1. The board shall certify as emergency telecommunicators those persons who meet the employment guidelines established in accordance with Mississippi Code as Annotated Section 19-5-353. A. Certification under the Emergency Telecommunications Training Program (ETTP) is limited by law to emergency telecommunicators only. An emergency telecommunicator is defined in the statute [Section 19-5-303 (m) and Section 19-5- 357 (5)] as any person who is: 1. Engaged in or employed as a telecommunications operator by any public safety, fire or emergency medical agency or public or private entity or business, company or corporation, 2. Responsible for the receipt or processing of calls for emergency services provided by public safety, fire or emergency medical agencies, 3. Charged with the dispatching of emergency services provided by public safety, fire or emergency medical agencies, 4. Responsible for disseminating information relative to emergency assistance by telephone or radio, 5. On duty for an average of eight (8) hours or more per month. B. All emergency telecommunicator applicants must meet the following guidelines to be employed as an emergency telecommunicator:1. Be at least eighteen (18) years of age, 2. Be a high school graduate or obtain a GED (refer to Chapter-2, Procedures-1, Subsection-A, Paragraph-4 for full description), 4. Be capable of performing the duties under conditions inherent to the profession, and 5. Not have a criminal record including a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, probation, pre-trial diversion nor the payment of any fine in relation to a crime that is directly related to the duties and responsibilities of an emergency telecommunicator and not have been engaged in any condition, conduct or action that would greatly diminish the public trust in the competence and reliability of an emergency telecommunicator. Fitness for service must be verified by an appropriate background investigation. 6. Must have been discharged from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions C. Individuals who meet both the definition for an emergency telecommunicator in (A) above and who meet the minimum employment guidelines in (B) above are eligible to be employed as an emergency telecommunicator. 1. Such emergency telecommunicators must successfully complete prescribed training and obtain certification within a certain time period. a. Persons in the employment of any public safety, fire, 911 PSAP or emergency medical agency as a telecommunicator on 1 July 1993, shall have three years to be certified in the minimum training standards courses provided they have been employed by such agency for a period of more than one year prior to 1 July 1993. (Since the Board of Emergency Telecommunications Standards and Training became operational in April 1994, the deadline date for these telecommunicators would be April 1997.) b. Persons employed for less than one year prior to 1 July 1993 shall be required to have completed all the requirements for minimum training standards within a one-year time period. (Since the Board became operational in April 1994, the deadline date would be April 1995). c. Any person hired as an emergency telecommunicator after July 1, 1993 shall complete the minimum training standards within twelve (12) months of their employment or within twelve months from the date that the Board shall become operational. (Since the Board became operational in April 1994, the deadline date would begin in April 1995). 2. The one-year or three-year probationary periods, whichever applies, are cumulative in nature and cannot be enlarged by additional or multiple employments. If a telecommunicator transfers from one agency to another prior to certification, the total time served will count toward the one-year or three-year periods. For example, in the case of a one-year probationary period, if a telecommunicator began employment and quit after three months, that person would have nine months remaining upon subsequent employment. The full one- year period may only be reinstated upon a break in service of two years or more. D. The ETTP makes no provision to waive, enlarge, or extend the one-year or three-year periods nor does the Act authorize the Board of Emergency Telecommunications Standards and Training to waive, enlarge or extend the one- year or three-year periods. The Act does however make provision to penalize agencies that employ emergency telecommunicators without obtaining certification beyond the one-year or three-year periods. These penalties include a loss of emergency telecommunicator powers and authorization to receive a salary. To avoid these penalties, agencies should consider all contingencies in the planning of the evaluation, employment and training of their personnel. 31 Miss. Code. R. 601-2.2
Miss Code Ann. § 19-5-351