Assistant Teacher Salary Waiver Grant Program; create to help assistant teachers become licensed.

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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 180

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE ASSISTANT TEACHER SALARY WAIVER GRANT 1
PROGRAM FOR THE PURPOSE OF HELPING ELIGIBLE ASSISTANT TEACHERS TO 2
BECOME LICENSED TEACHERS THROUGH THE AWARDING OF GRANTS TO ATTRACT 3
AND RETAIN QUALIFIED TEACHERS IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION; TO 4
REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO IMPLEMENT AND ADMINISTER 5
THE GRANT PROGRAM; TO AUTHORIZE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ENTER INTO 6
AGREEMENTS WITH QUALIFIED ASSISTANT TEACHERS TO WAIVE THAT PORTION 7
OF THEIR SALARY EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT ESTABLISHED AS THE STATUTORY 8
MINIMUM SALARY IN LIEU OF A GRANT FOR TUITION AT A POSTSECONDARY 9
INSTITUTION FOR THE COMPLETION OF A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE FOR 10
PURPOSES OF BECOMING A LICENSED TEACHER; TO PRESCRIBE THE CRITERIA 11
TO BE USED IN DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE 12
PROGRAM; TO REQUIRE THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO MAKE AN ANNUAL 13
REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE BY DECEMBER 31 OF EACH YEAR ON THE 14
NUMBER OF VACANT TEACHER POSITIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT 15
THE STATE AND THE NUMBER OF TEACHER POSITIONS FILLED BY 16
INDIVIDUALS WHO HOLD A PROVISIONAL OR EMERGENCY LICENSE; TO IMPOSE 17
FINANCIAL LIABILITY UPON ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO FAILS TO FULFILL HIS 18
OR HER TEACHING OBLIGATION UNDER THE GRANT PROGRAM UPON COMPLETING 19
A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE; TO AMEND SECTION 37-21-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE 20
OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR 21
RELATED PURPOSES. 22
WHEREAS, for all students to learn well in an academically 23
competitive global society, they must have highly skilled, 24
committed and professionally supported teachers in every core 25
content area of the state's adopted curriculum standards; and 26
WHEREAS, nationally there are simply not enough such teachers 27
entering the profession or committing to long-term careers in the 28
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profession, and a variety of actions from many individuals and 29
organizations are needed to recruit, prepare and retain a 30
sufficient number of licensed teachers; and 31
WHEREAS, it is the intent of this Legislature to reinforce 32
the commitment that the State of Mississippi has always had to its 33
public educational system, the children and families served, and 34
to the educational professionals who provide daily instruction to 35
ensure that our state's most valuable resource is equipped to 36
compete and succeed on the global academic stage, by further 37
investing in the training and preparation of educators and 38
prospective educators in order to place quality teachers in every 39
classroom; and 40
WHEREAS, teacher quality includes, but is not limited to, 41
appropriate subject matter content knowledge; deep interest in 42
core subject content areas; a commitment to lifelong professional 43
improvement; the desire and skill to help students learn and apply 44
subject content-specific knowledge; and the ability to use the 45
resources necessary to teach effectively; and 46
WHEREAS, the welfare of all our children calls for policies 47
to attract new teachers into the profession in a way that benefits 48
all students, as the shortage of teachers hurts all of our schools 49
by increasing job stress on teachers and administrators alike, 50
which in turn leads to increased turnover of staff, undermines 51
curriculum quality and hinders efforts at staff development; and 52
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WHEREAS, moreover, the shortage of qualified teachers hurts 53
our children by forcing too many students into too few classrooms, 54
reducing the amount of time that teachers can spend helping 55
individual students, and spans the breadth of education, 56
threatening to deprive the children of all races and social 57
classes, in rural, urban and suburban communities, of the quality 58
education needed to meet the challenges of the future; and 59
WHEREAS, in view of this pending crisis, the Mississippi 60
Legislature believes that addressing the growing shortage of 61
quality teachers must become one of our state's highest public 62
policy priorities, and we call on all legislators to come together 63
in a bipartisan effort to craft policies that promote more 64
vigorously the recruitment, retention and development of quality 65
teachers for all our children; NOW, THEREFORE, 66
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 67
SECTION 1. (1) There is established the Assistant Teacher 68
Salary Waiver Grant Program for the purpose of helping eligible 69
assistant teachers to become licensed teachers through the 70
awarding of grants to attract and retain qualified teachers in the 71
teaching profession. The grant program must be implemented and 72
administered by the State Board of Education. 73
(2) Under the Assistant Teacher Salary Waiver Grant Program, 74
qualified assistant teachers may be awarded financial assistance 75
in an amount equal to the minimum annual salary established for 76
assistant teachers under Section 37-21-7. However, an assistant 77
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teacher may not receive a salary waiver grant through the program 78
for more than two (2) academic years. An assistant teacher grant 79
may not be based upon an applicant's financial need, and the 80
receipt of any other grant or financial assistance may not affect 81
an assistant teacher's eligibility under the program. 82
(3) In order to qualify for an assistant teacher grant, an 83
applicant must satisfy the following requirements: 84
(a) The applicant must be employed full-time as an 85
assistant teacher with a local school district, with a minimum of 86
five (5) years of classroom experience; 87
(b) The applicant must be enrolled as a full-time 88
student at a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher 89
learning in the State of Mississippi that is regionally accredited 90
and approved by the board with two (2) years or less remaining 91
until he or she completes all courses for graduation; 92
(c) The applicant must maintain a minimum cumulative 93
grade point average of 2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale for the 94
duration of his or her academic tenure; 95
(d) The applicant must achieve a qualifying score on 96
the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Education examination as 97
established by the State Board of Education upon completion of his 98
or her first academic year of course instruction; 99
(e) The applicant must sign a salary waiver statement 100
that expresses that the assistant teacher will waive the 101
statutorily authorized portion of his or her salary authorized 102
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under Section 37-21-7 for purposes of receiving a grant to be paid 103
towards tuition and any books and other instructional material 104
required by the institution of higher learning of enrollment and 105
directly related to pre-major coursework; and 106
(f) The applicant must have expressed in writing a 107
present intention to teach in the state for each year he or she 108
receives a grant. 109
(4) At the beginning of the school year next succeeding the 110
date on which a person who has received an assistant teacher grant 111
obtains a baccalaureate degree, that person must begin to render 112
service as a licensed teacher in the school district of employment 113
at the time the person entered the grant program or in a school 114
district designated by the State Board of Education. The State 115
Board of Education shall report to the Legislature, by December 31 116
of each year, the number of vacant teacher positions that are 117
available throughout the state and the number of teacher positions 118
filled by individuals who hold a provisional or emergency license. 119
An assistant teacher who receives a grant under this section and 120
fails to fulfill his or her required teaching obligations is 121
liable to the school district of employment for which the salary 122
waiver agreement was entered for the sum of all grants made to 123
that person plus a penalty of five percent (5%) of the loan awards 124
and interest on the combined amount accruing at the current 125
unsubsidized Federal Stafford loan rate at the time the person 126
abrogates. 127
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SECTION 2. Section 37-21-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 128
amended as follows: 129
37-21-7. (1) This section shall be referred to as the 130
"Mississippi Elementary Schools Assistant Teacher Program," the 131
purpose of which shall be to provide an early childhood education 132
program that assists in the instruction of basic skills. The 133
State Board of Education is authorized, empowered and directed to 134
implement a statewide system of assistant teachers in kindergarten 135
classes and in the first, second and third grades. The assistant 136
teacher shall assist pupils in actual instruction under the strict 137
supervision of a licensed teacher. 138
(2) (a) Except as otherwise authorized under subsection 139
(7), each school district shall employ the total number of 140
assistant teachers funded under subsection (6) of this section. 141
The superintendent of each district shall assign the assistant 142
teachers to the kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade 143
classes in the district in a manner that will promote the maximum 144
efficiency, as determined by the superintendent, in the 145
instruction of skills such as verbal and linguistic skills, 146
logical and mathematical skills, and social skills. 147
(b) If a licensed teacher to whom an assistant teacher 148
has been assigned is required to be absent from the classroom, the 149
assistant teacher may assume responsibility for the classroom in 150
lieu of a substitute teacher. However, no assistant teacher shall 151
assume sole responsibility of the classroom for more than three 152
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(3) consecutive school days. Further, in no event shall any 153
assistant teacher be assigned to serve as a substitute teacher for 154
any teacher other than the licensed teacher to whom that assistant 155
teacher has been assigned. 156
(3) Assistant teachers shall have, at a minimum, a high 157
school diploma or a High School Equivalency Diploma equivalent, 158
and shall show demonstratable proficiency in reading and writing 159
skills. The State Department of Education shall develop a testing 160
procedure for assistant teacher applicants to be used in all 161
school districts in the state. 162
(4) (a) In order to receive funding, each school district 163
shall: 164
(i) Submit a plan on the implementation of a 165
reading improvement program to the State Department of Education; 166
and 167
(ii) Develop a plan of educational accountability 168
and assessment of performance, including pretests and posttests, 169
for reading in Grades 1 through 6. 170
(b) Additionally, each school district shall: 171
(i) Provide annually a mandatory preservice 172
orientation session, using an existing in-school service day, for 173
administrators and teachers on the effective use of assistant 174
teachers as part of a team in the classroom setting and on the 175
role of assistant teachers, with emphasis on program goals; 176
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(ii) Hold periodic workshops for administrators 177
and teachers on the effective use and supervision of assistant 178
teachers; 179
(iii) Provide training annually on specific 180
instructional skills for assistant teachers; 181
(iv) Annually evaluate their program in accordance 182
with their educational accountability and assessment of 183
performance plan; and 184
(v) Designate the necessary personnel to supervise 185
and report on their program. 186
(5) The State Department of Education shall: 187
(a) Develop and assist in the implementation of a 188
statewide uniform training module, subject to the availability of 189
funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, which 190
shall be used in all school districts for training administrators, 191
teachers and assistant teachers. The module shall provide for the 192
consolidated training of each assistant teacher and teacher to 193
whom the assistant teacher is assigned, working together as a 194
team, and shall require further periodic training for 195
administrators, teachers and assistant teachers regarding the role 196
of assistant teachers; 197
(b) Annually evaluate the program on the district and 198
state level. Subject to the availability of funds specifically 199
appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the department shall 200
develop: (i) uniform evaluation reports, to be performed by the 201
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principal or assistant principal, to collect data for the annual 202
overall program evaluation conducted by the department; or (ii) a 203
program evaluation model that, at a minimum, addresses process 204
evaluation; and 205
(c) Promulgate rules, regulations and such other 206
standards deemed necessary to effectuate the purposes of this 207
section. Noncompliance with the provisions of this section and 208
any rules, regulations or standards adopted by the department may 209
result in a violation of compulsory accreditation standards as 210
established by the State Board of Education and the Commission on 211
School Accreditation. 212
(6) (a) Each school district shall be allotted sufficient 213
funding under the total funding formula provided in Sections 214
37-151-200 through 37-151-215 for the purpose of employing 215
assistant teachers. No assistant teacher shall be paid less than 216
the amount he or she received in the prior school year. No school 217
district shall receive any funds under this section for any school 218
year during which the aggregate amount of the local contribution 219
to the salaries of assistant teachers by the district shall have 220
been reduced below such amount for the previous year. 221
For assistant teachers, the minimum annual salary shall be as 222
follows: 223
2022-2023 and Subsequent Years Minimum Salary........... $17,000.00 224
* * * 225
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(b) As an alternative to compensating an assistant 226
teacher the minimum salary prescribed under paragraph (a) of this 227
subsection, a school district may enter into agreement with an 228
eligible assistant teacher for the payment of an Assistant Teacher 229
Salary Waiver Grant for educational purposes, as authorized under 230
Section 1 of House Bill No.____, 2026 Regular Session. 231
(c) The assistant teachers shall not be restricted to 232
working only in the grades for which the funds were allotted, but 233
may be assigned to other classes as provided in subsection (2)(a) 234
of this section. 235
(7) (a) As an alternative to employing assistant teachers, 236
any school district may use the funding provided under subsection 237
(6) of this section for the purpose of employing licensed teachers 238
for kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classes; 239
however, no school district shall be authorized to use the funding 240
for assistant teachers for the purpose of employing licensed 241
teachers unless the district has established that the employment 242
of licensed teachers using such funds will reduce the 243
teacher:student ratio in the kindergarten, first-, second- and 244
third-grade classes. All state funds for assistant teachers shall 245
be applied to reducing teacher:student ratio in Grades K-3. 246
It is the intent of the Legislature that no school district 247
shall dismiss any assistant teacher for the purpose of using the 248
assistant teacher funding to employ licensed teachers. School 249
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ST: Assistant Teacher Salary Waiver Grant
Program; create to help assistant teachers
become licensed.
districts may rely only upon normal attrition to reduce the number 250
of assistant teachers employed in that district. 251
(b) Districts meeting the highest levels of 252
accreditation standards, as defined by the State Board of 253
Education, shall be exempted from the provisions of subsection (4) 254
of this section. 255
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 256
and after July 1, 2026. 257