Short Title Author of Bill Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. 3/9/17)

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1 Mississippi Professional Educators (MPE): 2017 Legislative Tracker s signed by the Governor HB 32 School superintendents; require appointment of in the event of vacancy in elected office of before January 1, s Under Consideration HB 263 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Anti-bullying Law; revise provisions for required establishment of policies for by school districts. Rep. Randy Boyd To provide for the appointment of the Superintendent in a school district with an elected Superintendent of Schools in the event a vacancy in office occurs before January 1, Clarifies provisions to be included in a school districts anti-bullying policy and requires school districts to post the proper procedure for reporting bullying on their website., amended and passed by House; passed Senate, passed Senate; signed by the Governor amended and passed House; referred to Senate ; passed Senate ; passed Judiciary A, Strike All passed Senate; returned to House for concurrence; House concurred with Senate HB 347 New Start School Program; repeal. Repeal of the New Start Program for failing schools as of July 1, Senate ; passed Senate ; passed Senate; due from Governor 03/13/17 HB 537 Years of teaching experience; include years taught at postsecondary level in definition of. HB 567 SB 2459 Compulsory-school-age child; revise definition of by increasing required age to 18 years. HB 875 SB 2431 School accreditation and failing school districts; revise process of state administration through process of district transformation. Rep. Robert Foster Revises the definition of "Year of Teaching Experience," to include instructors with nine months of actual teaching at the post secondary level. Revises the definition of a compulsory-school-age child by increasing the maximum age required for compulsory attendance to include children under the age of 18 years old on or before September 1 of the calendar year. Revises the designation of a school and school districts under conservatorship as schools and school districts in transformation and renames the term conservator as Interim Superintendent. Senate ; Strike All passed Senate ; passed Senate; returned to House for concurrence; House concurred with Senate Amended and passed House, amendment failed; passed House; referred to Senate ; adopted and passed Senate ; amended and passed Senate Senate ; Strike All passed Senate ; passed Senate; returned to House for concurrence

2 HB 919 HB 1046 HB 1301 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Delta State University; authorize to enter into a long-term lease for specified purposes. MS Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia; revise eligibility through Grade 12. Retirement; make technical revisions to PERS, SLRP and Hwy Patrol and exempt executive director from salary cap. Rep. Abe Hudson Rep. Orlando Paden Rep. Toby Barker, Rep. Rob Roberson, Rep. Jay Hughes, Rep. Brad Touchstone Rep. Mac Huddleston, Rep. John Read Authorizes Delta State University with the approval of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to lease a portion of its property for a term of no longer than 40 years. Expands the eligibility for the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for student with Dyslexia program to include students in Grade 1 through Grade 12. Simplifies the language regarding the purchase of certain service credit in the PERS and Highway Patrol retirement system by removing language that specifies the increments in which the payment for such credit must be made; clarifies to whom shall be paid the actuarial equivalent of any remaining payments under Option 4B of the PERS and the Highway Patrol retirement system; provides that if a person who has received a refund from PERS or the SLRP System reenters state service or is reelected on or after July 1, 2007, and repays all or part of the amount previously received as a refund, the amounts that are repaid and the creditable service related thereto shall not be used in any benefit calculations until the member has remained a contributor to the system for 8 years; exempts the Executive Director and the Chief Investment Officer of PERS from the Governor's salary cap. Passed Universities and Colleges; passed House; referred to Senate Public Property and Senate Finance; adopted and passed Senate Public Property; passed Senate Finance; passed Senate; returned to House for concurrence Senate and Senate passed Senate ; Passed Senate Appropriations; amended and passed Senate Passed House Appropriations, amended and passed House; Motion to reconsider tabled; referred to Senate Finance; passed Senate Finance; amendment failed; passed Senate; due for Governor 3/13/17 HB 1413 Suspension and expulsion; clarify terms of disciplinary action resulting in and provide due process. Rep. Rob Roberson Clarifies the difference between disciplinary actions imposed upon students resulting in 10 or more days of suspension or expulsion from school and provides the right of due process. HB 1502 Appropriation;, Department Rep. John Read Provides for MDE's FY 2018 appropriation. As passed the House, does not contain funding for the MAEP funding formula. As passed Senate Appropriations, provides level funding for the MAEP. Amended and passed House ; vote failed in House; Motion to reconsider, amended and passed House; referred to Senate ; adopted and passed Senate ; passed Senate; returned to Senate for concurrence; Senate concurred with Strike All amendment Passed House House; referred to Senate passed Senate Appropriations SB 2273 HB 503 Cursive writing; direct State Board of to require in elementary education curriculum. Sen. Angela Hill Requires MDE to ensure instruction in cursive writing as a part of the basic elementary curriculum. Passed Senate ; amended and passed Senate; referred to House ; amended and passed House ; amended and passed House

3 SB 2398 HB 442 Qualifications for school superintendents; revise. Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Sen. Gray Tollison Revises the qualifications for Superintendents to require six years of classroom or administrative experience with at least 3 of these Amended and passed Senate as a principal in an "A" or "B" school, a school that increased it's accountability rating by a letter grade while the candidate served as ; passed Senate; Principal, or in a school in another state with a comparable rating or improvement. Current law requires four years of classroom or referred to House ; administrative experience. adopted and passed House ; Strike All passed House; returned to Senate for concurrence SB2431 HB 875 Failing school districts; authorize the State Board of to place into "District Transformation Status." Sen. Gray Tollison Authorizes the Mississippi Board of to appoint an Interim Superintendent as opposed to a Conservator for the administration of schools in a district in which the Governor has declared a state of emergency for violations of accreditation standards. Passed Senate ; passed Senate; referred to House ; amended and passed House ; amended and passed House SB 2432 Mississippi Occupational Diploma for students with disabilities and career track program; repeal. Sen. Gray Tollison Repeals the Mississippi Occupational Diploma for students with disabilities program as of the school year. Beginning with the school year, students who qualify may apply for a career track program and graduate with a Occupational Diploma. Amended and passed Senate ; passed Senate; referred to House ; passed House ; amended and passed House SB 2461 SB 2463 School district consolidation; require in Perry County. School district consolidation; require in Chickasaw County. Sen. Gray Tollison Authorizes the consolidation of Perry County school district and Richton school district effective July 1, Passed Senate, Passed Senate; referred to House ; Strike All passed House ; passed House; returned to Senate for concurrence Sen. Gray Tollison Authorizes the consolidation of Chickasaw County school district and Houston school district effective July 1, Passed Senate, passed Senate; referred to House ; Strike All passed House ; amended and passed House SB 2954 Appropriation; IHL - General Support Sen. Buck Clarke Provides for IHL's FY 18 appropriation for support of the eight universities Passed Senate Senate; referred to House passed House Appropriations SB 2956 Appropriation; IHL - Student Financial Aid Sen. Buck Clarke Provides for IHL's Office of Student Financial Aid's FY 18 appropriation Passed Senate Senate; referred to House passed House Appropriations

4 SB 2963 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Appropropriation; Community and Junior Colleges Board - Administrative Expenses Sen. Buck Clarke Provides for the Community College Board's FY 18 appropriation Passed Senate Senate; referred to House passed House Appropriations SB 2964 Appropriation; Community and Junior Colleges Board - Support Sen. Buck Clarke Provides for the FY 18 appropriation for the aid and support of the state's fifteen community and junior colleges Passed Senate Senate; referred to House passed House Appropriations s That Have Died HB 145 Ad valorem taxes; allow local contribution to follow students who transfer to another school district. Rep. William Shirley Requires school districts to certify to the State Board of the number of students transferred to another school district from the district of residence for the purpose of calculating the per pupil pro rata share of local ad valorem school district maintenance funds to be remitted to the receiving school district. Before September 1 of each year, the board of trustees of the receiving school district shall certify to the State Department of the number of students enrolled in the school district who are transferred from the school district of residence., sent to House Revenue & Exp. HB 160 Teacher classroom supply procurement cards; increase allocation percentage for teachers in first three years of educational service. Increases the procurement card for classroom supplies percentage by fifty percent for teachers in the first three years of educational service. sent to House Appropriations HB 203 Ad valorem taxes; delete school board's authority to increase more than 2% without referendum approval. Rep. William Shirley Removes local school board's authority to increase ad valorem taxes more than 2% without voter's approval. ; sent to House Ways & Means HB 267 SB 2036 School boards; elect all at statewide general or presidential election for fouryear term. Require the election of all school board members at the same time as the Presidential or general statewide elections, beginning November 2019 or 2020 as determined by the district. HB 275 Assistant Teacher Forgivable Loan Program; revise to increase financial assistance to those pursuing teacher licensure. Rep. Randy Boyd Revises the assistant teacher forgivable loan program to increase the amount of financial assistance available to teacher assistants to equal the actual cost of six three-hour courses per year; to remove the provision limiting the purpose of the loan for critical teacher shortage areas; and for related purposes. ; Passed House Revenue & Expenditure

5 HB 280 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. School district accreditation; require compliance with constitutional provisions and state laws as a minimum requirement. Rep.Mark Formby Establishes a process for the Mississippi Department of to receive and investigate complaints of alleged accreditation violations before the matter is referred to the Mississippi State Board of and the commission on school accreditation and authorizes the board of education and commission to take action against a school district which may include withdrawal of accreditation when the district fails to remedy the violations. ; sent to sent to House Constitution Com. HB 293 School calendar; reduce number of days in scholastic year to 170. Rep. Mark Formby Reduces the length of the school year from 180 to 170 instructional days. It reduces contract days from a minimum of 187 to a minimum of 177, the bill clarifies that the teacher salary scale is applicable to all teachers who contracts are for these 177 days, so the salary scales remains the same. HB 312 Hunter safety education program; authorize inclusion of in school curriculum. Rep. Brad Touchstone, Rep. Kathy Sykes, Rep. Tom Miles Allows districts to offer Hunter Safety courses to students in the sixth through twelfth grades. ; Passed House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks HB 315 School boards; require itemized report of central office expenditures to be included in notice of advertisement for increase in ad valorem tax. Rep. Randy Boyd Requires school districts requesting an increase in ad valorem tax to advertise a itemized report of expenses of the central office and disclose an itemized audit report of district expenses. The district shall also publish the notice of advertisement with the itemized report on the website of the school district and shall make the same available to the State Department of for publication on its website. sent to House Ways and Means HB 348 School buses; allow students to drink water on. Rep. Beckie Currie Allows students to drink bottled water in the original clear plastic bottle with an unbroken seal on a school bus while traveling from home to school and from school to home.prohibits eating or drinking any other item on school buses except when traveling to out of town extracurricular activities or field trips. Senate HB 433 Social studies curriculum; require citizenship examination as part of U.S. History or American Government courses. Rep. Ashley Henley Requires the State Board of to develop and implement objectives that focus on the academic standards in Social Studies, Civics and United States History and to require the administration of an American Civics assessment which is identical to the US Citizenship and Immigration services. HB 442 SB 2398 School superintendents; revise minimum qualifications to serve as. Rep. Mark Formby Revises the qualifications for a person selected to serve as a Superintendent of Schools to include a Master's degree in any subject area, and a minimum of 20 years of administrative, senior management or supervisory experience and revises the alternate route procedure for individuals to receive an administrator's license. HB 466 School districts under conservatorship; extend repealer on authority of SBE to appoint new school board in. Rep. Jason White Authorizes the state Board of to appoint a new local school board, with the selection of members to be returned to the local community on a phased-in basis, in school district under state conservatorship. amended and passed House; referred to Senate HB 499 School board members; authorize removal of those in municipal and municipal separate school districts for just cause. Rep. Gary Chism Provides for removal of appointed school board members by the appointing local governing authority for failure to perform duties. HB 503 SB 2273 Cursive writing; direct the State Board of to incorporate into elementary education curriculum. Rep. Ashley Henley Requires the State Board of to incorporate instruction in cursive writing as a part of the basic elementary education curriculum.

6 HB 509 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Driver's education; require courses taught in schools to include program developed by DPS on how to properly respond to law enforcement when stopped. Rep. Charles Busby Requires all Driver programs taught in public schools and non-public schools to include information from the Department of Public Safety on how individuals should respond to law enforcement officers when stopped. Passed House Transportation; passed House, amended and passed House; referred to Senate and Senate Appropriations HB 520 Community and junior colleges; may enter into long term loans for up to 30 years with board of trustees' approval. Rep. Trey Lamar III Rep. Kathy Sykes Authorizes a Board of Trustees of a community or junior college to enter into loans for periods not to exceed 30 years. Passed House Universities and Colleges, passed House; referred to Senate U& C and Senate Finance HB 544 Teacher licensure; authorize SDE to issue Nontraditional Teaching route - Standard License to certain individuals with advanced degrees. Rep. Charles Busby Authorizes the State Board of to issue a nontraditional teaching route standard license to individuals holding advanced degrees and achieving the nationally recommended passing score on the Praxis I and Praxis II assessments providing they completed the course of study for the advanced degree program with a grade of "C" or higher. Amended and passed by House ; passed House; referred to Senate HB 564 School employees; suspend license of those certified personnel who breach employment contract. Requires the one year suspension of any appointed superintendent, principal or licensed employee in any public school who arbitrary and willful breach's their contract or abandons their employment contract.., sent to House Judiciary A HB 565 Compulsory School Attendance Law; clarify attendance for students participating in preapproved authorized school activity. Amends the compulsory school attendance law by authorizing school districts to consider a compulsory-school age student participating in a preapproved, authorized school activity as being present for the purpose of reporting average daily attendance. amended and passed House; referred to Senate and Senate Appropriations HB 566 Administrative hearings; clarify authority of State Board of to subpoena witnesses Allows the State Board of authority to subpoena a witness and compel compliance with subpoenas in administrative Passed House Ed. Com, sent hearings conducted by the Board of. The Mississippi Board of, acting by and through its chairman or executive to House Judiciary A secretary, is authorized to administer oaths, to take or depositions and to subpoena persons. The board shall have the powers of a court to compel witnesses to attend and testify in all matters of investigation by the board. HB 579 Financial literacy curriculum; require The State Board of to implement for all students in Grades Implements a financial literacy curriculum on or before the school year. The class will account for one-half Carnegie credit toward graduation. sent to House Appropriations HB 580 Mississippi Virtual Public School Program; bring forward. Provides for the creation of the Mississippi Virtual Public School Program. Passed Appropriations HB 581 Schools At-Risk; repeal provision requiring the establishment of program of development for schools at risk for failing to meet accreditation standards. Requires the State Board of to establish a program of development for schools designated as Schools At-Risk for failing to meet accreditation standards, and provides additional MAEP funds for the assistance of such programs.

7 HB 582 HB 599 HB 866 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. EEF Procurement Cards; authorize issuance to all certified classroom teachers Vocational education; provide additional funding to school districts demonstrating needed enhancements for. Statewide testing program; prohibit testing students in excess of three days during school year. Rep. Donnie Bell Rep. Philip Gunn Provides all certified classroom teachers with an education enhancement fund procurement card for purchasing classroom supplies. Established within the State Department of a program to make funding available to school districts for the purpose of making needed improvements to the vocational and technical education programs in the public school system. Under the program, the State Department of may make allocations to eligible school districts that request funding to defray the expense of making certain improvements to the vocational education program in those districts. Provides that no students shall be tested under the statewide testing program for more than three days within the scheduled threeweek testing window established by the Mississippi Department of. The bill allows for 20 days of benchmark testing throughout the school year. Senate and Senate Appropriations Amended and passed Workforce Development, passed Revenue and Expenditure; passed House; referred to Senate Amended and passed House ; passed House; referred to Senate and Senate Appropriations HB 868 HB 872 HB 905 Students with disabilities; revise process by which schools enhancing full inclusion of in all educational areas are recognized. School accreditation; authorize SBE to approve certified teacher unit credits, to certain districts under certain circumstances. School districts; require uniform accounting system to address local, state and federal funds and transfer audit powers to SDE Rep. Carolyn Crawford Revises the process by which schools providing full inclusion of students with disabilities are recognized. The State Passed by House Department of shall establish goals for the performance of students with disabilities with goals and standards. Performance indicators used to assess progress toward achieving those goals that, at a minimum, address the performance of students with disabilities on assessments, drop-out rates, and graduation rates shall be developed. Every two years, the progress toward meeting the established performance goals shall be reported to the public. Recognition will be given to those schools that have exemplary programs. Rep. Beckie Currie Authorizes the approval of certified teacher units, for the purpose of accreditation and funding to school districts with a reduced number of certified teaching professional in a school, providing that a certified teaching professional is placed in the classroom with a non-certified teacher. Requires the uniform accounting system and essential financial records for all school districts and transfers the authority to conduct financial audits on school districts from the State Department of Audit to the State Department of. Passed by House ; Senate HB 909 State Health Plan; require to allow state employees to comparison-shop for elective medical procedures Rep. Randy Boyd Requires the State & School Employees Health Insurance Management Board to design the plan for health insurance, allowing state employees to comparison-shop for elective medical procedures Passed House Insurance; Senate Appropriations and Senate Insurance HB 912 Mississippi Dyslexia Forgivable Loan Program; increase number of students allowed in each cohort to 40. Rep. Larry Byrd Rep. William Arnold Rep. Dana Criswell Rep. Rob Roberson Increases the number of students admitted to each cohort for the Mississippi Dyslexia Forgivable Loan Program from 20 to 40 beginning in collegiate school year. ; Passed Revenue and Expenditure HB 978 Government Employees' Deferred Compensation Law; revise certain provisions Rep. Mac Huddleston, Rep. John Read To define certain terms in the Government Employees' Deferred Compensation Plan law; to clarify investment options under that law; to clarify the administration of the deferred comp plan administered by PERS and the administration of other deferred comp plans authorized under the law. Passed House House; referred to Senate Finance HB 1034 MS Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia; revise eligibility through Grade 12 Rep. Joey Hood Expands eligibility for the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia program to include students in Grade 1 through Grade 12. Amended and Passed by House Revenue. & Expenditures sent to House

8 HB 1035 Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. MS Educator Dyslexia Awareness Act of 2017; create. Rep. Larry Byrd, Rep. Dana Criswell Requires all educator preparation programs in the state to offer training in dyslexia awareness education beginning in the academic year. ; Passed House Revenue and Expenditure HB 1036 Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia Program; revise certain provision and expand eligibility Rep. Larry Byrd, Rep. Dana Criswell, Rep. Rob Roberson Expands eligibility for the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for students with Dyslexia program to include students in Kindergarten through Grade 12; to allow participation by any nonpublic schools that are accredited by the state, regional or national accrediting organization. Requires the school district to perform a comprehensive dyslexia evaluation if a student fails the dyslexia screener or upon the request of the student's parent or legal guardian. Amended and Passed by House, Amended and passed House Rev. & Expenditures HB 1037 Dyslexia screenings; require local school districts to provide additional for students eligible for scholarship assistance Rep. Larry Byrd, Rep. Dana Criswell Requires school districts to provide additional dyslexia screenings and comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations for students at any time the student is enrolled in public school. The screenings will take place at any time deemed necessary based on recommendations of a teacher or upon the request of a parent or legal guardian. Passed by House, Revenue & Expenditures; HB 1050 Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act; authorize issuance of procurement cards for use. Rep. Carolyn Crawford Provides issuance or ESA Procurement cards and allows the regulation of those cards be provided by the Mississippi Department of or another qualified non-profit organization. Amended and Passed by House ; Passed House Appropriations HB 1224 School districts; exempt those with "A" and "B" accountability ratings from certain duties. Rep. Philip Gunn Exempts school districts with "A" and "B" accountability ratings from performing certain duties imposed on school districts and requires the Mississippi Board of to develop a grant program exclusively for school districts with "A" and "B" accountability ratings to receive funds for innovative educational programs. Requires school attendance officers to visit the home of a compulsory-school age child within 72 hours of an unexcused absence. amended and passed House; referred to Senate HB 1227 MS Statewide Teacher Appraisal Rubric (M-STAR); discontinue and require local districts to adopt teacher evaluation system. Rep. Philip Gunn Removes the statewide evaluation process known as "Mississippi Statewide Teacher Appraisal Rubric (M-Star)" and allows each school board to adopt and implement a teacher evaluation system for educators employed in the local district. The evaluation instrument must be approved by MDE. Senate HB 1294 SB 2607 funding; revise formula for. Rep. Philip Gunn Revises the formula for funding public education in the state of Mississippi. Amended and Passed Appropriation HB 1296 Financial Transparency in Act; create. Rep. Jeffrey Smith Creates the Financial Transparency in Act that requires each local education provider to create and maintain a searchable expenditure and revenue website that includes detailed data on all monies received and expended in the local school district. Senate ; Senate Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency HB 1414 School employees; require superintendent provide notice of charges against when dismissed or suspended from work duties. Rep. Rob Roberson Requires Superintendents to notify a licensed school employee of charges against him before the employee is dismissed or suspended for more than 5 days and advise him that he is entitled to a public hearing. A licensed employee who is suspended for five days or less shall be notified of the charges and upon request by the employee, the decision of the Superintendent shall be subject to review by the school board. HB 1703 Tax Credit Scholarship; enact to provide qualifying students eligibility to use to cover eligible education expenses. Allows students who qualify to use a scholarship from certain scholarship organizations to cover eligible educational expenses and provides for a tax credit not to exceed 50% of the taxpayers tax liability for contributions to the scholarship organizations. Referred to Ways and Means

9 SB 2036 HB 267 School board members; all elected beginning with the November 2019 general election. Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Sen. Kevin Blackwell Establishes the "Nonpartisan School Board Election Act" that mandates all school board members will be elected beginning November Amended and Passed Senate SB 2042 Prekindergarten programs; establish Early Childhood Services Interagency Coordinating Council. Sen. Brice Wiggins Prescribes additional duties for the state Early Childhood Advisory Council ensuring coordination among various agencies to leverage resources, align processes, reduce duplication of effort, and strengthen the quality of programs serving preschool-age children. Passed Senate SB 2136 School district in-service training for student suicide prevention education; require model policy. Sen. Bryce Wiggins Requires local school districts to adopt a policy on student suicide prevention and require in-service training. Passed Senate, sent to Senate Appropriations SB2315 Local school boards; prescribe educational qualifications. Sen. Kevin Blackwell Increases the educational qualifications school board members elected after July 1, 2017, to an Associate Degree from a community college or a minimum of 60 semester hours with a minimum GPA of 2.0 from any community college or four-year college. Current school board members are grandfathered in and may continue to serve with only a high school diploma or its equivalent. Amended and Passed Senate ; sent to Senate SB 2324 Nissan Scholarship Program; authorize Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board to administer. Sen. Josh Harkins Authorizes the Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board to administer the Nissan Scholarship Program. Passed Senate Universities and Colleges; passed Senate; referred to House U & C SB 2328 Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant Program; increase minimum GPA to qualify. Sen. Josh Harkins Increases the minimum high school grade point average required for a Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Scholarship Award to attend a Mississippi University or Community College. Amended and Passed Universities and College SB 2329 Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board; must report on the effectiveness of state financial aid programs. Sen. Josh Harkins Requires the Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board provide a report every five years to the legislature on the effectiveness and efficiency of state-supported student financial aid programs. Passed Universities and Colleges; passed Senate; referred to House U & C SB 2340 SB 2413 Postsecondary Financial Assistance; repeal certain programs. School district employees; remove authority of local school board to delegate employment recommendations. Sen. Josh Harkins Suspends first time awards under the State Medical Forgivable Loan Program, State Dental Forgivable Loan Program, Graduate and Professional Degree Forgivable Loan Program, Health Care Professionals Forgivable Loan Program and Speech-Language Pathologist Forgivable Loan Program after the academic year. Amended and passed Senate Universities and Colleges; passed Senate Senate; referred to House U & C Sen. Gray Tollison Deletes the authority of local school boards to delegate the authority to recommend school district employees for employment. Amended and passed Senate ; amended and passed Senate; referred to House SB 2459 HB567 Compulsory school attendance; increase maximum age to 17. Sen. Gray Tollison Revises the definition of a compulsory-school-age child by increasing the maximum age required for compulsory attendance to include children under the age of 18 years old on or before September 1 of the calendar year. Amended and Passed Senate SB 2575 "Mississippi al Improvement Tax Credit Act of 2017"; establish. Sen. Michael Watson Establishes an al Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program to be administered by the MS Development Authority to Referred to Senate Finance provide financial assistance to low and middle income families seeking educational options for their children and authorizes a income tax credit for business firms making contributions to qualified educational scholarship organizations or educational improvement organizations. It also provides that the scholarships received by an eligible student from a scholarship organization are deductible as an adjustment to gross income.

10 SB 2585 al expenses at qualified private schools; individual income tax credits for. SB 2607 HB 1294 Mississippi Adequate Program funding formula; bring forward. Short Title Author of Description Action (as of 3:00 p.m. Sen. Michael Watson Sen. Gray Tollison Provides a state income tax deduction for educational expenses by parents who send their children or dependents to a qualified private school or a homeschool program. Provides the formula for determination of annual allocations for current operation of schools under the Mississippi Adequate program and the computation of the required local revenue in support of the Mississippi Adequate program. Referred to Senate Finance Amended and Passed Senate