Senate Bill 2775

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-154-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE LONGITUDINAL DATA SYSTEM (SLDS) GOVERNING BOARD SHALL ALLOW THE PARENTS OR LEGAL GUARDIANS OF PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO OPT-OUT OF THE MANDATORY ELECTRONIC DATA EDUCATIONAL TRACKING SYSTEM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-154-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-154-1. (1) To improve quality of life, education and employment opportunities for all citizens, the appropriate agencies of the State of Mississippi listed in subsection (2) of this section shall develop and maintain a State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). The system will allow stakeholders and policymakers access data on state residents from birth to the workforce to drive accountability and investment decisions. The system will include data from multiple state agencies and entities. The system will provide decision makers a tool to develop policies to support objectives, including, but not limited to:

(a) Enabling Mississippians to secure and retain employment and receive better pay after completing training or postsecondary degrees;

(b) Enabling Mississippi to meet the education and job skill demands of business and industry;

(c) Developing an early warning system, which allows the state to intervene early, improving the graduation rates in high school and college;

(d) Identifying teachers, teaching methods and programs that lead to positive student outcomes; and

(e) Encouraging the sharing of electronic data across educational and other entities.

(2) Individual state agencies and state entities will send data from their internal system to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System. These initial agencies and entities shall provide data to the SLDS under the provisions developed by the SLDS Governing Board established in Section 37-154-3:

(a) Mississippi Department of Education (MDE);

(b) Mississippi Community College Board;

(d) State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB);

(e) Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES);

(f) Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS); and

(g) State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC).

Any agencies or entities added to SLDS shall provide a representative to the SLDS Governing Board and be governed in the same manner as the initial agencies and entities.

(3) The system will be based on an existing system currently housed, developed and maintained by the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (nSPARC) at Mississippi State University. The initial agencies participating in the SLDS Governing Board and nSPARC have worked collaboratively to secure funding through the United States Department of Education to expand and enhance the capacity of the state's existing technology infrastructure for the purposes of developing the SLDS. The State Data Center, operated by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS), will provide application hosting services for the SLDS until such time the SLDS Governing Board approves that another entity should perform these services.

(4) Effective with the 2015-2016 school year, the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Governing Board is authorized and directed to allow the parents or legal guardians of public school students to option-out of the mandatory electronic data educational tracking system established under this section. The State Board of Education, acting through the State Department of Education, shall verify that any such parent or guardian is allowed to option-out of this system upon request.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.