Public schools; provide salary supplement for certified strength and conditioning coaches meeting certain requirements.

S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 1 (icj\tb)

To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Boyd

SENATE BILL NO. 2500

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-19-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE A SALARY SUPPLEMENT OF $6,000.00 PER SCHOOL YEAR FOR 2
CERTIFIED STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACHES MEETING CERTAIN 3
REQUIREMENTS; TO ALLOW EMPLOYEES PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION OF 4
CURRENT CERTIFICATION TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AFTER OCTOBER 15 BUT 5
BY FEBRUARY 15 TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR ONE-HALF OF THE SUPPLEMENT FOR 6
THAT SCHOOL YEAR; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 37-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
37-19-7. (1) Teachers' salaries in each public school 11
district shall be determined and paid in accordance with the scale 12
for teachers' salaries as provided in this subsection. For 13
teachers holding the following types of licenses or the equivalent 14
as determined by the State Board of Education, and the following 15
number of years of teaching experience, the scale shall be as 16
follows: 17
2022-2023 AND SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEARS MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE 18
Exp. AAAA AAA AA A 19
0 45,500.00 44,000.00 43,000.00 41,500.00 20
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 2 (icj\tb)

1 46,100.00 44,550.00 43,525.00 41,900.00 21
2 46,700.00 45,100.00 44,050.00 42,300.00 22
3 47,300.00 45,650.00 44,575.00 42,700.00 23
4 47,900.00 46,200.00 45,100.00 43,100.00 24
5 49,250.00 47,500.00 46,350.00 44,300.00 25
6 49,850.00 48,050.00 46,875.00 44,700.00 26
7 50,450.00 48,600.00 47,400.00 45,100.00 27
8 51,050.00 49,150.00 47,925.00 45,500.00 28
9 51,650.00 49,700.00 48,450.00 45,900.00 29
10 53,000.00 51,000.00 49,700.00 47,100.00 30
11 53,600.00 51,550.00 50,225.00 47,500.00 31
12 54,200.00 52,100.00 50,750.00 47,900.00 32
13 54,800.00 52,650.00 51,275.00 48,300.00 33
14 55,400.00 53,200.00 51,800.00 48,700.00 34
15 56,750.00 54,500.00 53,050.00 49,900.00 35
16 57,350.00 55,050.00 53,575.00 50,300.00 36
17 57,950.00 55,600.00 54,100.00 50,700.00 37
18 58,550.00 56,150.00 54,625.00 51,100.00 38
19 59,150.00 56,700.00 55,150.00 51,500.00 39
20 60,500.00 58,000.00 56,400.00 52,700.00 40
21 61,100.00 58,550.00 56,925.00 53,100.00 41
22 61,700.00 59,100.00 57,450.00 53,500.00 42
23 62,300.00 59,650.00 57,975.00 53,900.00 43
24 62,900.00 60,200.00 58,500.00 54,300.00 44
25 65,400.00 62,700.00 61,000.00 56,800.00 45
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 3 (icj\tb)

26 66,000.00 63,250.00 61,525.00 57,200.00 46
27 66,600.00 63,800.00 62,050.00 57,600.00 47
28 67,200.00 64,350.00 62,575.00 58,000.00 48
29 67,800.00 64,900.00 63,100.00 58,400.00 49
30 68,400.00 65,450.00 63,625.00 58,800.00 50
31 69,000.00 66,000.00 64,150.00 59,200.00 51
32 69,600.00 66,550.00 64,675.00 59,600.00 52
33 70,200.00 67,100.00 65,200.00 60,000.00 53
34 70,800.00 67,650.00 65,725.00 60,400.00 54
35 55
& above 71,400.00 68,200.00 66,250.00 60,800.00 56
* * * 57
The school district, with assistance from the Department of 58
Education, shall consider the teacher's years of service and 59
license type and determine the corresponding salary for the 60
retired teacher. After determining the retired teacher's 61
corresponding salary, the school district may allocate up to one 62
hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the amount provided under 63
the salary schedule for such teacher, as applicable, as salary and 64
assessment under the program. 65
After determining the retired teacher's salary, the school 66
district may pay no more than fifty percent (50%) of the retired 67
teacher's compensation as salary to the retired teacher. The 68
remaining fifty percent (50%) of the retired teacher's 69
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 4 (icj\tb)

compensation as salary shall be paid by the school district to 70
PERS as a pension liability participation assessment. 71
It is the intent of the Legislature that any state funds made 72
available for salaries of licensed personnel in excess of the 73
funds paid for such salaries for the 1986-1987 school year shall 74
be paid to licensed personnel pursuant to a personnel appraisal 75
and compensation system implemented by the State Board of 76
Education. The State Board of Education shall have the authority 77
to adopt and amend rules and regulations as are necessary to 78
establish, administer and maintain the system. 79
All teachers employed on a full-time basis shall be paid a 80
minimum salary in accordance with the above scale. However, no 81
school district shall receive any funds under this section for any 82
school year during which the local supplement paid to any 83
individual teacher shall have been reduced to a sum less than that 84
paid to that individual teacher for performing the same duties 85
from local supplement during the immediately preceding school 86
year. The amount actually spent for the purposes of group health 87
and/or life insurance shall be considered as a part of the 88
aggregate amount of local supplement but shall not be considered a 89
part of the amount of individual local supplement. 90
The level of professional training of each teacher to be used 91
in establishing the salary for the teacher for each year shall be 92
determined by the type of valid teacher's license issued to that 93
teacher on or before October 1 of the current school year. 94
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 5 (icj\tb)

However, school districts are authorized, in their discretion, to 95
negotiate the salary levels applicable to licensed employees who 96
are receiving retirement benefits from the retirement system of 97
another state. 98
(2) (a) The following employees shall receive an annual 99
salary supplement in the amount of Six Thousand Dollars 100
($6,000.00), plus fringe benefits, in addition to any other 101
compensation to which the employee may be entitled: 102
(i) Any licensed teacher or retired teacher 103
employed by a school district under the authority of Section 104
25-11-126 who has met the requirements and acquired a Master 105
Teacher certificate from the National Board for Professional 106
Teaching Standards and who is employed by a local school board or 107
the State Board of Education as a teacher and not as an 108
administrator. Such teacher shall submit documentation to the 109
State Department of Education that the certificate was received 110
prior to October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary 111
supplement in the current school year, or the teacher shall submit 112
such documentation to the State Department of Education prior to 113
February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary 114
supplement beginning with the second term of the school year. 115
(ii) A licensed nurse who has met the requirements 116
and acquired a certificate from the National Board for 117
Certification of School Nurses, Inc., and who is employed by a 118
local school board or the State Board of Education as a school 119
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 6 (icj\tb)

nurse and not as an administrator. The licensed school nurse 120
shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education 121
that the certificate was received before October 15 in order to be 122
eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school 123
year, or the licensed school nurse shall submit the documentation 124
to the State Department of Education before February 15 in order 125
to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the 126
second term of the school year. 127
(iii) Any licensed school counselor who has met 128
the requirements and acquired a National Certified School 129
Counselor (NCSC) endorsement from the National Board of Certified 130
Counselors and who is employed by a local school board or the 131
State Board of Education as a counselor and not as an 132
administrator. Such licensed school counselor shall submit 133
documentation to the State Department of Education that the 134
endorsement was received prior to October 15 in order to be 135
eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school 136
year, or the licensed school counselor shall submit such 137
documentation to the State Department of Education prior to 138
February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary 139
supplement beginning with the second term of the school year. 140
However, any school counselor who started the National Board for 141
Professional Teaching Standards process for school counselors 142
between June 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, and completes the 143
requirements and acquires the Master Teacher certificate shall be 144
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 7 (icj\tb)

entitled to the master teacher supplement, and those counselors 145
who complete the process shall be entitled to a one-time 146
reimbursement for the actual cost of the process as outlined in 147
paragraph (b) of this subsection. 148
(iv) Any licensed speech-language pathologist and 149
audiologist who has met the requirements and acquired a 150
Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American 151
Speech-Language-Hearing Association and any certified academic 152
language therapist (CALT) who has met the certification 153
requirements of the Academic Language Therapy Association and who 154
is employed by a local school board. The licensed speech-language 155
pathologist and audiologist and certified academic language 156
therapist shall submit documentation to the State Department of 157
Education that the certificate or endorsement was received before 158
October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement 159
in the current school year, or the licensed speech-language 160
pathologist and audiologist and certified academic language 161
therapist shall submit the documentation to the State Department 162
of Education before February 15 in order to be eligible for a 163
prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the 164
school year. 165
(v) Any licensed athletic trainer who has met the 166
requirements and acquired Board Certification for the Athletic 167
Trainer from the Board of Certification, Inc., and who is employed 168
by a local school board or the State Board of Education as an 169
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 8 (icj\tb)

athletic trainer and not as an administrator. The licensed 170
athletic trainer shall submit documentation to the State 171
Department of Education that the certificate was received before 172
October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement 173
in the current school year, or the licensed athletic trainer shall 174
submit the documentation to the State Department of Education 175
before February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary 176
supplement beginning with the second term of the school year. 177
(vi) Any certified strength and conditioning coach 178
who: 179
1. Is employed by a local school board or the 180
State Board of Education as a strength and conditioning coach for 181
students in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12); 182
2. Has met all requirements for and has 183
obtained Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) 184
certification from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning 185
Coaches Association (CSCCA); and 186
3. Is not employed in an administrative or 187
supervisory role. 188
The employee must provide documentation of current 189
certification to the school district on or before October 15 of 190
the school year to be eligible for the full supplement for that 191
year. If documentation is provided after October 15, but on or 192
before February 15, the employee shall be eligible for one-half 193
(1/2) of the supplement for that school year. 194
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 9 (icj\tb)

(b) An employee shall be reimbursed for the actual cost 195
of completing each component of acquiring the certificate or 196
endorsement, excluding any costs incurred for postgraduate 197
courses, not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each 198
component, not to exceed four (4) components, for a teacher, 199
school counselor or speech-language pathologist and audiologist, 200
regardless of whether or not the process resulted in the award of 201
the certificate or endorsement. A local school district or any 202
private individual or entity may pay the cost of completing the 203
process of acquiring the certificate or endorsement for any 204
employee of the school district described under paragraph (a), and 205
the State Department of Education shall reimburse the school 206
district for such cost, regardless of whether or not the process 207
resulted in the award of the certificate or endorsement. If a 208
private individual or entity has paid the cost of completing the 209
process of acquiring the certificate or endorsement for an 210
employee, the local school district may agree to directly 211
reimburse the individual or entity for such cost on behalf of the 212
employee. 213
(c) All salary supplements, fringe benefits and process 214
reimbursement authorized under this subsection shall be paid 215
directly by the State Department of Education to the local school 216
district and shall be in addition to its allotments from the total 217
funding formula provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 218
and not a part thereof in accordance with regulations promulgated 219
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 10 (icj\tb)

by the State Board of Education. Local school districts shall not 220
reduce the local supplement paid to any employee receiving such 221
salary supplement, and the employee shall receive any local 222
supplement to which employees with similar training and experience 223
otherwise are entitled. However, an educational employee shall 224
receive the salary supplement in the amount of Six Thousand 225
Dollars ($6,000.00) for only one (1) of the qualifying 226
certifications authorized under paragraph (a) of this subsection. 227
No school district shall provide more than one (1) annual salary 228
supplement under the provisions of this subsection to any one (1) 229
individual employee holding multiple qualifying national 230
certifications. 231
(d) If an employee for whom such cost has been paid, in 232
full or in part, by a local school district or private individual 233
or entity fails to complete the certification or endorsement 234
process, the employee shall be liable to the school district or 235
individual or entity for all amounts paid by the school district 236
or individual or entity on behalf of that employee toward his or 237
her certificate or endorsement. 238
(3) The following employees shall receive an annual salary 239
supplement in the amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00), 240
plus fringe benefits, in addition to any other compensation to 241
which the employee may be entitled: 242
Effective July 1, 2016, if funds are available for that 243
purpose, any licensed teacher or retired teacher employed by a 244
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 11 (icj\tb)

local school district under the authority of Section 25-11-126 who 245
has met the requirements and acquired a Master Teacher Certificate 246
from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and 247
who is employed in a public school district located in one (1) of 248
the following counties: Claiborne, Adams, Jefferson, Wilkinson, 249
Amite, Bolivar, Coahoma, Leflore, Quitman, Sharkey, Issaquena, 250
Sunflower, Washington, Holmes, Yazoo and Tallahatchie. The salary 251
supplement awarded under the provisions of this subsection (3) 252
shall be in addition to the salary supplement awarded under the 253
provisions of subsection (2) of this section. 254
Teachers who meet the qualifications for a salary supplement 255
under this subsection (3) who are assigned for less than one (1) 256
full year or less than full time for the school year shall receive 257
the salary supplement in a prorated manner, with the portion of 258
the teacher's assignment to the critical geographic area to be 259
determined as of June 15th of the school year. 260
(4) (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as 261
the "Mississippi Performance-Based Pay (MPBP)" plan. In addition 262
to the minimum base pay described in this section, only if funds 263
are available for that purpose, the State of Mississippi may 264
provide monies from state funds to school districts for the 265
purposes of rewarding licensed teachers, administrators and 266
nonlicensed personnel at individual schools showing improvement in 267
student test scores. The MPBP plan shall be developed by the 268
State Department of Education based on the following criteria: 269
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 12 (icj\tb)

(i) It is the express intent of this legislation 270
that the MPBP plan shall utilize only existing standards of 271
accreditation and assessment as established by the State Board of 272
Education. 273
(ii) To ensure that all of Mississippi's teachers, 274
administrators and nonlicensed personnel at all schools have equal 275
access to the monies set aside in this section, the MPBP program 276
shall be designed to calculate each school's performance as 277
determined by the school's increase in scores from the prior 278
school year. The MPBP program shall be based on a standardized 279
scores rating where all levels of schools can be judged in a 280
statistically fair and reasonable way upon implementation. At the 281
end of each year, after all student achievement scores have been 282
standardized, the State Department of Education shall implement 283
the MPBP plan. 284
(iii) To ensure all teachers cooperate in the 285
spirit of teamwork, individual schools shall submit a plan to the 286
local school district to be approved before the beginning of each 287
school year. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, how 288
all teachers, regardless of subject area, and administrators will 289
be responsible for improving student achievement for their 290
individual school. 291
(b) The State Board of Education shall develop the 292
processes and procedures for designating schools eligible to 293
participate in the MPBP. State assessment results, growth in 294
S. B. No. 2500 *SS26/R1189* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R1189
PAGE 13 (icj\tb)
ST: Public schools; provide salary supplement
for certified strength and conditioning coaches
meeting certain requirements.
student achievement at individual schools and other measures 295
deemed appropriate in designating successful student achievement 296
shall be used in establishing MPBP criteria. 297
(5) (a) If funds are available for that purpose, each 298
school in Mississippi shall have mentor teachers, as defined by 299
Sections 37-9-201 through 37-9-213, who shall receive additional 300
base compensation provided for by the State Legislature in the 301
amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per each beginning 302
teacher that is being mentored. The additional state compensation 303
shall be limited to those mentor teachers that provide mentoring 304
services to beginning teachers. For the purposes of such funding, 305
a beginning teacher shall be defined as any teacher in any school 306
in Mississippi that has less than one (1) year of classroom 307
experience teaching in a public school. For the purposes of such 308
funding, no full-time academic teacher shall mentor more than two 309
(2) beginning teachers. 310
(b) To be eligible for this state funding, the 311
individual school must have a classroom management program 312
approved by the local school board. 313
(6) Effective with the 2014-2015 school year, the school 314
districts participating in the Pilot Performance-Based 315
Compensation System pursuant to Section 37-19-9 may award 316
additional teacher and administrator pay based thereon. 317
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 318
and after July 1, 2026. 319