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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) DeBar, Chism, Wiggins
SENATE BILL NO. 2002
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE SCHOOL 2
DISTRICT OF A CHILD'S RESIDENCE CONSENT TO THE RELEASE OF THE 3
STUDENT FOR TRANSFER TO ANOTHER DISTRICT; TO REQUIRE THAT THE 4
TRANSFEREE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVE OR REFUSE THE TRANSFER OF A 5
STUDENT AT THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD AFTER RECEIPT OF 6
THE PETITION FOR TRANSFER; TO REQUIRE THE TRANSFEREE DISTRICT TO 7
NOTIFY, IN WRITING AND WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME, THE DISTRICT FROM 8
WHICH THE STUDENT IS TRANSFERRING OF THE APPROVAL OF A TRANSFER 9
REQUEST; TO PROVIDE THAT, ABSENT GOOD CAUSE, A TRANSFER REQUEST 10
MUST BE APPROVED, AND THE TRANSFEROR DISTRICT NOTIFIED, NOT LATER 11
THAN MARCH 15 OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BEFORE THE TRANSFER IS TO OCCUR; 12
TO AUTHORIZE A TRANSFEREE DISTRICT TO CHARGE A FEE IT DETERMINES 13
TO BE REASONABLE FOR RECEIVING A STUDENT; TO PROVIDE THAT NOTHING 14
IN THIS ACT SHALL PRECLUDE THE MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 15
ASSOCIATION OR ANY SUCCESSOR REGULATORY BODY FROM EXERCISING ITS 16
AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE THE EXTRACURRICULAR ELIGIBILITY OF A 17
TRANSFERRING STUDENT; TO PROVIDE THAT TRANSFER AUTHORITY OF A 18
DISTRICT TO RECEIVE OR DENY THE ACCEPTANCE OF A STUDENT REQUESTING 19
TRANSFER INTO THE DISTRICT SHALL NOT SUPERSEDE ANY PROVISION OF AN 20
ENFORCEABLE DESEGREGATION ORDER OR A COURT-APPROVED DESEGREGATION 21
PLAN; TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 22
CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 23
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 24
SECTION 1. Section 37-15-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 25
amended as follows: 26
37-15-31. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsections (2) 27
through (5) of this section, upon the petition in writing of a 28
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parent or guardian * * * of an individual student filed or lodged 29
with the president or secretary of the school board of a school 30
district * * * to which a transfer is sought, a student living in 31
one school district * * * may be legally transferred to another 32
school district, * * * provided that the school board of the 33
district to which the transfer is sought consents * * * to receive 34
the student seeking transfer, which consent must be given in 35
writing and spread upon the minutes of * * * the school board of 36
the transferee district. 37
(b) The school board of the * * * transferee school 38
district to which such petition may be addressed shall act thereon 39
not later than its next regular meeting subsequent to the filing 40
or lodging of the petition, and a failure to act within that time 41
shall constitute a rejection of such request. * * * If such a 42
transfer is approved or refused by the transferee board, then such 43
decision shall be final. * * * The transferee district shall 44
notify, in writing and within a reasonable time, the transferor 45
district of the approval of a transfer request. Absent good 46
cause, a transfer request must be approved, and the transferor 47
district notified, not later than March 15 of the school year 48
before the transfer is to occur. 49
(c) Any legal guardianship formed for the purpose of 50
establishing residency for school district attendance purposes 51
shall not be recognized by the affected school board. 52
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(d) A transferee district may charge a fee it 53
determines to be reasonable for receiving a student under this 54
subsection (1). 55
(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude the 56
Mississippi High School Activities Association or any successor 57
regulatory body from exercising its authority to determine the 58
extracurricular eligibility of a student transferring to another 59
district under this subsection (1). 60
(2) (a) Upon the petition in writing of any parent or 61
guardian who is a resident of Mississippi and is an instructional 62
or licensed employee of a school district, but not a resident of 63
such district, the school board of the employer school district 64
shall consent to the transfer of such employee's dependent 65
school-age children to its district and shall spread the same upon 66
the minutes of the board. Upon the petition in writing of any 67
parent or guardian who is not a resident of Mississippi and who is 68
an instructional or licensed employee of a school district in 69
Mississippi, the school board of the employer school district 70
shall consent to the transfer of such employee's dependent 71
school-age children to its district and shall spread the same upon 72
the minutes of the board. 73
(b) The school board of any school district, in its 74
discretion, may adopt a uniform policy to allow the enrollment and 75
attendance of the dependent children of noninstructional and 76
nonlicensed employees, who are residents of Mississippi but are 77
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not residents of their district. Such policy shall be based upon 78
the employment needs of the district, implemented according to job 79
classification groups and renewed each school year. 80
(c) The employer transferee school district shall 81
notify in writing the school district from which the pupil or 82
pupils are transferring, and the school board of the transferor 83
school district shall spread the same upon its minutes. 84
(d) Any such agreement by school boards for the legal 85
transfer of a student shall include a provision providing for the 86
transportation of the student. In the absence of such a provision 87
the responsibility for transporting the student to the transferee 88
school district shall be that of the parent or guardian. 89
* * * 90
(3) Upon the petition in writing of any parent or legal 91
guardian of a school-age child who is a resident of an adjacent 92
school district residing in the geographical situation described 93
in Section 37-15-29(3), the school board of the school district 94
operating the school located in closer proximity to the residence 95
of the child shall consent to the transfer of the child to its 96
district, and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the 97
board. * * * The legal transfer of a student under this 98
subsection shall include a provision for the transportation of the 99
student by either the * * * parent or legal guardian or the 100
student or the transferee school district. * * * The 101
responsibility for transporting the student to the transferee 102
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school district shall be that of the parent or guardian if the 103
transferee district does not agree in the consent of transfer, 104
which shall be spread upon its minutes, to provide transportation 105
for the student. 106
* * * 107
( * * *4) (a) If the board of trustees of a municipal 108
separate school district with added territory does not have a 109
member who is a resident of the added territory outside the 110
corporate limits, upon the petition in writing of any parent or 111
legal guardian of a school-age child who is a resident of the 112
added territory outside the corporate limits, * * * the school 113
board of the school district adjacent to the added territory shall 114
consent to the transfer of the child from the municipal separate 115
school district to the adjacent school district. The agreement 116
must be spread upon the minutes of * * * the school board of the 117
adjacent school district. The agreement must provide for the 118
transportation of the student. In the absence of such a 119
provision, the parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for 120
transporting the student to the adjacent school district. Any 121
school district that accepts a student under this subsection may 122
not assess any tuition fees against the transferring student. 123
(b) Before September 1 of each year, the board of trustees 124
of the municipal separate school district shall certify to the 125
State Department of Education the number of students in the added 126
territory of the municipal separate school district who are 127
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transferred to the adjacent school district under this subsection. 128
The municipal separate school district also shall certify the 129
total number of students in the school district residing in the 130
added territory plus the number of those students who are 131
transferred to the adjacent school district. Based upon these 132
figures, the department shall calculate the percentage of the 133
total number of students in the added territory who are 134
transferred to the adjacent school district and shall certify this 135
percentage to the levying authority for the municipal separate 136
school district. The levying authority shall remit to the school 137
board of the adjacent school district, from the proceeds of the ad 138
valorem taxes collected for the support of the municipal separate 139
school district from the added territory of the municipal separate 140
school district, an amount equal to the percentage of the total 141
number of students in the added territory who are transferred to 142
the adjacent school district. 143
(5) This section shall not supersede any provision of an 144
enforceable desegregation court order or a court-approved 145
desegregation plan. 146
SECTION 2. Section 37-15-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 147
amended as follows: 148
37-15-29. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), 149
(4) and (5) of this section, no minor child may enroll in or 150
attend any school except in the school district of his residence, 151
unless such child be lawfully transferred from the school district 152
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of his residence to a school in another school district in accord 153
with the statutes of this state now in effect or which may be 154
hereafter enacted. 155
(2) Those children whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) are 156
instructional personnel or certificated employees of a school 157
district may at such employee's discretion enroll and attend the 158
school or schools of their parent's or legal guardian's employment 159
regardless of the residence of the child. 160
(3) No child shall be required to be transported in excess 161
of thirty (30) miles on a school bus from his or her home to 162
school, or in excess of thirty (30) miles from school to his or 163
her home, if there is another school in an adjacent school 164
district located on a shorter school bus transportation route by 165
the nearest traveled road. Those children residing in such 166
geographical situations may, at the discretion of their parent(s) 167
or legal guardian(s), enroll and attend the nearer school, 168
regardless of the residence of the child. * * * 169
(4) Those children lawfully transferred from the school 170
district of his residence to a school in another school district 171
prior to July 1, 1992, may, at the discretion of their parent(s) 172
or legal guardian(s), continue to enroll and attend school in the 173
transferee school district. Provided further, that the brother(s) 174
and sister(s) of said children lawfully transferred prior to July 175
1, 1992, may also, at the discretion of their parent(s) or legal 176
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guardian(s), enroll and attend school in the transferee school 177
district. 178
(5) (a) Those children whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) 179
are active duty, or Active Guard and Reserve duty, members of the 180
United States Armed Forces, but not those who are performing 181
inactive duty training, may, at the discretion of their parent(s) 182
or legal guardian(s), enroll and attend the school district and 183
school campus of their parent's or legal guardian's choosing, 184
regardless of the residence of the child. 185
(b) Those children whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) 186
are civilian military personnel and reside on a military base 187
may, at the discretion of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), 188
enroll and attend the school district and school campus of their 189
parent's or legal guardian's choosing, regardless of the residence 190
of the child. 191
(c) For purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this 192
subsection (5): 193
(i) A school district is not required to provide 194
transportation to a student who enrolls in or transfers to another 195
school district or school campus within the district of chosen 196
attendance; 197
(ii) A student eligible for enrollment or transfer 198
shall be allowed only one (1) school transfer per academic year; 199
(iii) Once admitted, and unless expelled, the 200
parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of students transferring under the 201
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authority of this subsection shall not be required to reapply for 202
admission for continued enrollment in the school district or 203
school campus of last attendance for any subsequent years of 204
attendance therein; and 205
(iv) If the school district is unable to 206
accommodate a request for enrollment for transfer due to a lack of 207
capacity to accept the student in to the district or a specific 208
school campus, the school board shall deny the request and spread 209
the same upon its minutes. 210
(d) (i) As used in this subsection (5), "active duty" 211
means full-time duty in the active military service of the United 212
States. 213
(ii) As used in this subsection (5), "Active Guard 214
and Reserve duty" means active duty or full-time National Guard 215
duty performed by a member of a reserve component of the Army, 216
Navy, Air Force, Space Force or Marine Corps, which is pursuant to 217
an order to active duty or full-time National Guard duty for a 218
period of one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days or more. 219
(iii) Before enrolling his or her child in the 220
selected school of choice, the service member shall provide the 221
school of enrollment with a copy of his or her Department of 222
Defense photo identification, and a "Statement of Service" from 223
the installation adjutant general or official letter from a 224
commander above the Lieutenant Colonel rank signifying that the 225
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ST: Student transfers; remove requirement for
current district of attendance to approve
release.
service member is on active duty, or Active Guard and Reserve 226
duty, assignment or has been mobilized within the state. 227
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 228
and after July 1, 2026. 229