School attendance officers; provide formula for allocating funds for the employment of and increase minimum base salary.

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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Holloway (76th)

HOUSE BILL NO. 1291

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-89, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PRESCRIBE THE FORMULA TO BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOCATING 2
STATE FUNDS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS BASED 3
ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF ONE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICER FOR EVERY 2,000 4
COMPULSORY-SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN OR A MAJOR FRACTION THEREOF 5
ENROLLED IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY; TO INCREASE 6
THE MINIMUM BASE SALARY FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE OFFICERS; AND FOR 7
RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Section 37-13-89, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 10
amended as follows: 11
37-13-89. (1) In each school district within the state, 12
there shall be employed the number of school attendance officers 13
determined by the Office of Compulsory School Attendance 14
Enforcement to be necessary to adequately enforce the provisions 15
of the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law * * *, as 16
prescribed in accordance with subsection (6) of this section. 17
From and after July 1, 1998, all school attendance officers 18
employed pursuant to this section shall be employees of the State 19
Department of Education. The State Department of Education shall 20
employ all persons employed as school attendance officers by 21
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district attorneys before July 1, 1998, and shall assign them to 22
school attendance responsibilities in the school district in which 23
they were employed before July 1, 1998. The first twelve (12) 24
months of employment for each school attendance officer shall be 25
the probationary period of state service. 26
(2) (a) The State Department of Education shall obtain 27
current criminal records background checks and current child abuse 28
registry checks on all persons applying for the position of school 29
attendance officer after July 2, 2002. The criminal records 30
information and registry checks must be kept on file for any new 31
hires. In order to determine an applicant's suitability for 32
employment as a school attendance officer, the applicant must be 33
fingerprinted. If no disqualifying record is identified at the 34
state level, the Department of Public Safety shall forward the 35
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a 36
national criminal history record check. The applicant shall pay 37
the fee, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00), for the 38
fingerprinting and criminal records background check; however, the 39
State Department of Education, in its discretion, may pay the fee 40
for the fingerprinting and criminal records background check on 41
behalf of any applicant. Under no circumstances may a member of 42
the State Board of Education, employee of the State Department of 43
Education or any person other than the subject of the criminal 44
records background check disseminate information received through 45
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any such checks except insofar as required to fulfill the purposes 46
of this subsection. 47
(b) If the fingerprinting or criminal records check 48
discloses a felony conviction, guilty plea or plea of nolo 49
contendere to a felony of possession or sale of drugs, murder, 50
manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, sexual battery, sex offense 51
listed in Section 45-33-23(h), child abuse, arson, grand larceny, 52
burglary, gratification of lust or aggravated assault which has 53
not been reversed on appeal or for which a pardon has not been 54
granted, the applicant is not eligible to be employed as a school 55
attendance officer. Any employment of an applicant pending the 56
results of the fingerprinting and criminal records check is 57
voidable if the new hire receives a disqualifying criminal records 58
check. However, the State Board of Education, in its discretion, 59
may allow an applicant aggrieved by an employment decision under 60
this subsection to appear before the board, or before a hearing 61
officer designated for that purpose, to show mitigating 62
circumstances that may exist and allow the new hire to be employed 63
as a school attendance officer. The State Board of Education may 64
grant waivers for mitigating circumstances, which may include, but 65
are not necessarily limited to: 66
(i) The age at which the crime was committed; 67
(ii) The circumstances surrounding the crime; 68
(iii) The length of time since the conviction and 69
criminal history since the conviction; 70
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(iv) Prior work history; 71
(v) Current employment status and character 72
references; and 73
(vi) Any other evidence demonstrating the ability 74
of the person to perform the responsibilities of a school 75
attendance officer competently and that the person does not pose a 76
threat to the health or safety of children. 77
(c) A member of the State Board of Education or 78
employee of the State Department of Education may not be held 79
liable in any employment discrimination suit in which an 80
allegation of discrimination is made regarding an employment 81
decision authorized under this section. 82
(3) Each school attendance officer shall possess a college 83
degree with a major in a behavioral science or a related field or 84
shall have no less than three (3) years combined actual experience 85
as a school teacher, school administrator, law enforcement officer 86
possessing such degree, and/or social worker; however, these 87
requirements shall not apply to persons employed as school 88
attendance officers before January 1, 1987. School attendance 89
officers also shall satisfy any additional requirements that may 90
be established by the State Personnel Board for the position of 91
school attendance officer. 92
(4) It shall be the duty of each school attendance officer 93
to: 94
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(a) Cooperate with any public agency to locate and 95
identify all compulsory-school-age children who are not attending 96
school; 97
(b) Cooperate with all courts of competent 98
jurisdiction; 99
(c) Investigate all cases of nonattendance and unlawful 100
absences by compulsory-school-age children not enrolled in a 101
nonpublic school; 102
(d) Provide appropriate counseling to encourage all 103
school-age children to attend school until they have completed 104
high school; 105
(e) Attempt to secure the provision of social or 106
welfare services that may be required to enable any child to 107
attend school; 108
(f) Contact the home or place of residence of a 109
compulsory-school-age child and any other place in which the 110
officer is likely to find any compulsory-school-age child when the 111
child is absent from school during school hours without a valid 112
written excuse from school officials, and when the child is found, 113
the officer shall notify the parents and school officials as to 114
where the child was physically located; 115
(g) Contact promptly the home of each 116
compulsory-school-age child in the school district within the 117
officer's jurisdiction who is not enrolled in school or is not in 118
attendance at public school and is without a valid written excuse 119
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from school officials; if no valid reason is found for the 120
nonenrollment or absence from the school, the school attendance 121
officer shall give written notice to the parent, guardian or 122
custodian of the requirement for the child's enrollment or 123
attendance; 124
(h) Collect and maintain information concerning 125
absenteeism, dropouts and other attendance-related problems, as 126
may be required by law or the Office of Compulsory School 127
Attendance Enforcement; and 128
(i) Perform all other duties relating to compulsory 129
school attendance established by the State Department of Education 130
or district school attendance supervisor, or both. 131
(5) While engaged in the performance of his duties, each 132
school attendance officer shall carry on his person a badge 133
identifying him as a school attendance officer under the Office of 134
Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department 135
of Education and an identification card designed by the State 136
Superintendent of Public Education and issued by the school 137
attendance officer supervisor. Neither the badge nor the 138
identification card shall bear the name of any elected public 139
official. 140
(6) The state shall provide funding for one (1) school 141
attendance officer employed by the State Department of Education 142
for every two thousand (2,000) students who are 143
compulsory-school-age children, as defined in Section 144
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37-13-91(2)(f), or a major fraction thereof, enrolled in the 145
public schools of the entire county for the purpose of employing 146
school attendance officers, as defined in Section 37-13-91(2)(g). 147
For purposes of this subsection, the term "major fraction thereof" 148
means the number of students determined by department to be 149
indicative of the reasonable number of compulsory-school-age 150
children for which a school attendance officer shall be 151
responsible with respect to the potential assignment of the 152
maximum two thousand (2,000) students established herein. 153
( * * *7) The State Personnel Board shall develop a salary 154
scale for school attendance officers as part of the variable 155
compensation plan. The various pay ranges of the salary scale 156
shall be based upon factors including, but not limited to, 157
education, professional certification and licensure, and number of 158
years of experience. School attendance officers shall be paid in 159
accordance with this salary scale. Beginning with the 2026-2027 160
school year, and each year thereafter, the minimum salaries under 161
the scale shall be no less than the following: 162
(a) For school attendance officers holding a bachelor's 163
degree or any other attendance officer who does not hold such a 164
degree, the annual salary shall be based on years of experience as 165
a school attendance officer or related field of service or 166
employment, no less than as follows: 167
Years of Experience Salary 168
0 - 4 years $ * * *41,500.00 169
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5 - 8 years * * *44,300.00 170
9 - 12 years * * *45,900.00 171
13 - 16 years * * *50,300.00 172
Over 17 years * * *50,700.00 173
(b) For school attendance officers holding a license as 174
a social worker, the annual salary shall be based on years of 175
experience as a school attendance officer or related field of 176
service or employment, no less than as follows: 177
Years of Experience Salary 178
0 - 4 years $ * * *43,100.00 179
5 - 8 years * * *45,500.00 180
9 - 12 years * * *47,900.00 181
13 - 16 years * * *50,300.00 182
17 - 20 years * * *52,700.00 183
Over 21 years * * *53,100.00 184
(c) For school attendance officers holding a master's 185
degree in a behavioral science or a related field, the annual 186
salary shall be based on years of experience as a school 187
attendance officer or related field of service or employment, no 188
less than as follows: 189
Years of Experience Salary 190
0 - 4 years $ * * *45,100.00 191
5 - 8 years * * *47,925.00 192
9 - 12 years * * *50,750.00 193
13 - 16 years * * *53,575.00 194
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17 - 20 years * * *56,400.00 195
Over 21 years * * *56,925.00 196
( * * *8) (a) Each school attendance officer employed by a 197
district attorney on June 30, 1998, who became an employee of the 198
State Department of Education on July 1, 1998, shall be awarded 199
credit for personal leave and major medical leave for his 200
continuous service as a school attendance officer under the 201
district attorney, and if applicable, the youth or family court or 202
a state agency. The credit for personal leave shall be in an 203
amount equal to one-third (1/3) of the maximum personal leave the 204
school attendance officer could have accumulated had he been 205
credited with such leave under Section 25-3-93 during his 206
employment with the district attorney, and if applicable, the 207
youth or family court or a state agency. The credit for major 208
medical leave shall be in an amount equal to one-half (1/2) of the 209
maximum major medical leave the school attendance officer could 210
have accumulated had he been credited with such leave under 211
Section 25-3-95 during his employment with the district attorney, 212
and if applicable, the youth or family court or a state agency. 213
However, if a district attorney who employed a school attendance 214
officer on June 30, 1998, certifies, in writing, to the State 215
Department of Education that the school attendance officer had 216
accumulated, pursuant to a personal leave policy or major medical 217
leave policy lawfully adopted by the district attorney, a number 218
of days of unused personal leave or major medical leave, or both, 219
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which is greater than the number of days to which the school 220
attendance officer is entitled under this paragraph, the State 221
Department of Education shall authorize the school attendance 222
officer to retain the actual unused personal leave or major 223
medical leave, or both, certified by the district attorney, 224
subject to the maximum amount of personal leave and major medical 225
leave the school attendance officer could have accumulated had he 226
been credited with such leave under Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95. 227
(b) For the purpose of determining the accrual rate for 228
personal leave under Section 25-3-93 and major medical leave under 229
Section 25-3-95, the State Department of Education shall give 230
consideration to all continuous service rendered by a school 231
attendance officer before July 1, 1998, in addition to the service 232
rendered by the school attendance officer as an employee of the 233
department. 234
(c) In order for a school attendance officer to be 235
awarded credit for personal leave and major medical leave or to 236
retain the actual unused personal leave and major medical leave 237
accumulated by him before July 1, 1998, the district attorney who 238
employed the school attendance officer must certify, in writing, 239
to the State Department of Education the hire date of the school 240
attendance officer. For each school attendance officer employed 241
by the youth or family court or a state agency before being 242
designated an employee of the district attorney who has not had a 243
break in continuous service, the hire date shall be the date that 244
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the school attendance officer was hired by the youth or family 245
court or state agency. The department shall prescribe the date by 246
which the certification must be received by the department and 247
shall provide written notice to all district attorneys of the 248
certification requirement and the date by which the certification 249
must be received. 250
( * * *9) (a) School attendance officers shall maintain 251
regular office hours on a year-round basis; however, during the 252
school term, on those days that teachers in all of the school 253
districts served by a school attendance officer are not required 254
to report to work, the school attendance officer also shall not be 255
required to report to work. (For purposes of this subsection, a 256
school district's school term is that period of time identified as 257
the school term in contracts entered into by the district with 258
licensed personnel.) A school attendance officer shall be 259
required to report to work on any day recognized as an official 260
state holiday if teachers in any school district served by that 261
school attendance officer are required to report to work on that 262
day, regardless of the school attendance officer's status as an 263
employee of the State Department of Education, and compensatory 264
leave may not be awarded to the school attendance officer for 265
working during that day. However, a school attendance officer may 266
be allowed by the school attendance officer's supervisor to use 267
earned leave on such days. 268
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ST: School attendance officers; provide formula
for allocating funds for the employment of and
increase minimum base salary.
(b) The State Department of Education annually shall 269
designate a period of six (6) consecutive weeks in the summer 270
between school years during which school attendance officers shall 271
not be required to report to work. A school attendance officer 272
who elects to work at any time during that period may not be 273
awarded compensatory leave for such work and may not opt to be 274
absent from work at any time other than during the six (6) weeks 275
designated by the department unless the school attendance officer 276
uses personal leave or major medical leave accrued under Section 277
25-3-93 or 25-3-95 for such absence. 278
( * * *10) The State Department of Education shall provide 279
all continuing education and training courses that school 280
attendance officers are required to complete under state law or 281
rules and regulations of the department. 282
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 283
and after July 1, 2026. 284