Teacher Pay in the 2026 Legislative Session: Where Things Stand
Note: This information is current as of 11:00am on Thursday, March 12. 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 […]
Mississippi Teachers Are Carrying Too Much—and Still Waiting for a Raise
After yesterday’s legislative committee deadline, all bills that would have led to a pay raise for Mississippi teachers are now dead. While not all hope is lost, the pathway to a permanent raise has narrowed. We are extremely disappointed that this long-overdue salary increase may become a casualty of political infighting. Earlier this year, Mississippi […]
Mississippi First Releases Pivotal Report on Teacher Turnover
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMississippi FirstKrystal CormackDirector of Communicationskrystal@mississippifirst.org601.398.9008 Jackson, Mississippi—Today, Mississippi First released its newest report, The Weight They Carry: Life as a Teacher in Mississippi, an analysis of the conditions shaping Mississippi teachers’ day-to-day experiences and their decisions about whether to remain in the classroom. Based on survey responses from nearly 1,000 Mississippi teachers across […]
The Potential of Career Advancement Opportunities for Teachers
Editor’s Note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series of posts dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi. *** By Grace Breazeale | Director of Research and K-12 Policy The Potential of Career Advancement Opportunities for Teachers Despite recent wins for public education in Mississippi, maintaining a strong and stable teacher workforce remains an issue. According […]
Raising Student Achievement in Mississippi’s Highest Need Districts
By Toren Ballard For the second year in a row, results from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) exams suggest that Mississippi is continuing to defy nationwide trends in educational achievement: proficiency levels across all subjects were at all-time highs in 2023, and Mississippi is now one of just two states nationwide to have exceeded its pre-pandemic proficiency […]
What Factors Influence a Teacher’s Salary?
Editor’s Note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series of posts dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi. *** By Grace Breazeale | Director of Research and K-12 Policy In this Post: What Factors Influence a Teacher’s Salary? In recent reports—including Falling Behind, which we released earlier this month—we have presented evidence that a […]
Mississippi First Releases Pivotal Report on Teacher Compensation and Inflation
Jackson, Mississippi—Mississippi First, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving education in the state, has released a new report titled Falling Behind: Teacher Compensation and the Race Against Inflation. The report provides a comprehensive look at the complex factors contributing to Mississippi’s teacher shortage with emphasis on how inflation has directly affected the impact of the recent […]
Students Deserve a Diverse Teacher Workforce
Editor’s Note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series of posts dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi. *** By Grace Breazeale | Director of Research and K-12 Policy A growing body of research indicates that students of color benefit when their race or ethnicity is represented in the teacher workforce. Unfortunately, Mississippi’s teacher workforce does not reflect the […]
Fair Pay for Fair Work
Editor’s Note: This post is one in an ongoing series of posts dedicated to early education policy in Mississippi. *** By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy A lack of wage parity is a longstanding issue in the early childhood profession. Childcare teachers, Head Start teachers, and public pre-K teachers have vastly different salaries and access […]
An Accumulation of Grievances
Editor’s Note: This blog post is a part of a new ongoing series of posts dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi. *** By Grace Breazeale | Director of Research and K-12 Policy Teacher compensation has rightfully taken center stage in the effort to address the teacher shortage crisis in Mississippi. Still, there remains a host […]