Senate Bill 2536

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO REENACT SECTION 37-11-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, AND TO AMEND SECTION 2 OF CHAPTER 484, LAWS OF 2009, TO DELETE THE AUTOMATIC REPEALER ON THE PROVISION ALLOWING PARENTAL CHOICE FOR THE PLACEMENT OF TWINS IN THE SAME OR IN SEPARATE CLASSROOMS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-43-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO OFFER SURPLUS INVENTORY TEXTBOOKS TO PARENTS OR GUARDIANS OF STUDENTS RESIDING IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-11-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:

37-11-1. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, after a pupil has been assigned to a particular public school, the principal, or anyone else vested with the authority of assigning pupils to classes, knowingly shall not place such pupil in a class where the pupil's presence would serve to adversely affect, hinder, or retard the academic development of the other pupils in the class.

(2) (a) A parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples, as defined in paragraph (d) of this subsection, may request that the children be placed in the same classroom or in separate classrooms if the children are in the same grade level at the same school. The school may recommend classroom placement and provide professional education advice to the parent or guardian to assist the parent or guardian in making the best decision for the children's education. A school must provide the placement requested by the children's parent or guardian unless: (i) the parent or guardian has requested that the children, who are different sexes, be placed in the same classroom and the students in the school have been assigned to different classrooms according to sex, as authorized under Section 37-11-3; or (ii) the school board of the school district makes a classroom placement determination following the school principal's request according to this subsection.

(b) A parent or guardian making a request under this subsection must submit a written request for the classroom placement to the school principal no later than fourteen (14) calendar days after the first day of each school year or, if the children are enrolled in the school after the school year commences, no later than fourteen (14) calendar days after the children's first day of attendance in the school.

(c) At the end of the initial grading period during which children have been in the same classroom or separate classrooms pursuant to their parent or guardian's request under this subsection, if the principal, in consultation with the children's classroom teacher or teachers, determines that the requested classroom placement is disruptive to the school, the principal may request that the school board determine the children's classroom placement.

(d) For purposes of this section, the term "higher order multiples" means triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets or more.

SECTION 2. Section 2 of Chapter 484, Laws of 2009, is amended as follows:

Section 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2009 * * *.

SECTION 3. Section 37-43-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-43-1. (1) This chapter is intended to furnish a plan for the adoption, purchase, distribution, care and use of free textbooks to be loaned to the pupils in all elementary and high schools of Mississippi.

(2) The books herein provided by the State Board of Education, which shall be the State Textbook Procurement Commission, shall be distributed and loaned free of cost to the children of the free public schools of the state and of all other schools located in the state, which maintain educational standards equivalent to the standards established by the State Department of Education for the state schools as outlined in the Approval Requirements of the State Board of Education for Nonpublic Schools.

(3) Teachers shall permit all pupils in all grades of any public school to carry to their homes for home study, the free textbooks loaned to them, and any other regular textbooks whether they be free textbooks or not.

(4) For the purposes of this chapter, the term "board" shall mean the State Board of Education.

(5) "Textbook" shall be defined as any medium or manual of instruction which contains a systematic presentation of the principles of a subject and which constitutes a major instructional vehicle for that subject.

(6) In addition to the authority granted in this chapter, local school boards shall make available to the parents or legal guardians of any children of school age who reside in the school district administered by the school board, upon request, any textbooks on the state surplus inventory list. The parent or legal guardian is responsible for the return of the textbook(s) to the local school district upon completion of the textbook(s) use. Failure to return the textbook(s) to the school district will result in the parents or legal guardians being responsible for compensating the school district for the fair market value of the textbook(s). * * *

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.