Title 37, Education

Under the provisions of Section 37-13-131, the State Department of Education may provide for the services of a School Health Services Coordinator, School Instruction Coordinator, School Environmental Specialist, and such other professional and nonprofessional staff as may be need…

(1) The Legislature recognizes that there is a problem with Mississippi student inactivity and obesity, and therefore requires the following guidelines for school district physical education, health education and physical activity and fitness classes:(a) Kindergarten through Grad…

(1) Subject to available funding, the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Health, shall establish the school health grant pilot program to improve student health by assisting local school districts in implementing a school health program. I…

(1) In addition to all other authority, duties and powers the school boards of the school districts of this state may now have, each is authorized and empowered to adopt plans for the implementation of the Comprehensive School Health Education Program into the local school curric…

(1) The State Board of Education shall adopt regulations as provided in this section not later than March 1, 2008, which shall be effective for compliance by school districts beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, for the Child Nutrition School Breakfast and Lunch Programs tha…

Before July 1, 1997, all local school districts shall provide programs of education in home economics, in Grade 10, 11 or 12, which include course work in responsible parenting and family living skills. These programs shall contain instruction to prepare students to understand ch…

Subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor, any school district or community/junior college district may apply for funding through the Division of Vocational and Technical Education of the State Department of Education to acquire and operate a home economics train…

Nothing in this code shall be construed to prevent any local school board, in its discretion, from allowing references to religion or references to or the use of religious literature, history, art, music or other things having a religious significance in the public schools of suc…

(1) Any teacher, administrator, school council or local school board in any public school district in this state may post in a public school building, classroom or at any school event or read from any historical document or writing relating to the founding of the United States of…

(1) The local school board of every public school district shall adopt a policy to implement abstinence-only or abstinence-plus education or sexual risk avoidance education into its curriculum, which instruction in those subjects shall be implemented not later than the start of t…

Each school providing instruction or any other presentation on human sexuality in the classroom, assembly or other official setting shall be required to provide no less than one (1) week’s written notice thereof to the parents of children in such programs of instruction. The writ…

Nothing in Sections 37-13-171 and 37-13-173 shall apply to any biological science course or curriculum.

The local school boards of the public school districts, in their discretion, may develop and implement, at the beginning of the 1999-2000 school year, a comprehensive program for character education in Grades K-12. The definition of the character traits chosen by the school distr…

Assessment of the students’ understanding of the character traits chosen to be taught in public school shall be limited to and must reflect the material taught in the classroom. Students shall not be evaluated in any way as to whether or not the students evidence a specific chara…

The State Board of Education shall review the proposed character education programs of the individual school districts to ascertain if the programs comply with the criteria set forth in Section 37-13-181. Review of the programs shall not exceed a time period of sixty (60) days. I…

In addition to the curriculum otherwise required by law or the State Board of Education to be taught in the public schools of this state, the school board of a local school district may allow course credit to any high school student, who is a member of the National Guard and atte…

Understanding the important role the Civil Rights Movement had on the State of Mississippi and understanding the importance of teaching Mississippi’s children all of our history, it is the goal of this Legislature to provide meaningful support to this most important endeavor. Mis…

The State Board of Education may make civil rights and human rights education a part of the K-12 curriculum of instruction in Mississippi public schools. The State Department of Education shall work with the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission established in Section 37-…

(1) There is created the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission. The commission shall be assigned to the Office of the Secretary of State for administrative purposes only. The commission shall provide or assist education officials and other organizations with information, …

(1) No public institution of higher learning, community/junior college, school district or public school, including public charter schools, shall direct or otherwise compel students to personally affirm, adopt or adhere to any of the following tenets:(a) That any sex, race, ethni…

Sections 37-13-201 through 37-13-213 shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Computer Science and Cyber Education Equality Act.”

(a) The Mississippi Legislature finds that:(a) Education in computer science is a critical need for the students of Mississippi for the twenty-first century;(b) More than half of high schools in Mississippi do not teach a computer science course; and(c) The logical thinking skill…

(a) As used in Sections 37-13-201 through 37-13-215, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed in this section:(a) “Career and technical education with embedded computer science course” means a high school career and technical education (CTE) course that, in addition to…

(1) The State Department of Education is authorized and directed to implement K-12 computer science curriculum based on the 2018 Mississippi College and Career-Readiness Standards for computer science, which includes instruction in, but not limited to:(a) Computational thinking;(…

The State Department of Education shall review district-submitted courses to enable schools to utilize high quality online computer science courses to meet the needs of such schools as a result of Sections 37-13-201 through 37-13-213.

The State Board of Health and the various county health departments are hereby authorized and empowered to establish and provide for health education programs in the public school districts of this state and to employ county health educators for such purpose. In order to effectua…

(1) Subject to appropriations made by the Legislature, the State Department of Education shall provide annual training for teachers, counselors , administrators and paraprofessionals in order to phase in the K-12 computer science curriculum. Preference should be given to district…

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall work with its member institutions to identify preservice teacher preparation programs to allow for certification in the computer science field.

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Future Innovators Act.” (2) Beginning with the entering ninth-grade class of 2029-2030, a public high school student shall, before graduation, be required to earn one (1) unit of credit in a high school computer…

No doctrinal, sectarian or denominational teaching shall be permitted in public schools of this state. It shall be the duty of the county superintendents of education and the superintendents of municipal separate school districts to enforce the provisions of this section.

It shall be lawful for any teacher or school administrator in any of the schools of the state which are supported, in whole or in part, by the public funds of the state, to permit the voluntary participation by students or others in prayer. Nothing contained in this section shall…

(1) The legislative intent and purpose for this section is to protect the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, to define for the citizens of Mississippi the rights and privileges that are accorded them on public school property, o…

All principals and/or superintendents of public schools in all school districts in Mississippi shall report to their county superintendent of education upon forms prepared and sent to the county superintendent of education by the director of the division of instruction, giving th…

(1) The flag of the State of Mississippi and the flag of the United States shall be displayed in close proximity to the school building at all times during the hours of daylight when the school is in session when the weather will permit without damage to the flag. It shall be the…

(1) For purposes of this section, “civics” means a nonpartisan educational program that promotes:(a) The acquisition of knowledge of the history, heritage, civic life and civic institutions of the United States of America and the State of Mississippi;(b) The acquisition of skills…

(1) The state department of education is hereby designated as the state agency responsible for the administration and supervision of the career education concept as an educational innovation in the State of Mississippi. It is the intent of the legislature that all funds made avai…

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 37-13-58, the state department of education is hereby authorized to provide for the services of a state coordinator of career education and such other professional and nonprofessional staff as may be needed and as funds available to the depar…

(1) The flag of the United States shall be displayed in close proximity to the school building, on a proper staff, at all times during the hours of daylight when the school is in session when the weather will permit without damage to the flag. In addition, the flag of the United …

In addition to all other authority, duties and powers the governing boards of the several school districts of this state may now have, each is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt plans for the implementation of a career education program as the same best suits the needs ther…

(1) The Mississippi State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, hereinafter “SOICC,” is hereby designated as the entity responsible for the operation and management of an occupational information system to support career development in elementary schools, middle/junior…

The local school board shall have the power and authority to fix the date for the opening and closing of the school term, subject to the minimum number of days which schools must be in session during a scholastic year, as prescribed under Section 37-13-63. However, local school b…

(1) Except as otherwise provided, all public schools in the state shall be kept in session for at least one hundred eighty (180) days in each scholastic year. (2) If the school board of any school district shall determine that it is not economically feasible or practicable to ope…

(1) Beginning with the 2010-2011 school term, any school district required to close the operation of its schools by decision of the superintendent, under the authority provided by the local school board, due to extreme weather conditions, in the best interests of the health and s…

Upon application from the school board, the superintendent of schools may close any school because of an epidemic prevailing in the school district or because of the death, resignation, sickness or dismissal of a teacher or teachers or because of any other emergency necessitating…

The number of hours of actual teaching which shall constitute a school day shall be determined and fixed by the board of trustees of the school district at not less than five and one-half (5-½) hours.

All public schools of this state may observe such legal holidays as may be designated by the local school board, and no sessions of school shall be held on holidays so designated and observed. However, all schools shall operate for the full minimum term required by law exclusive …