School enrollment; criminalize enrollment without establishing domicile within the school district.

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To: Judiciary, Division B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Rhodes

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 2802

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-7-10, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE A MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE WHERE A FRAUDULENT STATEMENT OR 2
REPRESENTATION WAS MADE BY A PARENT, LEGAL GUARDIAN OR CUSTODIAN 3
OF A CHILD FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENROLLING THE CHILD IN A SCHOOL 4
DISTRICT WITHOUT ESTABLISHING DOMICILE WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF 5
A SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL PENALTIES; TO AMEND SECTION 6
37-15-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT, 7
SCHOOL DISTRICT, OR ANY SCHOOL EMPLOYEE TO NOTIFY THE PROPER LAW 8
ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY OF ANY STUDENT ENROLLED IN VIOLATION OF THIS 9
SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 11
SECTION 1. Section 97-7-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 12
amended as follows: 13
97-7-10. (1) Whoever, with intent to defraud the state or 14
any department, agency, office, board, commission, county, 15
municipality or other subdivision of state or local government, 16
knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by trick, 17
scheme or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious 18
or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any 19
false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, 20
fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry, shall, upon 21
conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand 22
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Dollars ($10,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than five (5) 23
years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 24
(2) Notwithstanding the penalty provided in subsection (1) 25
of this section, a parent, legal guardian or custodian who is 26
convicted under this section where the fraudulent statement or 27
representation was made by the parent, legal guardian or custodian 28
of a child for the purpose of enrolling the child in a school 29
district without establishing domicile within the jurisdiction of 30
the school district shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon 31
conviction, the defendant shall be punished by a fine of not more 32
than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not 33
more than six (6) months in the county jail. The clerk of the 34
court of conviction shall notify the school district where the 35
fraudulent statement was made, and the school district shall 36
ensure the child whose enrollment was the basis of the conviction 37
shall not be eligible for enrollment in the school district. For 38
the purposes of this subsection, the term "domicile" means the 39
place where the person actually physically resides with the 40
intention of remaining there indefinitely or of returning there 41
permanently when temporarily absent. 42
( * * *3) This section shall not prohibit the prosecution 43
under any other criminal statute of the state. 44
SECTION 2. Section 37-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 45
amended as follows: 46
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37-15-9. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) and 47
subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, no 48
child shall be enrolled or admitted to any kindergarten which is a 49
part of a public school during any school year unless such child 50
will reach his fifth birthday on or before September 1 of said 51
school year, and no child shall be enrolled or admitted to the 52
first grade in any public school during any school year unless 53
such child will reach his sixth birthday on or before September 1 54
of said school year. No pupil shall be permanently enrolled in a 55
public school in the State of Mississippi who formerly was 56
enrolled in another public or private school within the state 57
until the cumulative record of the pupil shall have been received 58
from the school from which he transferred. Should such record 59
have become lost or destroyed, then it shall be the duty of the 60
superintendent or principal of the school where the pupil last 61
attended school to initiate a new record. 62
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this 63
section, any child who transfers from an out-of-state public or 64
private school in which that state's law provides for a 65
first-grade or kindergarten enrollment date subsequent to 66
September 1, shall be allowed to enroll in the public schools of 67
Mississippi, at the same grade level as their prior out-of-state 68
enrollment, if: 69
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(a) The parent, legal guardian or custodian of such 70
child was a legal resident of the state from which the child is 71
transferring; 72
(b) The out-of-state school from which the child is 73
transferring is duly accredited by that state's appropriate 74
accrediting authority; 75
(c) Such child was legally enrolled in a public or 76
private school for a minimum of four (4) weeks in the previous 77
state; and 78
(d) The superintendent of schools in the applicable 79
Mississippi school district or the principal of a charter school, 80
as the case may be, has determined that the child was making 81
satisfactory educational progress in the previous state. 82
(3) When any child applies for admission or enrollment in 83
any public school in the state, the parent, guardian or child, in 84
the absence of an accompanying parent or guardian, shall indicate 85
on the school registration form if the enrolling child has been 86
expelled from any public or private school or is currently a party 87
to an expulsion proceeding. If it is determined from the child's 88
cumulative record or application for admission or enrollment that 89
the child has been expelled, the school district or charter school 90
may deny the student admission and enrollment until the 91
superintendent of the school, or his designee, or principal of the 92
charter school, as the case may be, has reviewed the child's 93
cumulative record and determined that the child has participated 94
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ST: School enrollment; criminalize enrollment
without establishing domicile within the school
district.
in successful rehabilitative efforts including, but not limited 95
to, progress in an alternative school or similar program. If the 96
child is a party to an expulsion proceeding, the child may be 97
admitted to a public school pending final disposition of the 98
expulsion proceeding. If the expulsion proceeding results in the 99
expulsion of the child, the public school may revoke such 100
admission to school. If the child was expelled or is a party to 101
an expulsion proceeding for an act involving violence, weapons, 102
alcohol, illegal drugs or other activity that may result in 103
expulsion, the school district or charter school shall not be 104
required to grant admission or enrollment to the child before one 105
(1) calendar year after the date of the expulsion. 106
(4) The department and school district shall notify the 107
proper law enforcement authority of any student enrolled in 108
violation of this section. 109
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 110
and after July 1, 2026. 111