Bill Text: MS SB2715 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science; relocate to the campus of Mississippi State University.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-15 - Died On Calendar [SB2715 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2024-SB2715-Comm_Sub.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) DeBar
Senate Bill 2715
(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO DEVELOP A PLAN AND ADMINISTER THE PROCESS OF TRANSFERRING OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF THE MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN TO THE MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY; TO REQUIRE THE RESULTING INSTITUTION TO BE NAMED THE W AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY; TO SET THE LEGISLATIVE INTENT OF THE ACT; TO REQUIRE THE INSTITUTION TO REMAIN IN COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO FACILITATE SUCH TRANSFER; TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHALL TRANSFER THE OPERATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TO THE W AT MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-117-1, 37-139-3, 37-101-1 AND 25-65-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 37-117-3, 37-117-5, 37-117-7, 37-117-9 AND 37-117-11, WHICH PROVIDE FOR VARIOUS PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds that: (a) The Industrial Institute and College was established in Columbus, Mississippi, in 1884, as the first state-supported college for women in America, later evolving into the "Mississippi University for Women in 1974, and admitting men in 1982;
(b) The Mississippi University for Women has always provided a phenomenal higher education to students with a distinct emphasis on professional development and leadership opportunities for all, particularly women;
(c) The Mississippi University for Women is consistently ranked as one of the best value schools among southern public universities, with low student debt and high degree completion rates;
(d) The Mississippi University for Women remains integral to the city of Columbus and continues to receive strong support from business, community and governmental leaders in the area;
(e) The modern landscape of higher education is continually changing, especially with concerns about enrollment nationwide in future years, and the needs, duties and responsibilities of institutions of higher learning must adapt to this changing landscape;
(f) Facing declining enrollment and other challenges, the Mississippi University for Women, along with its students, the state, region and local community, would be better served by close collaboration with Mississippi State University, a research institution less than 25 miles away from the Mississippi University for Women Campus;
(g) As a regional university connected to Mississippi State University, the students of the Mississippi University for Women would have access to more undergraduate and graduate degree courses and degree paths, student-life options and research programs, among other resources and opportunities;
(h) A collaboration between Mississippi State University and the Mississippi University for Women may also result in efficiencies and innovations which can help both institutions flourish in the future;
(i) Beginning July 1, 2025, the Mississippi University for Women shall transfer all assets and real property, together with buildings and other improvements erected thereon, to the control and ownership of Mississippi State University;
(j) The Mississippi University for Women shall hereafter be known as "The W at Mississippi State University"; and
(k) The intent of the transfer provided for in this act is to honor the important legacy of the Mississippi University for Women and to ensure The W at Mississippi State University shall become a successful regional university, remain located in the city of Columbus, and that both the campus at Mississippi State University in Starkville and The W at Mississippi State University in Columbus benefit from their mutual connection.
SECTION 2. (1) Beginning July 1, 2024, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall develop a plan to administer the process of transferring ownership and control of the Mississippi University for Women to the Mississippi State University. The plan provided for in this subsection shall also include a plan to ensure the continued success of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, currently located on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, in concert with the Department of Education when applicable for purposes of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, shall provide all oversight, staffing needs and any other resource to ensure such transfer may be completed by July 1, 2025.
(2) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall ensure that all student records, enrollment records, scholarship programs, tuition assessments, endowments and other funds are properly transferred from the Mississippi University for Women to the Mississippi State University for the administration of The W at Mississippi State University.
(3) Beginning July 1, 2025, The W at Mississippi State University shall begin operations with oversight and administration provided by the Mississippi State University.
The W at Mississippi State University shall continue operations in Columbus, Mississippi.
SECTION 3. Section 37-117-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-117-1.
The institution incorporated by the act of the legislature, approved March 12,
1884, and established in pursuance thereof, known as the "Mississippi University for Women" shall
continue to exist as a body politic and corporate by the name of the " * * *The
W at Mississippi State University" with all its property and
franchises, rights, powers and privileges conferred on it by law, or properly
incident to such a body and necessary to accomplish the purpose of its creation
transferred to the Mississippi State University; * * *
the Mississippi State University may receive and hold all real estate
and personal property conveyed or given to it for such purposes. * * * Whenever
the name "Mississippi * * * University
for Women" appears the same is construed to denote " * * *The W at Mississippi State University."
SECTION 4. Section 37-139-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-139-3. (1) There is
hereby created the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science which shall
be a residential school for eleventh and twelfth grade high school students
located on the campus of * * * The W at Mississippi State University.
(2) The school shall be governed by the State Board of Education.
(3) The board shall develop
a plan relating to the opening, the operation and the funding of the school. Such
plan shall be presented to the Legislature during the * * *
2025 Regular Session and shall include an equitable and reasonable plan
for student recruitment without regard to race, creed or color.
(4) The purpose of the school shall be to educate the gifted and talented students of the state, and its curriculum and admissions policies shall reflect such purpose.
(5) The board shall prepare the annual budget for the school.
SECTION 5. Section 37-101-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-1. The following state institutions of higher learning shall be under the management and control of a board of trustees to be known as the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, namely:
(a) The University of Mississippi;
(b) Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, which shall include The W at Mississippi State University;
(c) * * *
The University of Southern Mississippi;
( * * *d) Delta State University;
( * * *e) Alcorn State University;
( * * *f) Jackson State University;
( * * *g) Mississippi Valley State University;
( * * *h) And any other of like kind which may
be hereafter established by the state.
SECTION 6. Section 25-65-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-65-7. The provisions of
this chapter shall only apply (a) to the following universities: (i) Alcorn
State University, (ii) Delta State University, (iii) Jackson State University,
(iv) Mississippi State University, (v) Mississippi State University Agriculture
and Forestry Experiment Station, (vi) Mississippi State University Cooperative
Extension Service, (vii) Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research
Center, (viii) Mississippi State University State Chemical Laboratory, (ix) * * * The W at Mississippi State University,
(x) Mississippi Valley State University, (xi) The University of Mississippi,
(xii) University of Mississippi Medical Center and * * *
(xiii) The University of Southern Mississippi; (b) to the following
community/junior colleges: (i) Coahoma Community College, (ii) Copiah-Lincoln
Community College, (iii) East Central Community College, (iv) East Mississippi
Community College, (v) Hinds Community College, (vi) Holmes Community College,
(vii) Itawamba Community College, (viii) Jones County Junior College, (ix)
Meridian Community College, (x) Mississippi Delta Community College, (xi)
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, (xii) Northeast Mississippi Community
College, (xiii) Northwest Mississippi Community College, (xiv) Pearl River
Community College and (xv) Southwest Mississippi Community College; and (c) to
the following agencies: (i) the Department of Finance and Administration, (ii)
the State Tax Commission, (iii) the Department of Education, (iv) the State
Department of Health, (v) the Department of Mental Health, (vi) the Department
of Agriculture and Commerce, (vii) the Mississippi Development Authority,
(viii) the Department of Environmental Quality, (ix) the Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks, (x) the Department of Corrections, (xi) the Division of
Medicaid, (xii) the Department of Rehabilitation Services, (xiii) the
Department of Public Safety, (xiv) the Mississippi Employment Security
Commission, (xv) the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services,
(xvi) the Public Employees Retirement System, (xvii) the Mississippi Department
of Transportation, (xviii) the Mississippi Gaming Commission and (xix) the
Mississippi Department of Human Services.
SECTION 7. Sections 37-117-3, 37-117-5, 37-117-7, 37-117-9 and 37-117-11, which provide for various provisions related to the Mississippi University for Women, are hereby repealed.
SECTION 8. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024. Sections 3 through 7 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.
