The post Latest News from Mississippi First – Quarter 3 Newsletter first appeared on Mississippi First.

Please note that this post reflects actions from this week. Our comprehensive summaries of legislative activity from the 2026 session in both the early education and K–12 education spaces are forthcoming.

Early Education

The House and Senate sent the following bills to the Governor to sign: 

• HB 1909: Appropriates funding for childcare and related agencies and programs in Mississippi for fiscal year 2027.
• HB 1935: Appropriates funding for pre-K and K-12 education and related agencies and programs in Mississippi for fiscal year 2027.
• SB 2867: Revises the employer-provided child care tax credit. The bill caps the credit at up to $3,000 per year per child and adjusts the required stipend amount employers must provide to a minimum of $2,000 in order to qualify. The bill also includes an overall cap for the tax credit, which would allow up to $1M in tax credits per tax year.

K-12 Education

The House and Senate adopted conference reports for the following bills: 

• HB 562: Creates the Upskill Mississippi Grant Program to provide tuition-free access to workforce-aligned community and junior college programs in high-demand fields.
• HB 1395: Limits charter schools’ right of first refusal on closed school property to 12 months and clarifies conditions for leasing, alternative use, and reversion of school property to districts.
• HB 1935: Appropriates funding for pre-K and K-12 education and related agencies and programs in Mississippi for fiscal year 2027.
• SB 2103: Revises school counselor ethics oversight, increases teacher and assistant teacher pay and supplements, raises education funding levels, updates attendance officer requirements, and makes broader changes to school operations. (view our full summary here)
• SB 2288: Allows career and technical education grants to fund equipment for industry certification programs.
• SB 2294: Establishes a comprehensive education package that creates a statewide math initiative, strengthens literacy supports for grades 4–8, adds financial literacy, computer science, and civics requirements, and expands instructional support, accountability, and graduation requirements. (summary forthcoming)
• SB 2524: Replaces the Education Achievement Council with a new Mississippi Postsecondary Attainment Council to coordinate efforts, monitor progress, and report on improving postsecondary attainment statewide.

These bills await approval from the Governor. 

Legislative Tracker

You can view our legislative tracker for more information about education-related bills that were introduced and passed this session. 

The post Legislative Updates – Week of March 30, 2026 first appeared on Mississippi First.

Senate Actions

• The Senate invited conference on SB 2103, which currently includes House language that would increase teacher pay by $5,000, in addition to other provisions. Read our full summary of the current version of the bill in the document at the bottom of this page. 
• The Senate adopted the conference report on HB 1395. See the first item in the next section for more details.

House Actions 

• The House invited conference on HB 1395. While the Senate-amended version of the bill included teacher pay raise provisions, House and Senate conferees filed a conference report that removes the provisions. The conference report focuses on charter schools’ first right of refusal to purchase or lease school district property. Charter schools would now have one year, rather than an indefinite amount of time, to take action on school district property. 
• The House adopted the conference report for SB 2524, which repeals provisions of the law establishing the Education Achievement Council, and establishes the Mississippi Postsecondary Attainment Council.

Bill Conferees 

The House and Senate named conferees for multiple education bills that will go to conference. These include:

• HB 1935 (MDE Appropriation Bill)
  • House: Representatives Oliver, Cockerham, and Roberson 
  • Senate: Senators Hopson, DeBar, and Blackwell
• HB 1909 (DHS Appropriation Bill)
  • House: Representatives Deweese, Cockerham, and Turner
  • Senate: Senators Hopson, Blackwell, and Sparks
• SB 2288 (Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act)
  • House: Representatives Bell (21st), Lott, and Scoggin
  • Senate: Senators DeBar, Boyd, and McMahan
• SB 2294 (MS Future Innovators Act)
  • House: Representatives Roberson, McCarty, and Felsher
  • Senate: Senators DeBar, Boyd, and Hill
• HB 4039 (Child Care Stipend Tax Credit)
  • House: Representatives Lamar, Steverson, and Bell (21st)
  • Senate: Senators Harkins, Kirby, and Boyd
• SB 2867 (Child Care Stipend Tax Credit)
  • House: Representatives Lamar, Steverson, and Bell (21st)
  • Senate: Senators Harkins, Sparks, and Boyd
    

Legislative Tracker

As the legislative session winds down, we encourage readers to follow along using our legislative tracker, which is updated daily to reflect real-time developments. Be sure to use the filter to view bills that are still alive. 

Upcoming Legislative Deadlines

• Saturday, March 28: Deadline for conference reports on appropriation and revenue bills to be filed; and deadline to dispose of motions to reconsider concurrence or nonconcurrence on general bills and constitutional amendments.
• Monday, March 30: Deadline for final adoption of conference reports on appropriation and revenue bills; and deadline for conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments to be filed. 
• Wednesday, April 1: Deadline for first consideration of conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments.
• Thursday, April 2: Deadline for filing conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments that had been recommitted for further conference. 
• Friday, April 3: Deadline for adoption of conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments after recommittal. 
• Saturday, April 4: Deadline to dispose of motions to reconsider conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments. 
• Sunday, April 5: SINE DIE (latest possible date for the Legislature to adjourn its 2026 regular session)

The post Legislative Updates – Week of March 23, 2026 first appeared on Mississippi First.

Senate Actions

• The Senate invited conference on SB 2867, which revises the income tax credit for employers providing dependent child care or child care stipends. 

House Actions 

• The House invited conference on HB 1935, the state appropriations to the Mississippi Department of Education.
• The House invited conference on HB 1909, the state appropriations to the Department of Human Services.  
• The House invited conference on HB 562, which would establish the MissCATEE program to provide tuition-free community college to eligible students.

Bill Conferees 

The House and Senate named conferees for multiple education bills that will go to conference. These include:

• HB 1935 (MDE Appropriations Bill)
  • House: Representatives Oliver, Cockerham, and Roberson 
  • Senate: Senators Hopson, DeBar, and Blackwell
    
• HB 1909 (DHS Appropriations Bill)
  • House: Representatives Deweese, Cockerham, and Turner
  • Senate: Senators Hopson, Blackwell, and Sparks
    
• SB 2288 (Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act)
  • House: Not yet named
  • Senate: Senators DeBar, Boyd, and McMahan
    
• SB 2294 (MS Future Innovators Act)
  • House: Not yet named
  • Senate: Senators DeBar, Boyd, and Hill
    
• SB 2524 (Mississippi Postsecondary Attainment Council)
  • House: Representatives Scoggin, Holloway (76th), and Ford (54th)
  • Senate: Senators Boyd, DeLano, and Sparks

Legislative Tracker

As education legislation continues to advance and budget negotiations begin to take shape, we encourage readers to follow along using our legislative tracker, which is updated daily to reflect real-time developments. Be sure to use the filter to view bills that are still alive.

Upcoming Legislative Deadlines

• Thursday, March 26: Deadline to concur or not concur in amendments from other chambers to general bills and constitutional amendments.
• Saturday, March 28: Deadline for conference reports on appropriation and revenue bills to be filed; and deadline to dispose of motions to reconsider concurrence or nonconcurrence on general bills and constitutional amendments.
• Monday, March 30: Deadline for final adoption of conference reports on appropriation and revenue bills; and deadline for conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments to be filed. 
• Wednesday, April 1: Deadline for first consideration of conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments.
• Thursday, April 2: Deadline for filing conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments that had been recommitted for further conference. 
• Friday, April 3: Deadline for adoption of conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments after recommittal. 
• Saturday, April 4: Deadline to dispose of motions to reconsider conference reports on general bills and constitutional amendments. 
• Sunday, April 5: SINE DIE

The post Legislative Updates – Week of March 16, 2026 first appeared on Mississippi First.

Senate Actions

The Senate:

• Amended HB 1395 to include a $6,000 pay raise for teachers and a $3,000 salary supplement for special education teachers, both phased in over three years, as well as a $2,000 pay raise for assistant teachers.
• Amended HB 1909, the Department of Human Services appropriation bill, to include a $15M appropriation for the Childcare Payment Program. This passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee and the full Senate on Thursday.
• Amended HB 1935, the Department of Education appropriation bill, to include an additional $1M for 13 early learning coaches. 
• Amended HB 4039, which caps the tax credit that employers can receive by providing a childcare stipend to employees at $3,000 per year per child, with a strike-all that inserted the language from a similar bill, SB 2867. 
• Declined to concur with House amendments and invited conference on SB 2294. The House amendments would expand the state’s literacy initiatives through eighth grade and establish the Mississippi Math Act.
• Declined to concur with House amendments and invited conference on SB 2288. As amended, the bill would allow career and technical education incentive grants to be used to purchase equipment that leads to industry certifications.
• Declined to concur with House amendments and invited conference on SB 2524. As amended, the bill would repeal the Education Achievement Council and establish the Mississippi Postsecondary Attainment Council.
• Concurred with House amendments to SB 2787, which requires school districts to test liquefied petroleum gas piping systems in school facilities.
• Passed HB 1212, which clarifies funding allocations for university-based programs.

House Actions 

There were no significant House actions this week related to the education bills we are currently tracking.

Legislative Tracker

As education legislation continues to advance and budget negotiations begin to take shape, we encourage readers to follow along using our legislative tracker, which is updated daily to reflect real-time developments. Be sure to use the filter to view bills that are still alive.

Upcoming Legislative Deadlines

• Tuesday, March 17: Deadline for original floor action on appropriation and revenue bills originating in other House. 
• Friday, March 20: Deadline to concur or not concur in amendments from other House to appropriation and revenue bills; and deadline for introduction of local and private bills that are revenue bills.

The post Legislative Updates – Week of March 9, 2026 first appeared on Mississippi First.

Despite our #1 status in the country for high-quality, Mississippi is #31 for access to high-quality pre-K. Essentially, we have great quality, but we aren’t serving enough children to see the returns on our investments. Our business partners at the Mississippi Early Childhood Investment Council (MECIC), understand the importance of the Early Learning Collaboratives.

Below you will meet Roscoe Greene, the President and General Manager for the award-winning Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa in Greenville, MS. As a business leader, Mr. Greene understands the importance of pre-K for children and families.

The post Mississippi Business Leaders Understand the Importance of Early Learning Collaboratives first appeared on Mississippi First.

Teacher pay has been a major topic during the 2026 legislative session, with both the House and Senate advancing proposals to increase compensation for Mississippi’s educators. As the session has progressed, however, the path forward has become increasingly complicated. Multiple bills, amendments, and procedural options have created several potential avenues for how a teacher pay increase could occur.

Mississippi First is providing this update to clarify where things currently stand. Below, we outline the legislative timeline so far, explain the options that remain available, and summarize each section of SB 2103 and HB 1395, which are currently the two bills alive that could establish a permanent teacher pay raise. Our aim is to give educators, advocates, and community partners a clear understanding of the legislative landscape as decisions about teacher pay continue to unfold.

Where We Have Been

On the second day of the session, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 2001, which included a $2,000 pay raise for teachers and a $2,000 pay raise for assistant teachers. The full Senate passed the bill the following day and sent it to the House.

Several weeks later, the House Education Committee amended and passed HB 1126. Among numerous provisions, the bill included a $5,000 pay raise for teachers and an additional $3,000 supplement for special education teachers. The full House passed HB 1126 the following day and sent it to the Senate.

Both bills ultimately died in the committees of the opposite chamber. SB 2001 was referred to the House Education and House Appropriations Committees, neither of which took it up for a vote before the March 3 deadline. Likewise, HB 1126 was referred to the Senate Education and Senate Appropriations Committees, neither of which brought the bill forward before the deadline.

After these bills died, the Legislature still had several options for pursuing a pay raise:

• Option 1: Using the appropriations process, which occurs at the end of the session, to provide funding for a one-time pay raise in the Mississippi Department of Education appropriations bill. While this would provide a bonus for teachers, it would not establish a permanent salary increase.
• Option 2: Amending legislation that had already moved through the committee process to include a teacher pay raise.

Where Things Stand

On March 6, the House moved forward with the second option. On Friday, March 6, the full House amended and passed SB 2103. As passed by the Senate earlier in the session, SB 2103 would have removed a provision requiring professional school counselors to follow the American School Counselor Association Code of Ethics. As amended by the House on March 6, SB 2103 now contains numerous provisions related to education and other areas of state law. It would increase teacher pay by $5,000 across the salary schedule, with an additional $3,000 supplement for special education teachers, and a pay raise of $3,000 for assistant teachers. The bill closely mirrors HB 1126, mentioned earlier in this post.  In addition to amending certain sections of law, the bill brings forward several existing code sections. This procedural step allows those sections to be amended later in the legislative process. In the case of this bill, the code sections that have been brought forward could potentially be amended in conference proceedings.

In a March 4 letter to education leaders across the state, the Senate indicated that it intended to address teacher pay through the appropriations process. However, on Wednesday, March 11, the Senate also went the route of amending other legislation to include a teacher pay raise. In this case, the Senate amended HB 1395. The original bill dealt with the right of first refusal that school districts are required to grant charter schools for the purchase or lease of unused school property. As amended, the bill includes the Senate language related to these provisions, in addition to including a $6,000 pay raise across the teacher salary schedule, that would be phased in over three years. It also includes a $3,000 supplement for special education teachers that would be phased in over three years. Lastly, it includes a $2,000 raise for assistant teachers.

Where We Could Go from Here

The Senate has until Thursday, March 26 to take action on the House-amended version of SB 2103. Several scenarios are possible:

• Scenario 1: The Senate does not bring the bill to the floor.
  If this occurs, the bill will die.
• Scenario 2: The Senate passes the bill as amended by the House.
  If this occurs, the bill would go to the Governor to be signed into law.
• Scenario 3: The Senate votes not to concur with the House amendments and invites conference.
  In this scenario, three conferees from the House and three from the Senate would negotiate a compromise. Both chambers would then vote on the resulting conference report during the week of March 30. If both chambers approve the conference report, the bill would go to the Governor.
• Scenario 4: The Senate votes not to concur and declines to invite conference.
  If this occurs, the bill will die.

If the Senate pursues either the second or third scenario by passing SB 2103 as amended by the House or sending it to conference, a permanent pay raise could move forward under SB 2103. Of these two paths, passing the bill in its current form carries less uncertainty, since the pay provisions would move forward in their current form. On the other hand, conference proceedings may result in a report that differs substantially from the version of the bill that originally entered the process. In the case of SB 2103, this risk is heightened because the bill brings forward numerous code sections related to a wide variety of issues, which we have outlined below.

The House faces a similar set of choices regarding the Senate-amended version of HB 1395. The House has until Thursday, March 26 to either decline to take action, pass the bill as amended, vote not to concur and send the bill to conference, or vote not to concur and decline to invite conference. If the House either passes HB 1395 as amended by the Senate or sends the bill to conference, a permanent teacher pay raise could move forward under HB 1395.

If the House and Senate pursue options that cause both SB 2103 and HB 1395 to die, the Legislature may still choose to address teacher pay through the appropriations process by including funding for a one-time bonus in the Mississippi Department of Education appropriations bill.

Summary of SB 2103 and HB 1395, as Amended

Below is a summary of each section of SB 2103 as amended by the House and HB 1395 as amended by the Senate. Section numbers shown in bold amend current law. All other sections simply bring forward existing code sections. If the bill goes to conference, any of these sections could still be amended in the conference report.

The post Teacher Pay in the 2026 Legislative Session: Where Things Stand first appeared on Mississippi First.

Senate Actions

The Senate Education Committee did not meet this week. Bills that had been referred to Senate Education and not brought up for a vote officially died following Tuesday’s deadline. This included HB 1126, which would have established a pay raise for teachers. 

House Actions 

The House Education Committee did not meet this week.  Bills that had been referred to House Education and not brought up for a vote died following Tuesday’s deadline. This included SB 2001, which would have established a pay raise for teachers and assistant teachers.  

However, on Friday, March 6, the full House unanimously voted to pass a strike-all amendment for SB 2103. The original bill would have deleted the requirement for school counselors to abide by the American School Counselor Association Code of Ethics. As amended by the House, though, the bill contains provisions similar to HB 1626, including a $5,000 pay raise for all teachers and an additional $3,000 pay raise for special education teachers. The bill will now go to the Senate for concurrence. 

The House also amended and passed SB 2787, which would require school districts to test liquefied gas piping systems in their facilities.

Early Childhood

All early childhood bills are dead except HB 4039 and SB 2867, which cap the tax credit that employers can receive by providing a childcare stipend to employees at $3,000 per year per child. There are some key differences between the bills. We encourage you to read our analysis of HB 4039 here and SB 2867 here.  

While most general bills are dead, we are still monitoring code sections closely to see if any bills are revived and preparing for the appropriations cycle, which will have an outsize impact on both pre-K and childcare.

Legislative Tracker

As education legislation continues to advance and budget negotiations begin to take shape, we encourage readers to follow along using our legislative tracker, which is updated daily to reflect real-time developments. Be sure to use the filter to view bills that are still alive. We will continue to provide updates and deeper analysis as the session progresses.

Upcoming Legislative Deadlines

• Wednesday, March 11: Deadline for original floor action on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in other House. 
• Tuesday, March 17: Deadline for original floor action on appropriation and revenue bills originating in other House. 
• Friday, March 20: Deadline to concur or not concur in amendments from other House to appropriation and revenue bills; and deadline for introduction of local and private bills that are revenue bills.

The post Legislative Updates – Week of March 2, 2026 first appeared on Mississippi First.

Earlier this year, Mississippi First released The Weight They Carry, a report based on survey responses from public school teachers across the state. The findings on compensation and financial stability were staggering:

• 54.1% of teachers reported struggling to afford at least one basic necessity such as food, housing, healthcare, or transportation, up 9.7 percentage points from our 2022 survey.
• 18.3% of teachers said they are finding it difficult to get by on their salary, up 6.6 percentage points since 2022.
• 41.4% of teachers reported working a second job outside the school system, up 5.9 percentage points from 2022.

We ask far too much of educators for them to face these kinds of financial struggles.

When salaries fail to keep pace with the cost of living, many teachers make the difficult but understandable choice to leave the classroom. When teachers leave, other teachers shoulder the burden as workloads increase, leading to more burnout and more attrition. Ultimately, students bear the cost of teachers leaving the classroom. A teacher pay raise is not just an acknowledgment of the hard and important work educators do every day. It is an investment in Mississippi’s students and the future of our state.

To restore teachers’ purchasing power to what it was in 2022—the last year a statewide raise was passed—salaries would need to increase by approximately 12.8% across the salary schedule (equal to about $5,500 for a first year teacher on a Class A license). We call on legislators to set aside their differences and prioritize passing a pay raise of this magnitude. 

There is still time this session to act, and this issue deserves the full attention of the Legislature. Mississippi’s teachers and students cannot afford to wait.

The post Mississippi Teachers Are Carrying Too Much—and Still Waiting for a Raise first appeared on Mississippi First.

High-quality childcare is essential for children, working families, and our state’s economic future, but today, too many Mississippi families struggle to access or afford the care they need. Our video series spotlights Takisha Bishop, a business owner and childcare provider in Greenwood, Mississippi. Takisha owns two centers and began last year with 95 students using vouchers. Over the course of the year, she lost 68 of those voucher students – a tremendous impact on her revenue and stability, and a disruption for the students and families she previously served.

Takisha’s story underscores a simple truth: childcare impacts parents, childcare providers, employers, and the well-being of the entire community. Increased appropriations to Mississippi’s Child Care Payment program would allow more families like the ones Takisha serves to access the care they need and deserve.

Mississippi First is committed to ensuring children have access to high-quality early childhood services, and we’ll be advocating for stronger policies this legislative session. Stay tuned by following us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The post Childcare Funding Matters: A Childcare Provider in Greenwood, MS first appeared on Mississippi First.