2025 Bill Tracker
Each year, The Parents’ Campaign closely monitors and takes a position on selected education bills. Priority bills for the 2025 Legislative Session will be added below as they move through the legislative process.
ACTIVE
HB 1078 – ESA Voucher Expansion; Loosening of Restrictions and Accountability. Removes provisions passed in the 2024 session that tightened restrictions and accountability in the ESA voucher statute. Removes cap on number of voucher participants. Expands the program to include children in foster care who do not have special needs. Allows an unnamed nonprofit to receive state funds to administer the program.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Passed by House Education Committee, 2/4/2025
- Passed by House: 109 yeas, 6 nays, 0 absent, 5 present/not voting, 2 vacant, 2/6/2025 See vote
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 2/17/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
HB 1431 – School District Consolidation. Requires consolidation of all school districts into one district per county. Limits each of Mississippi’s 82 counties to a single county board of education and an appointed county superintendent of education.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Committee substitute creates a task force to develop recommendations for consolidating school districts into one per county with a single county board of education and superintendent; out of 15 task force members only one is designated to represent public schools, 2/4/2025
- Committee substitute passed by House Education Committee, 2/4/2025
- Passed by House: 82 yeas, 18 nays, 0 absent, 20 present/not voting, 2 vacant, 2/6/2025 See vote
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 2/14/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
HB 1432 – Charter School Expansion; Weakening of Oversight and Accountability. Allows charter schools to be authorized in districts rated D or F at any time within five years preceding charter application, even if currently rated A, until adjustments are made to state accountability model. Allows charter schools serving special needs to be authorized in any district regardless of accountability rating. Allows multiple authorizers of charter schools, weakening oversight and accountability.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Committee substitute removes the provision allowing charter schools in districts rated D or F at any time in past five years and adds a provision that allows charter schools to be authorized without school board approval in districts rated C until adjustments are made to state accountability model; other provisions of the bill remain the same, 2/4/2025
- Committee substitute passed by House Education Committee, 2/4/2025
- Passed by House: 60 yeas, 49 nays, 2 absent, 9 present/not voting, 2 vacant, 2/12/2025 See vote
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 2/17/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
HB 1435 – Open Enrollment/Public School Choice. Allows students to transfer to a district outside of their own residence with the approval of the receiving district. Creates a significant administrative burden on districts by requiring they report four times a year the enrollment capacity and space available for each school and each grade as well as the district’s policy on student transfers. Prescribes rules for athletic eligibility of transferring students.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Committee substitute amends the bill to say that athletic eligibility shall be determined according to rules and regulations of the Mississippi High School Activities Association; other provisions of the bill remain the same, 1/29/2025
- Committee substitute passed by House Education Committee, 1/29/2025
- Strike-all amendment presented in House: allows students to transfer to district out of their own residence with the approval of the receiving district; creates a significant administrative burden on districts by requiring they report three times a year the enrollment capacity and space available for each school and grade as well as the district’s policy on student transfers; requires athletic eligibility of transferring students to be determined according to rules and regulations of MHSAA; amended on House floor to add requirement for PEER report after first year of implementation, 2/6/2025
- Passed by House: 69 yeas, 47 nays, 0 absent, 4 present/not voting, 2 vacant, 2/6/2025 See vote
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 2/14/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
HB 1617 – Tim Tebow Act. Allows homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular activities. Creates an unlevel playing field and imposes administrative burdens on public schools. Public school students must maintain a 2.0 GPA based on rigorous state standards to participate; homeschool students would be able to meet that requirement by presenting a “portfolio” of work, not subject to state standards, which public school administrators would be charged with evaluating. Provides favored status to homeschool students in the selection of athletic teams, requiring that homeschool students not be discriminated against.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/22/2025
- Committee substitute adds option of grade-level testing as part of evaluation of student eligibility; adds requirement for participation in statewide testing program but homeschool students’ scores will not affect the district’s accountability rating; other provisions of the bill remain the same, 1/29/2025
- Passed by House Education Committee, 1/29/2025
- Passed by House: 77 yeas, 27 nays, 4 absent, 12 present/not voting, 2 vacant, 2/11/2025 See vote
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 2/14/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
SB 2598 – Retired Teachers and Administrators Return to Classroom and Receive PERS. Amends law to add retired librarians, counselors, and administrators as eligible to work as teachers, librarians, or counselors full-time in certain critical shortage areas while receiving full PERS benefits. Increases salary to 150% of salary schedule, of which 50% is paid to retiree as salary and the remaining 50% is paid by the school district to PERS as a pension liability participation assessment. Allows school districts to pay all or a portion of health insurance premiums for such retired employees.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Committee substitute removes librarians and counselors from amendment so that only teachers and administrators are eligible to work as teachers in certain critical shortage areas while receiving full PERS benefits; other provisions of the bill remain the same, 1/31/2025
- Committee substitute passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/31/2025
- Passed by Senate: 51 yeas, 0 nays, 0 absent, 0 present/not voting, 1 vacant, 2/6/2025 See vote
- Referred to House Education and Appropriations Committees, 2/14/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
SB 2616 – Updates to Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF). Updates statutory language in MSFF to remove remaining references to MAEP and reflect current funding formula.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Committee substitute adds 7th and 8th grades to the career and technical education component of the funding formula; other provisions remain the same, 1/31/2025
- Committee substitute passed by Senate Education Committee, 1/31/2025
- Passed by Senate: 51 yeas, 0 nays, 0 absent, 0 present/not voting, 1 vacant, 2/6/2025 See vote
- Referred to House Education and Appropriations Committees, 2/14/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
DEAD
HB 1118 – Mississippi Teacher Residency Program. Legislature shall appropriate sufficient funds for the program annually beginning in FY2026.
- Referred to House Education and Appropriations Committees, 1/20/2025
- Passed by House Education Committee, 1/22/2025
- Died in committee, 2/4/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
HB 1135 – State and School Employees Health Insurance Plan/Dependent Coverage. State shall pay 50% of the cost of health insurance coverage for state and school employees’ eligible dependents.
- Referred to House Insurance and Appropriations Committees, 1/20/2025
- Died in committee, 2/4/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
HB 1433 – Mississippi Quality Desert Education Enrollment and Transfer Scholarship Act. Creates new program of private and public school choice for students in any school or district rated D or F at any point within the last five years. Diverts public money to private schools. Imposes administrative burdens on school districts.
- Referred to House Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Committee substitute renames the bill to the Flexible and Rightful Education Enrollment (FREE) Act; other provisions of the bill remain the same, 2/4/2025
- Passed by House Education Committee, 2/4/2025
- Died on calendar, 2/13/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
SB 2602 – Open Enrollment/Public School Choice. Allows students to transfer to a district outside of their own residence with the approval of the receiving district. Creates an administrative burden on districts by requiring they report by June 15 each year the enrollment capacity and space available for each grade as well as the district’s policy on student transfers.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Died in committee, 2/4/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a nay vote on this bill.
SB 2764 – CTE Funding for 7th and 8th Grades. Adds 7th and 8th grades to the career and technical education component of the Mississippi Student Funding Formula.
- Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/20/2025
- Died in committee, 2/4/2025
The Parents’ Campaign favors a yea vote on this bill.
