Education compensation and attendance law reforms
Summary
Mississippi Governor signed SB2103 into law, implementing comprehensive education reforms including mandatory teacher salary increases to the minimum scale, annual supplements for special education teachers, occupational therapists, and school psychologists, and new attendance officer funding requirements. The bill also modifies counselor ethical requirements, assistant teacher pay protections, and school payroll processing timelines.
What changed
Mississippi SB2103 enacts substantial changes to state education law affecting multiple code sections. Key provisions include: deletion of the requirement that professional school counselors follow the American School Counselor Association Code of Ethics, replacing it with State Department of Education oversight and a new model code; increases to the minimum teacher salary scale and new annual supplements for licensed special education teachers, occupational therapists, and certified school psychologists; new protections preventing school districts from reducing local supplements or paying assistant teachers below the state minimum salary; and reforms to attendance officer qualifications with state funding for one officer per 4,000 compulsory-school-aged children.
School districts and educational institutions must prepare for multiple compliance requirements: districts cannot reduce local supplements when state minimums increase; districts violating pay requirements face funding reductions; payroll processing timelines change from the last working day in December to align with other monthly installments; and the state must fund attendance officers according to enrollment ratios. The bill repeals provisions for retired teachers returning to work while drawing retirement benefits. Effective immediately upon signing, districts should review and update salary schedules, payroll processes, and counselor supervision procedures.
What to do next
- Update teacher salary schedules to comply with new minimum scale and special education supplements
- Review and adjust payroll processing to comply with December timeline changes
- Ensure counselor activities align with new State Department of Education regulations
Penalties
Districts that violate assistant teacher pay protections face reduction in funds
Source document (simplified)
ChangeBridge / Mississippi / SB2103 Signed by Governor SB2103 Senate Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-06
Education; provide pay increases, revise counseling ethical requirements, and reform school attendance law.
An Act To Amend Section 37-9-79, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Delete The Provision That Requires Professional School Counselors To Abide By The American School Counselor Association Code Of Ethics; To Require The State Department Of Education To Adopt Regulations Regarding The Activities Of Professional School Counselors, Including A Model Code Of Professional Ethics; To Amend Section 37-19-7, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Provide For An Increase To The Minimum Teacher Salary Scale; To Provide An Annual Salary Supplement To Licensed Special Education Teachers Employed By A School District On A Full-time Basis To Provide Special Education Instruction, To Licensed Occupational Therapists And To Certified School Psychologists; To Amend Section 37-21-7, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Provide That No School District Shall Reduce The Local Supplement Or Pay An Individual Assistant Teacher Less Than The State Minimum Salary In A Year In Which The State Minimum Salary Is Increased; To Provide For A Reduction In Funds For Districts That Violate This Section; To Provide That No District Shall Pay Any Assistant Teacher Less Than The State Minimum Salary Unless Done So By A Pro Rata Daily Amount Where There Has Been A Reduction In Total Funding Formula Allocations For Such District In Such Year Or In The Amount Of Federal Funds To Such District From The Previous Year; To Provide For An Increase To The Minimum Base Salary For Assistant Teachers; To Amend Section 37-151-203, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Increase The Amount Of The Base Student Cost; To Amend Sections 37-13-89 And 37-13-91, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Revise Qualifications For School Attendance Officers; To Direct The State To Provide Funding For One School Attendance Officer For Every 4,000 Compulsory-school-aged Children In Enrollment In The Public Schools; To Institute A New Minimum Salary Schedule For School Attendance Officers; To Provide That Each School Attendance Officer May Receive An Annual Salary Supplement From The School District In Which He Or She Serves, At The Discretion Of The District; To Reform The Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law; To Amend Sections 37-9-39 And 37-151-103, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Revise The Time In December When School Districts Shall Process Payroll For All Employees From The Last Working Day To A Time Consistent With Other Monthly Installments As A Means Of Preventing The 45-day Gap Between Teacher Pay Periods From The December Pay Date To January Pay Date; To Repeal Section 25-11-126, Mississippi Code Of 1972, Which Contains Provisions For Retired Teachers Returning To Work While Continuing To Draw Retirement Benefits; And For Related Purposes.
Bill Details
State Mississippi
Session 2026 Regular Session
Chamber Senate
Official Source billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history...
LegiScan View on LegiScan
Sponsors
Angela Burks Hill (Sen - R)
Action History
2026-04-06 H Enrolled Bill Signed 2026-04-06 S Enrolled Bill Signed 2026-04-01 S Unanimous Consent Granted 2026-04-01 S Conference Report Adopted 2026-04-01 H Conference Report Adopted 2026-04-01 H Unanimous Consent Granted 2026-03-31 S Conference Report Filed 2026-03-31 H Conference Report Filed 2026-03-31 S Recommitted For Further Conf 2026-03-31 H Recommitted For Further Conf 2026-03-30 H Conference Report Filed 2026-03-30 S Conference Report Filed 2026-03-25 H Conferees Named Roberson,McCarty,Owen 2026-03-24 S Conferees Named DeBar,Hopson,Boyd 2026-03-24 S Decline to Concur/Invite Conf 2026-03-06 H Returned For Concurrence 2026-03-06 H Immediate Release 2026-03-06 H Passed As Amended 2026-03-06 H Amended 2026-02-18 H Title Suff Do Pass As Amended 2026-02-06 H Referred To Education 2026-02-05 S Transmitted To House 2026-02-04 S Passed 2026-01-22 S Title Suff Do Pass 2026-01-09 S Referred To Education
Votes
2026-02-04 Senate Passed Yea: 35 Nay: 17 2026-03-06 House Passed As Amended Yea: 122 Nay: 0 2026-04-01 House Conference Report Adopted Yea: 121 Nay: 0 2026-04-01 Senate Conference Report Adopted Yea: 52 Nay: 0
Committee Referrals
2026-01-09 S Education 2026-02-06 H Education
Amendments
0000-00-00 House Committee Amendment No 1 0000-00-00 House Amendment No 2 Adopted
Bill Text Versions
2026-01-09 Introduced 2026-02-05 Engrossed 2026-04-06 Enrolled Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)
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