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Q: May a school district adopt a policy that requires all security personnel use their personal vehicles, if necessary, to respond to an emergency situation at one of its schools for which they will later be reimbursed for mileage?
A: School boards have the ultimate authority to hire “non-instructional” employees and prescribe their duties. In the case of security personnel that have responsibilities at multiple schools, it is obvious that some travel is involved. Therefore, such a policy is lawful, including one that requires the employees to maintain liability insurance coverage on the vehicles. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Mayfield dated October 31, 2008)

Q: Must the Mississippi Board of Education, having followed the requirements of Section 37-17-6 in establishing a state of emergency in a local school district, abolish that district, including the local board of education and the superintendent pursuant to Section 37-17-13?
A: When the Governor acts on a request from the State Board of Education and declares that there exists an emergency in a particular local school district and there is a conflict in the statutes as to whether the abolishment of said district by the State Board of Education is discretionary or mandatory, the conflict must be resolved in favor of the latest expression of legislative intent. Therefore, such abolishment is discretionary, not mandatory. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Bounds dated November 7, 2008)

Q: Are Mississippi public schools authorized to deny access to a particular member of the print / television / radio media to cover school sporting events while allowing other members to cover such events, and may conditions or fees be imposed on media by the school for covering such events? May a cablevision sports programmer who tapes a complete public school event for broadcast at a subsequent time for profit, be charged a fee by the public school, while print and television station media are allowed to report the event without paying such a fee?
A: A public school and /or school district is authorized to implement reasonable policies and regulations regarding access to school functions, including restricting access to such events and placing conditions on access to such events, so long as such policies are rationally related to a legitimate school interest. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Horhn dated October 20, 2008)

Q: Can a school district issue promissory notes pursuant to Section 37-57-108 for a revenue shortfall that will result from a reduction in the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund?
A: No. A school district is not authorized to issue promissory notes under Section 37-57-108, due to a reduction in funding from the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Bounds dated December 19, 2008)

Q: May a municipal board contract with a CPA (or other qualified person) to review records, make reports and observe inventories and cash counts to assure a clear cut off and transfer of responsibility at the end of their term of office?
A: Yes. The municipal home rule law set forth in Section 21-17-5 allows actions such as this as part of the care, management and control of municipal affairs, property and finances.

Q: Should a municipal board order an inventory of municipal property at the end of its term of office?
A: Yes. An inventory will identify missing property while a board is still in a position to determine its disposition and order corrective actions. An inventory will also verify what property is transferred to the responsibility of the incoming board.

Q: Must an employee resign from a covered position if he/she is a relative of a person who is elected to the next municipal board?
A: No. The state nepotism law set forth in Section 25-1-53 does not apply to employees who were employed/appointed prior to their relative´s term of office.

Q: May a newly elected municipal board member continue to do business (such as sale goods from his or her store) with the municipality after he or she assumes office?
A: No. Section 25-4-105 and Constitutional Section 109 would prohibit continued business until one year after he or she leaves office.

Q: Is there a violation of the separation of powers doctrine in the Mississippi Constitution for a city councilperson to be employed as director of managed care with a county owned hospital?
A: No. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Wilkinson dated December 12, 2008)

Q: Is the mayor, in a mayor-council form of municipal government, required to submit the appointment of a chief administrative officer for confirmation by the city council at the beginning of a new four-year term, if the individual appointed has been previously confirmed by the city council?
A: Yes. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Ratcliff dated December 30, 2008)

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Q: Can a two percent (2%) reduction in Education Enhancement Funds be applied to a school district, if the reduction results in that school district receiving an annual grant in an amount less than the pledged amount for the year inwhich the contract or resolution was adopted to pay debt service pursuant to 37-61-33(2)(d) of the Mississippi Code?
A: No. The Department of Education may not reduce a grant to a school district below the amount equal to the district´s grant amount for debt service for the year in which the contract or resolution authorizing the pledge for debt service was adopted. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Bounds dated December 19, 2008)

Q: Is a public school district authorized to invest bond proceeds in obligations of insurance firms or other corporations?
A: Yes. A public school district is authorized to invest bond proceeds in obligations of insurance firms or other corporations, which are rated “A” or better by recognized rating companies. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Turner dated December 12, 2008)

Q: If authorized by the IHL board, may state universities contract with non-employee lobbyists? If so, must they use “self-generated funds”? Do funds donated by a university foundation constitute “self-generated” funds? Are university foundations prohibited from paying contract lobbyists to lobby on behalf of a state university?
A: Under current state law, IHL and state universities authorized to do so by the IHL board are not prohibited from employing contract lobbyists utilizing either appropriated funds or “self-generated” funds. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Lucas dated January 16, 2009)

Q: Is a school district authorized to pay employer contributions and interest to the Public Employees´ Retirement System (PERS) for unreported service of an individual who previously served in a covered position for retirement purposes?
A: Yes. A school district is authorized and obligated to pay employer contributions and interest to PERS for unreported service of an individual who previously served in a covered position. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Pate dated January 16, 2009)

Q: When the Mississippi Board of Education exercises its discretionary authority to abolish a school district pursuant to Section 37-17-13, are the local district´s board and superintendent also abolished and does the State Board assume control of the local district and exercise those powers formerly held by the previously existing school board and superintendent of schools?
A: Once the Governor declares a state of emergency pursuant to Section 37-17-6(11)(b) and the State Board of Education exercises its discretionary authority to abolish said district pursuant to Section 37-17-13, the district´s board and the superintendent no longer exist. The State Board then assumes all powers which were held by the previously existing school board, and the previously existing superintendent of schools or county superintendent of education. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Bounds dated January 16, 2009)

Q: What is the authority of a municipality to adopt an ordinance establishing a manner in which the municipality may track the speed of vehicles through radar and recorded video and still photography and issue civil citations for failure to obey traffic signals?
A: A municipality may not adopt an ordinance authorizing the municipality to install video cameras and electronic speed detecting equipment and such photographic evidence to support issuance of a civil citation for speeding. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Turnage dated December 30, 2008)

Q: May a city pay fifty percent of a retiree´s group health insurance in order to continue to provide coverage to retirees?
A: No. A city is not authorized to pay any portion of a retiree´s group health insurance. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Tucker dated January 16, 2009)

Q: May a municipality enter a term contract for commodities or construction that will extend into the next term of office?
A: Yes. However, if the term contract is for more than 24 months the next board/council may cancel the contract pursuant to Section 31-7-13 (n).

Q: If a contract is entered that goes beyond the current term of office, and there is no specific authority to bind the following board, is the contract void?
A: No. Such contracts are not void, but are voidable at the discretion of the following board/council. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Davis dated October 6, 2000)

Q: Are municipal expenditures limited during the last three months of a term of office?
A: Yes. Section 21-35-27 limits expenditures and obligations to one fourth of the budget during April, May and June during an election year. This law excludes purchases which are:

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Q: May school districts allow payroll deductions for charitable organizations?
A: Yes, pursuant to the “home rule” statute, a school board may adopt a policy to deduct from employee salaries contributions to charitable organizations, if the employee requests the deductions to be made and the deduction does not conflict with any other statute or the constitution. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Treadway dated January 23, 2009)

Q: May a school district consent to the town´s ownership of a communication tower and use of property on the school district´s campus? May the school district legally enter into a lease of a fraction of an acre upon which a communication tower is situated to the town, at no compensation, for use of the tower, and erection of a small building?
A: The school district may convey by whatever terms are deemed appropriate by the school board, including without monetary consideration, the subject property to the town, providing the school board makes the proper factual findings, consistent with fact, described in Section 37-7-471 of the Mississippi Code and records those findings in the minutes. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Null dated January 23, 2009)

Q: If a board of supervisors follows the process set forth in Section 2 of Mississippi Code Section 19-3-42, and approves maintaining those turnarounds indentified by the Board of Education, through its minutes, for an entire school year, must the Board of Supervisors thereafter receive requests for the ongoing repairs or maintenance to the approved turnarounds from the Board of Education or may the Board of Supervisors rely upon the requests submitted to it by the Superintendent of Education or his designee? This question is limited to those turnarounds which are designated by the Board of Education and approved for maintenance by the Board of Supervisors for the term of their use, not to exceed one year.
A: Requests for ongoing maintenance may come from the superintendent or his designee and does not have to be made by the school board. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Nowak dated January 30, 2009)

Q: Does the school board have the authority to sell the confiscated phone and apply the proceeds to the fine?
A: No. A school board does not have the authority to confiscate and sell the personal property of a student. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Sturgeon dated February 20, 2009)

Q: If a portion of a road or driveway serves as a turnaround, as identified by the Board of Education, and also serves as temporary or overnight parking area for a school bus, may the Board of Supervisors still repair and/or maintain said turnaround?
A: Yes. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Nowak dated January 30, 2009)

Q: Once streets, utilities, sewer and other improvements made by the developer as in-kind rent under a development lease arededicated to a governmental entity for future operations and maintenance, are the infrastructure improvements “improvements made on such land by lessee” included for the purposes of determining the fair market rental of the land under Section 29-3-63(1) for leases by the school district to the home owner?
A: No. Once a school district offsets the fair market rental amount owed by the developer of 16th Section lands for infrastructure improvements, state law does not contemplate the school district continuing to offset the rental amounts to subsequent lessees for improvements such as streets and utilities made by the previous leaseholder-developer. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Cheney dated January 30, 2009)

Q: May a municipal board sell surplus personal property (cars, equipment, etc.)without conducting a public sale or taking bids"
A: Yes. Section 21-17-1 authorizes municipal board or councils to dispose of personal property. It is up to the board or council to develop reasonable disposalpolicies that assure a fair price is received.

Q: May a municipality sell surpluspersonal property to its employees?
A No, this would violate ethics law restrictions in Section 25-4-105 and specific prohibition for law enforcement officers in 25-1-51. However, other specific laws authorizing a sale, such as the sale of a gun to a retiring law enforcement officer (Sec. 45-9-131), may authorize a sale.

Q: Must municipal boards and councils limit their expenditures during April, May and June if it is the end of their term of office?
A Yes. Section 21-35-27 limits expenditures to one fourth of the municipal budget during this time. Expenditures subject to purchase laws (Sec. 31-7-13), seasonal expenditures and emergency expenditures as defined in Section 21-35-19 are exempt from this provision.

Q: Can municipal officials be held liable for their official actions after their term of office is over?
A Yes. Statutes of limitation do not run on municipalities (Sec. 15-1-51).

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Q: Is there any requirement that 16th Section leases for farm-residential, residential, recreational or other land must be set at an annual rental of five percent (5%) of appraised value?
A: No. Farm residential leases must be for a reasonable annual rental amount. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Webb dated February 5, 2009)

Q: If the Board of Supervisors is presented with 16th Section farm or residential leases set at five percent (5%) of appraised value, is the Board under any obligation to approve those leases?
A: No. The Board of Supervisors must approve a reasonable annual rental amount on farm-residential land as determined by the school board on the basis of appraisal, comparative analysis or comparison with the private sector. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Webb dated February 5, 2009)

Q: If the 16th Section farm or residential leases are not approved by the Board of Supervisors, should the appraisers selected in accordance with Section 29-3-1 be instructed to use any type of percentage of appraised value for establishing rent or simply use market rates for rental for similar property in the area?
A: The Supreme Court has stated that in setting a reasonable annual amount a school board is not bound by a percentage of the fair market value of the land. The School Board may use any lawful method which results in a reasonable annual rental amount. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Webb dated February 5, 2009)

Q: Is there any authority under Section 37-41-27 or any other statute which would allow school district to loan, lease, or donate the use of school buses to the city for the Dixie Youth World Series?
A: There is no authority for the school board to authorize the use of publicly-owned school buses for purposes other than for certain school-related activities which the school board may consider as part of the educational program for students enrolled in the public schools and participants in such program. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Yoder dated February 20, 2009)

Q: Does Section 37-7-301(aa) authorize a school district to negotiate the purchase price of a parcel of real property, when the fair market value of the parcel is $50,000 or less?
A: Yes. Section 37-7-301(aa) expressly authorizes a school district to purchase real property. Section 43-37-3(a) requires a school district to make every reasonable effort to acquire real property expeditiously by negotiation. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Yoder dated February 19, 2009)

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Q: Has legislation been enacted to amend Section 37-15-3 to authorize the storage of permanent student records by public school districts in any acceptable form of medium for storage?
A: Yes. (Senate Bill 2313, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Has Section 37-7-301 been amended to authorize local school districts to operate and expend funds from any available sources for voluntary early childhood education programs?
A: Yes. (Senate Bill 2314, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Has Section 37-13-91 been amended to delete the requirement that the school superintendent must approve student absences for medical or dental appointments, and to authorize a designee of the school superintendent to report unlawful absences to the school attendance officer.
A: Yes. (House Bill 525, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Has Section 29-3-81 been amended to give local boards of education the option to proceed with the reclassification of the land or re-lease the land for one additional term of five years after advertising for bids or holding an auction in the same manner as provided in subsection (1) of this section, and the new classification will be implemented upon the expiration of the then existing lease?
A: Yes. (House Bill 881, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Has legislation entitled “Children First Act of 2009” been enacted by the legislature?
A: Yes. (Senate Bill 2628, 2009 Regular Session, effective April 8, 2009) This legislation also amends Sections 37-17-6, 7-7-211, 37-3-4, 37-3-46, 37-9-18, 37-9-103 and 37-18-5. Section 37-9-16 is repealed by this legislation.

Q: Has legislation been enacted to amend Sections 29-3-45 and 29-3-49 to authorize local school boards to contract with private persons or businesses for the reforestation of sixteenth sections and to contract with a registered forester to be paid form the 16th Section Interest Fund for a review of any forestry management decision or forestry practice including the sale of timber for sixteenth section forest land provided that any implementation of a forestry management decision or forestry practice to be taken as a result of the review described in this subsection shall be subject to the approval of both the commission and the Secretary of State?
A: Yes. (Senate Bill 2947, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

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Q: May a school district donate property back to a family from which it was originally purchased when there is no reverter clause in the deed or must they advertise the property for sale by bid?
A: A school district has no authority to donate the land back to the family in question. It may dispose of property no longer needed for school purposes by advertising for bids or pursuant to Section 37-7-471, et seq. (Attorney Generals Opinion to Dickerson dated May 8, 2009)

Q: If a public school board takes disciplinary action against a student during an executive session hearing, is the students right of privacy under any state or federal law violated if the board shows in its minutes for that executive session the action taken and the name of the student?
A: Yes. However, the public school board may record in the minutes the final student disciplinary action taken by the school board in executive session without disclosing personal identifiable information, e. g., a students name, by using a non-identifying student number. (Attorney Generals Opinion to Price dated May 8, 2009)

Q: Are band instruments considered equipment for the purpose of Section 29-3-113 which governs the investment of Sixteenth Section Principal Funds and sets forth the requirements for the use of principal fund money?
A: No. Band instruments are not considered equipment for the purpose of Section 29-3-113. (Attorney Generals Opinion to Foxworth dated May 22, 2009)

Q: May the board of trustees of a school district go into executive session to conduct interviews or discussions for the purpose of hiring a new board attorney?
A: The board of trustees may enter into executive session to conduct interviews or discussions for the purpose of hiring of a particular individual as the new board attorney, if the individual will be an employee of the district. However, under existing law there is no authority for the school board to enter into executive session to interview or discuss the engagement of an individual as the new board attorney, if the individual will be an independent contractor. (Attorney Generals Opinion to Turner dated April 13, 2009)

Q: What components may be taught in a sex education class authorized by Section 37-13-171, specifically: (1) Must the curriculum be limited to abstinence only? (2) If not, what are the limits beyond abstinence? (3) What authority does the local school board have in determining the curriculum of sex education courses to be taught in school under its authority?
A: The curriculum for sex education courses taught in public schools is not limited to abstinence alone, when, pursuant to Section 37-13-17(3), the majority of the school board has voted affirmatively to permit the teaching of sex education without the instruction of abstinence and has approved the curriculum. Subsection (2) of Section 37-13-171 provides that a program or instruction on sex education need not include every component listed in subsection (1), however, no program or instruction may include anything that contradicts the excluded components. (Attorney Generals Opinion to Thompson dated April 13, 2009)

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Q: Has legislation been enacted to amend Sections 37-9-33, 37-19-7 and 37-151-5 to authorize school districts to negotiate salary levels with teachers who are receiving payments from the retirement system of another state and to direct school districts to make an annual report to the State Department of Education on the number of certificated and non-certificated employees receiving a salary from the school district who are also receiving retirement benefits from the Public Employees´ Retirement System.
A: Yes. (Senate Bill 2050, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Does a board of education have the authority to assess a fine on a student or his or her parent for the possession of a cell phone?
A: No. However, a school board may impose a fee provided there is an actual cost associated with the confiscation, storage, and return of cell phones; and, the fee is related to a valid curriculum educational object. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Sturgeon dated February 20, 2009)

Q: Does the school board have the authority to sell the confiscated phone and apply the proceeds to the fine?
A: No. A school board does not have the authority to confiscate and sell the personal property of a student. (Attorney General´s Opinion to Sturgeon dated February 20, 2009)

Q: Has legislation been enacted to amend Section 37-23-1 to clarify references in state law to the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
A: Yes. All references in the laws of this state to the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” or to the “IDEA” shall be construed to include any subsequent amendments to that act. (HB 524, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Has legislation been passed to reenact and amend Sections 37-3-46, 37-3-2, 37-3-4, 37-3-49, 37-3-337, 37-17-8, 37-17-11, 31-17-12, 37-21-7 and 37-151-77 to revise certain references in education statutes relating to the accreditation level of schools and school districts to those standards defined by the State Board of Education in the State´s accountability system?
A: Yes. (SB 2308, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)

Q: Has Section 37-7-345 been amended to authorize the State Board of Education to contract with and provide funds to regional educational service agencies for any education-related service?
A: Yes. (SB 2315, 2009 Regular Session, effective from and after July 1, 2009)