House Bill 73 Summary

• Transfers employment of school attendance officers from the State Department of Education to local school districts effective July 1, 2024, with officers maintaining continuous service credit and benefits under the Public Employees' Retirement System and health insurance plan.

• Establishes minimum salary of $30,000 for newly hired school attendance officers and requires transferred officers to be compensated at their 2024 fiscal year salary plus an additional 25%.

• Replaces three state-level regional supervisor positions with regional coordinators employed by the State Department of Education who provide technical assistance and professional development to local school attendance officers.

• Requires the state to fund one school attendance officer position for every 3,000 compulsory-school-age children enrolled in each county's public schools.

• Mandates local school districts report any unexcused student absences to the school attendance officer within 24 hours and requires the State Department of Education and Mississippi Association of School Superintendents to submit a joint report on implementation progress by the 2026 legislative session.