House Bill 29 Summary

• Requires school districts to submit all educational reports to the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) at the same time they are submitted to the State Board of Education or State Department of Education.

• Mandates PEER staff to review and evaluate school district curricula and programs to determine they use evidence-based and research-based instruction and intervention practices using definitions from Section 27-103-159, Mississippi Code of 1972.

• Requires school districts to submit annual inventories of all instruction and intervention programs by July 15 and provide documentation verifying programs as evidence-based and research-based.

• Establishes that all programs of instruction and intervention offered through public school curricula must be evidence-based by the 2021-2022 school year, with PEER staff to withhold Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) funding from non-compliant districts until compliance is achieved.

• Amends 47 sections of Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972 to require various education entities, including the State Department of Education, regional agencies, and individual school districts, to submit required reports to PEER concurrent with submissions to state education authorities.