Retired educators; revise provisions regarding return to work as teachers.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) DeBar, Blackwell, Boyd,
Brumfield, Chism, DuPree, Fillingane,
Frazier, Gillespie Isom, Ladner, McCaughn,
McLendon, McMahan, Mumford, Suber, Thomas

SENATE BILL NO. 2003
(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-126, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REDUCE THE REQUIRED SEPARATION PERIOD FOR RETIREES RETURNING TO 2
WORK AS TEACHERS UNDER THE SECTION FROM 90 DAYS TO 45 DAYS; TO 3
REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT OF A MINIMUM NUMBER OF YEARS OF CREDITABLE 4
SERVICE FOR SUCH A RETIREE TO RETURN TO WORK AS A TEACHER; TO 5
REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT SUCH A RETIREE RETURNING TO WORK AS A 6
TEACHER BE HIRED TO TEACH ONLY IN A DISTRICT HAVING A CRITICAL 7
TEACHER SHORTAGE OR CRITICAL SUBJECT-AREA SHORTAGE; TO ADJUST THE 8
PENSION LIABILITY PARTICIPATION ASSESSMENT AND SUCH RETIREE'S 9
SALARY FOR RETURNING TO WORK AS A TEACHER, AS DETERMINED IN 10
SECTION 37-19-7; TO ALLOW LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES TO PAY, FROM 11
LOCAL EDUCATION FUNDING, ALL OR A PORTION OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE 12
PREMIUMS FOR SUCH RETIREES RETURNING TO WORK AS TEACHERS; TO ALLOW 13
A MEMBER TO CONTINUE AS A LICENSED TEACHER IN AN INSTRUCTIONAL 14
POSITION IF THE PERSON HAS REACHED THE AGE AND/OR SERVICE 15
REQUIREMENT THAT WILL NOT RESULT IN A PROHIBITED IN-SERVICE 16
DISTRIBUTION AS DEFINED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, PROVIDED 17
THAT THE PERSON ELECTS TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION AS PROVIDED FOR 18
OTHER RETIREES RETURNING TO WORK AS TEACHERS UNDER THIS SECTION; 19
TO AMEND SECTIONS 25-11-127 AND 25-9-120, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 20
1972, TO CONFORM; TO AMEND SECTION 37-19-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 21
1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY PAY NO MORE THAN 65% 22
OF A RETIRED TEACHER'S COMPENSATION AS SALARY, AND THE DISTRICT 23
SHALL PAY TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' 24
RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MISSISSIPPI A PENSION LIABILITY PARTICIPATION 25
ASSESSMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF THE EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE 26
CONTRIBUTIONS ON THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE REGULAR COMPENSATION FOR 27
THE POSITION HELD BY THE RETIRED TEACHER; AND FOR RELATED 28
PURPOSES. 29
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 30
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SECTION 1. Section 25-11-126, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 31
amended as follows: 32
25-11-126. (1) For purposes of this section, "retiree" 33
means any person who * * * is receiving a retirement 34
allowance * * * under this article and holds a standard teaching 35
license in Mississippi * * * at the time of reemployment. 36
(2) A retiree may be employed as a teacher in a public 37
school district after * * * having been retired at least 38
forty-five (45) days, and choose to continue receiving the 39
retirement allowance under this article during his or her 40
employment as a teacher after retirement in addition to receiving 41
the salary authorized under this section, along with the local 42
contribution of the school district in which the retiree is 43
employed, at the discretion of the school district. * * * 44
( * * *3) * * * The base compensation authorized for 45
returning retired teachers under Section 37-19-7 shall not be 46
graduated annually in the same manner as teachers who are employed 47
by a school district under traditional employment guidelines, but 48
shall remain static for the entirety of his or her eligible 49
teaching period as a retired teacher. 50
( * * *4) (a) A * * * retiree may be employed as a teacher, 51
continue receiving his or her retirement allowance and be a 52
contributing member of the system without accruing additional 53
retirement benefits for a total of five (5) years, which may be 54
performed consecutively or intermittently. This method is 55
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designed specifically to provide funding for the system to 56
actuarially offset any pension liability created by this section. 57
Each school district hiring * * * retirees under * * * this 58
section * * * shall make a direct payment to PERS, which shall 59
serve as a pension liability participation assessment. The 60
pension liability participation assessment and the * * * retiree's 61
salary for returning to work as a teacher shall be determined 62
as * * * provided in Section 37-19-7(1)(b). 63
* * * 64
(b) If a * * * retiree, reemployed under * * * this 65
section, works in a school district for any portion of a 66
scholastic year less than a full contractual term of traditional 67
teachers, the time worked by the * * * retiree shall constitute 68
one (1) of the five (5) years of post-retirement teaching 69
eligibility. A * * * retiree, under * * * this section, shall be 70
entitled to work in any applicable school district and shall not 71
be obligated to remain in any one (1) school district for the 72
entirety of his or her post retirement teaching eligibility, but 73
shall be cumulative in nature so as not to exceed five (5) years. 74
The salary authorized under Section 37-19-7 for retired teachers 75
shall be prorated for any period worked by the * * * retiree that 76
is less than one (1) full academic year. 77
(c) The State Department of Education shall transfer to 78
the system the * * * total funding formula funds of local school 79
districts that on or after July 1, 2024, hire * * * retirees as 80
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teachers under this section and other funds that otherwise would 81
have been payable to the districts if the districts had not taken 82
advantage of this section. The crediting of assets and financing 83
shall follow * * * Section 25-11-123. 84
(d) Local educational agencies shall transfer to the 85
system * * * total funding formula funds of local school districts 86
that on or after July 1, 2024, hire * * * retirees as teachers 87
under this section and other funds that otherwise would have been 88
payable to the districts if the districts had not taken advantage 89
of this section. The crediting of assets and financing must 90
follow * * * Section 25-11-123. 91
(e) Local education agencies may pay, from local 92
education funding, all or a portion of the health insurance 93
premiums for retirees returning to work as teachers under this 94
section. 95
* * * 96
(5) A * * * retiree may be hired under this section subject 97
to the following conditions: 98
(a) The * * * retiree holds any teacher's professional 99
license or certificate as may be required in Section 37-3-2, and 100
holds the related standard teaching license and/or endorsements to 101
teach in the applicable subject area; 102
(b) The superintendent of the employing school district 103
certifies in writing to the State Department of Education that the 104
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retired member has the requisite experience, training and 105
expertise for the position to be filled; 106
(c) The superintendent of the school district certifies 107
or the principal of the school certifies that there was no 108
preexisting arrangement for the person to be hired; and 109
(d) The person had a satisfactory performance review 110
for the most recent period before retirement * * *. 111
* * * 112
(6) The State Superintendent of Public Education shall 113
report the persons who are employed under this section to the 114
Executive Director of the Public Employees' Retirement System. 115
(7) The Department of Education shall promulgate regulations 116
that prescribe a salary schedule that reflects the provisions of 117
this section. Each school district shall create a policy, 118
approved by the local school board, related to the hiring of * * * 119
retirees and including, but not limited to, the hiring of retirees 120
as full- and part-time * * * teachers * * * under this section and 121
Section 25-11-127. 122
(8) A member may retire and continue as a licensed teacher 123
in an instructional position if the member has reached the age 124
and/or service requirement that will not result in a prohibited 125
in-service distribution as defined by the Internal Revenue 126
Service, provided that the person elects to receive compensation 127
for that instructional position as provided in subsections (3) and 128
(4)(a) of this section. In order to receive such compensation, 129
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the retiree shall file annually, in writing, in the office of the 130
employer and the office of the executive director of the system, 131
an election to receive, in addition to a retirement allowance, 132
compensation as allowed in this subsection (8). 133
( * * *9) Any * * * retiree who returns to work as a teacher 134
in accordance with this section shall not be eligible to return to 135
work under * * * Section 25-11-127. 136
SECTION 2. Section 25-11-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 137
amended as follows: 138
25-11-127. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 139
25-11-126, no person who is being paid a retirement allowance or a 140
pension after retirement under this article shall be employed or 141
paid for any service by the State of Mississippi, including 142
services as an employee, contract worker, contractual employee or 143
independent contractor, until the retired person has been retired 144
for not less than ninety (90) consecutive days from his or her 145
effective date of retirement. After the person has been retired 146
for not less than ninety (90) consecutive days from his or her 147
effective date of retirement or such later date as established by 148
the board, he or she may be reemployed while being paid a 149
retirement allowance under * * * this section * * *. 150
(b) No retiree of this retirement system who is 151
reemployed or is reelected to office after retirement shall 152
continue to draw retirement benefits while so reemployed, except 153
as provided in this section or in Section 25-11-126. 154
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(c) No person employed or elected under the exceptions 155
provided for in this section shall become a member under Article 3 156
of the retirement system. 157
(2) Except as otherwise provided in Section 25-11-126, any 158
person who has been retired under the provisions of Article 3 and 159
who is later reemployed in service covered by this article shall 160
cease to receive benefits under this article and shall again 161
become a contributing member of the retirement system. When the 162
person retires again, if the reemployment exceeds six (6) months, 163
the person shall have his or her benefit recomputed, including 164
service after again becoming a member, provided that the total 165
retirement allowance paid to the retired member in his or her 166
previous retirement shall be deducted from the member's retirement 167
reserve and taken into consideration in recalculating the 168
retirement allowance under a new option selected. 169
(3) The board shall have the right to prescribe rules and 170
regulations for carrying out * * * this section. 171
(4) * * * This section shall not be construed to prohibit 172
any retiree, regardless of age, from being employed and drawing a 173
retirement allowance either: 174
(a) For a period of time not to exceed one-half (1/2) 175
of the normal working days for the position in any fiscal year 176
during which the retiree will receive no more than one-half (1/2) 177
of the salary in effect for the position at the time of 178
employment, or 179
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(b) For a period of time in any fiscal year sufficient 180
in length to permit a retiree to earn not in excess of twenty-five 181
percent (25%) of retiree's average compensation. 182
To determine the normal working days for a position under 183
paragraph (a) of this subsection, the employer shall determine the 184
required number of working days for the position on a full-time 185
basis and the equivalent number of hours representing the 186
full-time position. The retiree then may work up to one-half 187
(1/2) of the required number of working days or up to one-half 188
(1/2) of the equivalent number of hours and receive up to one-half 189
(1/2) of the salary for the position. In the case of employment 190
with multiple employers, the limitation shall equal one-half (1/2) 191
of the number of days or hours for a single full-time position. 192
Notice shall be given in writing to the executive director, 193
setting forth the facts upon which the employment is being made, 194
and the notice shall be given within five (5) days from the date 195
of employment and also from the date of termination of the 196
employment. 197
(5) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6) of this 198
section, the employer of any person who is receiving a retirement 199
allowance and who is employed in service covered by subsection (4) 200
of this section as an employee or a contractual employee shall pay 201
to the board the full amount of the employer's contribution on the 202
amount of compensation received by the retiree for his or her 203
employment in accordance with regulations prescribed by the board. 204
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The retiree shall not receive any additional creditable service in 205
the retirement system as a result of the payment of the employer's 206
contribution. This subsection does not apply to persons who are 207
receiving a retirement allowance and who contract with an employer 208
to provide services as a true independent contractor, as defined 209
by the board through regulation. 210
(6) (a) A member may retire and continue in municipal or 211
county elective office provided that the member has reached the 212
age and/or service requirement that will not result in a 213
prohibited in-service distribution as defined by the Internal 214
Revenue Service, or a retiree may be elected to a municipal or 215
county office, provided that the person: 216
(i) Files annually, in writing, in the office of 217
the employer and the office of the executive director of the 218
system before the person takes office or as soon as possible after 219
retirement, a waiver of all salary or compensation and elects to 220
receive in lieu of that salary or compensation a retirement 221
allowance as provided in this section, in which event no salary or 222
compensation shall thereafter be due or payable for those 223
services; however, any such officer or employee may receive, in 224
addition to the retirement allowance, office expense allowance, 225
mileage or travel expense authorized by any statute of the State 226
of Mississippi; or 227
(ii) Elects to receive compensation for that 228
elective office in an amount not to exceed twenty-five percent 229
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(25%) of the retiree's average compensation. In order to receive 230
compensation as allowed in this subparagraph, the retiree shall 231
file annually, in writing, in the office of the employer and the 232
office of the executive director of the system, an election to 233
receive, in addition to a retirement allowance, compensation as 234
allowed in this subparagraph. 235
(b) The municipality or county in which the retired 236
person holds elective office shall pay to the board the amount of 237
the employer's contributions on the full amount of the regular 238
compensation for the elective office that the retired person 239
holds. 240
(c) As used in this subsection, the term "compensation" 241
does not include office expense allowance, mileage or travel 242
expense authorized by a statute of the State of Mississippi. 243
(7) Any retired teacher who returns to work in accordance 244
with this section shall not be eligible to return to work under 245
the provisions of Section 25-11-126. 246
SECTION 3. Section 25-9-120, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 247
amended as follows: 248
25-9-120. (1) (a) Contract personnel, whether classified 249
as contract workers or independent contractors shall not be deemed 250
state service or nonstate service employees of the State of 251
Mississippi, and shall not be eligible to participate in the 252
Public Employees' Retirement System, nor be allowed credit for 253
personal and sick leave and other leave benefits as employees of 254
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the State of Mississippi, notwithstanding Sections 25-3-91 through 255
25-3-101; 25-9-101 through 25-9-151; 25-11-1 through 25-11-126; 256
25-11-128 through 25-11-131; 25-15-1 through 25-15-23 and for the 257
purpose set forth herein. Contract workers, i.e., contract 258
personnel who do not meet the criteria of independent contractors, 259
shall be subject to * * * Section 25-11-126 or 25-11-127. 260
(b) Contract workers for any department, agency or 261
institution of the state government, any school district, 262
community/junior college, public library or university-based 263
program, whether classified as contract workers or independent 264
contractors, may purchase the base plan of the State and School 265
Employees' Health Insurance Plan provided that such person pays 266
the full price of such plan without contribution from their 267
employer. Such government entities shall offer the base plan to 268
any such personnel who work at least one hundred thirty (130) 269
hours per month. The provisions of this paragraph (b) shall not 270
apply to independent contractors. The State and School Employees' 271
Health Insurance Management Board shall establish the premiums. 272
(2) The Personal Service Contract Review Board is abolished. 273
The Public Procurement Review Board shall be the Personal Service 274
Contract Review Board and shall retain all powers and duties 275
granted by law to the Personal Service Contract Review Board. All 276
equipment, inventories, records, personnel, resources and other 277
property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, of the 278
Personal Service Contract Review Board shall be transferred to the 279
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Public Procurement Review Board as provided in Section 27-104-7. 280
The transfer of personnel shall be commensurate with the number 281
and classification of positions (PINS) allocated to the Personal 282
Service Contract Review Board on June 30, 2017. Wherever the 283
terms "Personal Service Contract Review Board" or "board," when 284
referring to the Personal Service Contract Review Board, appear in 285
any law, rule, regulation or document the same shall be construed 286
to mean the Public Procurement Review Board. 287
SECTION 4. Section 37-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 288
amended as follows: 289
37-19-7. (1) (a) Teachers' salaries in each public school 290
district shall be determined and paid in accordance with the scale 291
for teachers' salaries as provided in this subsection. For 292
teachers holding the following types of licenses or the equivalent 293
as determined by the State Board of Education, and the following 294
number of years of teaching experience, the scale shall be as 295
follows: 296
2022-2023 AND SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEARS MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE 297
Exp. AAAA AAA AA A 298
0 45,500.00 44,000.00 43,000.00 41,500.00 299
1 46,100.00 44,550.00 43,525.00 41,900.00 300
2 46,700.00 45,100.00 44,050.00 42,300.00 301
3 47,300.00 45,650.00 44,575.00 42,700.00 302
4 47,900.00 46,200.00 45,100.00 43,100.00 303
5 49,250.00 47,500.00 46,350.00 44,300.00 304
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6 49,850.00 48,050.00 46,875.00 44,700.00 305
7 50,450.00 48,600.00 47,400.00 45,100.00 306
8 51,050.00 49,150.00 47,925.00 45,500.00 307
9 51,650.00 49,700.00 48,450.00 45,900.00 308
10 53,000.00 51,000.00 49,700.00 47,100.00 309
11 53,600.00 51,550.00 50,225.00 47,500.00 310
12 54,200.00 52,100.00 50,750.00 47,900.00 311
13 54,800.00 52,650.00 51,275.00 48,300.00 312
14 55,400.00 53,200.00 51,800.00 48,700.00 313
15 56,750.00 54,500.00 53,050.00 49,900.00 314
16 57,350.00 55,050.00 53,575.00 50,300.00 315
17 57,950.00 55,600.00 54,100.00 50,700.00 316
18 58,550.00 56,150.00 54,625.00 51,100.00 317
19 59,150.00 56,700.00 55,150.00 51,500.00 318
20 60,500.00 58,000.00 56,400.00 52,700.00 319
21 61,100.00 58,550.00 56,925.00 53,100.00 320
22 61,700.00 59,100.00 57,450.00 53,500.00 321
23 62,300.00 59,650.00 57,975.00 53,900.00 322
24 62,900.00 60,200.00 58,500.00 54,300.00 323
25 65,400.00 62,700.00 61,000.00 56,800.00 324
26 66,000.00 63,250.00 61,525.00 57,200.00 325
27 66,600.00 63,800.00 62,050.00 57,600.00 326
28 67,200.00 64,350.00 62,575.00 58,000.00 327
29 67,800.00 64,900.00 63,100.00 58,400.00 328
30 68,400.00 65,450.00 63,625.00 58,800.00 329
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31 69,000.00 66,000.00 64,150.00 59,200.00 330
32 69,600.00 66,550.00 64,675.00 59,600.00 331
33 70,200.00 67,100.00 65,200.00 60,000.00 332
34 70,800.00 67,650.00 65,725.00 60,400.00 333
35 334
& above 71,400.00 68,200.00 66,250.00 60,800.00 335
2024-2025 AND SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEARS MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE 336
The school district, with assistance from the Department of 337
Education, shall consider the teacher's years of service and 338
license type and determine the corresponding salary for the 339
retired teacher. 340
(b) After determining the retired teacher's 341
corresponding salary, the school district may allocate up to one 342
hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the amount provided under 343
the salary schedule for such teacher, as applicable, as salary and 344
assessment under the program. * * * The school district may pay 345
no more than * * * sixty-five percent (65%) of the retired 346
teacher's compensation as salary to the retired teacher. * * * 347
The school district in which the retired teacher holds a position 348
shall pay to the board a pension liability participation 349
assessment in the amount of the employer and employee 350
contributions on the full amount of the regular compensation for 351
the position held by the retired teacher. 352
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that any state 353
funds made available for salaries of licensed personnel in excess 354
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of the funds paid for such salaries for the 1986-1987 school year 355
shall be paid to licensed personnel pursuant to a personnel 356
appraisal and compensation system implemented by the State Board 357
of Education. The State Board of Education shall have the 358
authority to adopt and amend rules and regulations as are 359
necessary to establish, administer and maintain the system. 360
(d) All teachers employed on a full-time basis shall be 361
paid a minimum salary in accordance with the above scale. 362
However, no school district shall receive any funds under this 363
section for any school year during which the local supplement paid 364
to any individual teacher shall have been reduced to a sum less 365
than that paid to that individual teacher for performing the same 366
duties from local supplement during the immediately preceding 367
school year. The amount actually spent for the purposes of group 368
health and/or life insurance shall be considered as a part of the 369
aggregate amount of local supplement but shall not be considered a 370
part of the amount of individual local supplement. 371
(e) The level of professional training of each teacher 372
to be used in establishing the salary for the teacher for each 373
year shall be determined by the type of valid teacher's license 374
issued to that teacher on or before October 1 of the current 375
school year. However, school districts are authorized, in their 376
discretion, to negotiate the salary levels applicable to licensed 377
employees who are receiving retirement benefits from the 378
retirement system of another state. 379
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(2) (a) The following employees shall receive an annual 380
salary supplement in the amount of Six Thousand Dollars 381
($6,000.00), plus fringe benefits, in addition to any other 382
compensation to which the employee may be entitled: 383
(i) Any licensed teacher or retired teacher 384
employed by a school district under * * * Section 25-11-126 who 385
has met the requirements and acquired a Master Teacher certificate 386
from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and 387
who is employed by a local school board or the State Board of 388
Education as a teacher and not as an administrator. Such teacher 389
shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education 390
that the certificate was received prior to October 15 in order to 391
be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school 392
year, or the teacher shall submit such documentation to the State 393
Department of Education prior to February 15 in order to be 394
eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the 395
second term of the school year. 396
(ii) A licensed nurse who has met the requirements 397
and acquired a certificate from the National Board for 398
Certification of School Nurses, Inc., and who is employed by a 399
local school board or the State Board of Education as a school 400
nurse and not as an administrator. The licensed school nurse 401
shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education 402
that the certificate was received before October 15 in order to be 403
eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school 404
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year, or the licensed school nurse shall submit the documentation 405
to the State Department of Education before February 15 in order 406
to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the 407
second term of the school year. 408
(iii) Any licensed school counselor who has met 409
the requirements and acquired a National Certified School 410
Counselor (NCSC) endorsement from the National Board of Certified 411
Counselors and who is employed by a local school board or the 412
State Board of Education as a counselor and not as an 413
administrator. Such licensed school counselor shall submit 414
documentation to the State Department of Education that the 415
endorsement was received prior to October 15 in order to be 416
eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school 417
year, or the licensed school counselor shall submit such 418
documentation to the State Department of Education prior to 419
February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary 420
supplement beginning with the second term of the school year. 421
However, any school counselor who started the National Board for 422
Professional Teaching Standards process for school counselors 423
between June 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, and completes the 424
requirements and acquires the Master Teacher certificate shall be 425
entitled to the master teacher supplement, and those counselors 426
who complete the process shall be entitled to a one-time 427
reimbursement for the actual cost of the process as outlined in 428
paragraph (b) of this subsection. 429
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(iv) Any licensed speech-language pathologist and 430
audiologist who has met the requirements and acquired a 431
Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American 432
Speech-Language-Hearing Association and any certified academic 433
language therapist (CALT) who has met the certification 434
requirements of the Academic Language Therapy Association and who 435
is employed by a local school board. The licensed speech-language 436
pathologist and audiologist and certified academic language 437
therapist shall submit documentation to the State Department of 438
Education that the certificate or endorsement was received before 439
October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement 440
in the current school year, or the licensed speech-language 441
pathologist and audiologist and certified academic language 442
therapist shall submit the documentation to the State Department 443
of Education before February 15 in order to be eligible for a 444
prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the 445
school year. 446
(v) Any licensed athletic trainer who has met the 447
requirements and acquired Board Certification for the Athletic 448
Trainer from the Board of Certification, Inc., and who is employed 449
by a local school board or the State Board of Education as an 450
athletic trainer and not as an administrator. The licensed 451
athletic trainer shall submit documentation to the State 452
Department of Education that the certificate was received before 453
October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement 454
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in the current school year, or the licensed athletic trainer shall 455
submit the documentation to the State Department of Education 456
before February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary 457
supplement beginning with the second term of the school year. 458
(b) An employee shall be reimbursed for the actual cost 459
of completing each component of acquiring the certificate or 460
endorsement, excluding any costs incurred for postgraduate 461
courses, not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each 462
component, not to exceed four (4) components, for a teacher, 463
school counselor or speech-language pathologist and audiologist, 464
regardless of whether or not the process resulted in the award of 465
the certificate or endorsement. A local school district or any 466
private individual or entity may pay the cost of completing the 467
process of acquiring the certificate or endorsement for any 468
employee of the school district described under paragraph (a), and 469
the State Department of Education shall reimburse the school 470
district for such cost, regardless of whether or not the process 471
resulted in the award of the certificate or endorsement. If a 472
private individual or entity has paid the cost of completing the 473
process of acquiring the certificate or endorsement for an 474
employee, the local school district may agree to directly 475
reimburse the individual or entity for such cost on behalf of the 476
employee. 477
(c) All salary supplements, fringe benefits and process 478
reimbursement authorized under this subsection shall be paid 479
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directly by the State Department of Education to the local school 480
district and shall be in addition to its allotments from the total 481
funding formula provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 482
and not a part thereof in accordance with regulations promulgated 483
by the State Board of Education. Local school districts shall not 484
reduce the local supplement paid to any employee receiving such 485
salary supplement, and the employee shall receive any local 486
supplement to which employees with similar training and experience 487
otherwise are entitled. However, an educational employee shall 488
receive the salary supplement in the amount of Six Thousand 489
Dollars ($6,000.00) for only one (1) of the qualifying 490
certifications authorized under paragraph (a) of this subsection. 491
No school district shall provide more than one (1) annual salary 492
supplement under * * * this subsection to any one (1) individual 493
employee holding multiple qualifying national certifications. 494
(d) If an employee for whom such cost has been paid, in 495
full or in part, by a local school district or private individual 496
or entity fails to complete the certification or endorsement 497
process, the employee shall be liable to the school district or 498
individual or entity for all amounts paid by the school district 499
or individual or entity on behalf of that employee toward his or 500
her certificate or endorsement. 501
(3) The following employees shall receive an annual salary 502
supplement in the amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00), 503
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plus fringe benefits, in addition to any other compensation to 504
which the employee may be entitled: 505
Effective July 1, 2016, if funds are available for that 506
purpose, any licensed teacher or retired teacher employed by a 507
local school district under * * * Section 25-11-126 who has met 508
the requirements and acquired a Master Teacher Certificate from 509
the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and who is 510
employed in a public school district located in one (1) of the 511
following counties: Claiborne, Adams, Jefferson, Wilkinson, 512
Amite, Bolivar, Coahoma, Leflore, Quitman, Sharkey, Issaquena, 513
Sunflower, Washington, Holmes, Yazoo and Tallahatchie. The salary 514
supplement awarded under * * * this subsection (3) shall be in 515
addition to the salary supplement awarded under * * * subsection 516
(2) of this section. 517
Teachers who meet the qualifications for a salary supplement 518
under this subsection (3) who are assigned for less than one (1) 519
full year or less than full time for the school year shall receive 520
the salary supplement in a prorated manner, with the portion of 521
the teacher's assignment to the critical geographic area to be 522
determined as of June 15th of the school year. 523
(4) (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as 524
the "Mississippi Performance-Based Pay (MPBP)" plan. In addition 525
to the minimum base pay described in this section, only if funds 526
are available for that purpose, the State of Mississippi may 527
provide monies from state funds to school districts for the 528
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purposes of rewarding licensed teachers, administrators and 529
nonlicensed personnel at individual schools showing improvement in 530
student test scores. The MPBP plan shall be developed by the 531
State Department of Education based on the following criteria: 532
(i) It is the express intent of this legislation 533
that the MPBP plan shall utilize only existing standards of 534
accreditation and assessment as established by the State Board of 535
Education. 536
(ii) To ensure that all of Mississippi's teachers, 537
administrators and nonlicensed personnel at all schools have equal 538
access to the monies set aside in this section, the MPBP program 539
shall be designed to calculate each school's performance as 540
determined by the school's increase in scores from the prior 541
school year. The MPBP program shall be based on a standardized 542
scores rating where all levels of schools can be judged in a 543
statistically fair and reasonable way upon implementation. At the 544
end of each year, after all student achievement scores have been 545
standardized, the State Department of Education shall implement 546
the MPBP plan. 547
(iii) To ensure all teachers cooperate in the 548
spirit of teamwork, individual schools shall submit a plan to the 549
local school district to be approved before the beginning of each 550
school year. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, how 551
all teachers, regardless of subject area, and administrators will 552
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be responsible for improving student achievement for their 553
individual school. 554
(b) The State Board of Education shall develop the 555
processes and procedures for designating schools eligible to 556
participate in the MPBP. State assessment results, growth in 557
student achievement at individual schools and other measures 558
deemed appropriate in designating successful student achievement 559
shall be used in establishing MPBP criteria. 560
(5) (a) If funds are available for that purpose, each 561
school in Mississippi shall have mentor teachers, as defined by 562
Sections 37-9-201 through 37-9-213, who shall receive additional 563
base compensation provided for by the State Legislature in the 564
amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per each beginning 565
teacher that is being mentored. The additional state compensation 566
shall be limited to those mentor teachers that provide mentoring 567
services to beginning teachers. For the purposes of such funding, 568
a beginning teacher shall be defined as any teacher in any school 569
in Mississippi that has less than one (1) year of classroom 570
experience teaching in a public school. For the purposes of such 571
funding, no full-time academic teacher shall mentor more than two 572
(2) beginning teachers. 573
(b) To be eligible for this state funding, the 574
individual school must have a classroom management program 575
approved by the local school board. 576
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ST: Retired educators; revise provisions
regarding return to work as teachers.
(6) Effective with the 2014-2015 school year, the school 577
districts participating in the Pilot Performance-Based 578
Compensation System pursuant to Section 37-19-9 may award 579
additional teacher and administrator pay based thereon. 580
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 581
and after July 1, 2026. 582