By Micayla Tatum I Director of Early Childhood Policy
When the legislative session came to a close on Thursday, April 3, 2025, the legislature went home without passing a budget for the state government, including an appropriations bill for the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS). On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Governor Tate Reeves called a special session for the legislature to approve a state budget.
This post highlights key early education investments in the finalized FY26 budget, including continued support for Mississippi’s pre-K programs and a historic increase in funding for child care assistance.
The Early Learning Collaboratives (ELCs)
In 2013, Mississippi First co-authored the legislation to create the ELCs, the first state-funded pre-K program in Mississippi. In the FY26 budget, the legislature reaffirmed its support by maintaining level funding for the program with a $29M appropriation and a $3.25M appropriation for the program’s coaches. This continued investment allows us to keep recruiting new communities to help us achieve our goal of reaching 50% of four-year-olds in Mississippi.
The legislature also continued its appropriation to a line item pre-K program called the State Invested Pre-K Program (SIP) with a $13M appropriation. This program was created to support school districts and encourages, but does not require them to partner with local Head Start or childcare providers. Additionally, the program does not require a local match.
Childcare Investment
The legislature approved a historic $15M appropriation to the state’s Child Care Payment Program! This is an incredible win for Mississippi’s youngest learners and their families, especially in light of recent funding shifts that have led DHS to right-size its budget.
Recognizing Early Childhood Champions
We’re grateful to the elected leaders who continue to champion early childhood education in Mississippi. We could not do this work without the leadership of Governor Reeves, Lt. Governor Hosemann, Chairman Roberson, Chairman DeBar, and Representative McCarty. We thank you!
To see more about how early childhood education fared during the regular legislative session, please see our previous blog post here.