MS Student Funding Formula; bring forward.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Hawkins

HOUSE BILL NO. 1679

AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 37-151-201, 37-151-203, 1
37-151-205, 37-151-207, 37-151-209, 37-151-211, 37-151-213, 2
37-151-215 AND 37-57-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ESTABLISH 3
THE MISSISSIPPI STUDENT FUNDING FORMULA; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 37-151-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
brought forward as follows: 7
37-151-201. The following words and phrases have the 8
meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly 9
indicates otherwise: 10
(a) "Base amount" or "student base amount" means the 11
student base funding level that is established in the funding 12
formula as the estimated cost of educating a student with no 13
additional measured needs or special factors. 14
(b) "Career and technical education course" or "CTE 15
course" means a credit-bearing course that has been approved and 16
classified by the department as a career and technical education, 17
or CTE, course. 18
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(c) "Charter school" means a public school that is 19
established and operating under the terms of a charter contract 20
pursuant to Chapter 28, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972. 21
(d) "Department" means the State Department of 22
Education. 23
(e) "English Language Learner" or "ELL" means a student 24
identified in accordance with federal law as entitled to English 25
as a second language or bilingual services on the basis of the 26
student's English language proficiency. 27
(f) "Final weighted enrollment" means the final product 28
of applying weights to the net enrollment of a school district or 29
charter school after accounting for the sparsity of a school 30
district or charter school, as determined in Section 37-151-205. 31
(g) "Gifted student" means a student identified as 32
eligible to participate in a gifted education program for the 33
instruction of intellectually or academically gifted children, as 34
defined and provided for in Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181. 35
(h) "Local contribution" means the amount of local tax 36
money that school districts or charter schools must contribute to 37
the cost of the funding formula for their district or charter 38
school in a given fiscal year, as determined under Section 39
37-151-211. 40
(i) "Local minimum tax effort" means the amount in 41
taxes that the local levying authority for each school district 42
must raise on behalf of the school districts and charter schools 43
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in its geographic boundaries, as determined under Section 44
37-151-211. 45
(j) "Low income student" means a student who has been 46
identified by the department, through inclusion in the identified 47
student percentage, as having been approved for free meals based 48
on documentation of: 49
(i) Receipt of benefits from the following 50
federally funded programs: 51
1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 52
(SNAP); 53
2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 54
(TANF); 55
3. Food Distribution Program on Indian 56
Reservations (FDPIR); or 57
4. Medicaid, where applicable, as approved by 58
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct matching 59
with Medicaid data to identify children eligible for free meals; 60
or 61
(ii) The inclusion of students who are identified 62
as homeless children, migrant children, runaway children or Head 63
Start children, who are approved for free school meals without 64
application and not subject to verification, which includes foster 65
children certified for free meals through means other than an 66
application for free and reduced price school meals. 67
(k) "Net enrollment" means the average of the total 68
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aggregate student enrollment of a school district or charter 69
school on the last day of months two (2) and three (3) of the 70
previous school year. The total aggregate student enrollment for 71
each day may be determined by calculating the total number of 72
students enrolled plus or minus the total number of new student 73
enrollments or withdrawals, respectively, with the resulting 74
amount being considered the total aggregate student enrollment on 75
a given day. However, if a local school board or the governing 76
board of a charter school adopts a class schedule that operates 77
throughout the year for any or all schools in the district or the 78
charter school, net enrollment must be computed by the State 79
Department of Education so that the resulting net enrollment will 80
not be higher or lower than if the local school board or the 81
governing board had not adopted a year-round schedule. 82
(l) "Preliminary weighted enrollment" means the initial 83
product of applying weights to the net enrollment of a school 84
district or charter school, as determined in Section 37-151-205. 85
(m) "School board" means a governmental board 86
exercising management and control over a school district and the 87
schools of that district pursuant to the Mississippi Constitution 88
of 1890 and state statutes. 89
(n) "School district" or "district" means a 90
governmental entity that establishes and supervises one or more 91
public schools within its geographical limits pursuant to state 92
statutes. 93
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(o) "Sparsely populated district or charter school" 94
means a school district or charter school with a density of less 95
than eight (8) students per square mile, as determined by dividing 96
the net enrollment of a district or charter school by the square 97
mileage within its geographic boundaries. For the purpose of 98
determining the sparsity of a charter school, the square mileage 99
of a charter school is equivalent to the square mileage within the 100
geographic boundaries of the school district in which the charter 101
school is located. 102
(p) "Special education program" means a program that 103
provides services for exceptional children, as defined and 104
authorized by Chapter 23, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972. 105
(q) "State share" means the amount the state 106
contributes to the funding formula for the annual operating 107
funding of each school district or charter school. 108
(r) "Superintendent" means the administrative head of a 109
school district. 110
(s) "Total funding formula" means the formula used to 111
determine annual operating funding for public schools, as 112
prescribed in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215. 113
(t) "Weight" or "weighting" means a multiplier used to 114
adjust the preliminary weighted enrollment and final weighted 115
enrollment to support the additional costs of educating students 116
in defined student populations or in a defined geographic context. 117
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SECTION 2. Section 37-151-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 118
brought forward as follows: 119
37-151-203. (1) In fiscal year 2025, the student base 120
amount shall be Six Thousand Six Hundred Ninety-five Dollars and 121
Thirty-four Cents ($6,695.34) per student. In fiscal years 2026, 122
2027 and 2028, the inflationary adjustment described in this 123
section shall be applied to derive the total funding formula. In 124
fiscal year 2029, and every fourth fiscal year thereafter, the 125
State Board of Education, on or before August 1, with an adjusted 126
estimate no later than January 2, shall submit to the Legislative 127
Budget Office, the Chairmen of the Senate and House of 128
Representatives Appropriations and Education Committees, 129
respectively, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House 130
a new proposed student base amount calculation using the following 131
formula: 132
(a) Instructional cost. To determine the instructional 133
cost, the department shall first calculate the state's student to 134
teacher ratio. Such ratio shall be determined by dividing the net 135
enrollment for public schools and charter schools in the state by 136
the total number of teachers in such schools, as determined by the 137
department, in months two (2) and three (3) of the school year 138
preceding the year funds are to be appropriated. The student to 139
teacher ratio shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. 140
After determining the student to teacher ratio, the average 141
teacher salary shall be divided by the student-teacher ratio, and 142
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the resulting amount shall be considered the instructional cost. 143
The average teacher salary shall be calculated by the department 144
and include district local supplements as provided in Section 145
37-151-87, but shall not include the highest five percent (5%) and 146
lowest five percent (5%) of district local supplements. 147
(b) Administrative cost; which shall be twenty percent 148
(20%) of the instructional cost. 149
(c) Ancillary personnel and expenses; which shall be 150
thirty percent (30%) of the instructional cost. 151
(d) Operation and maintenance of plant. For the plant 152
and maintenance cost component, the State Department of Education 153
shall select districts that have a ratio of plant and maintenance 154
expenditures per one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet of 155
building space and a ratio of maintenance workers per one hundred 156
thousand (100,000) square feet of building space that are both 157
between one (1) standard deviation above the mean and two (2) 158
standard deviations below the mean of the statewide average. The 159
plant and maintenance cost component shall be calculated by 160
dividing the latest available months one (1) through nine (9) 161
average daily attendance of the selected districts into the plant 162
and maintenance expenditures of these selected districts. For the 163
purpose of this calculation, the Department of Education shall use 164
the following funds, functions and objects: Fund 1120 Functions 165
2600-2699, Objects 100-699 and Objects 800-999; Fund 2711 166
Functions 2600-2699, Objects 100-699 and Objects 800-999; Fund 167
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2430 Functions 2600-2699, Objects 100-699 and Objects 800-999. 168
Net enrollment means the percentage change from the prior year of 169
each year of each school district's months two (2) and three (3) 170
average of net enrollment for the three (3) immediately preceding 171
school years of the year for which funds are being appropriated. 172
(2) For purposes of these calculations, the State Department 173
of Education shall utilize financial data from the second 174
preceding year of the year for which funds are being appropriated. 175
(3) For each of the fiscal years between the recalculation 176
of the base student cost, the base student cost shall be increased 177
by an amount equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the base 178
student cost for the previous fiscal year, multiplied by the 179
twenty year average annual change in the rate of inflation rounded 180
up to the nearest tenth of a percent for the State of Mississippi 181
as determined by the State Economist, plus any adjustments for 182
additional state requirements including, but not limited to, 183
teacher pay raises and health insurance premium increases. The 184
calculation shall be performed annually by the Department of 185
Education, and the resulting amount shall replace base student 186
cost from the previous year. 187
(4) In years when the total revenue of the state does not 188
increase, the Legislature may retain the base student cost from 189
the previous year. If the total revenue increases the following 190
year, the formula shall be recalculated or increased according to 191
inflation as provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215. 192
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(5) Base student cost shall not be lower than the previous 193
year; provided, however, the base student cost may be lowered when 194
the State Fiscal Officer provides notice to the Legislative Budget 195
Office of a revenue shortfall in accordance with Section 196
27-104-13. 197
(6) By November 1, 2024, the department shall submit to the 198
Legislative Budget Office, the Chairmen of the Senate and House of 199
Representatives Appropriations and Education Committees, 200
respectively, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the 201
House, a report on the department's plan for implementation of the 202
funding formula as specified under the provisions of Sections 203
37-151-200 through 37-151-215, and to recommend any technical 204
amendments necessary for its effective administration before the 205
commencement of the 2025 Regular Session of the Legislature. 206
(7) The annual amount of funding for the operation of each 207
school district and charter school under the total funding formula 208
as provided under Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 is 209
determined by multiplying the student base amount, as determined 210
under Section 37-151-203, by the final weighted enrollment of the 211
school district or charter school, as determined under Section 212
37-151-205. 213
SECTION 3. Section 37-151-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 214
brought forward as follows: 215
37-151-205. (1) The preliminary weighted enrollment of each 216
school district and charter school under Sections 37-151-200 217
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through 37-151-215 is determined by applying the weights 218
prescribed in this section, none of which are mutually exclusive 219
of another, to each applicable school district or charter school's 220
net enrollment, as determined by Section 37-151-207. To determine 221
additional funding authorized under this section, the number of 222
students in a school district that are identified as the 223
applicable weight shall be calculated as a percentage of the 224
students in the school district. Such amount shall be referred to 225
as the "percentage of applicable students." 226
(2) For students identified as low-income, as defined in 227
Section 37-151-201, the percentage of applicable students in the 228
school district is multiplied by thirty one-hundredths (30/100), 229
and then multiplied by net enrollment. 230
(3) For students identified as English Language Learners, as 231
defined in Section 37-151-201, the percentage of applicable 232
students in the school district is multiplied by fifteen 233
one-hundredths (15/100), and then multiplied by net enrollment. 234
(4) The following weights are applied to students who are 235
identified as entitled to and receiving services in a special 236
education program: 237
(a) Tier I: For students diagnosed with a specific 238
learning disability, speech and language impairment, or 239
developmental delay, the percentage of applicable students in the 240
school district is multiplied by sixty one-hundredths (60/100), 241
and then multiplied by net enrollment. 242
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(b) Tier II: For students diagnosed with autism, 243
hearing impairment, emotional disability, orthopedic impairment, 244
intellectual disability, or other health impairment, the 245
percentage of applicable students in the school district is 246
multiplied by one hundred ten one-hundredths (110/100), and then 247
multiplied by net enrollment. 248
(c) Tier III: For students diagnosed with visual 249
impairment, deaf-blindness, multiple disabilities, or traumatic 250
brain injury, the percentage of applicable students in the school 251
district is multiplied by one hundred thirty one-hundredths 252
(130/100), and then multiplied by net enrollment. 253
For the purpose of student counts, a student entitled to and 254
receiving special education services may not be included under 255
more than one (1) tier prescribed in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) 256
of this subsection. A student having multiple diagnoses must be 257
counted under the highest tier applicable to that student. 258
(5) A weight of five percent (5%) is applied to five percent 259
(5%) of a school district or charter school's net enrollment for 260
the purpose of providing gifted education, regardless of the 261
number of students in a school district or charter school that 262
have been identified as gifted students: the total number of 263
students in net enrollment in a school district or charter school, 264
as determined by Section 37-151-207, is multiplied by five 265
one-hundredths (5/100), which is again multiplied by five 266
one-hundredths (5/100). 267
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(6) For Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Grade students 268
enrolled in a career and technical education course, as defined in 269
Section 37-151-201, the percentage of applicable students in the 270
school district is multiplied by ten one-hundredths (10/100), and 271
then multiplied by net enrollment. Students enrolled in multiple 272
career and technical education courses are counted once. 273
(7) In each school district or charter school where the 274
number of students identified as low income, as defined in Section 275
37-151-201, exceeds thirty-five percent (35%) of the school 276
district or charter school's net enrollment, a weight of ten 277
percent (10%) is applied only to the number of low income students 278
in excess of the number of low income students which constitute 279
thirty-five percent (35%) of net enrollment. The number of 280
students eligible for this weight is calculated by subtracting the 281
number of students equivalent to thirty-five percent (35%) of the 282
net enrollment of that school district or charter school from the 283
total number of students in that school district or charter school 284
identified as low income: if the total percentage of applicable 285
students identified in subsection (2) exceeds thirty-five percent 286
(35%) of the school district or charter school's total net 287
enrollment, as determined in Section 37-151-207, the difference 288
between the total percentage of applicable students identified in 289
subsection (2) and thirty-five percent (35%) of the school 290
district or charter school's total net enrollment is multiplied by 291
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ten one-hundredths (10/100), and then multiplied by net 292
enrollment. 293
(8) The final weighted enrollment of each school district 294
and charter school under the total funding formula as provided for 295
in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 is determined as 296
follows: 297
(a) The final weighted enrollment for each school 298
district or charter school that is not classified as a sparsely 299
populated district or charter school, as defined in Section 300
37-151-201, is equivalent to the preliminary weighted enrollment 301
of that school district or charter school, as determined in 302
subsections (1) through (7) of this section: the State Department 303
of Education shall add to the school district or charter school's 304
net enrollment, as determined under Section 37-151-207, each of 305
the additional figures calculated in accordance with subsections 306
(2) through (7), and this total is the final weighted enrollment. 307
(b) The final weighted enrollment for each sparsely 308
populated district or charter school, as defined in Section 309
37-151-201, is determined by multiplying the sparsity weight by 310
the preliminary weighted enrollment, as determined in subsections 311
(1) through (7) of this section, and then adding that figure to 312
the preliminary weighted enrollment. To calculate the final 313
weighted enrollment, the State Department of Education shall add 314
to the school district or charter school's net enrollment, each of 315
the additional figures calculated in accordance with subsections 316
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(2) through (7) to determine the preliminary weighted enrollment, 317
multiply this figure by the sparsity weight as determined below, 318
and add this resulting number to the preliminary weighted 319
enrollment to find the final weighted enrollment. To calculate 320
the sparsity weight, the State Department of Education shall find 321
the difference between the number of students per square mile in 322
that district or charter school and a sparsity threshold of eight 323
(8) students per square mile, and then shall divide the resulting 324
figure by one hundred (100) to create a percentage: for example, 325
if the number of students per square mile in a district is three 326
(3), the difference is five (5) (eight (8) minus three (3)), and 327
the sparsity weight is five percent (5%), or five one-hundredths 328
(5/100). 329
SECTION 4. Section 37-151-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 330
brought forward as follows: 331
37-151-207. (1) The net enrollment of a school district or 332
charter school for use in the funding formula must be computed and 333
currently maintained by the State Board of Education in accordance 334
with the following: 335
(a) Determination of school district net enrollment for 336
use in the funding formula. Effective with fiscal year 2026, the 337
State Department of Education shall determine the percentage 338
change from the prior year of each school district's months two 339
(2) and three (3) for the three (3) immediately preceding school 340
years of the year for which funds are being appropriated. 341
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(b) Determination of charter school net enrollment for 342
use in the funding formula. Effective with fiscal year 2026, the 343
department shall base a charter school's net enrollment on the 344
enrollment projections for the relevant year set forth over the 345
term of the charter contract. 346
(c) The net enrollment of a school district used for 347
funding formula calculations, as determined in paragraph (a) of 348
this subsection, must be reconciled with the school district's net 349
enrollment using months two (2) and three (3) for the year for 350
which total funding formula funds are being appropriated, and any 351
necessary adjustments must be made to payments during the school 352
district's following year of operation. Any necessary adjustment 353
for a school district must be based on the state share of the per 354
pupil amount in effect for the year for which actual net 355
enrollment did not meet expectations and not any new amount 356
appropriated for the year in which the adjustment will be made. 357
Reconciliation of net enrollment for charter schools must be based 358
on requirements set forth in Section 37-28-55. 359
(2) The net enrollment of a school district or charter 360
school must include any student enrolled in a dual enrollment-dual 361
credit program as defined and provided for in Section 37-15-38. 362
The State Department of Education shall make payments for dual 363
enrollment-dual credit programs to the home school district or 364
charter school in which the student is enrolled, in accordance 365
with regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. All 366
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state funding under the formula must cease upon completion of high 367
school graduation requirements. 368
(3) The State Board of Education shall promulgate such rules 369
and regulations as may be necessary for the counting and reporting 370
of student enrollment by school districts and charter schools to 371
the department in a manner that enables the provisions of Sections 372
37-151-200 through 37-151-215 to be carried out. The rules and 373
regulations must require school districts and charter schools to 374
submit data that includes, at a minimum, numbers for the specific 375
student populations that are subject to weighting under Sections 376
37-151-200 through 37-151-215 as well as the aggregate amount of 377
students in enrollment when each calculation is made. For the 378
first year of operation of a charter school, the State Board of 379
Education shall use imputed student demographic data based on the 380
traditional district in which the charter school is located to 381
estimate student populations that are subject to weighting under 382
Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215. 383
(4) The superintendent of each school district and the head 384
of school of each charter school, as applicable, shall submit the 385
data required by subsection (3) of this section with a signed 386
affidavit attesting that the data submitted to the department is 387
accurate to the best of the superintendent's knowledge, and any 388
inaccuracies later discovered will be reported to the department. 389
The State Board of Education shall be specifically authorized and 390
empowered to withhold allocations from the total funding formula 391
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funds as provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215, to 392
any school district or charter school for improperly or 393
inaccurately reporting the student data required by Sections 394
37-151-200 through 37-151-215. 395
SECTION 5. Section 37-151-209, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 396
brought forward as follows: 397
37-151-209. Allocations to school districts or charter 398
schools made by the State Department of Education on the basis of 399
the count of students in student categories established for the 400
purpose of applying various weights under Sections 37-151-200 401
through 37-151-215 are intended only to generate total 402
appropriation amounts for school funding. Except as otherwise 403
required by applicable state or federal law or by applicable 404
rules, regulations, policies, or order of the State Board of 405
Education and the State Department of Education, a school district 406
or charter school may exercise full autonomy in the spending of 407
all funds allocated under the formula to the district or charter 408
school so long as funds are expended in the manner determined by 409
the school board or governing board to best meet the needs of the 410
student population of the school district or charter school. 411
SECTION 6. Section 37-151-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 412
brought forward as follows: 413
37-151-211. (1) (a) Before February 1 of each year, the 414
tax assessor of each county shall file reports with the State 415
Department of Education which provide information essential to the 416
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department in determining the local contribution that each school 417
district or charter school is required to provide toward the cost 418
of local school funding. A separate report must be filed for each 419
school district or part of a school district situated in the 420
county and must include the following information: 421
(i) The total assessed valuation of nonexempt 422
property for school purposes in each school district; 423
(ii) Assessed value of exempt property owned by 424
homeowners aged sixty-five (65) or older or disabled, as defined 425
in Section 27-33-67(2); 426
(iii) The school district's tax loss from 427
exemptions provided to applicants under the age of sixty-five (65) 428
and not disabled, as defined in Section 27-33-67(1); and 429
(iv) The school district's homestead reimbursement 430
revenues. 431
(b) The State Department of Education shall prepare and 432
make available to the tax assessor of each county a form for the 433
reports required under paragraph (a) of this subsection (1)(a). 434
(2) (a) The department shall use the information submitted 435
pursuant to subsection (1) to calculate and certify to each school 436
district the millage required to raise its minimum local tax 437
effort, which must be the value of not less than twenty-eight (28) 438
mills for the then current fiscal year or a millage rate 439
equivalent to twenty-seven percent (27%) of the total funding 440
formula funds for the school district, any charter schools, and 441
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any Mississippi Achievement School District Schools located in its 442
boundaries, whichever is a lesser amount as certified to the 443
school district by the department, upon all of the taxable 444
property of the school district, including the following sources: 445
(i) One hundred percent (100%) of Grand Gulf 446
income, as prescribed in Section 27-35-309; and 447
(ii) One hundred percent (100%) of any fees in 448
lieu of taxes, as prescribed in Section 27-31-104, in accordance 449
with Section 37-57-1. 450
(b) The department shall determine the local 451
contribution of each school district or charter school based on 452
the minimum local tax effort, as determined under paragraph (a), 453
and shall certify this required local contribution to each school 454
district or charter school, as follows: 455
(i) For school districts in which there are no 456
charter schools, the minimum local tax effort is the required 457
local contribution for the school district. 458
(ii) For school districts in which there is 459
located one or more charter schools, the local contribution of the 460
school district is the product of multiplying the local pro rata 461
amount by the net enrollment of the school district. The 462
department will calculate the local pro rata amount by dividing 463
the school district's minimum local tax effort by the sum of the 464
net enrollment of the school district, as determined by Section 465
37-151-207, and the projected enrollment of charter school 466
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students, as specified in Section 37-151-207, who reside or are 467
estimated to reside in the district, but excluding from this 468
projected enrollment any resident students who are projected to 469
transfer from the district to a charter school after the 470
calculation of the district's net enrollment, so as not to 471
double-count those students. 472
(iii) For each charter school, the local 473
contribution is the sum of the local pro rata amount for each 474
charter school student, as determined by Section 37-151-207, based 475
on each student's district of residence. The department will 476
calculate a local pro rata amount for each school district in 477
which a student projected to attend the charter school resides or 478
is estimated to reside using the methodology in subparagraph (ii) 479
of this paragraph (b). 480
(iv) In the case of an agricultural high school, 481
the local contribution is based on an equitable amount per pupil, 482
as determined by the State Board of Education. The State Board of 483
Education shall set the millage requirement to generate such an 484
amount and will certify this amount and millage requirement to 485
agricultural high schools in the same manner as for all other 486
school districts under this subsection. 487
(3) Except as otherwise provided in Section 37-151-213(1), 488
the required state share in support of each school district and 489
charter school is determined by subtracting the required local 490
contribution, which total amount may not exceed twenty-seven 491
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percent (27%) of the total projected funding formula cost, from 492
the total projected funding formula cost, as determined under 493
Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215, for the school district or 494
charter school. 495
(4) If the school board of any school district or charter 496
school governing board determines that it is not economically 497
feasible or practicable to operate any school within the district 498
or charter school for the full one hundred eighty (180) days 499
required for the school term of a scholastic year under Section 500
37-13-63, due to an enemy attack, man-made, technological, or 501
natural disaster in which the Governor has declared a disaster 502
emergency under the laws of this state or the President of the 503
United States has declared an emergency or major disaster to exist 504
in this state, the school board or charter school governing board 505
may notify the State Department of Education of the disaster and 506
submit a plan for altering the school term. If the State Board of 507
Education finds the disaster to be the cause of the school not 508
operating for the contemplated school term and that the school is 509
located in a school district covered by the Governor's or 510
President's disaster declaration, the board may permit the schools 511
located in that district to be operated for less than one hundred 512
eighty (180) days and, in such case, the State Department of 513
Education may not reduce the state share in support of the funding 514
formula for that district or charter school because of the failure 515
to operate those schools for one hundred eighty (180) days. 516
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SECTION 7. Section 37-151-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 517
brought forward as follows: 518
37-151-213. (1) To qualify for state funds under this 519
chapter, a school district may not exceed a student-teacher ratio 520
determined in accordance with appropriate accreditation standards 521
developed by the Mississippi Commission on School Accreditation. 522
However, a local district may apply to the State Board of 523
Education for approval of a waiver to this section by submitting 524
and justifying an alternative educational program to serve the 525
needs of enrollment. The State Board of Education must approve or 526
disapprove of the waiver no later than forty-five (45) days after 527
the receipt of the application. 528
(2) If a school district violates a required student-teacher 529
ratio, the state share in support of the funding formula for the 530
next succeeding fiscal year to that school district must be 531
reduced by the percentage variance that the actual student-teacher 532
ratios in the school district is to the required student-teacher 533
ratios established under accreditation standards. 534
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the 535
State Board of Education may waive the student-teacher 536
requirements upon a finding that a good faith effort is being made 537
by a school district to comply with the ratio provision but, due 538
to a lack of classroom space which is beyond the district's 539
control, it is physically impossible for the district to comply, 540
and the cost of temporary classroom space cannot be justified. 541
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(4) If a school district meets the highest levels of 542
performance classification, as determined by the State Board of 543
Education in the state's accountability standards, the State Board 544
of Education, in its discretion, may exempt the school district 545
from the maximum student-teacher ratio required under this 546
section. 547
(5) This section is not applicable to charter schools. 548
SECTION 8. Section 37-151-215, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 549
brought forward as follows: 550
37-151-215. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 551
37-151-211(3), the state share in support of the funding formula 552
for a school district or charter school for fiscal year 2025, 553
fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 2027 may not be less than an 554
amount equal to the sum of all state funds received by that 555
school district or charter school for fiscal year 2024, as 556
follows: 557
(a) Funds distributed under the Mississippi Adequate 558
Education Program; 559
(b) Funds distributed by the State Department of 560
Education for the purpose of paying teachers' salaries according 561
to the teacher salary schedule prescribed in Section 37-19-7 and 562
assistant teachers, as prescribed in Section 37-21-7 for the 563
2023-2024 school year; and 564
(c) Funds distributed by and based on net enrollment or 565
the total number of students enrolled for each day in each public 566
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school district or charter school, divided by the total number of 567
school days, and allowable to be spent on any expenditures 568
necessary to operate a public school district or charter school, 569
excluding salary increases for superintendents, assistant 570
superintendents or principals. 571
(2) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2027. 572
SECTION 9. Section 37-57-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 573
brought forward as follows: 574
37-57-1. (1) (a) The boards of supervisors of the counties 575
shall levy and collect all taxes for and on behalf of all school 576
districts which were within the county school system or designated 577
as special municipal separate school districts prior to July 1, 578
1986. Such taxes shall be collected by the county tax collector 579
at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes are 580
collected by him, and the same penalties for delinquency shall be 581
applicable. 582
The governing authorities of the municipalities shall levy 583
and collect all taxes for and on behalf of all school districts 584
which were designated as municipal separate school districts prior 585
to July 1, 1986. Such taxes shall be collected by the municipal 586
tax collector at the same time and in the same manner as municipal 587
taxes are collected by him, and the same penalties for delinquency 588
shall be applicable. 589
Except as otherwise provided in Section 19-9-171, the county 590
or municipal tax collector, as the case may be, shall pay such tax 591
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collections, except for taxes collected for the payment of the 592
principal of and interest on school bonds or notes and except for 593
taxes collected to defray collection costs, into the school 594
depository and report to the school board of the appropriate 595
school district at the same time and in the same manner as the tax 596
collector makes his payments and reports of other taxes collected 597
by him. 598
However, the State Board of Education shall determine the 599
appropriate levying authority for any school district created or 600
reorganized after July 1, 1987. 601
(b) For the purposes of this chapter and any other laws 602
pertaining to taxes levied or bonds or notes issued for and on 603
behalf of school districts, the term "levying authority" means the 604
board of supervisors of the county or the governing authorities of 605
the municipality, whichever levies taxes for and on behalf of the 606
particular school district as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) 607
of this subsection. 608
(2) The levying authority for the school district shall, at 609
the same time and in the same manner as other taxes are levied by 610
the levying authority, levy a tax of not less than twenty-eight 611
(28) mills for the then current fiscal year or a millage rate 612
equivalent to twenty-seven percent (27%) of the total funding 613
formula under Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215, whichever is 614
a lesser amount, as certified to the school district by the State 615
Department of Education, upon all of the taxable property of the 616
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school district. However, in no case shall the minimum local ad 617
valorem tax effort for any school district be equal to an amount 618
that would require a millage rate exceeding fifty-five (55) mills 619
in that school district. However, if a levying authority is 620
levying in excess of fifty-five (55) mills on July 1, 1997, the 621
levying authority may levy an additional amount not exceeding 622
three (3) mills in the aggregate for the period beginning July 1, 623
1997, and ending June 30, 2003, subject to the limitation on 624
increased receipts from ad valorem taxes prescribed in Sections 625
37-57-105 and 37-57-107. Nothing in this subsection shall be 626
construed to require any school district that is levying more than 627
fifty-five (55) mills pursuant to Sections 37-57-1 and 37-57-105 628
to decrease its millage rate to fifty-five (55) mills or less. In 629
making such levy, the levying authority shall levy an additional 630
amount sufficient to cover anticipated delinquencies and costs of 631
collection so that the net amount of money to be produced by such 632
levy shall be equal to the amount which the school district is 633
required to contribute as its minimum local ad valorem tax effort. 634
The tax so levied shall be collected by the tax collector at the 635
same time and in the same manner as other ad valorem taxes are 636
collected by him. The amount of taxes so collected as a result of 637
such levy shall be paid into the district maintenance fund of the 638
school district by the tax collector at the same time and in the 639
same manner as reports and payments of other ad valorem taxes are 640
made by the tax collector, except that the amount collected to 641
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ST: MS Student Funding Formula; bring forward.
defray costs of collection may be paid into the county general 642
fund. The levying authority shall have the power and authority to 643
direct and cause warrants to be issued against such fund for the 644
purpose of refunding any amount of taxes erroneously or illegally 645
paid into such fund where such refund has been approved in the 646
manner provided by law. 647
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from 648
and after July 1, 2026. 649