Legislative Updates – Week of March 9, 2026
This week marked the deadline for each chamber to concur or not concur with amendments made by the other chamber. The most significant education development is that the Senate revived its version of a teacher pay raise, meaning there are now two potential vehicles for a permanent teacher pay raise. You can read our full […]
Legislative Updates – Week of March 2, 2026
This week marked a major committee deadline on Tuesday: any general bills that did not make it through the other chamber’s committees died, including multiple teacher pay bills. However, on Friday, the House used a strike-all amendment to revive legislation that would lead to a teacher pay raise. Senate Actions The Senate Education Committee did […]
Legislative Updates – Week of February 23, 2026
The eighth week of the 2026 legislative session marked an important transition point as key committee deadlines approach. Overall, activity remained relatively measured and several education-related bills and board nominations advanced. With the March committee reporting deadline fast approaching, lawmakers are working to move priority legislation across chambers. Senate Actions The Senate Education Committee met […]
Legislative Updates – Week of February 16, 2026
The seventh week of the 2026 legislative session was relatively subdued, with limited floor action and only modest committee movement on education policy. Senate Actions The Senate Education Committee did not meet this week, nor did the full Senate pass any significant education-related legislation on the floor. The Senate Finance Committee met and passed a […]
Legislative Updates – Week of February 9, 2026
The sixth week of the legislative session brought a pause in committee activity but a significant amount of floor action. Thursday, February 12, marked the deadline for original floor action on general bills in their original chamber. Any bills that were not taken up on the floor by that deadline are no longer moving forward. […]
Legislative Updates – Week of February 2, 2026
This week marked the first major legislative deadline of the session. After February 3, any bill that did not advance out of committee in its chamber of origin is considered dead. Senate Actions The Senate Education Committee met on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, it took up SB 2294, SB 2244, and SB 2235. It […]
Legislative Updates – Week of January 26, 2026
House and Senate Education Committees took up several notable bills this week, as lawmakers worked to advance priorities ahead of the February 3 deadline for bills to clear committee in their chamber of origin. Senate Actions The Senate Education Committee met on Thursday and passed the following bills: SB 2238, SB 2485, SB 2494 (committee […]
Legislative Updates – Week of January 19, 2026
In the third week of the legislative session, activity in the education policy space continued to progress as both chambers moved a substantial number of bills through committee. Senate Actions On Thursday, the Senate Education Committee passed the following bills: SB 2071, SB 2072, SB 2099, SB 2103, SB 2236, SB 2242 (committee substitute), SB […]

House Bill 2: What It Does, What It Means, and Where Mississippi First Stands
Last Thursday, the Mississippi House of Representatives amended and passed the committee substitute for House Bill 2 (HB 2), the Mississippi Educational Freedom Program Act of 2026. Mississippi First evaluates education policy through the lens of our core values: engagement, results, collaboration, transparency, non-partisanship, accountability, and equity. We support reforms that are grounded in evidence, […]
Legislative Updates – Week of January 12, 2026
Education policy remained at the forefront of legislative activity this week, with major action on the House’s education omnibus bill and early budget discussions in the Senate. Senate Actions On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee heard budget presentations from the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board (MCSAB), marking the […]

