State lawmakers have authored a bill that would dissolve the Mississippi Achievement School District in the summer of 2025. But the language within the bill does not place the Yazoo City school district into direct local leadership just yet.
The Mississippi House Bill 1696 has passed through the House and the Senate and currently awaits the governor’s signature. The bill’s language sets the pathway for the State Board of Education to take corrective actions with the local district first being placed into a District of Transformation.
The Yazoo City Municipal School District was taken over by the state department of education in April of 2019. The local school board was disbanded two months after the state’s announcement of the takeover.
Along with the Humphreys County School District, the city school district was placed in the state’s first Mississippi Achievement School District, which launched in the 2019-2020 school year. The governing leadership team of the local city schools was then placed under the state board of education.
During the 2019 state takeover, it was reported that state law requires that districts absorbed by the MASD maintain a “C” rating for five years to become eligible to revert to local governance. However, the city schools have maintained a “F” rating since the state takeover in 2019.
The newly authored HB 1696 states that both the Yazoo City Municipal School District and the Humphreys County School District will be transferred into two separate Districts of Transformation with the transition being completed by July 1, 2025.
“From and after July 1, 2024, no local school district shall be placed into the Mississippi Achievement School District and effective July 1, 2025, the Mississippi Achievement School District shall be dissolved,” the bill states.
The bill also states that the state board of education would then assign an interim superintendent to the Districts of Transformation.
When the district has maintained a “C” accountability rating for three consecutive years, “the State Board of Education may appoint a new five-member board for the administration of the school district,” the bill states.
“The new local school district board members shall be residents of the school district,” the bill states. “The new local school board members appointed by the State Board of Education may serve in an advisory capacity to the interim superintendent for its first year of service and thereafter shall have full responsibility to administer the school district.”
“The interim superintendent would remain in place for two years once the local school board has been put in charge of district administration,” according to the bill. “Once the new school board has been responsible for district administration for one year, it could appoint a new superintendent. This new superintendent would serve as deputy to the interim superintendent for a year before taking over their role.”
Based on the state’s accountability ratings, Yazoo City schools have either maintained a “F” or “D” rating since at least 2012. Ratings were not administered during the COVID pandemic in 2021 and 2020. But the city school ratings show a failing “F” rating in 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013 and 2012. The only improvement was in 2015 and 2015 when the rating increased to a “D” rating.
*Editor's Note: Since the publication of this article, an update on this bill's status will appear in the next edition of The Herald.
