Mississippi Dyslexia Generative Artificial Intelligence Education and Workforce Development Act; create.

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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Roberson

HOUSE BILL NO. 1242

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI DYSLEXIA GENERATIVE 1
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACT; 2
TO CREATE A STATE-FUNDED, OPEN-ACCESS DYSLEXIA CURRICULUM AND 3
GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM; TO DESIGNATE LIGHTHOUSE 4
ACADEMY FOR DYSLEXIA AND THE MISSISSIPPI DYSLEXIA INSTITUTE AS 5
FOUNDING DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS; TO PROVIDE FOR MISSISSIPPI-APPROVED 6
CURRICULUM STATUS; TO AUTHORIZE DEVELOPMENT, COMPENSATION, 7
RESEARCH, AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT; TO PROVIDE FOR PILOT 8
PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS, CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, WORKFORCE, AND ADULT 9
EDUCATION SETTINGS; TO REQUIRE REPORTING AND EVALUATION; TO 10
APPROPRIATE FUNDS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 11
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 12
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 13
"Mississippi Dyslexia Generative Artificial Intelligence Education 14
and Workforce Development Act". 15
SECTION 2. The Legislature finds that: 16
(a) Dyslexia affects a significant portion of 17
Mississippi's population and contributes to academic failure, 18
workforce underparticipation, and incarceration; 19
(b) Mississippi has made substantial investments in 20
dyslexia screening and intervention, yet access to high-quality, 21
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consistent instruction remains uneven across educational and 22
institutional settings; 23
(c) Evidence-based, structured literacy instruction 24
aligned with Orton-Gillingham principles improves literacy 25
outcomes for children, adults, and incarcerated individuals when 26
delivered with fidelity; 27
(d) Generative artificial intelligence, when 28
responsibly developed and implemented under qualified professional 29
oversight, may enhance individualized instruction, support 30
educators, and scale evidence-based practices; 31
(e) Publicly funded educational resources should be 32
broadly accessible, transparent, and protected from exclusive 33
control or commercialization that limits public benefit; and 34
(f) Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia and the Mississippi 35
Dyslexia Institute possess demonstrated expertise in dyslexia 36
education, research, and innovation within the State of 37
Mississippi. 38
The purpose of this act is to: 39
(a) Establish a state-funded, open-access dyslexia 40
curriculum and generative artificial intelligence system for use 41
in public educational and institutional settings; 42
(b) Improve literacy outcomes for students, 43
incarcerated individuals, adult learners, and members of the 44
workforce with dyslexia; 45
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(c) Support Mississippi educators, therapists, and 46
institutions through research-based development and sustainable 47
professional services; and 48
(d) Reduce long-term public costs associated with 49
illiteracy, unemployment, and recidivism. 50
SECTION 3. As used in this act, the following terms have the 51
meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly 52
indicates otherwise: 53
(a) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of 54
Education. 55
(b) "Program" means the Mississippi Dyslexia Generative 56
Artificial Intelligence Education and Workforce Development 57
Program. 58
(c) "Generative artificial intelligence system" means a 59
software system that produces instructional materials, planning 60
supports, or recommendations through trained machine learning 61
models operating under human oversight. 62
(d) "Open-access" means freely available for use, 63
reproduction, and adaptation for noncommercial educational 64
purposes within Mississippi public educational institutions, 65
without licensing fees or access restrictions. 66
(e) "Founding development partners" means Lighthouse 67
Academy for Dyslexia and the Mississippi Dyslexia Institute. 68
SECTION 4. There is hereby established within the department 69
the Mississippi Dyslexia Generative Artificial Intelligence 70
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Education and Workforce Development Program. The program shall 71
develop, maintain, and deploy an open-access dyslexia curriculum 72
and generative artificial intelligence system to support: 73
(a) Public schools and school districts; 74
(b) Correctional education programs operated by or in 75
partnership with the Mississippi Department of Corrections; 76
(c) Adult literacy and high school equivalency 77
programs; and 78
(d) Workforce development and employer-based training 79
initiatives. 80
SECTION 5. (1) (a) The Legislature recognizes Lighthouse 81
Academy for Dyslexia as the originating developer and author of 82
the dyslexia curriculum and related instructional materials 83
developed pursuant to this act, in collaboration with the 84
Mississippi Dyslexia Institute as a founding development partner. 85
(b) Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia shall retain all 86
right, title, and interest in and to the curriculum, instructional 87
materials, methodologies, assessments, and derivative works 88
developed pursuant to this act, including all associated 89
intellectual property rights. 90
(c) The State of Mississippi shall receive a perpetual, 91
nonexclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, adapt, and 92
distribute the curriculum and related materials for noncommercial 93
educational purposes within Mississippi public schools, public 94
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charter schools, public institutions of higher education, and 95
state-operated correctional education programs. 96
(d) The curriculum and related materials shall be made 97
available for statewide use as open-access educational resources, 98
provided that all uses, adaptations, and derivative works retain 99
clear and continuous attribution to Lighthouse Academy for 100
Dyslexia and the Mississippi Dyslexia Institute as the originating 101
and founding development partners. 102
(e) Attribution to Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia and 103
the Mississippi Dyslexia Institute shall not be removed, altered, 104
or obscured, nor shall the curriculum or any derivative work be 105
represented as having been authored by the State of Mississippi. 106
(f) Nothing in this act shall prohibit Lighthouse 107
Academy for Dyslexia from revising, expanding, licensing, or 108
otherwise using the curriculum or related materials outside the 109
scope of the state's licensed use, nor shall it prohibit the state 110
from entering into future agreements with the founding development 111
partners for updates, professional development, implementation 112
support, research, or related services. 113
(2) (a) The dyslexia curriculum developed and maintained 114
pursuant to this act shall be deemed a Mississippi-approved 115
dyslexia curriculum for purposes of implementation within public 116
schools and other educational settings. 117
(b) The department shall recognize the curriculum 118
developed under this act as meeting the requirements for 119
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evidence-based dyslexia instruction referenced in Title 37, 120
Chapter 173, Mississippi Code of 1972, including use by approved 121
dyslexia therapy providers and participants in the Dyslexia 122
Therapy Scholarship Program, where applicable. 123
(c) Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the 124
use of other dyslexia curricula, programs, or instructional 125
approaches approved pursuant to Title 37, Chapter 173, Mississippi 126
Code of 1972; rather, the curriculum developed under this act 127
shall serve as an additional, state-supported option aligned with 128
existing dyslexia law. 129
(d) The department may issue guidance as necessary to 130
ensure alignment between the curriculum developed pursuant to this 131
act and dyslexia screening, intervention, and therapy requirements 132
established under Title 37, Chapter 173, Mississippi Code of 1972. 133
SECTION 6. Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia and the 134
Mississippi Dyslexia Institute are hereby designated as the 135
founding development partners for the program. The department 136
shall enter into multiyear contracts with the founding development 137
partners for: 138
(a) Curriculum development and validation; 139
(b) Generative artificial intelligence training data 140
curation; 141
(c) Research design and evaluation; 142
(d) Professional development and implementation 143
support; and 144
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(e) Ongoing system improvement and innovation. 145
SECTION 7. The department shall implement pilot programs for 146
a minimum of six (6) months and a maximum of ten (10) months in 147
each of the following settings: 148
(a) At least three (3) public school districts; 149
(b) At least two (2) correctional education facilities; 150
and 151
(c) At least two (2) adult or workforce education 152
programs. 153
Pilot implementation shall include data collection, educator 154
support, and continuous improvement. 155
SECTION 8. The program shall include a formal research and 156
evaluation component. The department shall submit annual reports 157
to the Legislature detailing program outcomes, cost efficiencies, 158
and recommendations for statewide expansion. 159
SECTION 9. The department may establish an advisory council 160
composed of representatives from: 161
(a) Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia; 162
(b) Mississippi Dyslexia Institute; 163
(c) The department; 164
(d) Mississippi Department of Corrections; 165
(e) Workforce development agencies; and 166
(f) Parents and individuals with dyslexia. 167
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ST: Mississippi Dyslexia Generative Artificial
Intelligence Education and Workforce Development
Act; create.
SECTION 10. The department may promulgate such rules and 168
regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of this 169
act. 170
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from 171
and after July 1, 2026. 172