MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Senator(s) Smith
AN ACT TO CODIFY SECTION 37-6-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ENACT THE "NONPARTISAN SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION ACT"; TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE NOVEMBER 2016 GENERAL ELECTION, THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY BOARDS OF EDUCATION, TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, THE TRUSTEES OF CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THE TRUSTEES FROM THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHALL BE ELECTED IN A NONPARTISAN ELECTION CONCURRENT WITH THE FEDERAL ELECTION FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; TO PROVIDE THAT THE TERMS OF OFFICE OF ALL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SHALL BE FOUR YEARS; TO PROVIDE FOR NOMINATING PETITIONS TO RUN FOR THE OFFICE OF ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND A UNIFORM NUMBER OF SIGNATURES ON SAID PETITIONS OF NOMINATION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-5-1, 37-5-3, 37-5-7, 37-5-9, 37-5-18, 37-5-19, 37-7-203, 37-7-207, 37-7-221, 37-7-223, 37-7-225, 37-7-227, 37-7-229 AND 37-7-703, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-204, 37-7-209, 37-7-211, 37-7-213, 37-7-215, 37-7-217 AND 37-7-219, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR ELECTING TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM ADDED TERRITORY; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 37-7-711, 37-7-713, 37-7-715 AND 37-7-717, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE CERTAIN METHODS FOR SELECTING TRUSTEES OF SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-5-1 AND 37-7-201, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE MEMBERS OF LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO HAVE AT LEAST 24 CREDIT HOURS OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AS A QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 37-6-17, Mississippi Code of 1972:
37-6-17. (1) This section shall be known as the "Nonpartisan School Board Election Act." For purposes of this section, the term "school board member" shall mean and include members of the county boards of education, trustees of municipal separate school districts, trustees of consolidated school districts and line consolidated school districts, and trustees of special municipal separate school districts.
(2) On Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2016, and every four (4) years thereafter and concurrently with the federal election for the President of the United States, there shall be held a nonpartisan election for all local school board members, including members of the county boards of education, trustees of municipal separate school districts, trustees of consolidated school districts and trustees of special municipal separate school districts as provided under this section and applicable law. The laws regulating the time and manner of conducting general elections shall, except as otherwise provided in this section, apply to and govern elections of school board members and trustees of the applicable school districts.
(3) The term of office of any incumbent school board member holding office within a school district on the effective date of this act shall expire on January 1, 2017, but any such incumbent may qualify to run for a subsequent four-year term as under the provisions of this section. A school board member is a nonpartisan office and a candidate for election thereto is prohibited from campaigning or qualifying for such an office based on party affiliation. The Legislature finds that in order to ensure that campaigns for nonpartisan school board members remain nonpartisan and with any connection to a political party, political parties and any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party shall not engage in fundraising on behalf of a candidate or officeholder of a nonpartisan school board member, nor shall a party or any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party make any contribution to a candidate for a nonpartisan school board member office, nor shall a political party or any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party publicly endorse any candidate for a nonpartisan school board member. No candidate or candidate's political committee for a nonpartisan school board member shall accept a contribution from a political party or any committee or political committee affiliated with a political party.
(4) In order for a person to be eligible to hold the office of school board member or the office of trustee of any school district, such person must be a bona fide resident and a qualified elector of the territory that the person is representing on the school board or board of trustees, and in the case of a school district lying in two (2) or more counties, such person must be a resident and a qualified elector of the territory entitled to such representation on the board as provided in Section 37-7-201.
(5) The name of any qualified elector who is a candidate for the county board of education, municipal school district board of trustees, consolidated school district board of trustees or special municipal school district board of trustees or elected added territory member of a municipal separate school district shall be placed on the ballot used in the general elections by the county election commissioners, provided that the candidate files with the county election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of such general election, a petition of nomination signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the county residing within the appropriate school board district, as provided in Section 37-5-9, as the case may be. Where there are less than one hundred (100) qualified electors in said area represented by the trustee, it shall only be required that said petition of nomination be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors in said area. The petition shall contain an affidavit certifying that all signatures are the personal signatures of each person whose name appears on the petition and that each person is a qualified elector. The candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the election shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the district, then the two (2) candidates who receive the highest number of votes cast in the district shall have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election three (3) weeks after the date of the general election, and the candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the district in the runoff election shall be declared elected. If after the time for candidates to file the petition and affidavit provided for herein, there should be only one (1) person to qualify for the office of trustee, then no election or notice of election shall be necessary and such person shall, if otherwise qualified, be declared elected without opposition.
(6) The names of candidates for school board election which appear on the ballot at the general election shall be grouped together on a separate portion of the ballot, clearly identified as nonpartisan school board member elections. The names for school board members shall be listed in alphabetical order on any ballot and no reference to political party affiliation shall appear on any ballot with respect to any nonpartisan school board member or candidate. The name of any unopposed candidate for school board member shall be placed on the general election ballot.
(7) At any election for school board members, all qualified electors, regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof, residing with the appropriate school board election district shall be qualified to vote for candidates for school board members.
SECTION 2. Section 37-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-1. (1) There is hereby established a county board of education in each county of the State of Mississippi. Said county board of education shall consist of five (5) members, one (1) of which, subject to the further provisions of this chapter and except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-1(2), shall be elected by the qualified electors of each board of education district of the county, at the general election for President of the United States as provided in Section 37-6-17. Except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-3, each member so elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district from which he is elected.
(2) The county board of education shall apportion the county school district into five (5) single member board of education districts. The county board of education shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) board of education districts. The board of education of said county shall thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general circulation within said county for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of education of said county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective. The board of education of said county shall reapportion the board of education districts in accordance with the procedure described herein for the original apportionment of districts as soon as practicable after the results of the 2000 decennial census are published and as soon as practicable after every decennial census thereafter.
(3) In counties where the office of "administrative superintendent" as defined in Section 37-6-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, has been abolished, there shall be no county board of education.
SECTION 3. Section 37-5-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-3. No person who is a resident of the territory embraced within a municipal separate school district or a special municipal separate school district shall be eligible to be a member of the county board of education. Qualified electors residing within a municipal separate school district or special municipal separate school district shall not be eligible to vote or participate in the election of members of the county board of education provided under Section 37-6-17.
The provisions of this section shall be applicable in the case of a special municipal separate school district and a line consolidated school district of which another county is the home county which together occupy all of the territory of a supervisors district of the county.
SECTION 4. Section 37-5-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-7. (1) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, 1954, an election shall be held in each county in this state in the same manner as general state and county elections are held and conducted, which election shall be held for the purpose of electing the county boards of education established under the provisions of this chapter. At such election, the members of the said board from Supervisors Districts One and Two shall be elected for the term expiring on the first Monday of January 1957; members of the board from Supervisors Districts Three and Four shall be elected for a term expiring on the first Monday of January 1959; and the member of the board from Supervisors District Five shall be elected for a term expiring on the first Monday of January 1955. Except as otherwise provided in subsection ( * * *3), all subsequent members of the board shall be elected for a term of six (6) years at the regular general election held on the first Monday in November next preceding the expiration of the term of office of the respective member or members of such board. All members of the county board of education as herein constituted, shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election.
(2) On the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November * * * 2016, and every four (4) years thereafter,
an election shall be held in each such county in this state for the purpose of
electing the county boards of education in such counties as provided in
Section 37-6-17. * * *
(3) All members of the county board of education shall be elected for a term of four (4) years and shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election.
SECTION 5. Section 37-5-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
37-5-9. (1) As specifically provided in Section 37-6-17, the name of any qualified elector who is a candidate for the county board of education shall be placed on the ballot used in the general elections by the county election commissioners, provided that the candidate files with the county election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of such general election, a petition of nomination signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the county residing within each supervisors district. Where there are less than one hundred (100) qualified electors in the supervisors district, it shall only be required that the petition of nomination be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such supervisors district. The candidate in each supervisors district who receives a majority of the votes cast in the district must be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the general election, then the two (2) candidates who receive the highest number of votes cast in the district shall have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election three (3) weeks after the date of the general election, and the candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the district in the runoff election must be declared elected.
* * *
( * * *2) In no case shall any qualified elector
residing within a municipal separate school district or special municipal
separate school district be eligible to sign a petition of nomination for any
candidate for the county board of education under any of the provisions of this
section.
SECTION 6. Section 37-5-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-18. In any county bordering on the Mississippi Sound and having therein at least four (4) municipal separate school districts, each member of the county board of education established by Section 37-5-1 for such county shall be elected from and shall be a resident and qualified elector in a special district determined in the following manner:
The board of education of such a county shall apportion the county into five (5) board of education districts in the territory outside the municipal separate school districts and these board of education districts shall be divided as nearly equal as possible according to population, incumbency and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts. The board of education shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) board of education districts. The board of education of said county shall thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general circulation within said county for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of education of said county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective.
The members of the county board of education of the county described in this section shall be elected in the manner provided in Section 37-6-17.
* * *
SECTION 7. Section 37-5-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-19. Vacancies in the membership of the county board of education shall be filled by appointment, within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs, by the remaining members of the county board of education. Said appointee shall be selected from the qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs, and shall serve until the first Monday of January next succeeding the next general election, at which general election a member shall be elected to fill the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner and with the same qualifications applicable to the election of a member for the full term as provided in Section 37-6-17.
In the event the vacancy occurs more than five (5) months prior to the next general election and the remaining members of the county board of education are unable to agree upon an individual to be appointed, any two (2) of the remaining members may certify such disagreement to the county election commission. Upon the receipt of such a certificate by the county election commission, or any member thereof, the commission shall hold a special election to fill the vacancy, which said election, notice thereof and ballot shall be controlled by the laws concerning special elections to fill vacancies in county or county district offices. The person elected at such a special election shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
SECTION 8. Section 37-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-203. (1) * * * The boards of trustees of all municipal separate school
districts created under this chapter, either with or without added territory,
shall consist of five (5) members. * * * On the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2016, and every four (4) years
thereafter, an election shall be held in each municipal separate school
district in this state, in the same manner and at the same time as the federal
election for President of the United States is held, for the purpose of
electing the members of the boards of trustees established under the provisions
of this chapter. All members of the boards of trustees as herein constituted
shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their
election and shall serve for a term of four (4) years. The five (5) members of
the board of trustees of such school district shall be elected from special
trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as herein
provided. The board of trustees of such school district shall apportion the
municipal separate school district, including added territory, into five (5)
special trustee election districts as nearly equal as possible according to
population, incumbency and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts.
The board of trustees shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined
for the new five-trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter
publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school
district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given
notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of
trustees. When the orders of the board of trustees adopting the special
trustee election district lines have been entered and are final, the new
district lines shall be submitted to the Attorney General of the United States
for preclearance or to the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia for a declaratory judgment in accordance with the provisions of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. In the event the new
trustee election districts are either precleared by the United States Department
of Justice, or approved by the United States District Court, the board of
trustees shall formally declare the new districts as effective. All incumbent
trustees holding office at the time of the creation of such trustee election
districts shall continue holding their respective offices, provided they reside
within the new district, for the remainder of the term of office to which they
have heretofore been selected, and their successors shall be elected from the
new trustee election districts constituted herein in the manner provided for in
this section.
* * *
(2) * * * Vacancies in the membership of the board of
trustees of any municipal separate school district shall be filled by
appointment, within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs, by the governing
authorities of such municipality. Such appointee shall be selected from the
qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs. The president
of the municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State
the fact of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned
by the Governor; and if the unexpired term be longer than six (6) months, such
appointee shall serve until a successor is elected as hereinafter provided, unless
the vacancy shall occur before ninety (90) days prior to the general election
in a year in which an election would normally be held for that office as
provided by law, in which case the person so appointed shall serve the
unexpired portion of the term. Such vacancies shall be filled for the
unexpired term by the qualified electors at the next regular special election
day occurring more than ninety (90) days after the occurrence of the vacancy.
The president of the municipal governing authority shall, within ten (10) days
after the happening of the vacancy, make an order, in writing, directed to the
commissioners of election, commanding an election to be held on the next
regular special election day to fill the vacancy. The election commissioners shall
require each candidate to qualify at least sixty (60) days before the date of
the election, shall give a certificate of election to the person elected, and
shall return to the Secretary of State a copy of the order of holding the
election showing the results thereof, certified by the president of the
municipal governing authority. Such election shall be held in the same manner
provided for other municipal office vacancies. The person elected shall be
commissioned by the Governor.
Provided, however, where only one (1) person shall have qualified with the commissioners of election to be a candidate within the time provided by law, the commissioners of election shall certify to the municipal governing authority that there is but one (1) candidate. Thereupon, the municipal governing authority shall dispense with the election and shall appoint the candidate so certified to fill the unexpired term. The president of the municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State the candidate so appointed to serve in such office and that candidate shall be commissioned by the Governor. In the event that no person shall have qualified at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of the election, the commissioners of election shall certify that fact to the municipal governing authority which shall dispense with the election and fill the vacancy by appointment. The president of the municipal governing authority shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned by the Governor.
* * *
SECTION 9. Section 37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-207. (1) All school
districts reconstituted or created under the provisions of Article 1 of this
chapter, and which lie wholly within one (1) county, but not including
municipal separate and countywide districts, shall be governed by a board of
five (5) trustees. The first board of trustees of such districts shall be
appointed by the county board of education, and the original appointments shall
be so made that one (1) trustee shall be appointed to serve until the first
Saturday of March following such appointments, one (1) for one (1) year longer,
one (1) for two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer, and one
(1) for four (4) years longer. * * * Provided,
however, that beginning with the November 2016 federal election for President
of the United States, the trustees of such school districts shall be elected at
the time and in the manner provided in Section 37-6-17 for terms of four (4)
years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of such consolidated
school district shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the
qualified electors thereof, as herein provided. The board of trustees of any
such consolidated school district shall apportion the consolidated school
district into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of
trustees of such school district shall place upon its minutes the boundaries
determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The board of
trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general
circulation within said school district for at least three (3) consecutive
weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon
the minutes of the board of trustees, said new district lines shall thereafter
be effective.
* * * All members of the said board of
trustees shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of
their election. All vacancies which may occur during a term shall be filled by
appointment of the consolidated school district trustees, but the person so
appointed shall serve only until the next general election following such
appointment * * *.
(2) All school districts
reconstituted and created under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter,
which embrace territory in two (2) or more counties, but not including
municipal separate school districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5)
trustees. In making the original appointments, the several county boards of
education shall appoint the trustee or trustees to which the territory in such
county is entitled * * * by agreement between the county boards concerned * * *. Provided, however, that beginning with the
November 2016 federal election for President of the United States, the members
of such line consolidated school district board of trustees shall be elected at
the time and in the manner provided in Section 37-6-17 for terms of four (4) years.
The five (5) members of the board of trustees of such line consolidated school
district shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the
qualified electors thereof, as herein provided. The existing board of trustees
of such line consolidated school district shall apportion the line consolidated
school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of
trustees shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new
five (5) trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter
publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school
district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given
notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of
trustees, said new district lines shall thereafter be effective. Provided,
however, that in any line consolidated school district encompassing two (2) or
more counties created pursuant to Laws, 1953, Extraordinary Session, Chapter
12, Section 8, in which, as a condition precedent to the creation of said
district, each county belonging thereto was contractually guaranteed to always
have at least one (1) representative on said board, in order that said
condition precedent may be honored and guaranteed, in any year in which the
board of trustees of such line consolidated school district does not have at
least one (1) member from each county or part thereof forming such district,
the board of trustees in such district shall be governed by a board of a
sufficient number of trustees to fulfill this guarantee, five (5) of whom shall
be elected from the five (5) special trustee election districts which shall be
as nearly equal as possible and one (1) member trustee appointed at large from
each county not having representation on the elected board. In such cases, the
board of supervisors of each county shall make written agreement to guarantee
the manner of appointment of at least one (1) representative from each county
in the district, placing such written agreement on the minutes of each board of
supervisors in each county.
* * * All
members of the said board of trustees shall take office on the first Monday of
January following the date of their election. In all elections, the trustee
elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district entitled to
the representation upon the board, and he shall be elected only by the
qualified electors of such district in the manner provided in Section 37-6-17.
All vacancies which may occur during a term of office shall be filled by
appointment of the consolidated line school district trustees, but the person
so appointed shall serve only until the next general election following such
appointment * * *.
SECTION 10. Section 37-7-221, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-221. The election of
consolidated or consolidated line school district trustees shall be held in the
manner provided for in * * * Section 37-6-17
rather than the method now provided by Sections 37-7-209 through 37-7-219.
SECTION 11. Section 37-7-223, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-223. All elections of
consolidated or consolidated line school district trustees shall be held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November * * * 2016, concurrent with the
federal election for President of the United States as provided in Section 37-6-17.
SECTION 12. Section 37-7-225, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-225. The county
election commissioners shall place the name of any person eligible to hold the
office of trustee on the ballot used in the election, provided that such
candidate shall have filed with the county registrar, not more than ninety (90)
days and by 5:00 p.m. not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of such
election, a petition of nomination signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified
electors of the school district. Where there are less than one hundred (100)
qualified electors in said district, it shall only be required that said
petition of nomination be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the
qualified electors of such school district. * * *
If after the time for candidates to file the petition of nomination provided for herein there should be only one (1) person to qualify for the office of trustee, then no election or notice of election shall be necessary and such person shall, if otherwise qualified, be declared elected without opposition.
SECTION 13. Section 37-7-227, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-227. * * * The candidate who receives a majority of the votes
cast * * *
shall be declared elected, and the person or persons elected to a full term
shall assume the duties of his office on the first day of January of the year
following such election. * * *The person or persons elected to an unexpired term(s) shall assume office
immediately. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast
at the election, a runoff shall be held in the same manner three (3) weeks
after the election between the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number
of votes upon the first ballot.
* * *
SECTION 14. Section 37-7-229, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-229. For the purpose of holding such election, it shall be the duty of the county election commissioners to prepare from the records in the office of the county registrar a list of the qualified electors of the school district in which such election is to be held who are eligible to participate in such election. Such list shall be furnished to the election managers in each precinct, together with the ballots and other election supplies.
In the event that any election precinct embraces parts of two or more school districts it shall be the duty of the county election commissioners to prepare from the records in the office of the county registrar separate lists of the qualified electors of each school district who reside in said precinct and who are eligible to participate in such election. Said election commissioners shall furnish to the election managers in said precinct separate ballots and separate ballot boxes and separate voting lists for each school district.
For each day spent in carrying out the provisions of Sections 37-7-225 through 37-7-229 and Section 37-6-17, the county election commissioners shall be paid at the rate prescribed by law.
SECTION 15. Section 37-7-703, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-703. In all such special municipal separate school districts which embrace the entire county in which, according to the latest available federal census, a majority of the inhabitants of the county reside within the corporate limits of the municipality, the board of trustees of such special municipal separate school district shall be chosen and selected in the manner provided by subsection (1) of Section 37-7-203 and Section 37-6-17, and all of the provisions thereof shall be fully applicable in all respects to the selection and constitution of such board of trustees. Provided, however, that the board of trustees of any special municipal separate school district shall have the authority to apportion the new trustee election districts as provided in Section 37-7-203(1).
SECTION 16. Sections 37-7-204, 37-7-209, 37-7-211, 37-7-213, 37-7-215, 37-7-217 and 37-7-219, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide certain methods for electing trustees of municipal separate school districts from added territory, are repealed.
SECTION 17. Sections 37-7-705, 37-7-707, 37-7-709, 37-7--711, 37-7-713, 37-7-715 and 37-7-717, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide certain methods for selecting trustees of special municipal separate school districts, are repealed.
SECTION 18. Section 37-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-5-1. (1) There is hereby established a county board of education in each county of the State of Mississippi. Said county board of education shall consist of five (5) members, one (1) of which, subject to the further provisions of this chapter and except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-1(2), shall be elected by the qualified electors of each board of education district of the county. Except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-3, each member so elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district from which he is elected. Each member of a county board of education elected to a term of office beginning on or after January 1, 2016, shall be required to have at least twenty-four (24) credit hours of postsecondary education from an accredited college or university.
(2) The county board of education shall apportion the county school district into five (5) single member board of education districts. The county board of education shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) board of education districts. The board of education of said county shall thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general circulation within said county for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of education of said county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective. The board of education of said county shall reapportion the board of education districts in accordance with the procedure described herein for the original apportionment of districts as soon as practicable after the results of the 2000 decennial census are published and as soon as practicable after every decennial census thereafter.
(3) In counties where the office of "administrative superintendent" as defined in Section 37-6-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, has been abolished, there shall be no county board of education.
SECTION 19. Section 37-7-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-201. In order for a person to be eligible to hold the office of trustee of any school district, such person must be a bona fide resident and a qualified elector of such school district, and, in the case of a school district lying in two (2) or more counties, but not including municipal separate school districts, such person must be a bona fide resident and a qualified elector of the territory entitled to such representation on the board. Any member of a local school board appointed or elected to office for a term of office beginning on or after January 1, 2014, shall have at least twenty-four (24) credit hours of postsecondary education from an accredited college or university.
SECTION 20. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
SECTION 21. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.