SB 2295 requires Mississippi's Department of Education (MDE) to provide consulting services to school districts on technology planning, disaster recovery, nutrition programs, and student transportation. It mandates annual reviews of MDE's accounting manuals for school districts and revises how local contributions toward school funding are calculated based on enrollment. The bill also establishes staggered terms for charter school board members and allows charter school authorizers to collect up to 3% of per-pupil funding for oversight. These changes directly affect all Mississippi public school districts, charter schools, and the MDE. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and was never enacted.
HB 1106 requires municipalities in Mississippi to hold a public election in any territory proposed for annexation or deannexation before boundary changes take effect. It directly affects residents living in the specific area targeted for inclusion or exclusion from a municipality, giving them the right to vote on the change. Key provisions include mandating a county election within 60 days of an annexation ordinance, requiring 21 days' notice via local newspaper, and shifting costs: if a municipality appeals election results to county court, it must pay all attorney fees and court costs. The bill also repeals an existing requirement for annexation petitions to be filed in chancery court.
SB 2301, the "Mississippi Open to Religion Act," would require Mississippi public school districts and charter schools to adopt policies allowing students and employees daily voluntary opportunities for prayer and Bible or religious text reading on school campuses. Key provisions mandate signed consent forms from students' parents/guardians or employees (including waivers of legal claims under the First Amendment), prohibit public address system use for such activities, and require separate spaces for those who opt out. Compliance would begin with the 2026-2027 school year. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and is not currently law.
HB 1092 is a procedural bill that revises the purpose descriptions for existing state funds allocated in the FY 2022 budget. It amends Section 29 of the 2021 appropriations law to update how $97,568,800 in funds will be used for specific projects across Mississippi, including road repairs, community centers, flood control, and the Emmett Till Monument. The bill does not change the total funding amount or create new projects - it only clarifies the intended use for 37 previously listed recipients (e.g., Hinds County, City of Vicksburg, Rankin County stormwater program). The bill died in committee in 2026 and had no new policy impact.
HB 1094, the Mississippi Breastfeeding Support and Equity Act, requires maternal health care facilities (like hospitals and clinics) to adopt breastfeeding-supportive policies, provide pre-discharge counseling to mothers, and visibly post the state's "Breastfeeding in Mississippi: Guidelines" in public areas. It also mandates employers to provide reasonable break time and private spaces for nursing employees during work hours and makes it a misdemeanor to interfere with a mother breastfeeding in public. The bill directly affects new mothers, health care facilities, and employers across Mississippi, aiming to remove barriers through policy changes rather than legal restrictions. These provisions replace older statutes and align with state health guidelines promoting breastfeeding benefits.
HB 1097 would have required Mississippi county sheriffs and municipal police chiefs to provide absentee ballot applications to incarcerated individuals who are registered voters and have not been convicted of a disenfranchising crime. The bill amended existing law to mandate that these applications be "readily available" within prisons and jails, making it easier for eligible inmates to request absentee ballots. This directly affects incarcerated Mississippi voters who meet the eligibility criteria under current law. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and never became law.
SB 2287 is a procedural bill that reorganizes existing sections of Mississippi's charter school law (specifically moving sections 37-28-1 through 37-28-61) to a new position in the code for potential future amendments. It does not create new policies or change current charter school rules - it only rearranges the legal text to facilitate future legislative updates. The bill died in committee in 2026 and had no effect on existing charter school operations or regulations. This is a technical code renumbering, not a substantive policy change.
HB 1107 would change the reporting requirement for the PEER committee (a legislative performance evaluation committee) from an annual to a biennial report on Mississippi's charter schools. The biennial report would assess funding sufficiency, the effectiveness of the state funding formula, and recommend policy changes. This reduces the frequency of the report from once per year to once every two years, easing the reporting burden on the committee. The bill does not affect the existing annual reporting requirement for the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board.
SB 2300 aimed to expand Mississippi's charter school system by creating "special purpose charter schools" focused on areas like STEM education, special needs support, or career training, while removing a cap of 15 new schools per year. It defined new terms, updated funding rules, allowed flexibility for disasters (e.g., pandemics), and required schools to serve underserved students. The bill would have directly affected charter schools, students (particularly those with disabilities), and local school districts overseeing authorizers. However, the bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and did not become law.
HB 1105 would have required Mississippi municipalities to provide specific services promised during annexation before collecting property taxes in newly annexed areas. The bill mandated that annexation ordinances list all proposed services (e.g., water, roads), and tax collection could not begin until those services were delivered. This applied directly to property owners in newly annexed territories, delaying their tax liability until municipal services were operational. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and did not become law.
HB 1101 would have revised Mississippi's campaign finance laws, directly affecting candidates, political committees, and contributors. Key provisions included requiring all campaign finance reports to be filed online starting January 1, 2027; banning anonymous contributions (mandating refunds or deposits into an election fund); and increasing penalties for violations. The bill also shifted enforcement authority from the Ethics Commission to the Secretary of State, repealed bans on corporate contributions, and required candidates to maintain zero cash balances when terminating campaigns. This bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and never became law.
SB 2302, the THRIVE Act, would require all Mississippi public elementary and secondary schools to implement age-appropriate character education courses teaching specific values like honesty, respect for family, responsibility, and marriage. It mandates the state education department to approve compliant courses by June 2026, list required character traits (including "sexual abstinence outside marriage" and "respect for lifelong marriage"), and provide parent opt-out options. Schools would need to publicly share course materials, allow parental withdrawal, and report compliance annually to the legislature. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and never became law.
