MS 2022-08-J-Povall-August-2-2022-Definition-of-School-in-Senate-Bill-2095 August 2, 2022

Does a private dance studio count as a 'school' for the medical cannabis dispensary 1,000-foot buffer in Mississippi?

Short answer: No. Section 2(gg) of SB 2095 defines 'school' as a kindergarten-through-12 institution with a physical location, instructional staff, students, and in session each school year. A private dance studio offering lessons to students isn't that. The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act's 1,000-foot dispensary buffer doesn't apply to dance studios.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

Boyle considered a permit for a medical cannabis dispensary within 1,000 feet of two private dance studios. The dance studios offer lessons to children K-4 through high school but have no connection to a regular school. The town attorney asked whether the dance studios qualify as "schools" for SB 2095's 1,000-foot dispensary buffer.

The AG: no.

Section 19(2) of SB 2095: "The main point of entry of a medical cannabis establishment shall not be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of the nearest boundary line of any school, church or child care facility."

Section 2(gg) defines "school" as an institution with:

A physical location (owned or leased)
Instructional staff members and students
In session each school year
Including (not limited to) public, private, church, and parochial programs for K, elementary, junior high, and high schools
Excluding home instruction programs

The AG read this definition consistent with the Compulsory School Attendance Law (Section 37-13-91), which uses similar language and defines a "school year" as about 180 days.

A dance studio doesn't fit. It's not a K-12 institution. It doesn't have a "school year" in the 180-day sense. It teaches dance, not the curriculum required for grade promotion.

The Legislature's separate inclusion of "child care facility" in the buffer rule indicates "school" was meant in the conventional K-12 sense, not as a catchall for any place children get instruction.

What this means for you

For municipal attorneys evaluating dispensary applications

When the buffer question comes up, apply Section 2(gg) strictly: K-12 institution with regular school year. Don't extend it to dance studios, music schools, martial arts, sports academies, tutoring services, etc., unless they meet the K-12 definition.

Document the evaluation in the permit file. If a neighbor objects to a dispensary near a non-K-12 institution, the AG opinion is your support.

For "child care facility": that's a separate buffer category. The dispensary cannot be within 1,000 feet of any licensed child care facility. Confirm whether the proposed location passes both buffers.

For dispensary applicants

Map the 1,000-foot radius around your proposed location. Identify:

K-12 schools (public, private, parochial)
Churches
Licensed child care facilities

Don't worry about non-K-12 institutions like dance studios, gymnastics schools, music academies, or tutoring centers — those don't trigger the buffer.

For dance studio, music school, and other non-K-12 instruction owners

You don't have buffer protection from medical cannabis dispensaries. If a dispensary opens within 1,000 feet of you, that's permitted under SB 2095.

If you have community concerns about dispensary proximity, raise them through:
1. The local zoning process (cities can adopt time/place/manner restrictions beyond SB 2095)
2. Petitioning the Legislature to expand the buffer

For local zoning officials

Cities can require greater buffer distances than 1,000 feet (per the 2022 Musselwhite opinion). Cities can also designate which zones permit dispensaries. If your community wants additional protection for non-K-12 instruction venues, address it through your zoning ordinance.

Common questions

Q: What's a "child care facility" under SB 2095?
A: SB 2095 defines this term separately. It generally tracks Mississippi's child care licensing framework. Verify with current SB 2095 text and Mississippi child care regulations.

Q: Does the buffer apply to private K-12 schools?
A: Yes. Section 2(gg) explicitly includes "private, church and parochial programs for kindergarten, elementary, junior high and high schools."

Q: What about homeschools?
A: Section 2(gg) explicitly excludes "home instruction program." Homeschools don't trigger the buffer.

Q: What about a Sunday school or after-school religious instruction program?
A: Likely doesn't qualify. Section 2(gg) requires "in session each school year" with structured instructional staff and students for K-12 programming. Sunday schools or after-school programs typically don't meet that definition.

Q: What about preschools?
A: Preschools that are licensed child care facilities trigger the child care facility buffer (separate category). Preschools that operate as schools (some private K-prep programs) might trigger the school buffer.

Q: What about colleges and universities?
A: Section 2(gg) lists "kindergarten, elementary, junior high and high schools." Higher education isn't included. The buffer doesn't apply to college campuses.

Q: Does the buffer apply to vocational training centers?
A: Trade schools and vocational training generally don't fit Section 2(gg)'s K-12 definition. The buffer wouldn't apply.

Q: How is "1,000 feet" measured?
A: From the dispensary's main point of entry to the nearest boundary line of the school, church, or child care facility. Section 19(2) is specific about this measurement.

Q: What if a dance studio operates inside a school building?
A: Different question. If a public or private K-12 school owns/operates the building and rents to a dance studio in off-hours, the school's boundary line still counts.

Q: Can a city use zoning to add buffers from dance studios?
A: Yes. Cities have time/place/manner authority under SB 2095 Section 19(1). They can add buffers beyond what state law requires, as long as they don't make dispensary operation impracticable.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's SB 2095 (Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, 2022 Regular Session) sets multiple location restrictions for medical cannabis establishments:

Buffer rules (Section 19(2)): 1,000 feet from schools, churches, child care facilities

Zoning rules (Section 19(3)): dispensaries in commercial zones; cultivation/processing in agricultural/industrial zones with options

Distance between dispensaries (Section 19(5)): minimum 1,500 feet between dispensary main points of entry

Definition of "school" (Section 2(gg)):

[A]n institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical location, whether owned or leased, including instructional staff members and students, and which is in session each school year. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, public, private, church and parochial programs for kindergarten, elementary, junior high and high schools. Such term shall not mean a home instruction program.

The AG interpreted "in session each school year" by reference to the Mississippi Compulsory Attendance Law (Section 37-13-91) and the related Section 37-13-63(1), which use similar language and define "school year" as about 180 days. Section 1-3-65 of the Mississippi Code requires statutory words to be used "according to their common and ordinary acceptation and meaning" — which the AG concluded means K-12 institution, not any place children receive instruction.

The Legislature's separate buffer for "child care facility" supports the narrow reading: if "school" included all places children get any instruction, "child care facility" would be redundant.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-65, common and ordinary statutory meaning
- Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-63, school year definition (180 days)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-91, Compulsory School Attendance Law
- Senate Bill 2095, 2022 Regular Session, §§ 2(gg) (school definition) and 19(2) (1,000-foot buffer)

Prior AG opinions cited:
- MS AG Op., Johnson (Dec. 3, 2002), school definition under attendance law

Source

Original opinion text

August 2, 2022

J. Kirkham Povall, Esq.
Attorney, Town of Boyle
Post Office Drawer 1199
Cleveland, Mississippi 38732

Re: Definition of School in Senate Bill 2095

Dear Mr. Povall:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

According to your request, an individual recently approached officials with the Town of Boyle requesting a permit to operate a medical cannabis dispensary that will be located within 1000 feet of two private dance studios. The dance studios offer private dance lessons to students ages K-4 through high school. The students are taught by the owners of the dance studios. There is no indication that the dance studios have a connection to any kindergarten, elementary, junior high, or high school.

Question Presented

Is a dance studio considered a "school" under the definition provided by the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act?

Brief Response

It is the opinion of this office that a dance studio is not a "school" as defined by the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 19(2) of Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act ("S.B. 2095") states, in part, that "[t]he main point of entry of a medical cannabis establishment shall not be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of the nearest boundary line of any school, church or child care facility." Senate Bill 2095, 2022 Regular Session.

Under Section 2(gg) of S.B. 2095, "school" is defined as:

. . . an institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical location, whether owned or leased, including instructional staff members and students, and which is in session each school year. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, public, private, church and parochial programs for kindergarten, elementary, junior high and high schools. Such term shall not mean a home instruction program.

"All words and phrases contained in the statutes are used according to their common and ordinary acceptation and meaning. . . ." Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-65. The definition of "school" in S.B. 2095 follows that of the Mississippi Compulsory Attendance Law, codified at Section 37-13-91, which requires all compulsory-school-age children to be enrolled in and attend a public school or legitimate nonpublic school for the period of time the child is of compulsory school age. See MS AG Op., Johnson at *1 (Dec. 3, 2002). "School" is defined as a public school, charter school, or nonpublic school, "which is in session each school year for at least one hundred eighty (180) school days, except that the "nonpublic" school term shall be the number of days that each school shall require for promotion from grade to grade." Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-91(2)(e) (emphasis added). A nonpublic school is defined as "an institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical plant, whether owned or leased, . . . instructional staff members and students, and which is in session each school year." Id. at (2)(i). "This definition shall include . . . private, church, [and] parochial . . . programs." Id.

Like Section 2(gg) of S.B. 2095, the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law similarly uses the phrase "school year" to define a "school," differentiating it from other programs which may offer some form of instruction to students, whether they are children or adults, but which do not promote children from grade to grade. Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-91(2)(e). The common and ordinary use of the phrase school year is, as found in the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law, a term of about 180 days. Id. See also Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-63(1) (stating school shall be in session at least 180 days a year).

Section 19(2) of S.B. 2095 sets the distance requirement for medical cannabis establishments as 1,000 feet from schools, as well as child care facilities. The Legislature's inclusion of "child care facility" as well as "school" indicates that "school," as contemplated here, does not include all places where children may receive instruction.

The definition in S.B. 2095, § 2(gg) declaring that "schools" are physical institutions that provide programs of educational instruction for kindergarten, elementary, junior high, and high schools and in session each school year aligns with the well-understood, ordinary meaning of school. It is the opinion of this office that an independent dance studio is not a "school" as contemplated by the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Misty Monroe
Misty Monroe
Assistant Attorney General