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 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.
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