Bill Text: MS SB2734 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Community schools planning grant program; establish fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2019-02-05 - Died In Committee [SB2734 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2019-SB2734-Introduced.html

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MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2019 Regular Session

To: Education; Appropriations

By: Senator(s) Simmons (12th)

Senate Bill 2734

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION GRANT FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO PUBLIC ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAMS ESTABLISHED WITHIN SUCH SCHOOLS DESIGNED TO PLAN, ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS AND SOCIAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY SUCH SCHOOLS; TO DEFINE THE TERM "COMMUNITY SCHOOL"; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EACH GRANT THAT MAY BE AWARDED TO EACH ELIGIBLE SCHOOL UNDER THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  (1)  There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Community Schools Planning and Implementation Grant Fund."  The fund shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal-year limitations, and shall consist of:

          (a)  Monies appropriated by the Legislature;

          (b)  The interest accruing to the fund;

          (c)  Donations or grant funds received; and

          (d)  Monies received from such other sources as may be provided by law.

     (2)  The monies in the Community Schools Planning and Implementation Grant Fund shall be used by the State Department of Education solely for the administration of programs established within public elementary or secondary schools designed to:

          (a)  Provide functional services as a community school, to assist in the planning processes for the establishment or continued support of community schools through a needs and assets assessment;

          (b)  Provide implementation grants for eligible participating schools for an initial period of three (3) years; and

          (c)  Provide sustainability grants to those schools which demonstrate success after the initial three-year grant period.

     (3)  For purposes of this section, the term "community school" means a public elementary or secondary school that provides:

          (a)  Integrated student supports, which address out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers, coordinated by a community school director, which may include but are not limited to:

              (i)  Medical;

              (ii)  Dental;

              (iii)  Vision care; and

              (iv)  Mental health services, or counselors to assist with housing, transportation, nutrition or criminal justice issues;

          (b)  Expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, including before-school, after-school, weekend and summer programs, which provide additional academic instruction, individualized academic support, enrichment activities and learning opportunities that emphasize real-world learning and community problem solving, and which may include, but are not limited to:

              (i)  Art;

              (ii)  Music;

              (iii)  Drama;

              (iv)  Creative writing;

              (v)  Hands-on experience with engineering or science, tutoring and homework help; and

              (vi) Recreational programs that enhance and are consistent with the school's curriculum;

          (c)  Active family and community engagement, which brings students' families and the community into the school as partners in children's education and makes the school a neighborhood hub, providing adults with educational opportunities they want, including, but not limited to:

              (i)  English as a Second Language classes;

              (ii)  Green card or citizenship preparation;

              (iii)  Computer skills;

               (iv)  Art;

              (v)  GED classes; or

              (vi)  Other programs that bring community members into the building for meetings or events; and

          (d)  Collaborative leadership and practices, which build a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility using strategies which shall, at a minimum, include:

              (i)  A school-based leadership team;

              (ii)  A community school director; and

              (iii)  A community-wide leadership team, which may include, but is not limited to:

                   1.  Other leadership or governance teams;

                   2.  Teacher learning communities; and

                   3.  Other staff to manage the multiple, complex joint work of school and community organizations.

     (4)  The grant program shall be contingent upon the availability of funds appropriated by the Legislature.  If legislative funding is not sufficient to meet the needs of all eligible schools, the department shall reduce the allocation of funds to each school in proportion to the total number of eligible schools participating in the grant program.

     (5)  As a condition of receipt of grant funds, eligible community school applicants shall:

          (a)  Provide a community school director and, as applicable, a district-level community school initiative director to coordinate services across eligible schools;

          (b)  Establish or maintain a school-based leadership team and teacher learning communities, and, for the local school district, a community-wide leadership team;

          (c)  Implement at least two (2) of the following integrated student supports:

              (i)  Health services that may be based in the eligible school or provided in the community, including primary health, dental care and mental health, including trauma-informed care;

              (ii)  Nutrition services, including providing additional meals or assistance in accessing food assistance programs;

              (iii)  Programs that provide assistance to students who have been chronically absent, as indicated by absences at least ten percent (10%) of the school year, in-school and out-of-school suspensions or expelled;

              (iv)  Mentoring and other youth development programs;

              (v)  Programs that support positive school climates;

              (vi)  Juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs;

              (vii)  Specialized instructional support services;

              (viii)  Homeless prevention services;

              (ix)  Developmentally appropriate physical education;

              (x)  Legal services, including immigration-related legal services;

              (xi)  Dropout prevention programs; and

              (xii)  Transportation services necessary for students to access integrated student support services, expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, family and community engagement activities, or other services and activities identified to support the development of students.

          (d)  Implement expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, which may include:

              (i)  Additional academic instruction in the form of before-school and after-school and summer learning programs;

              (ii)  Mentorship programs;

              (iii)  Job training, internships, apprenticeships, and service-learning opportunities; and

              (iv)  Time provided for the Community School Director, school staff, the school-based leadership team and others to plan, coordinate and integrate these opportunities; and

          (e)  Implement at least two (2) active family and community engagement strategies, which may include:

              (i)  On-site early childhood care and education programs;

              (ii)  Home visitation services by teachers and other professionals;

              (iii)  Adult education, including instruction in English as a second language, GED or credit recovery programs;

              (iv)  Job search and preparation services and career advancement activities;

              (v)  Legal services, such as help with green card or citizenship preparation;

              (vi)  Programs that aid family and community well-being, including accessing homeless prevention services;

              (vii)  Programs that promote parental involvement and family literacy, provide volunteer opportunities, promote inclusion in school-based leadership teams, and empower and strengthen families and communities;

              (viii)  Provide other programming or services designed to meet school and community needs identified in the needs and assets assessment, that may also satisfy requirements in paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) of this subsection (5); and

     (6)  Required activities shall not be duplicative of existing programs and activities.

     (7)  The Community Schools Planning and Implementation Grant Fund program shall provided a maximum grant for planning, implementation and renewal grants to eligible applicants as follows:

          (a)  A one-year planning grant of up to Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) for each eligible school;

          (b)  Annual implementation grants of up to Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) a year for a period of three (3) years for each eligible school; and

          (c)  At the conclusion of the initial three-year grant period, applicants with demonstrated success, as determined by an evaluation conducted by the State Department of Education, may apply for a sustainability grant of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) annually for each eligible school for up to three (3) years.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.