(1) In addition to all power and authority vested in the attorney general of the state of Mississippi by its constitution and statutes and all common law power and authority which may be vested in or exercised by such attorney general as such, the attorney general of the state of Mississippi and his assistants and representatives are hereby authorized upon request made of him to, in his discretion, render such services as the attorney general may deem necessary to assist in advising and in representing, either or both, any officer or employee of any school district, any agricultural high school and junior college, or any institution of higher learning, the respective boards of trustees thereof, the members of said boards of trustees, any school district, junior college district, institution of higher learning, and any state officer, should they or any of them be sued, prosecuted, or proceeded against in any manner in any action in any state or federal court which, or the ultimate purpose of which, challenges or seeks to invalidate any statute or provision of the constitution of the state of Mississippi dealing with the establishment, maintenance, operation, control, financing, or determining what persons or pupils shall attend or be enrolled in any or all of said schools or colleges or institutions of higher learning, as violative of the constitution and laws of the United States of America or the state of Mississippi, or should such officers, employees, and members of such boards of trustees be investigated or called as a witness by the federal civil rights commission, cited to show cause, or charged with contempt, civil or criminal, by any officer, agent, department, or court of the United States government.

The foregoing authority vested in the attorney general as above set out shall not apply to or with respect to any suit, action, hearing, or controversy which may arise between two (2) or more of the aforesaid officers or employees, boards or members thereof, school districts, colleges or institutions of higher learning, or between them or any of them and an agency or officer of the state of Mississippi which, under existing laws of the state of Mississippi, the attorney general is otherwise authorized or required to represent.

(2) Any request made of the attorney general for the assistance above referred to shall be made in writing and, if by an individual, shall be signed by him or her. If by a board as such, there shall be entered upon the minutes of such board an order making such request, and the request from or on behalf of said board to the attorney general for said assistance shall be accompanied by a certified copy of said order.