House Bill 295 Summary

• Removes criminal penalties (imprisonment) for violations of Mississippi Statewide Assessment System requirements and replaces with civil misdemeanor charges and fines instead.

• Establishes maximum license suspension or revocation periods of five (5) years for test administration violations and ten (10) years for submitting false certifications about test administration.

• Increases maximum fine for general testing violations from unspecified amount to $1,000 and for submitting false test administration certifications to $15,000.

• Adds Office of Educator Misconduct Evaluations within the State Department of Education to investigate infractions, conduct hearings, and enforce provisions related to educator ethics and test violations.

• Requires school principals to certify within five (5) days that statewide tests were administered in strict accordance with state requirements, with false certifications subject to licensure disciplinary action and civil penalties.