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 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.
Related Posts
Though sine die, the formal end of the legislative session, was originally scheduled for Sunday, April 5, the session has been extended on paper through April 15. That said, while legislators could be called back to address last-minute business, this week marked the final full week of legislative activity for the 2026 session. Please note […]
With next week marking the final full week of the legislative session, negotiations over key issues, including teacher pay and department budgets, are intensifying. Below is a summary of this week’s legislative activity, along with a list of legislators appointed to conference committees on select bills. Initial conference reports for appropriations bills must be filed […]
There were few major public developments in the Legislature this week. As budget negotiations continue, the question of whether teachers will receive a pay raise this year remains unclear. You can read our full explainer on teacher pay for more context on where things currently stand. Senate Actions House Actions Bill Conferees The House and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]