The Mississippi House and Senate have completed their work in the 2026 Legislative Session and adjourned – for now. Earlier in the week, both chambers adopted HCR 64, which extended the session until April 15 to give them some breathing room on some looming conference report deadlines. The resolution states that they will reconvene in the meantime only if Lt. Gov. Hosemann and Speaker White deem it necessary.
Many thanks are due you and our legislators who took bold stands this session in support of our public schools and the children they serve!
As a recap, the Legislature adopted the following raises:
- $2,000 across-the-board pay raise for certified teachers
- additional $2,000 salary supplement for special education teachers who are teaching special education in a public school (total $4,000 raise for SPED teachers)
- $2,000 pay raise for teacher assistants
- $2,000 salary supplement for occupational therapists
- $2,000 salary supplement for school psychologists
- $5,000 pay raise for school attendance officers (SAO)
Additionally, the Legislature provided:
- funding for more SAO positions (enough for one for every 4,000 students)
- new math and adolescent literacy initiatives
- amendments to the PERS statute to strengthen the incentive for retired teachers to return to public school classrooms and to address issues with the Tier 5 provision passed last year
- full funding for the Chickasaw Cession program
- level funding for pre-k and the National Board Certified Teacher program (which, in the past, has been sufficient to provide NBCT supplements for all who qualify)
I am exceedingly proud of the remarkable work you did this session in concert with courageous local leaders and legislators to defeat the onslaught of school choice legislation pushed by the billionaire voucher lobby. State-funded schools should not be allowed to pick and choose their students, and all state-funded schools should operate under the same rules.
Please join me in thanking the legislators who stood with us in support of our public schools! We will not forget these important votes. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby talk about the Senate vote to defeat HB 2 – and the thousands of you who called urging legislators to oppose school choice – take a minute to listen now (just past the 4-minute mark in the podcast). It will make you proud.
Mississippi children are incredibly fortunate to have you in their corner. What a blessing it is that you will invest your time and resources to lift your voice, spread the word, rally the troops, and call, text, and email lawmakers – again and again and again – to ensure brighter futures for thousands of children, most of whom you will never know. You are a gift! To children and to our entire state. And I am ever thankful.
Nancy Loome, Executive Director
As the 2026 Regular Legislative Session ends, we at The Parents’ Campaign already are turning our focus to the threat of a special session on school choice. Our fight is year-round: informing, organizing, mobilizing, and connecting public school supporters and decision-makers in every corner of Mississippi, ever vigilant and always prepared for the next battle. We need your financial support to sustain our work and to help us ensure that public school teachers and students have the resources they need to be successful, to improve teacher pay, and to fight back against the privateers who want to use our tax dollars to fund private schools. Please donate today!
