Bill Text: MS HB1435 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Student transfers; provide greater access to open enrollment and remove requirement for home district approval of release.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-20 - Referred To Education [HB1435 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2025-HB1435-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Owen
House Bill 1435
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-15-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF A CHILD'S RESIDENCE CONSENT TO THE RELEASE OF THE STUDENT FOR TRANSFER TO ANOTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO ONLY REQUIRE THAT THE TRANSFEREE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVE OR REFUSE THE TRANSFER OF A STUDENT UPON RECEIVING NOTICE AND OFFICIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD TO ACT ON SUCH TRANSFER; TO AUTHORIZE THE SIBLINGS OF A LAWFULLY TRANSFERRED STUDENT TO ENROLL IN THE TRANSFEREE SCHOOL DISTRICT AT THE DISCRETION OF THEIR PARENT(S) OR LEGAL GUARDIAN(S) TO PROVIDE THAT A TRANSFER STUDENT'S ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY SHALL BE DETERMINED BY HIS OR HER FALL SEMESTER ENROLLMENT AND LIMIT PARTICIPATION TO ONE SCHOOL PER SCHOOL YEAR TO PROVIDE FOR THE ALLOCATION AND DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS TO A RECEIVING SCHOOL DISTRICT UPON THE COMPLETION AND CERTIFICATION OF A STUDENT TRANSFER REQUEST; TO STIPULATE THAT A SCHOOL OR DISTRICT MAY NOT ACCEPT OR DENY STUDENTS FOR TRANSFER BASED ON THE STUDENT'S ABILITY OR DISABILITY; TO REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO PUBLISH THE NUMBER OF AVAILABLE SEATS OPEN TO TRANSFERS WITHIN THE DISTRICT AND INDIVIDUALIZED BY SCHOOL FACILITY; TO REQUIRE THE DISTRICT TO PUBLISH SUCH INFORMATION AT A REASONABLE TIME BEFORE THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR; TO REQUIRE DISTRICTS TO ADOPT AND PUBLISH THE PROCESSES USED TO CHOOSE STUDENTS FOR TRANSFER; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT TO COLLECT AND PUBLISH STUDENT TRANSFER DATA, CATEGORIZED BY ACCEPTANCE, DENIALS AND REASONS FOR DENIALS; TO PROVIDE THAT TRANSFER AUTHORITY OF A DISTRICT TO RECEIVE OR DENY THE ACCEPTANCE OF A STUDENT REQUESTING TRANSFER INTO THE DISTRICT SHALL NOT SUPERSEDE ANY PROVISION OF AN ENFORCEABLE DESEGREGATION ORDER OR A COURT-APPROVED DESEGREGATION PLAN; TO CREATE THE STUDENT PORTABILITY AND OPEN ENROLLMENT FUND AS A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY; TO PROVIDE THAT MONIES IN THE FUND SHALL BE EXPENDED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, UPON APPROPRIATION OF THE LEGISLATURE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING THE COST OF THE STATE PORTION OF TOTAL FUNDING FORMULA BASE-STUDENT COST FOR THE TRANSFERRING STUDENT AT THE TRANSFEREE DISTRICT'S RATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-15-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-15-31. (1) (a) Except
as provided in subsections (2) through * * * (7) of this section, upon the
petition in writing of a parent or guardian resident of the school district of
an individual student filed or lodged with the president or secretary of the
school board of a school district * * * to which the pupil * * * is seeking transfer, individual students
living in one school district * * *
may be legally transferred to another school district, * * * provided that the school board
of the school district to which the transfer is sought consents * * *
to receive the students seeking transfer, which such consent must
be given in writing and spread upon the minutes of * * * the school board of the
transferee school district.
(b) Upon receipt of such notice of petition for transfer, the school board of the transferee school district shall act on such request for transfer as soon as possible, and no later than the next regular meeting of the transferee board, and a failure of such transferee board to act within such time shall constitute an approval of such request and approved enrollment by the school board of the transferee school district. If such a transfer is approved by the school board of the transferee school district, then such decision shall be final.
( * * *c) * * *
The transferee school district shall notify, in writing, the school district
from which the pupil or pupils are transferring of the receipt of such transfer
request within a reasonable period of time, and the school board of the
transferor school district shall spread the same upon its minutes. * * *
( * * *d) Any legal guardianship formed for
the purpose of establishing residency for school district attendance purposes
shall not be recognized by the affected school board.
(e) The legal transfer of a student under this subsection shall include a provision for the transportation of the student by either the parent or legal guardian of the student or the transferee school district, provided that the transferee school district does not violate the provision of Section 37-15-29(3), prohibiting the transportation of students in excess of thirty (30) miles from his or her home.
(f) The provisions of this subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to school-age children whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) are active members of the United States Armed Forces complying with Section 37-15-29(4).
(g) Athletic eligibility for a school-age child who transfers to another school or school district pursuant to this subsection shall be determined based on the child's fall semester enrollment. A child shall be athletically eligible for one (1) school per school year. A child may transfer to another school mid-year, however, that child shall not be athletically eligible until the following fall school year. A child shall not be deemed athletically ineligible, thus ruled ineligible for any length of time, based upon a transfer of schools, so long as the provisions in this section are followed.
(2) (a) Upon the petition in writing of any parent or guardian who is a resident of Mississippi and is an instructional or licensed employee of a school district, but not a resident of such district, the school board of the employer school district shall consent to the transfer of such employee's dependent school-age children to its district and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the board. Upon the petition in writing of any parent or guardian who is not a resident of Mississippi and who is an instructional or licensed employee of a school district in Mississippi, the school board of the employer school district shall consent to the transfer of such employee's dependent school-age children to its district and shall spread the same upon the minutes of the board.
(b) The school board of any school district, in its discretion, may adopt a uniform policy to allow the enrollment and attendance of the dependent children of noninstructional and nonlicensed employees, who are residents of Mississippi but are not residents of their district. Such policy shall be based upon the employment needs of the district, implemented according to job classification groups and renewed each school year.
(c) The employer transferee school district shall notify in writing the school district from which the pupil or pupils are transferring, and the school board of the transferor school district shall spread the same upon its minutes.
(d) Any such agreement by school boards for the legal transfer of a student shall include a provision providing for the transportation of the student. In the absence of such a provision the responsibility for transporting the student to the transferee school district shall be that of the parent or guardian.
(e) Any school district which accepts a student under the provisions of this subsection shall not assess any tuition fees upon such transferring student in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-19-27.
(3) Upon the petition in
writing of any parent or legal guardian of a school-age child who is a resident
of an adjacent school district residing in the geographical situation described
in Section 37-15-29(3), the school board of the school district operating the
school located in closer proximity to the residence of the child shall consent
to the transfer of the child to its district, and shall spread the same upon
the minutes of the board. * * * The
legal transfer of a student under this subsection shall include a provision for
the transportation of the student by either the * * * parent or legal guardian or the
student or the transferee school district. In the event that * * * the school board of the transferee * * * school district shall object
to the transfer, * * *
the parent or legal guardian shall have the right to appeal to
the State Board of Education whose decision shall be final. * * * The responsibility for transporting the student to
the transferee school district shall be that of the parent or guardian if
the transferee school district does not agree in the consent of transfer, which
shall be spread upon its minutes, to provide transportation for the student.
* * *
( * * *4) * * *
Before September 1 of each year, the board of trustees of * * * a municipal separate school
district shall certify to the State Department of Education the number of
students in the added territory of the municipal separate school district who
are transferred to the adjacent school district under this subsection. The
municipal separate school district also shall certify the total number of
students in the school district residing in the added territory plus the number
of those students who are transferred to the adjacent school district. Based
upon these figures, the department shall calculate the percentage of the total
number of students in the added territory who are transferred to the adjacent
school district and shall certify this percentage to the levying authority for
the municipal separate school district. The levying authority shall remit to
the school board of the adjacent school district, from the proceeds of the ad
valorem taxes collected for the support of the municipal separate school
district from the added territory of the municipal separate school district, an
amount equal to the percentage of the total number of students in the added
territory who are transferred to the adjacent school district.
(5) The sibling(s) of any child lawfully transferred in accordance with this section, may also, at the discretion of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), enroll and attend school in the transferee school district, subject to the provisions of this act. For purposes of this subsection, the term sibling includes any biological child, stepchild, adopted child, or foster child in temporary or permanent placement who resides in the same household of the parent or legal guardian who has a child lawfully transferred to another school district under the provisions of this section, provided that such sibling is transferred to the same school or district as the previously transferred sibling.
(6) (a) Each school district shall implement an enrollment options program as provided in this section. The local school boards of each school district shall adopt policies to govern the process for enrollment options pursuant to this section, including intradistrict transfers. The policies shall prohibit discrimination against any pupil on the basis of his residential address, ability, disability, race, ethnicity, sex or socioeconomic status. The policies shall be posted to the school district's website.
(b) In the development of its policies, each school board shall include a selection policy for requests for transfers of pupils to enroll in the school district, to ensure such selections are made through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether a pupil should be enrolled based upon the pupil's academic or athletic performance. The local school board shall calculate the capacity of the schools in the district for purposes of this subdivision in a nonarbitrary manner in accordance with subsection (8) of this section. However, school districts may employ existing entrance criteria for specialized schools or programs if the criteria are uniformly applied to all individuals submitting transfer requests. This subsection shall not be construed to prohibit school districts from using academic performance to determine eligibility for, or placement in, programs for gifted and talented pupils established under Section 37-23-179.
(7) For students transferring to a school located in a school district in which the student does not reside, the State Department of Education shall pay to the transferee school district (receiving school district) to which the student is transferred an amount equal to the total funding formula funds, allocated for each student transferring to a school district outside his or her district of residence. The amount of funds payable to the receiving school district by the department must be based on the local school district of residence's previous year's enrollment data, determined by using months one (1) through nine (9) average daily membership, as reported to the State Department of Education by the transferor local school district. Any such payments made under this subsection (5) by the State Department of Education to a receiving school district must be made two (2) business days prior to the last working day of each month. There shall be paid to a receiving school district, by electronic funds transfer, one-twelfth (1/12) of the funds to which the receiving school district is entitled from funds appropriated for the adequate education program fund, or any subsequent funding program which replaces such program fund, for each child transferred to such school district under the authority of this section. However, in December those payments shall be made on December 15th or the next business day after that date. If a student transfer occurs after the start date of the scholastic year, the department shall not make any distribution of payments to the receiving school district until such time that the receiving school district certifies the enrollment of the transfer student to the department, which shall then only make payments to the receiving school district for such student for the remainder of the scholastic year as a proportionate share of the one-twelfth (1/12) of funds to which the receiving school district is entitled.
(8) (a) Each school district must determine the maximum enrollment for each grade level and individualized by school facilities, which shall then be used to determine space available for transfer requests, and which such information on capacity limitations shall be published on the school district's website at a reasonable time before the start of the academic school year. For secondary grades, a district may use core classroom size per grade level as the standard to determine maximum enrollment.
(b) Not less than four (4) times during the school year, each school district shall publicly post on its website the space available at each grade-level and at each school. Space available shall be determined by comparing the maximum enrollment to the number of pupils actually enrolled. A school district that does not meet the minimum sample size necessary to prevent unlawful release of personally identifiable student data established pursuant to subsection (10) of this section is not subject to the publication requirements pursuant to this subsection.
(c) Not less than four (4) times during the school year, every school district shall report to the state reporting system the space available at each grade-level, school, and in each program, the number of transfer requests, the number of accepted transferred pupils and the number of denied transfer requests.
(9) By August 1 of each year, the State Board of Education shall collect, analyze and publish to its website the capacity and transfer data from each school district from the previous year. The report shall include the number of participants, the number of denied requests, and other relevant information. The board shall also report this information to the Legislature no later than December 31 of each year.
(10) The State Board of Education shall not publish or release data of a school district if the number of students who requested a transfer is less than the minimum sample size necessary for prevention of the unlawful release of personally identifiable student data. The board shall establish the minimum number of students necessary to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(11) The provisions of this section shall not supersede any provision of an enforceable desegregation court order or a court-approved desegregation plan.
(12) The receiving school district shall identify each student it accepts into its district under the transfer authority of this section and report that data to the State Department of Education by category of student name, grade classification, grade point average, gender and ethnicity. The department shall then compile this data by district, redacting all personally identifying information of students to prevent any FERPA violations, and submit an annual report of this information to each member of the Legislature.
SECTION 2. (1) There is established within the State Treasury, a special fund to be designated as the "Student Portability and Open Enrollment Fund." Monies in the fund shall be expended by the State Department of Education, upon appropriation of the Legislature, for the purposes of paying the cost of the local portion of total funding formula base-student cost for the transferring student at the transferee district's rate, which shall be allocated to transferee school districts on a first-come, first-served basis. The Student Portability and Open Enrollment Fund shall consist of:
(a) Monies appropriated to or transferred into the fund by the Legislature, provided that such annual legislative appropriations or transfers into the fund shall not exceed Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00);
(b) Monies transferred to the fund from the federal government, other state agencies or local governments;
(c) Any gifts, donations or grants made to the state for deposit in the fund;
(d) Monies collected for the fund from contributions to, or investment returns or assets of, the program or other monies collected by or for the program to the extent permitted under federal and state law; and
(e) Earnings on monies in the fund.
(2) The State Board of Education shall accept any grants, gifts, appropriations, or other monies from the state, any unit of federal, state or local government, or any other person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity solely for deposit into the fund, whether for investment or administrative expenses.
(3) Unexpended amounts remaining in the Student Portability and Open Enrollment Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.
