Public schools; allow to employ or accept the service of chaplains.

HB 1391 allows Mississippi public school districts and charter schools to hire or accept chaplains as volunteers to provide student support services, subject to background checks and a prohibition on sex offenders. The bill requires school boards to vote on chaplain policies by December 2025 and integrates chaplains into school safety programs, including crisis response teams and security funding under amended education codes. It mandates background checks for chaplains and ties chaplain services to existing school safety initiatives like threat assessments. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and would have affected all Mississippi public schools and their students.