Bill Text: MS HB1177 | 2011 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Joint Education and Mental Health Study Committee; create to study services provided to children with mental disorders.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-04-26 - Approved by Governor [HB1177 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2011-HB1177-Enrolled.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2011 Regular Session

To: Education; Public Health and Human Services

By: Representative Brown

House Bill 1177

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO CREATE THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE AND PARAPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND MENTAL HEALTH STUDY COMMITTEE TO STUDY AND MAKE ANNUAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE REGARDING THE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE IN SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY TO IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE TASK FORCE; TO SET FORTH THE DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE; TO AMEND SECTION 1, CHAPTER 484, LAWS OF 2010, TO REVISE THE COMPOSITION OF THE TASK FORCE TO STUDY STRATEGIES FOR SOLVING THE CURRENT TEACHER SHORTAGE IN MISSISSIPPI AND TO EXTEND THE DATE OF ITS DISSOLUTION UNTIL THE FILING OF ITS LEGISLATIVE REPORT IN 2013; TO SET FORTH THE DUTIES OF THE STUDY COMMITTEE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  (1)  There is created the Joint Legislative and Paraprofessional Education and Mental Health Study Committee to study and make annual recommendations to the Mississippi Legislature and to assist in shaping public policy to improve student outcomes and educational opportunities for students with serious emotional, behavioral disorders in regular and special education in the State of Mississippi.  The study group shall be composed of the following members:

          (a)  One (1) person who is a member of the governing body of a school district, to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education;

          (b)  One (1) person who is a representative of the State Department of Education, to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education (no designee);

          (c)  One (1) person who is the Director of Special Education services in a school district, to be appointed

by the State Superintendent of Public Education;

          (d)  One (1) person who is a representative of the State Department of Mental Health, to be appointed by the executive director of the department;

          (e)  One (1) regular education teacher to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education;

          (f)  One (1) special education teacher to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education;

          (g)  The Executive Director of Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health;

          (h)  One (1) person each who is a representative of  Parent and Training Institute, Mississippi Disability Rights,  Southern Echo, Mississippi Center for Justice and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), to be appointed by the executive directors of each respective organization;

          (i)  One (1) person who is a representative of the Department of Rehabilitation Services appointed by the

executive director of the department;

          (j)  One (1) person who is a representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by the executive director of the department;

          (k)  One (1) person who is a representative of a local school district Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS) model to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Education;

          (l)  One (1) person who is an employee-representative of the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers to be appointed by the Governor;

          (m)  One (1) person who is a nonemployee representative of the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers to be appointed by the Governor;

          (n)  The Chairman of the House Public Health and Human

Services Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, who will be cochairmen of the joint study committee; and

          (o)  The Chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees, who will be cochairmen of the joint study committee.

     (2)  Members of the study group shall work together to insure that family members are representative of the regions of the state and the various types of relevant issues in both special education and regular education specific issues.

     (3)  The study committee is tasked with the following responsibilities:

          (a)  Collecting and analyzing data on out-of-school suspensions;

          (b)  Collecting and analyzing data on alternative school placement;

          (c)  Collecting and analyzing data on the use of corporal punishment;

          (d)  Reviewing the use of Medicaid payments for mental health services in schools;

          (e)  Establishing a clear defined process for requesting mental health services;

          (f)  Reviewing mental health training provided for school personnel, beyond classroom management, interventions and preventions;

          (g)  Promoting professional development training on disabilities and specific disorders; and

          (h)  Evaluating why dropout rates for children and youth with mental health issues are higher than the average rate.

     (4)  Appointments to the task force shall be made within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this act.  The task force shall hold its first meeting not later than August 15, 2011, with the date, time and location of the meeting to be designated by the Executive Director of the Department of Mental Health.

     (5)  Members of the task force shall serve without compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for necessary expense in attending to the actual business of the task force from any available funds, as provided by law.  Legislative members shall be reimbursed from the contingent expense fund of their respective house, but only with the specific approval of the Rules Committee of the respective house.  The task force, by approval of a majority of its membership, may accept funds that may be donated or provided in the form of grants from public or private sources.

     (6)  Any department, agency or court of this state, at the request of the chairman of the task force, shall provide staff and other support necessary for the task force to perform its duties.

     (7)  The study committee shall report to the Governor and the Legislature by not later than January 1, 2013, at which time the study committee shall be dissolved.

     SECTION 2.  Section 1 of Chapter 484, Laws of 2010, is amended as follows:

     Section 1.  (1)  The Task Force to Study Strategies for Solving the Current Teacher Shortage in Mississippi is created to study and make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding teacher attrition, retention and growth in our state.  The task force shall study and make recommendations on the following key areas:

          (a)  Teacher salaries;

          (b)  Future educators;

          (c)  Working conditions of educators;

          (d)  Relevant professional development for educators;

          (e)  Adequate and equitable resources and support for educators;

          (f)  Safety and respect in the schools;

          (g)  Parental and community involvement in the schools;

          (h)  The teacher salary scale under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program;

          (i)  Step increases and annual increments under the teacher salary scale;

          (j)  Merit pay for teachers;

          (k)  Teacher pay for failing schools;

          (l)  Local supplements to teacher salaries;

          (m)  Nonadequate education program funded teachers; and

          (n)  Adequate and equitable resources and support for teacher salaries.

     (2)  Members of the task force shall be composed of the following:

          (a)  The State Superintendent of Public Education, or his designee;

          (b)  One (1) person appointed by the Governor;

          (c)  The Chairmen of the Senate and House Education Committees;

          (d)  The Chairmen of the Senate and House Universities and Colleges Committees;

          (e)  The Chairmen of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees;

          (f)  Three (3) classroom teachers appointed by the State Board of Education, one (1) to be an elementary teacher, one (1) to be a middle school teacher and one (1) to be a high school teacher;

          (g)  One (1) assistant teacher appointed by the Mississippi Association of Educators;

          (h)  One (1) principal appointed by the State Board of Education;

          (i)  One (1) local school superintendent appointed by the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents; * * *           (j)  Two (2) deans of the College of Education of a Mississippi public or private university appointed by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning;

          (k)  The Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee; and

          (l)  The Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, or his designee.

     Appointments to the task force shall be made within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this act.  The task force shall hold its first meeting not later than August 1, 2011, with the date, time and location of the meeting to be designated by the State Superintendent of Education.  At the first meeting the task force shall elect from among its membership a chairman, vice chairman and any other officers determined to be necessary, who shall organize the task force for business and determine the date and locations of subsequent meetings.

     Members of the task force shall serve without compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for necessary expense in attending to the actual business of the task force from any available funds, as provided by law.  Legislative members shall be reimbursed from the contingent expense fund of their respective house, but only with the specific approval of the Rules Committee of the respective house.  The task force, by approval of a majority of its membership, may accept funds that may be donated or provided in the form of grants from public or private sources.

     (3)  Any department, agency or court of this state, at the request of the chairman of the task force, shall provide staff and other support necessary for the task force to perform its duties.

     (4)  Upon presentation of its report to the Governor and the 2013 Regular Session of the Legislature, the task force shall be dissolved.

     SECTION 3.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.

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