Mississippi SB 2025: Department of Education; develop system for schools to report data required by federal law.

Bill Text

SB2025 (As Introduced) - 2020 Regular Session 

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2020 Regular Session

To: Education; Appropriations

By: Senator(s) Jordan

Senate Bill 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 
TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A CENTRAL REPORTING 
SYSTEM TO BE USED BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR THE MANDATORY REPORTING TO THE 
DEPARTMENT OF ALL DATA REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW TO BE REPORTED TO THE UNITED 
STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE 
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS TO PUBLISH 
SAID INFORMATION ON THEIR RESPECTIVE WEBSITES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

���� BE IT ENACTED BY THE 
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

���� SECTION 1.� Section 
37-15-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

���� 37-15-6.� For the purpose of 
providing notice to public and private school officials, both within and 
outside the boundaries of the state, of * * * the expulsion of any public school student information 
that is in the public interest, the State Department of Education * * * may shall develop a central reporting 
system for maintaining information concerning * * * each expulsion from a public school all 
data required by federal law to be reported to the United States Department of 
Education Office for Civil Rights.� In establishing and maintaining the state 
reporting system, the * * * 
department may State Department of Education shall require 
each school district and charter school to report, * * * within a certain period of time after an expulsion, as 
established by the department, no later than July 1 of each year, 
all information * * * 
such as the following:

� (a)� 
The name of the student expelled;

� (b)� 
The date the student was expelled;

� (c)� 
The age of the student at the time of the expulsion;

� (d)� 
The school from which the student was expelled;

� (e)� 
The reason for the expulsion, including a detailed description of the student's 
act or acts;

� (f)� 
The duration of the period of expulsion, if not indefinite; and

� (g)� 
Any other information that the department deems necessary for school officials 
in a public or private school, where a student is seeking enrollment, to 
determine whether or not a student should be denied enrollment based upon a 
previous expulsion.

 Any 
information maintained by the department under the authority of this section 
shall be strictly confidential.� The information shall be available to school 
officials at a public or private school only upon their request and only when a 
student seeks enrollment or admission to that school.� In no case shall the 
information be available to the general public. that is required 
to be reported to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil 
Rights.� Both the State Department of Education and each school district or 
charter school shall publish this information, in a searchable and publicly 
accessible format, on its respective website.

���� SECTION 2.� This act 
shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.