Title 37, Education

All funds provided for in Sections 37-23-91 through 37-23-111 shall be kept in a separate fund and shall be used exclusively for the construction, operation, furnishings and maintenance of any such center so established. Any funds accumulated which are not used in any fiscal year…

Any child development center created under the provisions of Sections 37-23-91 through 37-23-111 shall be entitled to receive all contributions and benefits allowed to the other school districts from the federal and state governments including, but not limited to, contributions o…

Any center created under the provisions of Sections 37-23-91 through 37-23-111 may be constructed at any location within the county either in or outside of a municipality.

Sections 37-23-121 through 37-23-131 shall be cited as the “Mississippi Learning Resources Law of 1974.”

The intent of the legislature of the State of Mississippi, by passage of Sections 37-23-123 through 37-23-131, is to develop and make available to children of this state who are being considered for possible or continued placement in the exceptional child program of diagnostic an…

(1) The Department of Education is directed to establish a learning resources system to be implemented and administered by the department. (2) The state board of education shall adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement and administer this syst…

(1) The state superintendent of education shall appoint a learning resources advisory committee for each center not to exceed ten (10) members as the superintendent, in his discretion, deems proper from each of the following groups:(a) Professional educators actively engaged in t…

(a) The department shall determine the services to be provided by the system, however, at least the following services will be provided:(a) Provision of diagnostic and evaluation services to children who are being considered for possible or continued placement in educational prog…

(1) The school board of any school district is hereby authorized to comply with the provisions of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.S. Sections 12101-12213 (West Supp. 1991)) by making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitatio…

(a) The department, in implementing the provisions of Sections 37-23-121 through 37-23-131, shall have the following duties:(a) To establish in various areas of the state, the location and size of which shall be determined by the department, a team of full-time, qualified profess…

(a) Words and terms, unless otherwise defined below, when used in Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-159 shall be defined in the same manner as those words and terms used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 Amendments (IDEA), Family Educational Rights and Privacy …

(1) For the purposes of this section, each local educational agency is eligible for assistance under IDEA Part B for a fiscal year if, in providing for the education of children with disabilities within its jurisdiction, policies, procedures and programs are in effect that are co…

(1) Consent shall be obtained:(a) Prior to initial evaluation;(b) Prior to implementation of the initial individualized educational program for a child with a disability;(c) Prior to reevaluation, except that such consent is not required, if the local educational agency can demon…

(1) The State Department of Education shall establish the necessary rules and regulations in accordance with IDEA to provide for an organization or individual to file a signed written complaint with respect to a violation of federal or state regulations by a local educational age…

(1) The State Department of Education shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to establish a mediation system which, at a minimum, shall be available whenever a due process hearing under IDEA is requested. The mediation system shall allow parties the opportunity to r…

(1) When any public agency directly responsible for the education of children with disabilities initiates or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child, t…

(1) The State Board of Education shall establish and maintain an advisory panel for the purpose of providing policy guidance with respect to special education and related services for children with disabilities in the State. (2) The advisory panel shall consist of members appoint…

(1) The State Department of Education shall establish goals for the performance of students with disabilities that will promote the purpose of IDEA and are consistent, to the maximum extent appropriate, with other goals and standards for students established by the State Departme…

(1) Children with disabilities shall be included in general statewide and district-wide assessments programs, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary. As appropriate, the State Department of Education and the local educational agency shall:(a) Develop policies and proced…

There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the “Special Education, Special Services Fund” which shall be used to distribute any funds specifically appropriated by the Legislature to such fund. This Special Education, Special Services Fund wil…

(1) The State Department of Education, in accordance with Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-75, and any additional authority granted in this chapter, shall:(a) Adopt pilot programs under which certain students enrolled or enrolling in public schools in this state shall be tested for…

It is the intent of the Legislature that none of the provisions of Sections 37-16-9, 37-23-1 through 37-23-9 and 37-23-133 through 37-23-149 shall create mandates that impose financial or legal requirements upon local school districts that are greater or more restrictive upon loc…

(1) (a) The State Department of Education shall select early literacy and numeracy screening assessment instrument or instruments to be used throughout the state in the screening of students in Kindergarten through Grade 3.(b) All school districts shall use the literacy and numer…

Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181 shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Gifted Education Act of 1989.”

The Legislature finds and declares that there are many children in the State of Mississippi who are intellectually, academically, creatively and/or artistically gifted and who require additional opportunities to allow them to develop their capabilities to their fullest potential.…

(a) For purposes of Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context shall prescribe otherwise:(a) “Gifted children” shall mean children who are found to have an exceptionally high degree of intellect, and/or academic,…

(a) The board shall have the following powers, duties and responsibilities:(a) To promulgate and enforce rules, regulations and guidelines to implement the provisions of Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181;(b) To provide technical assistance to local school district personnel in…

(1) The board shall specifically promulgate rules, regulations and guidelines which establish model programs of gifted education and also establish minimum criteria for gifted education programs. In providing programs of gifted education, the local district may use the model prog…

Sections 37-23-171 through 37-23-181 shall be in addition to and supplemental to the provisions of Sections 37-23-121 through 37-23-131, known as the “Mississippi Learning Resources Law of 1974.”

Sections 37-23-191 through 37-23-203 may be cited as the “Blind Persons’ Literacy Rights and Education Act.”

(a) For purposes of Sections 37-23-191 through 37-23-203, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Blind student” means an individual who is eligible for special education service…

(a) Contingent upon appropriated funding for teacher scholarships authorized under Chapter 562, Laws of 2012, students who are blind or visually impaired shall receive educational services from the following types of specialized professionals:(a) Certified Teachers of the Visuall…

(1) Each appropriate educational entity shall provide for the development of an IEP or 504 Plan for each blind or visually impaired student eligible for educational services or equipment, or both, under Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-157. In developing the written IEP or 504 Plan…

(1) Each blind student, as determined by the IEP Committee, shall be eligible for instruction in Literary and Nemeth Braille reading and writing codes which will sufficiently enable that student to communicate effectively and efficiently with the same level of proficiency expecte…

(1) All textbook publishers that sell textbooks published after December 2008 to school districts within the state must furnish the State Department of Education with computer files for literary and nonliterary subjects in the National Instructional Media Access Standard (NIMAS) …

(1) Before December 1, 2008, the State Board of Education shall appoint an ongoing Advisory Committee to expedite the implementation of Sections 37-23-191 through 37-23-203. The Advisory Committee shall be composed of at least twelve (12) persons nominated by the State Superinten…

(1) As part of the certification process, teachers certified in the education of blind and visually impaired students shall be required to demonstrate competence in reading and writing Braille after January 1, 2010. The State Department of Education shall adopt procedures to asse…

There is hereby established the Certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired Scholarship Program. The program shall be operated by the Mississippi Instructional Resource Center (MIRC). MIRC shall develop rules and regulations to implement a scholarship program to assist Certified T…

(1) An exceptional child shall be defined as any child as herein defined, in the age range birth through twenty (20) years of age with an intellectual disability, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), e…

(1) (a) When five (5) or more children under twenty-one (21) years of age who, because of significant developmental disabilities, complex communication needs, significant language or learning deficits or any combination of either, are unable to have their educational needs met ap…

(1) Such program of education, instruction and training as is provided for in Section 37-23-31 shall be furnished in such manner as shall be provided by rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, which for such purposes shall have the full power to adopt such …

(1) When any children who are residents of the State of Mississippi and qualify under the provisions of Section 37-23-31, are provided a program of education, instruction and training within a university-based program (UBP), the State Department of Education shall allocate funds …

Except as otherwise provided in Laws, 1999, Chapter 582, the State Department of Education is empowered to foster, inspect, approve and administer a program of education for exceptional children. The State Department of Education shall make the necessary rules and regulations in …

As used in Sections 37-23-61 through 37-23-75, the word “child” shall mean any child who cannot pursue all regular classwork due to reasons of defective hearing, vision, speech, intellectual disability, or other mental or physical conditions as determined by competent medical aut…

Every child who is a resident citizen of the State of Mississippi under twenty-one (21) years of age, who cannot pursue all regular class work due to reasons of defective hearing, vision, speech, intellectual disability or other mental or physical conditions as determined by comp…

The State Department of Education is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations for the payment of such financial assistance and the administration of Sections 37-23-61 through 37-23-75 generally. The State Department of Education shall have the authority to prom…