(1) There is created an Education Achievement Council whose purpose is to sustain attention to the state’s goal of increasing the educational attainment and skill levels of the state’s working-age population benchmark to the national average by 2025.

(2) The Education Achievement Council shall consist of twenty-five (25) members:

(a) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Universities and Colleges Committees;

(b) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees;

(c) A representative of the Governor’s office appointed by the Governor;

(d) Two (2) members of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning;

(e) The Chairman of the State Board of Education, or his designee;

(f) The Chairman and one (1) member of the Mississippi Community College Board, or his designee;

(g) The State Superintendent of Public Education, or his designee;

(h) The Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee;

(i) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board, or his designee;

(j) Three (3) presidents of state institutions of higher learning appointed by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, one (1) of which must be from a historically black institution of higher learning;

(k) Three (3) community and junior college presidents appointed by the Mississippi Community College Board;

(l) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, or his designee;

(m) The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mississippi Economic Council;

(n) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, or their designees;

(o) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; and

(p) The President of the Mississippi Association for Proprietary Schools.

(3) The Education Achievement Council shall work collaboratively with the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Community College Board to achieve the state’s goal, and shall not displace any governing or coordinating responsibilities.

(4) The Education Achievement Council shall:

(a) Establish the education achievement goals for the state;

(b) Develop and prescribe appropriate planning processes;

(c) Establish appropriate benchmarks to measure progress, including degrees awarded per one hundred (100) full-time equivalent (FTE) students calculated using completed credit hours; conduct the necessary studies and analysis;

(d) Research and develop a new funding mechanism for public community colleges and state institutions of higher learning based upon productivity goals and accomplishments as well as enrollment, and submit a report thereon with necessary legislation to the Governor and the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2012, for consideration at the 2013 Regular Session; and

(e) Contract for any professional services that it deems necessary to complete its work.

(5) The Education Achievement Council shall monitor and report on the state’s progress toward these education achievement goals by preparing an annual state report card compiled from the annual reports prepared and submitted by each state institution of higher learning and community and junior college in the state. The state’s annual report shall be made available on the Education Achievement Council website, as well as the websites of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Community College Board.

(6) Each state institution of higher learning and community and junior college shall be required to develop and publish an annual report as prescribed by the Education Achievement Council. By November 1 of each year, as prescribed by the Education Achievement Council, each institution’s annual report shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the county and posted on the institution’s website in printable form. The public notice shall include information on the report’s availability on the institution’s website, with the website address, and the locations where a copy of the report may be obtained.

(7) Within sixty (60) days of March 24, 2010, the Education Achievement Council shall meet and organize by selecting from its membership a chairman, vice chairman and secretary each for a one-year term of office. A majority of the membership will constitute a quorum. In the selection of its officers and the adoption of rules, resolutions and reports, an affirmative majority vote shall be required. All members must be notified in writing of all meetings at least five (5) days before the date on which a meeting is scheduled.

(8) The Legislature may appropriate funds to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the administrative, contractual costs, travel and other expenses of the Education Achievement Council.

(9) Members of the Education Achievement Council who are not legislators, state officials or state employees may be compensated at the per diem rate authorized by Section 25-3-41 for mileage and actual expense incurred in the performance of their duties. Legislative members of the Education Achievement Council may be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses, but only with the specific approval of the Senate Rules Committee or House Management Committee; however, no per diem or expense is authorized for attending meetings of the Education Achievement Council when the Legislature is in session. Nonlegislative members may be paid from any funds made available for that purpose.

(10) The Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee, shall serve as the principal staff to support the Education Achievement Council. The Commissioner of Higher Education and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board shall provide appropriate staff to support the work of the Education Achievement Council.