the spouse of a newly elected school board member remain employed by the school district until the end of the current academic year?

Answer: Although inadvisable, the spouse may continue employment for the remainder of the current academic year only if the school board takes no future action to authorize the employment. Under no circumstances may the spouse continue employment with the school district after the conclusion of the current academic year, pursuant to Section 109, Miss. Const. of 1890, and Section 25-4-105(2), Miss. Code of 1972. (Mississippi Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 20-008-E, March 6, 2020) Read more

Question: May a school board and a member of the board approve mandatory payments to a charter school when a school board member’s employer has a business relationship with the charter school operator?

Answer: Yes. The school board’s act of providing the charter school funding is a mandatory action and not a discretionary one. Therefore, no violation of Section 109, Miss. Const. of 1890, or Section 25-4-105(2), Miss. Code of 1972, will occur under these facts when the school board approves payments to the charter school. (Mississippi Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 19-068-E, January 10, 2020) Read more