Bill Text: MS HB1178 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Placement of a child into an alternative school; require Adolescent Teams (A-Teams) to determine.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-03-16 - Approved by Governor [HB1178 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2011-HB1178-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Banks
House Bill 1178
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-14-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE LOCAL ADOLESCENT TEAMS (A-TEAMS)TO APPROVE OR DENY THE PLACEMENT OF ANY CHILD IN AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL; TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-92, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE SUCH A-TEAMS WITHIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO MAKE A DETERMINATION ON AN INDIVIDUALIZED BASIS BEFORE PLACING ANY COMPULSORY-SCHOOL-AGE CHILD INTO AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL; TO PROVIDE THAT IN THE ABSENCE OF OTHER FACTORS, SUCH BASIS SHALL NOT INCLUDE WHETHER A CHILD HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE COURT SYSTEM, MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM OR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; TO PROVIDE THAT IF A CHILD HAS COMPLETED CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS THEN HE OR SHE IS PRESUMED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A NONALTERNATIVE SCHOOL UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 43-21-621, 37-15-13 and 37-15-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-14-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-14-1. (1) The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the development, implementation and oversight of a coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care for children and youth, called the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, up to age twenty-one (21) with serious emotional/behavioral disorders including, but not limited to, conduct disorders, or mental illness who require services from a multiple services and multiple programs system, and who can be successfully diverted from inappropriate institutional placement. The Mississippi Statewide System of Care is to be conducted in the most fiscally responsible (cost-efficient) manner possible, based on an individualized plan of care which takes into account other available interagency programs, including, but not limited to, Early Intervention Act of Infants and Toddlers, Section 41-87-1 et seq., Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, Section 43-13-117(5), waivered program for home- and community-based services for developmentally disabled people, Section 43-13-117(29), and waivered program for targeted case management services for children with special needs, Section 43-13-117(31), those children identified through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 as having a serious emotional disorder (EMD), the Mississippi Children's Health Insurance Program and waivered programs for children with serious emotional disturbances, Section 43-13-117(46), and is tied to clinically and functionally appropriate outcomes. Some of the outcomes are to reduce the number of inappropriate out-of-home placements inclusive of those out-of-state and to reduce the number of inappropriate school suspensions and expulsions for this population of children. This coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care shall be named the Mississippi Statewide System of Care. Children to be served by this chapter who are eligible for Medicaid shall be screened through the Medicaid Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) and their needs for medically necessary services shall be certified through the EPSDT process. For purposes of this chapter, the Mississippi Statewide System of Care is defined as a coordinated network of agencies and providers working as a team to make a full range of mental health and other necessary services available as needed by children with mental health problems and their families. The Mississippi Statewide System of Care shall be:
(a) Child centered, family focused, family driven and youth guided;
(b) Community based;
(c) Culturally competent and responsive; and shall provide for:
(i) Service coordination or case management;
(ii) Prevention and early identification and intervention;
(iii) Smooth transitions among agencies and providers, and to the transition-age and adult service systems;
(iv) Human rights protection and advocacy;
(v) Nondiscrimination in access to services;
(vi) A comprehensive array of services composed of treatment and informal supports that are identified as best practices and/or evidence-based practices;
(vii) Individualized service planning that uses a strengths-based, wraparound process;
(viii) Services in the least restrictive environment;
(ix) Family participation in all aspects of planning, service delivery and evaluation; and
(x) Integrated services with coordinated planning across child-serving agencies.
Mississippi Statewide System of Care services shall be timely, intensive, coordinated and delivered in the community. Mississippi Statewide System of Care services shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Comprehensive crisis and emergency response services;
(b) Intensive case management;
(c) Day treatment;
(d) Alcohol and drug abuse group services for youth;
(e) Individual, group and family therapy;
(f) Respite services;
(g) Supported employment services for youth;
(h) Family education and support and family partners;
(i) Youth development and support and youth partners;
(j) Positive behavioral supports (PBIS) in schools;
(k) Transition-age supported and independent living services; and
(l) Vocational/technical education services for youth.
(2) There is established the Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth (hereinafter referred to as the "ICCCY"). The ICCCY shall consist of the following membership: (a) The State Superintendent of Public Education;
(b) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health;
(c) The Executive Director of the State Department of Health;
(d) The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services;
(e) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor;
(f) The Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(g) The Executive Director of Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health, Inc.;
(h) The Attorney General;
(i) A family member of a child or youth in the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies;
(j) A youth or young adult in the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies;
(k) A local MAP team coordinator designated by the Department of Mental Health;
(l) A child psychiatrist experienced in the public mental health system designated by the Mississippi Psychiatric Association;
(m) An individual with expertise and experience in early childhood education designated jointly by the Department of Mental Health and Mississippi Families as Allies;
(n) A representative of an organization that advocates on behalf of disabled citizens in Mississippi designated by the Department of Mental Health; and
(o) A faculty member or dean from a Mississippi university specializing in training professionals who work in the Mississippi Statewide System of Care designated by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.
If a member of the council designates a representative to attend council meetings, the designee shall bring full decision-making authority of the member to the meeting. The council shall select a chairman, who shall serve for a one-year term and may not serve consecutive terms. The council shall adopt internal organizational procedures necessary for efficient operation of the council. Each member of the council shall designate necessary staff of their departments to assist the ICCCY in performing its duties and responsibilities. The ICCCY shall meet and conduct business at least twice annually. The chairman of the ICCCY shall notify all ICCCY members and all other persons who request such notice as to the date, time, place and draft agenda items for each meeting.
(3) The Interagency System of Care Council (ISCC) is created to serve as the state management team for the ICCCY, with the responsibility of collecting and analyzing data and funding strategies necessary to improve the operation of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, and to make recommendations to the ICCCY and to the Legislature concerning such strategies on, at a minimum, an annual basis. The System of Care Council also has the responsibility of coordinating the local Multidisciplinary Assessment and Planning (MAP) teams and "A" teams and may apply for grants from public and private sources necessary to carry out its responsibilities. The Interagency System of Care Council shall be comprised of one (1) member from each of the appropriate child-serving divisions or sections of the State Department of Health, the Department of Human Services (Division of Family and Children Services and Division of Youth Services), the State Department of Mental Health (Division of Children and Youth, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), the State Department of Education (Office of Special Education and Office of Healthy Schools), the Division of Medicaid of the Governor's Office, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Attorney General's office. Additional members shall include a family member of a child, youth or transition-age youth representing a family education and support 501(c)3 organization, working with the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies, an individual with expertise and experience in early childhood education designated jointly by the Department of Mental Health and Mississippi Families as Allies, a local MAP team representative and a local "A" team representative designated by the Department of Mental Health, a probation officer designated by the Department of Corrections, a family member and youth or young adult designated by Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health, Inc., (MSFAA), and a family member other than a MSFAA representative to be designated by the Department of Mental Health and the Director of the Compulsory School Attendance Emforcement of the State Department of Education. Appointments to the Interagency System of Care Council shall be made within sixty (60) days after June 30, 2010. The council shall organize by selecting a chairman from its membership to serve on an annual basis, and the chairman may not serve consecutive terms.
(4) (a) As part of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, there is established a statewide system of local Multidisciplinary Assessment, Planning and Resource (MAP) teams. The MAP teams shall be comprised of one (1) representative each at the county level from the major child-serving public agencies for education, human services, health, mental health and rehabilitative services approved by respective state agencies of the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. These agencies shall, by policy, contract or regulation require participation on MAP teams and "A" teams at the county level by the appropriate staff. Three (3) additional members may be added to each team, one (1) of which may be a representative of a family education/support 501(c)3 organization with statewide recognition and specifically established for the population of children defined in Section 43-14-1. The remaining members will be representatives of significant community-level stakeholders with resources that can benefit the population of children defined in Section 43-14-1. The Department of Education shall assist in recruiting and identifying parents to participate on MAP teams and "A" teams.
(b) For each local existing MAP team that is established pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, there
shall also be established an "A" (Adolescent) team which shall work with a MAP team. The "A" teams shall provide System of Care services for youthful offenders who have serious behavioral or emotional disorders. A-Teams shall also approve or deny any child's placement in an alternative school. Each "A" team shall be comprised of, at a minimum, the following five (5) members:
(i) A school counselor, mental health therapist or social worker;
(ii) A community mental health professional;
(iii) A social services/child welfare professional;
(iv) A youth court counselor; and
(v) A parent who had a child in the juvenile justice system.
(c) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth and the Interagency System of Care Council shall work to develop MAP teams statewide that will serve to become the single point of entry for children and youth about to be placed in out-of-home care for reasons other than parental abuse/neglect.
(5) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth may provide input to one another and to the ISCC relative to how each agency utilizes its federal and state statutes, policy requirements and funding streams to identify and/or serve children and youth in the population defined in this section. The ICCCY shall support the implementation of the plans of the respective state agencies for comprehensive, community-based, multidisciplinary care, treatment and placement of these children.
(6) The ICCCY shall oversee a pool of state funds that may be contributed by each participating state agency and additional funds from the Mississippi Tobacco Health Care Expenditure Fund, subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature. Part of this pool of funds shall be available for increasing the present funding levels by matching Medicaid funds in order to increase the existing resources available for necessary community-based services for Medicaid beneficiaries.
(7) The local interagency coordinating care MAP team or "A" team will facilitate the development of the individualized System of Care programs for the population targeted in this section.
(8) Each local MAP team and "A" team shall serve as the single point of entry and re-entry to ensure that comprehensive diagnosis and assessment occur and shall coordinate needed services through the local MAP team and "A" team members and local service providers for the children named in subsection (1). Local children in crisis shall have first priority for access to the MAP team and "A" team processes and local System of Care services.
(9) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth shall facilitate monitoring of the performance of local MAP teams.
(10) Each ICCCY member named in subsection (2) of this section shall enter into a binding memorandum of understanding to participate in the further development and oversight of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care for the children and youth described in this section. The agreement shall outline the system responsibilities in all operational areas, including ensuring representation on MAP teams, funding, data collection, referral of children to MAP teams and "A" teams, and training. The agreement shall be signed and in effect by July 1 of each year.
SECTION 2. Section 37-13-92, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-92. (1) Beginning with the school year 2004-2005, the school boards of all school districts shall establish, maintain and operate, in connection with the regular programs of the school district, an alternative school program or behavior modification program as defined by the State Board of Education for, but not limited to, the following categories of compulsory-school-age students:
(a) Any compulsory-school-age child who has been suspended for more than ten (10) days or expelled from school, except for any student expelled for possession of a weapon or other felonious conduct;
(b) Any compulsory-school-age child referred to such alternative school based upon a documented need for placement in the alternative school program by the parent, legal guardian or custodian of such child due to disciplinary problems;
(c) Any compulsory-school-age child referred to such alternative school program by the dispositive order of a chancellor or youth court judge, with the consent of the superintendent of the child's school district; and
(d) Any compulsory-school-age child whose presence in the classroom, in the determination of A-Team is a serious disruption to the educational environment of the school or poses an imminent risk to the safety of students and teachers. A determination regarding alternative school placement shall be made on an individualized basis. Court involvement or involvement with the mental health system or with the Department of Human Services shall not provide a basis for referring a child to an alternative school, in the absence of other factors justifying a referral. Students who successfully complete placement in a residential program authorized by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Mental Health are presumed to be eligible to enroll in a nonalternative school in the absence of an individualized determination.
(2) The principal or program administrator of any such alternative school program shall require verification from the appropriate guidance counselor of any such child referred to the alternative school program regarding the suitability of such child for attendance at the alternative school program. Before a student may be removed to an alternative school education program, the superintendent of the student's school district must determine that the written and distributed disciplinary policy of the local district is being followed. The policy shall include standards for:
(a) The removal of a student to an alternative education program that will include a process of educational review to develop the student's individual instruction plan and the evaluation at regular intervals of the student's educational progress; the process shall include classroom teachers and/or other appropriate professional personnel, as defined in the district policy, to ensure a continuing educational program for the removed student;
(b) The duration of alternative placement; and
(c) The notification of parents or guardians, and their appropriate inclusion in the removal and evaluation process, as defined in the district policy. Nothing in this paragraph should be defined in a manner to circumvent the principal's or the superintendent's authority to remove a student to alternative education.
(3) The local school board or the superintendent shall provide for the continuing education of a student who has been removed to an alternative school program.
(4) A school district, in its discretion, may provide a program of general educational development (GED) preparatory instruction in the alternative school program. However, any GED preparation program offered in an alternative school program must be administered in compliance with the rules and regulations established for such programs under Sections 37-35-1 through 37-35-11 and by the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. The school district may administer the General Educational Development (GED) Testing Program under the policies and guidelines of the GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education in the alternative school program or may authorize the test to be administered through the community/junior college district in which the alternative school is situated.
(5) Any such alternative school program operated under the authority of this section shall meet all appropriate accreditation requirements of the State Department of Education.
(6) The alternative school program may be held within such school district or may be operated by two (2) or more adjacent school districts, pursuant to a contract approved by the State Board of Education. When two (2) or more school districts contract to operate an alternative school program, the school board of a district designated to be the lead district shall serve as the governing board of the alternative school program. Transportation for students attending the alternative school program shall be the responsibility of the local school district. The expense of establishing, maintaining and operating such alternative school program may be paid from funds contributed or otherwise made available to the school district for such purpose or from local district maintenance funds.
(7) The State Board of Education shall promulgate minimum guidelines for alternative school programs. The guidelines shall require, at a minimum, the formulation of an individual instruction plan for each student referred to the alternative school program and, upon a determination that it is in a student's best interest for that student to receive general educational development (GED) preparatory instruction, that the local school board assign the student to a GED preparatory program established under subsection (4) of this section. The minimum guidelines for alternative school programs shall also require the following components:
(a) Clear guidelines and procedures for placement of students into alternative education programs which at a minimum shall prescribe due process procedures for disciplinary and general educational development (GED) placement;
(b) Clear and consistent goals for students and parents;
(c) Curricula addressing cultural and learning style differences;
(d) Direct supervision of all activities on a closed campus;
(e) Attendance requirements that allow for educational and workforce development opportunities;
(f) Selection of program from options provided by the local school district, Division of Youth Services or the youth court, including transfer to a community-based alternative school;
(g) Continual monitoring and evaluation and formalized passage from one step or program to another;
(h) A motivated and culturally diverse staff;
(i) Counseling for parents and students;
(j) Administrative and community support for the program; and
(k) Clear procedures for annual alternative school program review and evaluation.
(8) On request of a school district, the State Department of Education shall provide the district informational material on developing an alternative school program that takes into consideration size, wealth and existing facilities in determining a program best suited to a district.
(9) Any compulsory-school-age child who becomes involved in any criminal or violent behavior shall be removed from such alternative school program and, if probable cause exists, a case shall be referred to the youth court.
(10) The State Board of Education shall promulgate guidelines for alternative school programs which provide broad authority to school boards of local school districts to establish alternative education programs to meet the specific needs of the school district.
(11) Each school district having an alternative school program shall submit a report annually to the State Department of Education describing the results of its annual alternative school program review and evaluation undertaken pursuant to subsection (7)(k). The report shall include a detailed account of any actions taken by the school district during the previous year to comply with substantive guidelines promulgated by the State Board of Education under subsection (7)(a) through (j).
SECTION 3. Section 43-21-621, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-621. (1) The youth court may, in compliance with the laws governing education of children, order any state-supported public school in its jurisdiction after notice and hearing to enroll or reenroll any compulsory-school-age child in school, and further order appropriate educational services. Provided, however, that the youth court shall not order the enrollment or reenrollment of a student that has been suspended or expelled by a public school pursuant to Section 37-9-71 or 37-7-301 for possession of a weapon on school grounds, for an offense involving a threat to the safety of other persons or for the commission of a violent act. For the purpose of this section "violent act" means any action which results in death or physical harm to another or an attempt to cause death or physical harm to another. The A-Team of the school district to which such child is ordered may, in its discretion, assign such child to the alternative school program of such school established pursuant to Section 37-13-92; however, before such an assignment is made, the A-Team shall make a determination regarding the placement of the child on an individualized basis and according to the criteria prescribed in Section 37-13-92(1)(d). The court shall have jurisdiction to enforce school and education laws. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the attendance of a child in a legitimate home instruction program.
(2) The youth court may specify the following conditions of probation related to any juvenile ordered to enroll or reenroll in school: That the juvenile maintain passing grades in up to four (4) courses during each grading period and meet with the court counselor and a representative of the school to make a plan for how to maintain those passing grades.
(3) If the adjudication of delinquency was for an offense involving a threat to the safety of the juvenile or others and school attendance is a condition of probation, the youth court judge shall make a finding that the principal of the juvenile's school should be notified. If the judge orders that the principal be notified, the youth court counselor shall within five (5) days or before the juvenile begins to attend school, whichever occurs first, notify the principal of the juvenile's school in writing of the nature of the offense and the probation requirements related to school attendance. A principal notified by a juvenile court counselor shall handle the report according to the guidelines and rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
(4) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall report to the Legislature on the number of juveniles reported to principals in accordance with this section no later than January 1, 1996.
SECTION 4. Section 37-15-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-15-13. When any child qualified under the requirements of Section 37-15-9 shall apply or present himself for enrollment in or admission to the public schools of any school district of this state, the school board of such school district shall have the power and authority to designate the particular school or attendance center of the district in which such child shall be enrolled and which he shall attend; no enrollment of a child in a school shall be final or permanent until such designation shall be made by said school board. No child shall be entitled to attend any school or attendance center except that to which he has been assigned by the school board; however, the principal of a school or superintendent of the district may, in proper cases, permit a child to attend a school temporarily until a permanent assignment is made by the school board. A determination regarding alternative school placement shall be made on an individualized basis pursuant to Section 37-13-92. Court involvement or involvement with the mental health system or with the Department of Human Services shall not provide a basis for referring a child to an alternative school, in the absence of other factors justifying a referral. Students who successfully complete placement in a residential program authorized by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Mental Health are presumed to be eligible to enroll in a nonalternative school.
SECTION 5. Section 37-15-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-15-15. In making assignments of children to schools or attendance centers, the school board shall take into consideration the educational needs and welfare of the child involved, the welfare and best interest of all the pupils attending the school or schools involved, the availability of school facilities, sanitary conditions and facilities at the school or schools involved, health and moral factors at the school or schools, and in the community involved, and all other factors which the school board may consider pertinent, relevant or material in their effect on the welfare and best interest of the school district and the particular school or schools involved. All such assignments shall be on an individual basis as to the particular child involved and, in making such assignment, the school board shall not be limited or circumscribed by the boundaries of any attendance areas which may have been established by such board. A determination regarding alternative school placement shall be made on an individualized basis pursuant to Section 37-13-92. Court involvement or involvement with the mental health system or with the Department of Human Services shall not provide a basis for referring a child to an alternative school, in the absence of other factors justifying a referral. Students who successfully complete placement in a residential program authorized by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Mental Health are presumed to be eligible to enroll in a nonalternative school.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.
