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HB1463 • 2026

Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project; establish for implementation in schools.

AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE 2026 YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS FOR ALL ACT; TO STATE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS REGARDING THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS AMONG MISSISSIPPI'S YOUTH; TO ESTABLISH A STUDENT 24/7 TELETHERAPY PILOT PROJECT TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO AWARD GRANTS TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CONTRACT WITH VENDORS TO PROVIDE TELEHEALTH SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING IN THE PILOT PROJECT; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE PILOT PROJECT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Education Technology
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Aguirre, McLean
Last action
2026-02-03
Official status
Dead
Effective date
July 1, 20

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass, so it does not have an effective date.

Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Program

This bill establishes a pilot program to provide Mississippi students with access to telehealth services for mental health support.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates the Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project, which will be run by the State Department of Education.
  • Allows the department to give grants and contracts to schools and vendors to offer telehealth services to students in grades 6 through 12.
  • Requires participating vendors to meet certain qualifications, such as having experience and serving a large number of students.
  • Establishes that teletherapy is available around the clock and free for students without insurance or referral requirements.
  • Creates a special fund in the state treasury to support the pilot project.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Mississippi students in grades 6 through 12
  • Local school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools
  • Vendors providing telehealth services

Terms To Know

Teletherapy
Therapy provided remotely using technology such as video calls or messaging.
Vendor
A company that provides goods or services to another business, in this case, telehealth services.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was not signed into law.
  • Details about the specific vendors and schools involved are not provided.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-03 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/03 (H) Died In Committee

  2. 2026-01-28 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    01/28 (H) DR - TSDP: ED To AP

  3. 2026-01-19 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    01/19 (H) Referred To Education;Appropriations A

Official Summary Text

Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project; establish for implementation in schools.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
H. B. No. 1463 *HR43/R2044* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/HR43/R2044
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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Aguirre, McLean

HOUSE BILL NO. 1463

AN ACT TO BE KNOWN AS THE 2026 YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS FOR 1
ALL ACT; TO STATE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS REGARDING THE MENTAL HEALTH 2
CRISIS AMONG MISSISSIPPI'S YOUTH; TO ESTABLISH A STUDENT 24/7 3
TELETHERAPY PILOT PROJECT TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE 4
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO AWARD 5
GRANTS TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CONTRACT WITH VENDORS TO 6
PROVIDE TELEHEALTH SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING IN THE PILOT 7
PROJECT; TO CREATE A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY FOR THE 8
PURPOSE OF THE PILOT PROJECT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as 11
the "2026 Youth Mental Health Access For All Act". 12
(2) The Legislature finds and declares the following: 13
(a) The State of Mississippi is currently experiencing 14
a mental health crisis among its youth, which requires immediate, 15
scalable and innovative intervention; 16
(b) Providing students with 24/7, 365-day access to 17
professional teletherapy and crisis services is a necessary, 18
complimentary resource to existing school counselors, ensuring 19
support is available during after-school hours, weekends and 20
holidays; 21
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(c) To ensure student safety and fiscal responsibility, 22
the state must contract with established, high-capacity vendors 23
capable of immediate and equitable state-wide deployment. 24
(3) (a) There is established the Student 24/7 Teletherapy 25
Pilot Project to be administered by the State Department of 26
Education. The pilot project is intended to provide coverage for 27
approximately 216,830 youth across the state. 28
(b) The department shall award grants to local school 29
districts, charter schools and nonpublic schools to provide 30
teletherapy services to students in Grades 6 through 12. The 31
department shall establish the terms and conditions of each grant 32
awarded under the project and the criteria for eligibility under 33
the project. The department may contract with vendors capable of 34
providing the services required for the pilot project to the local 35
school districts, charter schools and nonpublic schools. 36
(c) Local school districts, charter schools and 37
nonpublic schools shall use the grant funds awarded to implement 38
the pilot project, in coordination with vendors chosen by the 39
department to provide 24/7 telehealth services as described in 40
subsection (4) of this section. 41
(4) To ensure the stability and safety of the services 42
provided under this pilot project, any participating vendor must 43
meet the following minimum qualifications: 44
(a) The vendor must have at least five (5) years of 45
experience in the telehealth or teletherapy industry. 46
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(b) The vendor must currently serve no fewer than two 47
million five hundred thousand (2,500,000) current students in a 48
K-12 or post-secondary educational setting. 49
(c) The vendor must maintain a community of one hundred 50
percent (100%) licensed clinicians who are vetted for experience 51
and passion for supporting student mental health. 52
(5) The vendor's platform and service model must provide the 53
following: 54
(a) Immediate availability through same-day teletherapy 55
appointments; 56
(b) Crisis support through direct crisis connection 57
with licensed therapists trained in trauma and crisis, available 58
on a twenty-four-hour basis, seven (7) days a week and three 59
hundred sixty-five (365) days a year, with follow-up provided no 60
more than thirty (30) days following the initial connection; 61
(c) Services that are one hundred percent (100%) free 62
to students, with no insurance requirements, no referrals, and no 63
financial barriers to entry; 64
(d) A technology-driven platform that allows students 65
to choose their own therapist based on preference, including 66
preference of specialty, background or identity, via video, phone, 67
chat or asynchronous messaging; 68
(e) Services that act as an extension of the school's 69
team, complementing existing mental health offerings and aligning 70
with local district protocols and state mandatory reporting laws. 71
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(f) The vendor must provide districts with real-time 72
data and usage analytics while maintaining strict compliance with 73
federal laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and 74
Accountability Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. 75
(6) (a) There is created in the State Treasury a special 76
fund to be designated as the Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot 77
Project Fund. The special fund shall consist of monies 78
appropriated by the Legislature for funding the program, and any 79
other monies that are made available for the purpose of the 80
program. Monies in the fund shall be expended by the department, 81
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of the 82
program. Unexpended amounts remaining in the special fund at the 83
end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, 84
and any interest earned on amounts in the special fund shall be 85
deposited to the credit of the fund. 86
(b) The department may expend not more than ten percent 87
(10%) of the funds available for the pilot project on the 88
administration of the project, including, but not limited to, on 89
the development of the grant application process, oversight of 90
vendor compliance, and data collection. 91
(7) The State Department of Education shall submit a report 92
to the Legislature by October 1, 2027, detailing the participation 93
rates, usage data and student outcomes observed during the first 94
year of the pilot project. 95
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ST: Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project;
establish for implementation in schools.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 96
and after July 1, 2026. 97