Students with disabilities; require school district to provide written notification to parents regarding modification or access to records.

H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 1 (DJ\KW)

To: Education; Public Health
and Human Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Crawford

HOUSE BILL NO. 1186

AN ACT TO EXEMPT ANY OFFICIAL, AGENT OR EMPLOYEE OF THE STATE 1
OR A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THEREOF FROM ENFORCING OR BEING ORDERED 2
TO ENFORCE ANY FEDERAL DIRECTIVE THAT ALLOWS ANY MEDICAL, HEALTH 3
CARE, BEHAVIORAL, OR MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT, SERVICE, THERAPY OR 4
COUNSELING TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY'S 5
PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, PUBLIC BENEFITS INFORMATION 6
OR MAKE ANY MODIFICATION TO THAT STUDENT'S IEP OR SERVICE PLANS 7
WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE CHILD'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN; TO 8
PROVIDE A CAUSE OF ACTION BY A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN AGAINST 9
ANY PERSON, CORPORATION OR OTHER ENTITY, WHO VIOLATES THE MEDICAL 10
AND MENTAL HEALTH RELATED PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT 11
REQUIREMENTS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 41-41-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE 12
OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 13
37-23-137, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE WRITTEN PRIOR 14
NOTICE AND REQUEST FOR CONSENT SHALL BE PROVIDED TO THE PARENTS OF 15
A CHILD WITH A DISABILITY EACH TIME CERTAIN REVISIONS ARE MADE TO 16
THE CHILD'S IEP, WHEN THE CHILD'S PUBLIC BENEFITS ARE SOUGHT TO BE 17
ACCESSED AND WHEN THE CHILD'S PERSONAL IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION IS 18
SOUGHT TO BE DISCLOSED FOR BILLING PURPOSES; TO PROVIDE FOR THE 19
SEVERABILITY OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION; AND FOR RELATED 20
PURPOSES. 21
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has held that under 22
the Tenth Amendment, "Congress cannot compel the States to enact 23
or enforce a federal regulatory program ... Congress cannot 24
circumvent that prohibition by conscripting the State's officers 25
directly. The Federal Government may neither issue directives 26
requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command 27
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 2 (DJ\KW)

the States' officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to 28
administer or enforce a federal regulatory program." (Printz v. 29
U.S., 521 U.S. 898, 935 (1997)); and 30
WHEREAS, Chief Justice John Roberts in NFIB v. Sebelius, 567 31
U.S. 519 (2012) cites with approval the warning that "it is of 32
fundamental importance to consider whether essential attributes of 33
state sovereignty are compromised by the assertion of federal 34
power"; and 35
WHEREAS, Section 41-41-3 provides that health care cannot be 36
provided to a minor without the consent of a parent, guardian or 37
other authorized person as provided therein; and 38
WHEREAS, the United States Secretary of Health and Human 39
Services has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to rescind 34 40
CFR Section 300.154(d)(2)(iv), which would remove the requirement 41
for parental consent prior to accessing a child's or parent's 42
public benefits or insurance for the first time; and 43
WHEREAS, the referenced notice of proposed rulemaking further 44
proposes to rescind the requirement in 34 CFR Section 45
300.154(d)(2)(v) that notices to parents of children with an IDEA 46
no longer include the following two statements: (i) a statement 47
that the parents have the right to withdraw consent to disclose 48
their child's personal identifying information (PII) to the agency 49
responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits 50
or insurance program at any time; and (ii) a statement that 51
refusal to provide consent or withdrawal of consent to disclose 52
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 3 (DJ\KW)

PII to the agency responsible for the administration of the 53
State's public benefits or insurance program does not relieve the 54
public agency of its responsibility to ensure that all required 55
services are provided at no cost to the parents: NOW, THEREFORE, 56
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 57
SECTION 1. It is the purpose and intention of the 58
Legislature to protect the rights of the state government and of 59
the people of this state reserved to them in our federal system of 60
government under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the United 61
States Constitution, insofar as the rights of parents to govern 62
and direct medical and health care decisions of their children and 63
to protect their children's privacy are concerned. 64
SECTION 2. No federal executive order, agency order, rule, 65
guidance document, memorandum, directive, regulation or 66
administrative interpretation of a law or statute enrolled by the 67
United States Congress and signed by the President of the United 68
States, including, without limitation, any of the above referenced 69
proposed rule changes, which allow any medical, health care, 70
behavioral, or mental health treatment, service, therapy or 71
counseling without parental notification or consent in 72
contravention of the provisions of Sections 37-23-137 or 41-4-3, 73
or any other applicable laws of the state governing such parental 74
notification or consent, shall be enforced or ordered to be 75
enforced by any official, agent or employee of this state or a 76
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 4 (DJ\KW)

political subdivision thereof, or any person acting under color of 77
state law. 78
SECTION 3. (1) Notwithstanding any federal executive order, 79
agency order, rule, guidance document, memorandum, directive, 80
regulation or administrative interpretation of a law or statute 81
enrolled by the United States Congress and signed by the President 82
of the United States, including, without limitation, any proposed 83
rule as referenced in Section 1 of this act, any state agency, 84
school district, health care institution or health care provider, 85
as defined in Section 41-41-203, who violates the provisions of 86
Sections 37-23-137, 41-41-3, or other applicable laws of the state 87
governing such parental notification or consent, may be subject to 88
a civil suit for damages brought by any parent whose rights 89
secured by those sections were violated. Relief available in such 90
a civil suit may include, without limitation, actual damages, 91
court costs, reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court, and 92
punitive damages if the violation satisfies the standards for 93
imposition of punitive damages elsewhere provided by law. 94
(2) An individual may assert a violation of this act as a 95
claim in any judicial or administrative proceeding or as defense 96
in any judicial or administrative proceeding without regard to 97
whether the proceeding is brought by or in the name of the 98
government, any private person or any other party. 99
(3) An action under this act may be commenced, and relief 100
may be granted, in a court of competent jurisdiction in the state 101
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 5 (DJ\KW)

without regard to whether the individual commencing the action has 102
sought or exhausted available administrative remedies. 103
(4) Sovereign immunity shall not be an affirmative defense 104
in any action pursuant to this act. 105
SECTION 4. Section 37-23-137, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 106
amended as follows: 107
37-23-137. (1) Consent shall be obtained: 108
(a) Prior to initial evaluation; 109
(b) Prior to implementation of the initial 110
individualized educational program for a child with a disability; 111
(c) Prior to reevaluation, except that such consent is 112
not required, if the local educational agency can demonstrate that 113
it had taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the 114
parent failed to respond; and 115
(d) Prior to the release of educational records as 116
required under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and 117
IDEA. 118
(2) If the parent of a child with a disability refuses 119
consent for the evaluation, the local educational agency may 120
continue to pursue an evaluation by utilizing the due process 121
hearing procedures under IDEA, except to the extent these are not 122
in conflict with Mississippi law relating to parental consent. 123
(3) (a) Written prior notice shall be provided to the 124
parents of the child whenever a local educational agency proposes 125
to initiate or change or refuses to initiate or change the 126
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 6 (DJ\KW)

identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, 127
or the provision of a free appropriate public education to that 128
child. 129
(b) Notwithstanding any federal executive order, agency 130
order, rule, guidance document, memorandum, directive, regulation 131
or administrative interpretation of a law or statute enrolled by 132
the United States Congress and signed by the President of the 133
United States to the contrary, including, without limitation, Part 134
B of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, or any 135
provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 136
(FERPA) or the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, written prior 137
notice and request for consent shall be provided to the parents of 138
the child each time: 139
(i) A public agency seeks to access a child's 140
public benefits or insurance; 141
(ii) A child with a disability is required to be 142
reevaluated; and 143
(iii) A public entity seeks disclosure of a 144
child's personal identifiable information for Medicaid billing 145
under FERPA or IDEA. 146
(4) Written prior notice shall be provided in the native 147
language of the parents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do 148
so. 149
(5) Written prior notice shall include: 150
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 7 (DJ\KW)

(a) A description of the action proposed or refused by 151
the local educational agency; 152
(b) An explanation of why the local educational agency 153
proposes or refuses to take the action; 154
(c) A description of any other options that the local 155
educational agency considered and the reasons why those options 156
were rejected; 157
(d) A description of any other factors that are 158
relevant to the local educational agency's proposal or refusal; 159
(e) A description of each evaluation procedure, test, 160
record, or report the local educational agency used as a basis for 161
the proposed or refused action; 162
(f) A description of any factors that are relevant to 163
the local educational agency's proposal or refusal; 164
(g) A statement that the parents of a child with a 165
disability have protection under the procedural safeguards under 166
IDEA and, if the notice is not an initial referral for evaluation, 167
notification of an individualized educational program meeting or 168
notice for reevaluation, the means by which a copy of a 169
description of procedural safeguards can be obtained; and 170
(h) Sources for parents to contact to obtain assistance 171
in understanding the provisions under IDEA. 172
(6) A copy of the procedural safeguards established by the 173
State Department of Education shall be given to the parents upon: 174
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 8 (DJ\KW)

(a) Initial referral for evaluation, reevaluation or 175
parent request for evaluation; 176
(b) The child's initial IEP meeting; 177
(c) Registration of a complaint under IDEA to the State 178
Department of Education; 179
(d) Upon a request by a parent; and 180
(e) If there is no circumstance giving rise to the 181
purpose of parents receiving a copy of the procedural safeguards 182
under paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection, then the 183
parents shall be provided with a copy of the procedural safeguards 184
at least once on an annual basis. 185
The procedural safeguards shall include provisions which 186
allow parents to be informed of the parental right to record IEP 187
meetings by means of an audio or visual recording device or 188
written transcript at the parent's own expense if they so desire a 189
record of the meeting. 190
(7) The State Department of Education and each local 191
educational agency shall establish procedures to ensure parents of 192
children with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in 193
meetings with respect to the identification, evaluation, and 194
education placement of the child, and the provision of a free 195
appropriate public education of such child. Local educational 196
agencies shall provide parents of children with disabilities an 197
opportunity to provide input in the development of the agencies' 198
application for funding, as required under IDEA. 199
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 9 (DJ\KW)

(8) The parent or guardian or local educational agency shall 200
have the right to audio record the proceedings of individualized 201
education program team meetings. The parent or guardian or local 202
educational agency shall notify the members of the individualized 203
education program team of his, her, or its intent to audio record 204
a meeting at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting. 205
(9) In conducting the evaluation, the local educational 206
agency shall: 207
(a) Use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to 208
gather relevant functional and developmental information, 209
including information provided by the parent, that may assist in 210
determining whether the child is a child with a disability and the 211
content of the child's individualized education program including 212
information related to enabling the child to be involved in and 213
progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, to 214
participate in appropriate activities; 215
(b) Not use any single procedure as the sole criterion 216
for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or 217
determining an appropriate educational program for the child; and 218
(c) Use technically sound instruments that may assess 219
the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in 220
addition to physical or developmental factors. 221
(10) Each local educational agency shall ensure that: 222
(a) Tests and other evaluation materials used to assess 223
a child are: 224
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 10 (DJ\KW)

(i) Selected and administered so as not to be 225
discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis; and 226
(ii) Provided and administered in the child's 227
native language or other mode of communication, unless it is 228
clearly not feasible to do so; 229
(b) Any standardized tests that are given to the child: 230
(i) Have been validated for the specific purpose 231
for which they are used; 232
(ii) Are administered by trained and knowledgeable 233
personnel; and 234
(iii) Are administered in accordance with any 235
instructions provided by the producer of such tests; 236
(c) The child is assessed in all areas of suspected 237
disability; and 238
(d) Assessment tools and strategies that provide 239
relevant information that directly assist persons in determining 240
the educational needs of the child are provided. 241
(11) Upon completion of administration of tests and other 242
evaluation materials: 243
(a) The determination of whether the child is a child 244
with a disability as defined under IDEA and state regulations 245
established by the State Board of Education shall be made by a 246
team of qualified professionals and the parent of the child and 247
certified by a Screening Team as defined by the State Board of 248
Education; 249
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 11 (DJ\KW)

(b) In making such a determination of eligibility, a 250
child shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if 251
the determinant factor for such determination is lack of 252
instruction in reading or math or limited English proficiency; and 253
(c) A copy of the evaluation report and the 254
documentation of determination of eligibility will be given to the 255
parent. 256
(12) Parents shall have an opportunity to obtain an 257
independent educational evaluation of their child in accordance 258
with the requirements under IDEA. 259
(13) An outside individual or entity contracting with a 260
local educational agency for the purpose of performing an 261
observation in order to make recommendations of possible changes 262
in a child's IEP, or any outside individual or entity making an 263
observation of a child which results in such recommendations, 264
shall submit a report of the observation to the local educational 265
agency. The local educational agency shall notify the parent upon 266
receipt of this report. 267
(14) Parents and guardians shall have the right of review or 268
to receive copies of all educational records, as such records are 269
defined by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the 270
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, pertaining to their 271
child. The local educational agency shall be responsible for 272
making the educational records available to the parent or 273
guardian. The cost of providing a copy of any information 274
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 12 (DJ\KW)

contained in a student's educational record to the parents or 275
guardians shall be established by the local school board in 276
accordance with the requirements of the Family Educational Rights 277
and Privacy Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education 278
Act. 279
(15) If any subsection of this section or its application to 280
any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does 281
not affect other subsections or applications of this section which 282
can be given effect without the invalid subsection or application, 283
and to this end the provisions of this section are severable. 284
SECTION 5. Section 41-41-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 285
brought forward as follows: 286
41-41-3. (1) It is hereby recognized and established that, 287
in addition to such other persons as may be so authorized and 288
empowered, any one (1) of the following persons who is reasonably 289
available, in descending order of priority, is authorized and 290
empowered to consent on behalf of an unemancipated minor, either 291
orally or otherwise, to any surgical or medical treatment or 292
procedures not prohibited by law which may be suggested, 293
recommended, prescribed or directed by a duly licensed physician: 294
(a) The minor's guardian or custodian. 295
(b) The minor's parent. 296
(c) An adult brother or sister of the minor. 297
(d) The minor's grandparent. 298
H. B. No. 1186 *HR26/R1032* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R1032
PAGE 13 (DJ\KW)
ST: Students with disabilities; require school
district to provide written notification to
parents regarding modification or access to
records.
(2) If none of the individuals eligible to act under 299
subsection (1) is reasonably available, an adult who has exhibited 300
special care and concern for the minor and who is reasonably 301
available may act; the adult shall communicate the assumption of 302
authority as promptly as practicable to the individuals specified 303
in subsection (1) who can be readily contacted. 304
(3) Any female, regardless of age or marital status, is 305
empowered to give consent for herself in connection with pregnancy 306
or childbirth. 307
SECTION 6. If any one or more provisions, sections, 308
subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or words of this act or 309
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is found to 310
be unconstitutional, the same is hereby declared to be severable 311
and the balance of this act shall remain effective notwithstanding 312
such unconstitutionality. The Legislature hereby declares that it 313
would have passed this act, and each provision, section, 314
subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word thereof, irrespective 315
of the fact that any one or more provisions, sections, 316
subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or words be declared 317
unconstitutional. 318
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from 319
and after July 1, 2026. 320