ATHLETICS ACTIVITIES

The Ocean Springs School Board is authorized and empowered to pay out of the athletic fund or funds obtained from athletic activities all of  the actual medical expenses evidenced by itemized bills of account, for injuries sustained by any regularly enrolled student while participating in athletic activities considered a part of any sport that said school engages in as a part of any regularly scheduled athletic contest with other schools, to include any injury sustained in any contest scheduled by the proper school authorities and any required training preparatory thereto.

In lieu of the payment set out in the paragraph above, and in the discretion of the Ocean Springs School Board, the School Board is authorized and empowered to contract for hospitalization insurance designed to fully compensate students for actual medical expenses in such cases.  The payment of such hospitalization insurance shall be made from funds available as set out in the paragraph above.

' 37-11-9 (1950)

MISSISSIPPI HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

All students in grades 9-12 participating in activities and athletics under the jurisdiction of the Mississippi High School Activities Association are automatically insured under a lifetime medical insurance plan for the catastrophically injured student which is paid for by the Ocean Springs School District.  Under this plan, a catastrophically injured student is one whose medical rehabilitation and work loss expenses have exceeded $25,000.00.  This policy offers the student and his/her family the following immediate lifetime benefits:

1.    to pay all medical expenses in excess of what accident and health insurance carried by the family pays and above $25,000.00.

2.    to pay all rehabilitation expenses including parents' lost wages while visiting him or her in the hospital, full services of the best rehabilitation centers in the U.S. including transportation cost there for him and his parents, counseling for the family under stress from coping with the injury and disability of the student; remodeling the home for the permanently disabled student, if necessary; specially equipping a car or van for transportation of the disabled student, if necessary.

3.    to pay up to $300.00 per week lost benefits for the permanently disabled student.

EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE: See MS Code ' 25-15-251 et seq.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

All public school boards may purchase group insurance coverage for the liability of all of its active full-time instructional and non-instructional personnel.  Such policy shall be paid for with any funds available other than state minimum education program funds.  ' 37-7-319 (1992)

School districts shall provide liability insurance consistent with the provisions of the Tort Claims Act as outlined in ' 11-46-1 et seq.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE

The Ocean Springs School District considers the safety of all employees an integral part of the educational operation of the district.  When an employee of the District is injured on duty while performing his/her job, they should immediately notify their supervisor or other person designated by the employer.  In the event that an employee is injured on the job and must obtain medical care and/or be absent from work because of the job-related injury, the employee shall be eligible for benefits as outlined in Miss. Code Ann ’71-3-1. 

It is the policy of the Ocean Springs School District to prohibit employees injured at work from combining Workers’ Compensation benefits with accrued sick or personal leave, which would result in compensation in excess of 100% of their wages. 

Any person who willfully makes any false or misleading statement or representation for the purpose of obtaining or wrongfully withholding any benefit or payment under the state law is guilty of a felony and on conviction thereof may be punished by a fine not to exceed five-thousand dollars ($5,000) or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater, or by imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years. 

NOTE: For exemptions to insurance bidding requirements, see ' 31-7-13 (m) (xiii)

LEGAL REF.: MS CODE as cited

ADOPTED:    01/17/2006

REVISED:     01/13/2009