The Mississippi Legislature met today to address paid leave for teachers, school staff, and state and local government employees.
While both chambers produced bills addressing this problem, the House passed its own bill and adjourned without taking up the Senate version. The Senate will return tomorrow to take up HB 1647, which authorizes local school districts and local governments to grant teachers and other employees leave WITH PAY when an emergency declaration is in place. Earlier this week, Governor Reeves declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Legislature has also passed concurrent resolutions that extend the end-date of the Legislative Session so they can suspend business during the coronavirus outbreak. The resolutions call for the Legislature to return on April 1 unless the Lt. Governor and Speaker agree that they should reconvene on a different date. When the Legislature returns to its regular business, all bills that had passed one chamber earlier in the session will be taken up by the opposite chamber. See our mid-session update from last week.
We promise to keep you in the loop when decisions are made that affect the children and teachers in our public schools. While we are working remotely to help prevent the spread of the virus, you can reach us by email or phone, and you can find updates on our web site and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
The Mississippi Board of Education will meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday to address important issues including state testing and school accountability. You can watch that meeting via livestream here.
We know that it is unnerving to have our lives thrown so terribly out of balance, and the uncertainty that accompanies this unprecedented event makes it all the more difficult. Be kind to yourself and to one another. We’re all in this together, and together, we’ve got this!
