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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Scott
HOUSE BILL NO. 1601
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT 1
OF 2026; TO MAKE CERTAIN FINDINGS AND TO DECLARE THAT THE PURPOSE 2
OF THE ACT IS TO BETTER EQUIP PARENTS TO PARTICIPATE WITH SCHOOLS 3
IN THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN; TO REQUIRE THE STATE 4
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP AND ADMINISTER A PROGRAM 5
DESIGNED TO INCREASE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOLS; TO AUTHORIZE 6
THE DEPARTMENT TO USE ANY FUNDING OTHERWISE AVAILABLE FOR 7
COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as 10
the "Mississippi Parental Responsibility Act of 2026." 11
SECTION 2. (1) The Legislature finds and declares that 12
according to national publications on education matters and 13
trends: 14
(a) Efforts to educate parents so that they understand 15
the importance of parental involvement in their child's education 16
is essential to increasing educational attainment. 17
(b) The act of engaging parents helps build a sense of 18
community for families and can help bridge cultural and linguistic 19
gaps between schools and parents. 20
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(c) Barriers hindering engagement between parents and 21
school officials include lack of training for parents, families 22
and school staff, as well as limited funding. 23
(d) Communities across the country have demonstrated 24
through programs and initiatives that focusing time and attention 25
on family engagement and providing training to develop parents' 26
leadership skills builds a genuine sense of community and improves 27
two-way communication, thereby paving the way for a stronger 28
school system. 29
(2) It is the purpose of this act to create a program that 30
equips parents with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable 31
them to proactively participate with their children in their 32
education to ensure their academic success. 33
SECTION 3. (1) The State Department of Education shall 34
develop and implement a program designed to increase parental 35
involvement in their child's education and school system. Under 36
the program, school districts may receive materials and support in 37
offering activities and training designed to foster a relationship 38
with the parents of students, particularly parents who 39
traditionally have not actively participated in their child's 40
education and school activities. 41
(2) The program created under this section must be designed 42
to enable local schools and their parents to achieve, over a 43
period of time, the following goals: 44
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(a) Educating and training parents, students, educators 45
and the community through a field-tested training curriculum that 46
identifies and seeks remedies for the root causes of poor student 47
outcomes; 48
(b) Helping parents and youth learn their rights and 49
responsibilities to hold public officials accountable for 50
improving the quality of education for all students; 51
(c) Utilizing a parent-to-parent learning process to 52
accomplish efforts that increase parent involvement; 53
(d) Engaging in active listening of parents, inquiring 54
of them what they think they need to learn and validating what 55
they already know; 56
(e) Building confidence and helping parents understand 57
the power they have on the school campus; 58
(f) Developing partnerships with community-based 59
organizations to build parent capacity through a mentorship 60
component where parents instruct parents on educational equity and 61
college access; 62
(g) Empowering local communities through effective 63
community organizing work; 64
(h) Instructing parents of the value of participating 65
in and holding the educational system accountable to the needs and 66
interests of the community; 67
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ST: MS Parental Responsibility Act of 2026;
create to improve parental participation in
schools.
(i) Analyzing historical data of where the community 68
has been, where they are, where they need and want to go, and how 69
to get there; 70
(j) Using an intergenerational model of community 71
organizing to enable all communities to pursue, individually and 72
as a community, strategies to self-betterment; 73
(k) Focusing on substantive public policy issues 74
designed to impact the formation and implementation of public 75
policy at the local, county, state and national levels; and 76
(l) Building partnerships, alliances and collaborations 77
at the local level in order to maximize the capacity to impact the 78
formation and the implementation of public policy. 79
(2) The department shall make information about the 80
assistance available to schools and local communities under the 81
Parental Responsibility Act by posting information about the 82
various programs on its website and when possible, providing 83
printed information to schools that may be provided to parents 84
through their children. The department may utilize any available 85
monies, the use of which is not prohibited by state or federal for 86
such purposes. 87
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 88
and after July 1, 2026. 89