Public schools; revise accountability framework.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Turner-Ford

SENATE BILL NO. 2503

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-17-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
AMEND THE STATE'S ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK FOR SCHOOLS RECEIVING 2
FEDERAL AND/OR STATE FUNDING; TO REQUIRE THAT THE STATE BOARD OF 3
EDUCATION SHALL ESTABLISH STATEWIDE EDUCATIONAL GOALS AND 4
STANDARDS FOR ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE 5
STATE; TO REQUIRE THAT THE BOARD SHALL UPDATE STANDARDS TO ENSURE 6
COMPETENCIES ARE REMAINING UP TO DATE AND PROVIDE PUBLIC SCHOOL 7
STUDENTS WITH A HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION; TO ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR 8
COMPETENCY CERTIFICATIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT SUBJECT TO 9
APPROPRIATIONS, THE SCHOOL BOARD SHALL ESTABLISH GRANT PROGRAMS 10
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROVIDING ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES AND 11
STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITIES TO QUALIFY FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAM 12
FEE WAIVERS; TO REQUIRE THAT THE BOARD SHALL PROVIDE ANNUAL 13
EVALUATIONS FOR BOTH INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 14
DISTRICTS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 15
EDUCATION SHOULD COLLECT THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO ASSESS THE 16
EFFICACY AND EQUITY OF STATE AND FEDERAL MANDATED PROGRAMS, AND 17
THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ESTABLISH A SYSTEM TO COLLECT AND STORE 18
THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO PERFORM SAID ASSESSMENT; TO REQUIRE 19
THAT EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT TO FILE A THREE-YEAR IMPROVEMENT PLAN 20
WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND AN 21
ANNUAL ACTION PLAN; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL BOARDS TO ANNUALLY ADOPT 22
ACTION PLANS THAT ALIGN WITH THE DISTRICTS STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT 23
PLAN; TO REQUIRE THE SUPERINTENDENT TO REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF 24
GENOCIDE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL 25
DISTRICTS; TO REQUIRE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CHARTER SCHOOL TO 26
ANNUALLY SUBMIT A REPORT PROVIDING DATA CONCERNING STUDENTS 27
RECEIVING TIERED INTERVENTION SERVICES AND ENGLISH AS A SECOND 28
LANGUAGE LEARNER PROGRAMS; TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT TO 29
DESIGNATE SCHOOLS AS UNDERPERFORMING OR CHRONICALLY 30
UNDERPERFORMING BASED ON PERFORMANCE DATA COLLECTED FROM THE 31
SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO REQUIRE THE SUPERINTENDENT TO WORK WITH 32
SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO CREATE AND IMPLEMENT TURNAROUND 33
PLANS IN ORDER TO AID A SCHOOL IN IMPROVING AND NO LONGER 34
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QUALIFYING AS AN UNDERPERFORMING OR CHRONICALLY UNDERPERFORMING 35
SCHOOL; TO OUTLINE REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES THAT SHOULD BE 36
FOLLOWED AND IMPLEMENTED WITHIN TURNAROUND PLANS FOR AN 37
UNDERPERFORMING OR CHRONICALLY UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOL; AND FOR 38
RELATED PURPOSES. 39
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 40
SECTION 1. Section 37-17-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 41
amended as follows: 42
37-17-6. (1) The State Board of Education, acting through 43
the Commission on School Accreditation, shall establish and 44
implement a permanent performance-based accreditation system, and 45
all noncharter public elementary and secondary schools shall be 46
accredited under this system. 47
(2) School districts shall be required to provide school 48
classroom space that is air-conditioned as a minimum requirement 49
for accreditation. 50
(3) (a) The State Board of Education, acting through the 51
Commission on School Accreditation, shall require that school 52
districts employ certified school librarians according to the 53
following formula: 54
Number of Students Number of Certified 55
Per School Library School Librarians 56
0 - 499 Students 1/2 Full-time Equivalent 57
Certified Librarian 58
500 or More Students 1 Full-time Certified 59
Librarian 60
(b) The State Board of Education, however, may increase 61
the number of positions beyond the above requirements. 62
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(c) The assignment of certified school librarians to 63
the particular schools shall be at the discretion of the local 64
school district. No individual shall be employed as a certified 65
school librarian without appropriate training and certification as 66
a school librarian by the State Department of Education. 67
(d) School librarians in the district shall spend at 68
least fifty percent (50%) of direct work time in a school library 69
and shall devote no more than one-fourth (1/4) of the workday to 70
administrative activities that are library related. 71
(e) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit any 72
school district from employing more certified school librarians 73
than are provided for in this section. 74
(f) Any additional millage levied to fund school 75
librarians required for accreditation under this subsection shall 76
be included in the tax increase limitation set forth in Sections 77
37-57-105 and 37-57-107 and shall not be deemed a new program for 78
purposes of the limitation. 79
(4) [Deleted] 80
* * * 81
(5) (a) The State Board of Education shall establish a set 82
of statewide educational goals for all public elementary and 83
secondary schools in the state. 84
(b) The board shall direct the State Superintendent of 85
Education to institute a process to develop academic standards for 86
the core subjects: 87
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(i) Mathematics; 88
(ii) Science and technology; 89
(iii) History and social science; 90
(iv) English; 91
(v) Foreign languages; and 92
(vi) The arts. 93
(c) The standards shall cover grades kindergarten 94
through twelve (12), and shall clearly set forth the skills, 95
competencies and knowledge expected to be possessed by all 96
students at the conclusion of individual grades or clusters of 97
grades. The standards shall be formulated so as to set high 98
expectations of student performance and to provide clear and 99
specific examples that embody and reflect these high expectations, 100
and shall be constructed with due regard to the work and 101
recommendations of national organizations, to the best of similar 102
efforts in other states, and to the level of skills, competencies 103
and knowledge possessed by typical students in the most 104
educationally advanced nations. The skills, competencies and 105
knowledge set forth in the standards shall be expressed in terms 106
which lend themselves to objective measurement, define the 107
performance outcomes expected of both students directly entering 108
the workforce and of students pursuing higher education and 109
facilitate comparisons with students of other states and other 110
nations. 111
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(d) The standards shall provide for instruction in at 112
least the major principles of: 113
(i) The Declaration of Independence; 114
(ii) The United States Constitution; 115
(iii) The Federalist Papers; 116
(iv) Instill respect for the cultural, ethnic and 117
racial diversity of this state; 118
(v) Appreciation for contributions made by diverse 119
cultural, ethnic and racial groups to the life of this state. 120
(vi) Fundamentals of the Mississippi history; 121
(vii) The history of working people and the labor 122
movement in the United States. 123
(viii) Instruction concerning the fundamentals of 124
life preparedness, health, nutrition and exercise, which shall 125
include, but not be limited to: 126
1. Physical education; 127
2. Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired 128
immune deficiency syndrome; 129
3. Violence prevention, including teen dating 130
violence, bullying prevention, conflict resolution and drug, 131
alcohol and tobacco abuse prevention; 132
4. Family life skills; 133
5. Financial literacy; 134
6. Consumer skills; and 135
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7. Basic career exploration and employability 136
skills; 137
(ix) Fundamental knowledge of technology education 138
and computer science and keyboarding skills; 139
(x) Major principles of environmental science and 140
environmental protection; 141
(xi) Awareness of global education and geography; 142
(xii) Community service-learning activities and 143
programs; and 144
(xiii) Any additional standards in other areas of 145
education that the board deems necessary to aid students into 146
becoming model students and stellar citizens. 147
(6) Academic standards shall be designed to avoid 148
perpetuating gender, cultural, ethnic or racial stereotypes. 149
(7) The academic standards shall reflect sensitivity to 150
different learning styles and impediments to learning. 151
(8) The board shall develop procedures for updating, 152
improving or refining standards, but shall ensure that the high 153
quality of the standards is maintained. A copy of said standards 154
shall be submitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker 155
of the House of Representatives, the chairmen of the House and 156
Senate Education committees and the Superintendent of the 157
Department of Education at least sixty (60) days prior to taking 158
effect. The standards shall also include criteria for three (3) 159
determinations or certificates as follows: 160
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(a) The "competency determination" shall be based on 161
the academic standards and curriculum frameworks for tenth-graders 162
in the areas of mathematics, science and technology, history and 163
social science, foreign languages and English, and shall represent 164
a determination that a particular student has demonstrated mastery 165
of a common core of skills, competencies and knowledge in these 166
areas by satisfactorily completing coursework that has been 167
certified by the student's district as showing mastery of the 168
skills, competencies and knowledge contained in the state academic 169
standards and curriculum frameworks in the areas measured by the 170
End-of-Course (EOC) exams, and in any additional areas determined 171
by the board. Satisfaction of the requirements of the competency 172
determination shall be a condition for high school graduation. If 173
the particular student's assessment results for the tenth grade do 174
not demonstrate the required level of competency, the student 175
shall have the right to participate in the assessment program the 176
following year or years. Students who fail to satisfy the 177
requirements of the competency determination may be eligible to 178
receive an educational assistance plan designed within the 179
confines of the foundation budget to impart the skills, 180
competencies and knowledge required to attain the required level 181
of mastery. The parent, guardian or person acting as parent of 182
the student shall have the opportunity to review the educational 183
assistance plan with the student's teachers. Nothing in this 184
section shall be construed to provide a parent, guardian, person 185
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acting as a parent or student with an entitlement to contest the 186
proposed plan or with a cause of action for educational 187
malpractice if the student fails to obtain a competency 188
determination. 189
(b) The "certificate of mastery" shall be based upon a 190
determination that the recipient has demonstrated mastery of a 191
comprehensive body of skills, competencies and knowledge 192
comparable to that possessed by accomplished graduates of high 193
school or equivalent programs in the most advanced education 194
systems in the world. The criteria for a certificate of mastery 195
may incorporate a number of factors which may include, but not be 196
limited to, any of the following: 197
(i) High school graduation standards; 198
(ii) Superior performance on advanced placement 199
tests administered by the educational testing service; and 200
(iii) Demonstrated excellence in areas not 201
reflected by the state's assessment instruments, such as artistic 202
or literary achievement. Eligibility for potential receipt of a 203
certificate of mastery shall extend to all secondary students 204
residing in the state. 205
(c) The "certificate of occupational proficiency" shall 206
be awarded to students who successfully complete a comprehensive 207
education and training program in a particular trade or 208
professional skill area and shall reflect a determination that the 209
recipient has demonstrated mastery of a core of skills, 210
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competencies and knowledge comparable to that possessed by 211
students of equivalent age entering the particular trade or 212
profession from the most educationally advanced education systems 213
in the world. No student may receive said certificate of 214
occupational proficiency without also having acquired a competency 215
determination. 216
(9) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a student from 217
beginning a program of vocational education before achieving a 218
determination of competency. Such vocational education may begin 219
at grades nine (9), ten (10) or eleven (11). No provision of law 220
shall prohibit concurrent pursuit of a competency determination 221
and vocational learning. There shall be no cause of action for a 222
parent, guardian or student who fails to obtain a competency 223
determination, a certificate of mastery or a certificate of 224
occupational proficiency. 225
(10) Subject to appropriation, the board shall establish a 226
grant program which shall award grants to school districts for the 227
costs associated with establishing advanced placement courses. 228
The board shall promulgate regulations defining the standards of 229
eligibility and other implementation guidelines. 230
(11) Subject to appropriation, the board shall establish an 231
advanced placement test fee grant program which shall award grants 232
to school districts for the reimbursement of application fees for 233
students based on financial need in order to assist students with 234
paying the fee for advanced placement tests. The board shall 235
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promulgate regulations defining the standards of eligibility and 236
other implementation guidelines for this program. 237
(12) (a) The board shall adopt a system for evaluating on 238
an annual basis the performance of both public school districts 239
and individual public schools. With respect to individual 240
schools, the system shall include instruments designed to assess 241
the extent to which schools and districts succeed in improving or 242
fail to improve student performance, as defined by student 243
acquisition of the skills, competencies and knowledge called for 244
by the academic standards and embodied in the curriculum 245
frameworks established by the board pursuant to subsection (5)(b), 246
(c) and (d) of this section, in the areas of mathematics, science 247
and technology, history and social science, English, foreign 248
languages and the arts, as well as by other gauges of student 249
learning judged by the board to be relevant and meaningful to 250
students, parents, teachers, administrators and taxpayers. 251
(b) The system shall be designed both to measure 252
outcomes and results regarding student performance, and to improve 253
the effectiveness of curriculum and instruction. In its design 254
and application, the system shall strike a balance among 255
considerations of accuracy, fairness, expense and administration. 256
The system shall employ a variety of assessment instruments on 257
either a comprehensive or statistically valid sampling basis. 258
Such instruments shall be criterion referenced, assessing whether 259
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students are meeting the academic standards described in this 260
section. 261
(c) As much as is practicable, especially in the case 262
of students whose performance is difficult to assess using 263
conventional methods, such instruments shall include consideration 264
of work samples, projects and portfolios and shall facilitate 265
authentic and direct gauges of student performance. Such 266
instruments shall provide the means to compare student performance 267
among the various school systems and communities in the state, and 268
between students in other states and in other nations, especially 269
those nations which compete with the state for employment and 270
economic opportunities. The board shall take all appropriate 271
action to bring about and continue the states participation in the 272
assessment activities of the National Assessment of Educational 273
Progress and in the development of standards and assessments by 274
the Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards (MS CCRS). 275
(d) In addition, comprehensive diagnostic assessment of 276
individual students shall be conducted at least in the fourth, 277
eighth and tenth grades. Said diagnostic assessments shall 278
identify academic achievement levels of all students in order to 279
inform teachers, parents, administrators and the students 280
themselves, as to individual academic performance. The board 281
shall develop procedures for updating, improving or refining the 282
assessment system. 283
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(e) The assessment instruments shall be designed to 284
avoid gender, cultural, ethnic or racial stereotypes and shall 285
recognize sensitivity to different learning styles and impediments 286
to learning. The system shall take into account on a 287
nondiscriminatory basis the cultural and language diversity of 288
students in the state and the particular circumstances of students 289
with special needs. Said system shall comply with federal 290
requirements for accommodating children with special needs. All 291
potential English proficient students from language groups in 292
which English learner programs, shall also be allowed 293
opportunities for assessment of their performance in the language 294
which best allows them to demonstrate educational achievement and 295
mastery of academic standards and curriculum frameworks 296
established under subsection (5) of this section. For the 297
purposes of this section, a "potential English proficient student" 298
shall be defined as a student who is not able to perform ordinary 299
class work in English; provided, however, that no student shall be 300
allowed to be tested in a language other than English for longer 301
than three (3) consecutive years. 302
(13) The Superintendent of the Mississippi Department of 303
Education is authorized and directed to gather information, 304
including the information specified herein and such other 305
information as the department shall require, for the purposes of 306
evaluating individual public schools, school districts and the 307
efficacy and equity of state and federal mandated programs. All 308
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information filed pursuant to this section shall be filed in the 309
manner and form prescribed by the department. 310
(14) The department shall establish and maintain a data 311
system to collect information from school districts for the 312
purpose of assessing the effectiveness of district evaluation 313
systems in assuring effective teaching and administrative 314
leadership in the public schools. Such information shall be made 315
available in the aggregate to the public; provided, however, that 316
any data or information that school districts, the department or 317
both create, send or receive in connection with educator 318
evaluation that is evaluative in nature and which may be linked to 319
an individual educator, including information concerning an 320
educator's formative assessment or evaluation or summative 321
evaluation or performance rating or the student learning, growth 322
and achievement data that may be used as part of an individual 323
educator's evaluation, shall be considered personnel information 324
and shall not be subject to disclosure. 325
(15) Each school district shall maintain individual records 326
on every student and employee. Each student record shall contain 327
a unique and confidential identification number, basic demographic 328
information, program and course information and such other 329
information as the department shall determine necessary. Said 330
records shall conform to parameters established by the department. 331
(16) For the purposes of improving the performance of school 332
districts and individual public schools and the efficacy and 333
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equity of state and federal programs and for the purposes of 334
reducing the amount of paperwork to relieve the administrative 335
burden on local districts, each district shall file with the 336
superintendent once in each three-year period a comprehensive, 337
three-year district improvement plan. The plan shall be developed 338
and submitted in a manner and form prescribed by the department of 339
education. The plan shall also include a description of how the 340
district implements the requirements of this section, and shall be 341
subject to review by the department not less than every six (6) 342
years. The plan shall, to the extent feasible, be designed to 343
fulfill all planning requirements of state and federal education 344
laws, and shall include, but not be limited to: 345
(a) An analysis of student and subgroup achievement 346
gaps in core subjects; 347
(b) Identification of specific improvement objectives; 348
(c) A description of the strategic initiatives the 349
district will undertake to achieve its improvement objectives; 350
(d) Performance benchmarks and processes for evaluating 351
the effect of district improvement initiatives; and 352
(e) Description of the professional development 353
activities that will support each district improvement initiative 354
and the teacher induction and mentoring activities that will be 355
undertaken to support successful implementation of the district's 356
improvement efforts. 357
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(17) On an annual basis, not later than September 1 of each 358
year, each district shall prepare and have available for state 359
review an annual action plan. The district's annual action plan 360
shall enumerate the specific activities, persons responsible and 361
timelines for action to be taken as part of the strategic 362
initiatives set forth in the district's three-year improvement 363
plan, and shall identify the staff and financial resources 364
allocated to support these initiatives. 365
(18) Annually, the principal of each school, in consultation 366
with the school board established pursuant to this section, shall 367
adopt student performance goals for the schools consistent with 368
the school performance goals established by the department of 369
education pursuant to state and federal law and regulations and, 370
consistent with any educational policies established for the 371
district shall assess the needs of the school in light of those 372
goals and formulate a school plan to advance such goals and 373
improve student performance. The school's plan to support 374
improved student performance shall include, but not be limited to, 375
the same components required for district improvement plans and 376
shall conform to department and district specifications to ensure 377
that such school improvement plans meet state and federal law 378
requirements. Each school improvement plan shall be submitted to 379
the superintendent who shall review and approve the plan, after 380
consultation with the school committee, no later than July 1 of 381
the year in which the plan is to be implemented, according to a 382
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plan development and review schedule established by the district 383
superintendent. 384
(19) The three-year comprehensive district plan, annual 385
district action plan and annual school improvement plan shall 386
replace any district and school plans previously adopted by the 387
district or school. The department shall identify any additional 388
reports or plans called for by any general law or regulation which 389
can be incorporated into this single filing in order to reduce 390
paperwork and eliminate duplication. 391
(20) (a) Each school district in which more than twenty 392
percent (20%) of the students score below level two (2) on the 393
Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) exams, shall submit 394
a MAAP success plan to the department. The plan shall describe 395
the school district's strategies for helping each student to 396
master the skills, competencies and knowledge required for the 397
competency determination described in subsection (5) of this 398
section. 399
(b) The department shall determine the elements that 400
shall be required to be included in such plan. These elements may 401
include, but are not limited to, the following: 402
(i) A plan to assess each student's strengths, 403
weaknesses and needs; 404
(ii) A plan to use summer school, after school and 405
other additional support to provide each child with the assistance 406
needed; and 407
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(iii) A plan for involving the parents of students 408
in helping the student improve on subsequent MAAP exams and master 409
the skills, competencies and knowledge required for the competency 410
determination described in subsection (5) of this section. 411
(c) The department shall examine each district's plan 412
and determine if it has a reasonable prospect of significantly 413
reducing the school district's failure rates. The department 414
shall coordinate oversight of the MAAP success plans. 415
(21) Each school district shall file a report with the 416
department every year by a date and in a format determined by the 417
board. Said report shall include, but not be limited to, the 418
following: 419
(a) An outline of the curriculum and graduation 420
requirements of the district; 421
(b) Pupil/teacher ratios and class size policy and 422
practice; 423
(c) Teacher and administrator evaluation procedures; 424
(d) Statistics, policies, and procedures relative to 425
truancy and dropouts; 426
(e) Statistics, policies, and procedures relative to 427
expulsions and in-school and out-of-school suspensions; 428
(f) Percent of school-age children attending public 429
schools; 430
(g) Racial composition of teaching and administrative 431
staff; 432
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(h) Enrollment and average daily attendance; and 433
(i) The annual budgets and expenditures for both the 434
district and the individual schools in the district. 435
(22) Each school district shall file a description of the 436
following instructional procedures and programs with the 437
department every year: 438
(a) Art and music programs; 439
(b) Technology education; 440
(c) Programs for gifted and talented students; 441
(d) Adult education programs; 442
(e) Library and media facilities; 443
(f) Condition of instructional materials, including 444
textbooks, workbooks, audio-visual materials and laboratory 445
materials; 446
(g) Types, quantity and condition of computers and 447
computer software; 448
(h) Basic skills remediation programs; 449
(i) Drug, tobacco and alcohol abuse programs; 450
(j) Multicultural education training for students and 451
teachers; 452
(k) Global education; 453
(l) Nutrition and wellness programs; and 454
(m) Genocide education programs. 455
(23) Annually, not later than October 1, the superintendent 456
shall provide a report on the progress of genocide education 457
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programs in public schools and school districts to the Chairmen of 458
the House of Representatives and the Senate Education Committees. 459
The report shall provide a description of the manner in which 460
districts are offering genocide instruction including: 461
(a) The number of hours of instruction offered; 462
(b) The grade levels at which such instruction is 463
offered; and 464
(c) The title and description of the course in which 465
such instruction is integrated. 466
(24) Each school district and charter school shall file an 467
annual report for the current school year regarding implementation 468
of requirements of subsection (5) of this section, with the 469
department every November 1 in a format determined by the 470
department. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the 471
following: 472
(a) The number of children receiving tier intervention 473
services; 474
(b) The number of children, by grade level, within each 475
such intervention services and the costs of services provided by 476
each such category for such children receiving their education in 477
a publicly operated day school program; 478
(c) The number of children, by grade level, within each 479
such intervention tier and the costs of services provided by each 480
such category for such children receiving their education in a 481
private day setting; 482
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(d) The number of children, by grade level, within each 483
such disability category and the costs of services provided by 484
each such category for such children receiving their education in 485
a private residential setting; 486
(e) The number of children who remain in the regular 487
education program full time; 488
(f) The number of children who are removed from the 489
regular classroom for up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the day; 490
(g) The number of children who are removed from the 491
regular classroom between twenty-five percent (25%) to sixty 492
percent (60%) of the day; 493
(h) The number of children who are placed in 494
substantially separate classrooms on a regular education school 495
site; 496
(i) The number of children, ages three (3) and four 497
(4), who are educated in integrated and separate classrooms; and 498
(j) The assignment by sex, national origin, economic 499
status, race and religion, of children by age level to special 500
education classes and the distribution of children residing in the 501
district by sex, national origin, economic status, race and 502
religion of children by age level; 503
(k) The number of children, by grade level, receiving 504
special education services who are English learners; and 505
(l) Additional information as the department shall 506
request. 507
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(25) Each school district required to provide an English 508
learner program shall file the following information with the 509
department annually: 510
(a) The type of English learner programs provided; 511
(b) With regard to English learners: 512
(i) The number enrolled in each type of English 513
learner program; 514
(ii) The number enrolled in English as a second 515
language who are not enrolled in another English learner program; 516
(iii) The results of basic skills, curriculum 517
assessment, achievement and language proficiency testing, whether 518
administered in English or in the native language; 519
(iv) The absentee, suspension, expulsion, dropout 520
and promotion rates; and 521
(v) The number of years each English learner has 522
been enrolled in an English learner program; 523
(c) The number of students each year who have enrolled 524
in institutions of higher education and were formerly enrolled in 525
an English learner program; 526
(d) The academic progress in regular education of 527
students who have completed an English learner program; 528
(e) For each English learner receiving special 529
education, the number of years in the school district prior to 530
special education evaluation and the movement in special education 531
programs by program placement; 532
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(f) The number of English learners enrolled in programs 533
of occupational or vocational education; 534
(g) The name, national origin, native language, 535
certificates held, language proficiency, grade levels and subjects 536
taught by each teacher of an English learner program, bilingual 537
aides or paraprofessionals, bilingual guidance or adjustment 538
counselors and bilingual school psychologists; 539
(h) The per-pupil expenditures for each full-time 540
equivalent student enrolled in an English learner program; 541
(i) The sources and amounts of all funds expended on 542
students enrolled in English learner programs, broken down by 543
local, state and federal sources, and whether any such funds 544
expended supplanted, rather than supplemented, the local school 545
district obligation, and the participation of parents through 546
parent teacher associations; 547
(j) If there were complaints filed with a federal or 548
state court or administrative agency since the program's inception 549
concerning compliance with federal or state minimum legal 550
requirements, the disposition of the complaint and the monitoring 551
and evaluation of an agreement or court order relative to the 552
complaint; 553
(k) Opportunities that the district makes available to 554
English learners for instruction in maintaining or developing 555
proficiency in a student's native language; 556
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(l) A description of the school district's plan to 557
evaluate the effectiveness of its English learner programs 558
relative to: 559
(i) Helping students attain English language 560
proficiency and master academic standards; 561
(ii) Measuring student readiness to join 562
mainstream classrooms; 563
(iii) Evaluations and measures provided in 564
addition to department requirements; and 565
(iv) A description of the steps that the school 566
district plans to take to address an identified deficiency; 567
(m) A record of: 568
(i) Instances in which a parent or guardian 569
requested to withdraw a student from or refused a student's 570
participation in an English learner program; and 571
(ii) Meetings held with a parent or guardian 572
regarding a student who is not making satisfactory progress toward 573
participating and learning in a mainstream classroom; 574
(n) A description of the training provided by the 575
district to staff who work with culturally and linguistically 576
diverse student populations; and 577
(o) Documentation detailing the participation of 578
English learners in the district's regular and advanced 579
educational programs and extracurricular activities. 580
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Said information shall be filed in the form of the total for 581
the school district as well as categorized by school, grade and 582
language. 583
(26) Annually, the superintendent shall analyze and publish 584
data reported by school districts under this section regarding 585
English learner programs and English learners. The published data 586
shall be on the department's website in a machine readable format, 587
to the extent feasible. The superintendent shall annually submit 588
to the Chairmen of the House of Representatives and Senate 589
Education Committees a report on the data, which shall be 590
disaggregated on a statewide and school district basis and divided 591
into categories including, but not limited to, language group and 592
type of English learners program. The report shall also include 593
an analysis of the status of the progress of English learners, 594
referencing the relevant data required to be collected in this 595
section. 596
(27) (a) The superintendent may, on the basis of student 597
performance data collected or regulations adopted by the 598
districts, designate one or more schools in a school district as 599
underperforming or chronically underperforming. The district 600
shall adopt regulations establishing standards from the 601
superintendent to make such designations on the basis of data 602
collected or information from a school or district reviews 603
required by this section. Upon the release of the proposed 604
regulations, the district shall file a copy thereof with the 605
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Chairmen of the House of Representatives and the Senate Education 606
Committees. Within thirty (30) days of the filing, the committee 607
may hold a public hearing and issue a report on the regulations 608
and file the report with the district. The district pursuant to 609
applicable law, may adopt final regulations making revisions to 610
the proposed regulations as it deems appropriate after 611
consideration of the report, and the district shall file the final 612
regulations with the Department of Education. Schools that score 613
in the lowest twenty percent (20%) statewide among schools serving 614
common grade levels on a single measure developed by the 615
department that takes into account student performance data and, 616
beginning on July 1, 2027, improvement in student academic 617
performance, shall be deemed eligible for designation as 618
underperforming or chronically underperforming. Not more than 619
four percent (4%) of the total number of public schools may be 620
designated as underperforming or chronically underperforming at 621
any given time. 622
(b) In adopting regulations allowing the superintendent 623
to designate a school as underperforming or chronically 624
underperforming, the department shall ensure that such regulations 625
take into account multiple indicators of school quality in making 626
determinations regarding underperformance or chronic 627
underperformance, such as student attendance, dismissal rates and 628
exclusion rates, promotion rates, graduation rates or the lack of 629
demonstrated significant improvement for two (2) or more 630
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consecutive years in core academic subjects, either in the 631
aggregate or among subgroups of students, including designations 632
based special education, low-income, English language proficiency 633
and racial classifications. 634
(c) Before a school is designated chronically 635
underperforming by the superintendent, a school must be designated 636
underperforming and fail to improve. An underperforming or 637
chronically underperforming school described in the following 638
paragraphs shall operate in accordance with laws regulating other 639
public schools, except as such provisions may conflict with this 640
section or any turnaround plans created thereunder. A student who 641
is enrolled in a school at the time it is designated as 642
underperforming or chronically underperforming shall retain the 643
ability to remain enrolled in the school while remaining a 644
resident of the district if the student chooses to do so. 645
(d) Upon the designation of a school as an 646
underperforming school in accordance with regulations developed 647
pursuant to this section, the superintendent of the district, with 648
approval by the superintendent of the Department of Education, 649
shall create a turnaround plan for the school. The superintendent 650
may allow for an expedited turnaround plan for schools that have 651
been previously designated as underperforming and where the 652
district has a turnaround plan that has had a public comment 653
period and approval of the local school board. 654
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(e) Before the superintendent creates the turnaround 655
plan required in this subsection, the superintendent shall convene 656
a local stakeholder group of not more than thirteen (13) 657
individuals, for the purpose of soliciting recommendations on the 658
content of such plan to maximize the necessary rapid academic 659
achievement of students at the school. The superintendent shall 660
provide due consideration to the recommendations of the 661
stakeholder group. The group shall include: 662
(i) The superintendent, or his or her designee; 663
(ii) The chairman of the school board, or his or 664
her designee; 665
(iii) The president of the local teacher's union, 666
or his or her designee; 667
(iv) An administrator from the school, who may be 668
the principal, chosen by the district superintendent; 669
(v) A teacher from the school chosen by the 670
faculty of the school; 671
(vi) A parent from the school chosen by the local 672
parent-teacher association. If the school or district does not 673
have a parent teacher association, or if the association does not 674
select a parent, the district superintendent shall select a 675
volunteer parent of a student from the school; 676
(vii) Representatives of applicable state and 677
local social service, health and child welfare agencies, chosen by 678
the district superintendent; 679
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(viii) As appropriate, representatives of state 680
and local workforce development agencies, chosen by the district 681
superintendent; 682
(ix) For elementary schools, a representative of 683
an early education and care provider; for middle schools or high 684
schools, a representative of the higher education community; and 685
(x) A member of the community appointed by school 686
board. 687
The superintendent shall convene such group within thirty 688
(30) days of the superintendent designating a school as 689
underperforming and the group shall make its recommendations to 690
the superintendent within forty-five (45) days of its initial 691
meeting. Meetings of the local stakeholder group shall be open to 692
the public and the recommendations submitted to the superintendent 693
under this subsection shall be publicly available immediately upon 694
their submission. 695
(f) In creating the turnaround plan, the superintendent 696
shall include, after considering the recommendations of the local 697
stakeholder group, provisions intended to maximize the necessary 698
rapid academic achievement of students at the school and shall, to 699
the extent practicable, base the plan on student outcome data, 700
including, but not limited to: 701
(i) Data collected pursuant to information from a 702
school or district review; 703
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(ii) Student achievement on the Mississippi 704
Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) exams; 705
(iii) Other measures of student achievement, 706
approved by the Superintendent of the Department of Education; 707
(iv) Student promotion and graduation rates; 708
(v) Achievement data for different subgroups of 709
students, including low-income students, English as a second 710
language learners and students receiving special education; and 711
(vi) Student attendance, dismissal rates and 712
exclusion rates. 713
(g) The superintendent shall also include in the 714
creation of the turnaround plan, after considering the 715
recommendations of the local stakeholder group, the following: 716
(i) Steps to address social service and health 717
needs of students at the school and their families, to help 718
students arrive and remain at school ready to learn; 719
(ii) Steps to improve or expand child welfare 720
services and, as appropriate, law enforcement services in the 721
school community, in order to promote a safe and secure learning 722
environment; 723
(iii) Steps to improve workforce development 724
services provided to students and their families at the school, to 725
provide students and families with meaningful employment skills 726
and opportunities; 727
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(iv) Steps to address achievement gaps for English 728
learners, special education students and low-income students; and 729
(v) Alternative English language learning programs 730
for English learners; and 731
(vi) A financial plan for the school, including 732
any additional funds to be provided by the district, state, 733
federal government or other sources. 734
(h) To assess the school across multiple measures of 735
school performance and student success, the turnaround plan shall 736
include measurable annual goals, including, but not limited to: 737
(i) Student attendance, dismissal rates and 738
exclusion rates; 739
(ii) Student safety and discipline; 740
(iii) Student promotion and graduation and dropout 741
rates; 742
(iv) Student achievement on the Mississippi 743
Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) exams; 744
(v) Progress in areas of academic 745
underperformance; 746
(vi) Progress among subgroups of students, 747
including low-income students, English as a second language 748
learners and students receiving special education; 749
(vii) Reduction of achievement gaps among 750
different groups of students; 751
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(viii) Student acquisition and mastery of 752
twenty-first century skills; 753
(ix) Development of college readiness, including 754
at the elementary and middle school levels; 755
(x) Parent and family engagement; 756
(xi) Building a culture of academic success among 757
students; 758
(xii) Building a culture of student support and 759
success among school faculty and staff and; 760
(xiii) Developmentally appropriate child 761
assessments from pre-kindergarten through third grade, if 762
applicable. 763
(i) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the 764
contrary, in creating the turnaround plan, the superintendent may, 765
after considering the recommendations of the group of 766
stakeholders: 767
(i) Expand, alter or replace the curriculum and 768
program offerings of the school, including the implementation of 769
research-based early literacy programs, early interventions for 770
struggling readers and the teaching of advanced placement courses 771
or other rigorous nationally or internationally recognized 772
courses, if the school does not already have such programs or 773
courses; 774
(ii) Reallocate the uses of the existing budget of 775
the school; 776
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(iii) Provide additional funds to the school from 777
the budget of the district, if the school does not already receive 778
funding from the district at least equal to the average per-pupil 779
funding received for students of the same classification and grade 780
level in the district; 781
(iv) Provide funds, subject to appropriation of 782
the Legislature and following consultation with the Mississippi 783
Association of Educators, to increase the salary of any 784
administrator, or teacher in the school, to attract or retain 785
highly-qualified administrators, or teachers or to reward 786
administrators, or teachers who work in underperforming schools 787
that achieve the annual goals set forth in the turnaround plan; 788
(v) Expand the school day or school year or both 789
of the school; 790
(vi) For an elementary school, add 791
pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten classes, if the school 792
does not already have such classes; 793
(vii) Following consultation with the Mississippi 794
Association of Educators, require the principal and all 795
administrators, teachers and staff to reapply for their positions 796
in the school, with full discretion vested in the district 797
superintendent regarding his or her consideration of and decisions 798
on rehiring based on the reapplications; 799
(viii) Limit, suspend or change one or more 800
provisions of any contract or collective bargaining agreement, as 801
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the contract or agreement applies to the school; provided, that 802
the district superintendent shall not reduce the compensation of 803
an administrator, teacher or staff member unless the hours of the 804
person are proportionately reduced; 805
(ix) Limit, suspend or change one or more school 806
district policies or practices, as such policies or practices 807
relate to the school; 808
(x) Include a provision of job-embedded 809
professional development for teachers at the school, with an 810
emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback; 811
(xi) Provide for increased opportunities for 812
teacher planning time and collaboration focused on improving 813
student instruction; 814
(xii) Establish a plan for professional 815
development for administrators at the school, with an emphasis on 816
strategies that develop leadership skills and use the principles 817
of distributive leadership; 818
(xiii) Establish steps to assure a continuum of 819
high-expertise teachers by aligning the following processes with a 820
common core of professional knowledge and skill: 821
1. Hiring; 822
2. Induction; 823
3. Teacher evaluations; 824
4. Professional development; 825
5. Teacher advancement; 826
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6. School culture; and 827
7. Organizational structure. 828
(xiv) Develop a strategy to search for and study 829
best practices in areas of demonstrated deficiency in the school; 830
(xv) Establish strategies to address mobility and 831
transiency among the student population of the school; and 832
(xvi) Include additional components based on the 833
reasons why the school was designated as underperforming and the 834
recommendations of the group of stakeholders. 835
(28) (a) Within thirty (30) days of the local stakeholder 836
group making recommendations, the superintendent shall submit a 837
turnaround plan to the local stakeholder group, the school 838
committee and the district superintendent, all of whom may propose 839
modifications to the plan. 840
(b) The superintendent shall make such plan immediately 841
available to the public upon the submission. The stakeholder 842
group shall submit any proposed modifications to the 843
superintendent not more than thirty (30) days after the date of 844
submission of the turnaround plan and the proposed modifications 845
shall be made public immediately upon their submission to the 846
superintendent. 847
(c) The superintendent shall consider and may 848
incorporate the modifications into the plan if the superintendent 849
determines that inclusion of the modifications would further 850
promote the necessary rapid academic achievement of students at 851
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the school or may alter or reject the proposed modifications 852
submitted under this subsection. Within thirty (30) days of 853
receiving any proposed modifications under this subsection, the 854
superintendent shall issue a final turnaround plan for the school 855
and the plan shall be made publicly available. 856
(d) Within thirty (30) days of the issuance of a final 857
turnaround plan, a school board or the Mississippi Association of 858
Educators may appeal to the superintendent regarding one or more 859
components of the plan, including the absence of one or more 860
modifications proposed by local stakeholder group. The 861
superintendent of the Department of Education may, in consultation 862
with the relevant school district superintendent, modify the plan 863
if the superintendent determines that: 864
(i) Such modifications would further promote the 865
necessary rapid academic achievement of students in the applicable 866
school; 867
(ii) A component of the plan was included, or a 868
modification was excluded, on the basis of demonstrably false 869
information or evidence; or 870
(iii) The superintendent failed to meet any the 871
requirements of this section. 872
The decision of the superintendent regarding an appeal under 873
this subsection shall be made within thirty (30) days and shall be 874
final. 875
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(29) (a) The Superintendent of the Department of Education 876
may select an external receiver to operate the school and 877
implement the turnaround plan or to assist the district 878
superintendent with the implementation. The superintendent may 879
appoint the receiver if the superintendent determines that 880
conditions exist in the district that are likely to negatively 881
affect his or her ability to implement the plan successfully. A 882
school district may appeal to the Department of Education the 883
decision of the superintendent to appoint an external receiver. 884
The superintendent may reverse such decision only if he or she 885
determines that he or she made the decision on the basis of 886
demonstrably false information or evidence. 887
(b) A receiver shall be a nonprofit entity or an 888
individual with a demonstrated record of success in improving 889
low-performing schools or the academic performance of 890
disadvantaged students. 891
(c) An external receiver selected by the superintendent 892
to operate a school shall have full managerial and operational 893
control over the school as provided in the turnaround plan. For 894
all other purposes, the school district in which the school is 895
located shall remain the employer of record. 896
(d) Each turnaround plan shall be authorized for a 897
period of not more than three (3) years. The district 898
superintendent or external receiver, as applicable, may develop 899
additional components of the turnaround plan and shall develop 900
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annual goals for each component of the plan. The district 901
superintendent or external receiver, as applicable, shall be 902
responsible for meeting the goals of the plan. 903
(30) (a) Each school designated by the superintendent as 904
underperforming, shall be reviewed by the district's 905
superintendent, in consultation with the principal of the school, 906
at least annually. The purpose of the review shall be to 907
determine whether the school has met the annual goals in its 908
turnaround plan and to assess the overall implementation of the 909
turnaround plan. The review shall be in writing and shall be 910
submitted to the Superintendent of the Department of Education and 911
the relevant school district not later than July 1 for the 912
preceding school year. The review shall be submitted in a format 913
determined by the Department of Education. 914
(b) (i) If the superintendent determines that the 915
school has met the annual performance goals stated in the 916
turnaround plan, the review shall be considered sufficient and the 917
implementation of the turnaround plan shall continue. 918
(ii) If the superintendent determines that the 919
school has not met one or more goals in the turnaround plan and 920
that the failure to meet the goals may be corrected through 921
reasonable modification of the plan, the superintendent may amend 922
the turnaround plan. 923
(iii) If the superintendent determines that the 924
school has substantially failed to meet one or more goals in the 925
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plan, the superintendent may appoint an examiner to conduct an 926
evaluation of the school's implementation of the turnaround plan. 927
If the superintendent determines that the school has substantially 928
failed to meet multiple goals in the plan, the superintendent may 929
require changes to the turnaround plan to be implemented by the 930
school in the following year, or the appointment of an external 931
partner to advise and assist the school in implementing the plan 932
the following year. If an underperforming school is operated by 933
an external receiver, the superintendent may require the school 934
district to terminate the receiver and develop a new turnaround 935
plan; provided, however, that the superintendent shall not 936
terminate the receiver before the completion of the first full 937
school year of the operation of the underperforming school. 938
(31) Upon the expiration of a turnaround plan, the 939
Department of Education shall conduct a review of the school to 940
determine whether the school has improved sufficiently, requires 941
further improvement or has failed to improve. On the basis of 942
such review, the superintendent may determine that: 943
(a) The school has improved sufficiently for the 944
designation of the school as underperforming to be removed; 945
(b) The school has improved, but the school remains 946
underperforming, in which case the district superintendent may, 947
with the approval of the Superintendent of the Department of 948
Education, renew the plan or create a new or modified plan for an 949
additional period of not more than three (3) years; or 950
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(c) The school has made little or no improvement, and 951
the school is chronically underperforming. The superintendent may 952
recommend the appointment of an external receiver by the school 953
district, if the superintendent believes that a new or modified 954
turnaround plan implemented will not result in necessary rapid 955
improvement. In carrying out this subsection, the superintendent 956
shall: 957
(i) In the case of a renewal of a turnaround plan, 958
determine subsequent annual goals for each component of the plan 959
with the input of the local stakeholder group; or 960
(ii) Create a new or modified turnaround plan as 961
necessary, consistent with the requirements of this section. 962
(d) Upon the designation of a school as a chronically 963
underperforming school in accordance with the regulations 964
developed under this section, the superintendent shall create a 965
new turnaround plan for the school. 966
(e) Before creating the new turnaround plan required in 967
this section, the superintendent shall follow all of the policies 968
and procedures outlined in subsections (27) through (30) of this 969
section. 970
(f) Upon the expiration of the new turnaround plan for 971
a chronically underperforming school, the superintendent shall 972
conduct a review of the school to determine whether the school has 973
improved sufficiently, requires further improvement or has failed 974
to improve. On the basis of such review, the superintendent may: 975
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(i) On the basis of a district superintendent's or 976
external receiver's success in meeting the terms of the plan, 977
renew the plan with the district superintendent or external 978
receiver for an additional period of not more than three (3) 979
years; 980
(ii) If a school that is operated by a district 981
superintendent and remains chronically underperforming, appoint an 982
external receiver, to operate the school; 983
(iii) If a chronically underperforming school that 984
is operated by an external receiver and remains chronically 985
underperforming, transfer the operation of the school from the 986
receiver to the applicable district superintendent or to another 987
external receiver; or 988
(iv) Determine that the school has improved 989
sufficiently for the designation of chronically underperforming to 990
be removed. 991
(g) The superintendent shall: 992
(i) In the case of a renewal of a turnaround plan, 993
jointly determine subsequent annual goals for each component of 994
the plan with the district superintendent or external receiver, as 995
applicable; or 996
(ii) Create a new or modified turnaround plan as 997
necessary, consistent with the requirements of this section. 998
(32) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the 999
contrary, any underperforming or chronically underperforming 1000
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school operating a program for English learners shall establish an 1001
English learner parent-teacher association. 1002
(33) (a) The Department of Education shall adopt 1003
regulations regarding: 1004
(i) The conditions under which an underperforming 1005
or chronically underperforming school shall no longer be 1006
designated as an underperforming or chronically underperforming 1007
school; and 1008
(ii) The transfer of the operation of an 1009
underperforming or a chronically underperforming school from a 1010
district superintendent or an external receiver, as applicable, to 1011
the school board. 1012
(b) The regulations shall include provisions to allow a 1013
school to retain measures adopted in an turnaround plan or new 1014
turnaround plan for a transitional period if, in the judgment of 1015
the district superintendent, the measures would contribute to the 1016
continued improvement of the school. 1017
(c) Such regulations shall also include provisions that 1018
clearly identify the conditions under which such a transitional 1019
period shall end and the powers granted to the district 1020
superintendent and school board under this section shall cease to 1021
apply to a district previously designated as chronically 1022
underperforming. 1023
(34) The Superintendent of the Department of Education shall 1024
report annually to a joint hearing hosted by the House of 1025
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ST: Public schools; revise accountability
framework.
Representatives and Senate Education Committees. The annual 1026
report shall also be provided to the relevant House of 1027
Representatives Appropriation Committee Chairman, the Senate 1028
Appropriations Committee Chairman, the Speaker of the House of 1029
Representatives and the Lieutenant Governor on the implementation 1030
and fiscal impact of the requirements, policies and procedures 1031
required by this section. The report shall include, but not be 1032
limited to, a list of all schools currently designated as 1033
underperforming or chronically underperforming, a list of all 1034
districts currently designated as chronically underperforming, the 1035
plans and timetable for returning the schools and districts to the 1036
local school committee and strategies used in each of the schools 1037
and districts to maximize the rapid academic achievement of 1038
students. 1039
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 1040
and after July 1, 2026. 1041