Mississippi
Office of compulsory attendance retained
On April 25, 2002, Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove signed into law House Bill 492, extending the life of the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement for at least two more years. This state bureaucracy was created in 1998 and is responsible for the administration of a statewide system of enforcement of the Mississippi compulsory school attendance law and for the supervision of school attendance officers throughout the state. Home School Legal Defense Association originally opposed the creation of this office within the department of education as an unnecessary expansion of state government. Likewise, HSLDA was against the effort to continue its existence during the 2002 legislative session.
The law creating this office was to be automatically repealed on July 1, 2002, but H.B. 492 extended that repeal until July 1, 2004, leaving the office in place until that time. HSLDA anticipates another legislative battle in 2004 over the continued operation of this office.
- Dewitt T. Black
