Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project; establish within the State Department of Education.

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To: Education;
Appropriations
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Rhodes

SENATE BILL NO. 2508

AN ACT TO ENACT THE "2026 YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS FOR ALL 1
ACT"; TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; TO ESTABLISH THE "STUDENT 2
24/7 TELETHERAPY PILOT PROJECT" WITHIN THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF 3
EDUCATION TO AWARD GRANT FUNDING TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS, CHARTER 4
SCHOOLS, AND NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR THE PROVISION OF TELETHERAPY 5
SERVICES TO STUDENTS IN GRADES 5 THROUGH 12; TO EXPRESS THE INTENT 6
THAT THE PROJECT BE FUNDED FROM THE EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT FUND; TO 7
AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO USE UP TO 10% OF THE FUNDS 8
APPROPRIATED FOR THE PROJECT TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM; TO LIST 9
MINIMUM VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS; TO LIST REQUIRED FEATURES FOR THE 10
VENDOR'S PLATFORM AND SERVICE MODEL; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO 11
SUBMIT A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE BY OCTOBER 1, 2027, DETAILING 12
THE PARTICIPATION RATES, USAGE DATA, AND STUDENT OUTCOMES OBSERVED 13
DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PILOT PROJECT; TO AMEND SECTION 14
37-61-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED 15
PURPOSES. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 17
SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited 18
as the "2026 Youth Mental Health Access for All Act." 19
(2) The Legislature finds and declares the following: 20
(a) The State of Mississippi is currently experiencing 21
a critical mental health crisis among its youth that requires 22
immediate, scalable, and innovative intervention; 23
(b) Providing students with around-the-clock access to 24
professional teletherapy is a necessary, complementary resource to 25
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existing school counselors, ensuring support is available during 26
after-school hours, weekends, and holidays; and 27
(c) To ensure student safety and fiscal responsibility, 28
the state must contract with established, high-capacity vendors 29
capable of immediate and equitable statewide deployment. 30
(3) (a) There is established the "Student 24/7 Teletherapy 31
Pilot Project" within the State Department of Education. 32
(b) The State Department of Education shall award grant 33
funding to school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic 34
schools for the provision of teletherapy services to students in 35
Grades 5 through 12. 36
(c) The pilot project is intended to provide coverage 37
for over two hundred fifteen thousand (215,000) youth across the 38
state. 39
(4) (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that this pilot 40
project be funded out of any money in the Education Enhancement 41
Fund not otherwise appropriated. 42
(b) The State Department of Education is authorized to 43
use up to ten percent (10%) of the funds appropriated for this 44
pilot project to administer the program, including, but not 45
limited to, the development of the grant application process, 46
oversight of vendor compliance, and data collection. 47
(5) To ensure the stability and safety of the services 48
provided under this pilot project, any participating vendor must 49
meet the following minimum qualifications: 50
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(a) At least ten (10) years of experience in the 51
telehealth or teletherapy industry; 52
(b) Current service of no fewer than fifty thousand 53
(50,000) students in a K-12 or post-secondary educational setting; 54
and 55
(c) A community of clinicians, all licensed, who have 56
been vetted for experience in and passion for supporting student 57
mental health. 58
(6) The vendor's platform and service model must provide the 59
following features: 60
(a) Around-the-clock access, with "Appointment Now" 61
features, including licensed therapists, direct crisis connection, 62
and on-demand wellness resources; 63
(b) Barrier-free access, providing services at no cost 64
to students, with no insurance or referral requirements and no 65
financial barriers to entry; 66
(c) Technology-supported student autonomy, allowing 67
students to choose their own therapist based on preference via 68
video, phone, chat, or asynchronous messaging; 69
(d) Clinical alignment, with services functioning as an 70
extension of the school's team, complementing existing mental 71
health offerings and aligning with local district protocols and 72
state mandatory reporting laws; and 73
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(e) Data transparency, providing districts with 74
real-time data and usage analytics while maintaining strict HIPAA 75
and FERPA compliance. 76
(7) The State Department of Education shall submit a report 77
to the Legislature by October 1, 2027, detailing the participation 78
rates, usage data, and student outcomes observed during the first 79
year of the pilot project. 80
SECTION 2. Section 37-61-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 81
amended as follows: 82
37-61-33. (1) There is created within the State Treasury a 83
special fund to be designated the "Education Enhancement Fund" 84
into which shall be deposited all the revenues collected pursuant 85
to Sections 27-65-75(5), (7) and (8), 27-67-31(a) and (b) and 86
Section 2 of this act. 87
(2) Of the amount deposited into the Education Enhancement 88
Fund, Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00) shall be 89
appropriated each fiscal year to the State Department of Education 90
to be distributed to all school districts. Such money shall be 91
distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the net 92
enrollment of each school district bears to the net enrollment of 93
all school districts within the state for the following purposes: 94
(a) Purchasing, erecting, repairing, equipping, 95
remodeling and enlarging school buildings and related facilities, 96
including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training 97
buildings, libraries, teachers' homes, school barns, 98
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transportation vehicles (which shall include new and used 99
transportation vehicles) and garages for transportation vehicles, 100
and purchasing land therefor; 101
(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields 102
and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land 103
therefor; 104
(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, 105
air-conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and 106
purchasing land therefor; 107
(d) As a pledge to pay all or a portion of the debt 108
service on debt issued by the school district under Sections 109
37-59-1 through 37-59-45, 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, 37-7-351 110
through 37-7-359, 37-41-89 through 37-41-99, 37-7-301, 37-7-302 111
and 37-41-81, or debt issued by boards of supervisors for 112
agricultural high schools pursuant to Section 37-27-65, if such 113
pledge is accomplished pursuant to a written contract or 114
resolution approved and spread upon the minutes of an official 115
meeting of the district's school board or board of supervisors. 116
The annual grant to such district in any subsequent year during 117
the term of the resolution or contract shall not be reduced below 118
an amount equal to the district's grant amount for the year in 119
which the contract or resolution was adopted. The intent of this 120
provision is to allow school districts to irrevocably pledge a 121
certain, constant stream of revenue as security for long-term 122
obligations issued under the code sections enumerated in this 123
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paragraph or as otherwise allowed by law. It is the intent of the 124
Legislature that the provisions of this paragraph shall be 125
cumulative and supplemental to any existing funding programs or 126
other authority conferred upon school districts or school boards. 127
Debt of a district secured by a pledge of sales tax revenue 128
pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to any debt 129
limitation contained in the foregoing enumerated code 130
sections; * * * 131
(e) To fund the Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project 132
established in Section 1 of this act; and 133
( * * *f) Any other purpose for which the total funding 134
formula funds as determined by Sections 37-151-200 through 135
37-151-215 are not sufficient. 136
(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education 137
Enhancement Fund shall be appropriated as follows: 138
(a) To the State Department of Education as follows: 139
(i) Sixteen and sixty-one one-hundredths percent 140
(16.61%) to the cost of the total funding formula determined under 141
Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215; of the funds generated by 142
the percentage set forth in this section for the support of the 143
adequate education program, one and one hundred seventy-eight 144
one-thousandths percent (1.178%) of the funds shall be 145
appropriated to be used by the State Department of Education for 146
the purchase of textbooks to be loaned under Sections 37-43-1 147
through 37-43-59 to approved nonpublic schools, as described in 148
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Section 37-43-1. The funds to be distributed to each nonpublic 149
school shall be in the proportion that the average daily 150
attendance of each nonpublic school bears to the total average 151
daily attendance of all nonpublic schools; 152
(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent 153
(7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and 154
maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23; and 155
(iii) Nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent 156
(9.61%) for classroom supplies, instructional materials and 157
equipment, including computers and computer software, to be 158
distributed to all eligible teachers within the state through the 159
use of procurement cards or a digital solution capable of 160
tracking, paying and reporting purchases. Classroom supply funds 161
shall not be expended for administrative purposes. On a date to 162
be determined by the State Department of Education, but not later 163
than July 1 of each year, local school districts shall determine 164
and submit to the State Department of Education the number of 165
teachers eligible to receive an allocation for the current year. 166
For purposes of this subparagraph, "teacher" means any employee of 167
the school board of a school district, or the Mississippi School 168
for the Arts, the Mississippi School for Math and Science, the 169
Mississippi School for the Blind, the Mississippi School for the 170
Deaf or public charter school, who is required by law to obtain a 171
teacher's license from the State Department of Education and who 172
is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the 173
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department, and shall include any full- or part-time gifted or 174
special education teacher. It is the intent of the Legislature 175
that all classroom teachers shall utilize these funds in a manner 176
that addresses individual classroom needs and supports the overall 177
goals of the school regarding supplies, instructional materials, 178
equipment, computers or computer software under the provisions of 179
this subparagraph, including the type, quantity and quality of 180
such supplies, materials and equipment. Classroom supply funds 181
allocated under this subparagraph shall supplement, not replace, 182
other local and state funds available for the same purposes. The 183
State Board of Education shall develop and promulgate rules and 184
regulations for the administration of this subparagraph consistent 185
with the above criteria, with particular emphasis on allowing the 186
individual teachers to expend funds as they deem appropriate. The 187
local school board shall require each school to issue credentials 188
for a digital solution selected by or procurement cards provided 189
by the Department of Finance and Administration under the 190
provisions of Section 31-7-9(1)(c) for the use of teachers and 191
necessary support personnel in making instructional supply fund 192
expenditures under this section, consistent with the regulations 193
of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration 194
pursuant to Section 31-7-9. Such credentials or procurement cards 195
shall be provided by the State Department of Education to local 196
school districts on a date determined by the State Department of 197
Education, but not later than August 1 of each year. Local school 198
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districts shall issue such credentials or procurement cards to 199
classroom teachers at the beginning of the school year, but no 200
later than August 1 of each year, and shall be issued in equal 201
amounts per teacher determined by the total number of qualifying 202
personnel and the current state appropriation for classroom 203
supplies with the Education Enhancement Fund. After initial cards 204
are issued under the timeline prescribed by this section, the 205
State Department of Education may issue cards to districts for any 206
classroom teacher hired after July 1 under a timeline prescribed 207
by the State Department of Education. Such credentials or cards 208
will expire on a predetermined date at the end of each school 209
year, but not before April 1 of each year; 210
(b) Twenty-two and nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) 211
to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning 212
for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and 213
(c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent 214
(14.41%) to the Mississippi Community College Board for the 215
purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges. 216
(4) The amount remaining in the Education Enhancement Fund 217
after funds are distributed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) 218
of this section shall be appropriated for other educational needs. 219
(5) None of the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection 220
(3)(a) of this section shall be used to reduce the state's General 221
Fund appropriation for the categories listed in an amount below 222
the following amounts: 223
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ST: Student 24/7 Teletherapy Pilot Project;
establish within the State Department of
Education.
(a) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section, 224
Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars 225
($36,700,000.00); 226
(b) For the aggregate of minimum program allotments in 227
the 1997 fiscal year, formerly provided for in Chapter 19, Title 228
37, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, excluding those funds 229
for transportation as provided for in paragraph (a) of this 230
subsection. 231
(6) Any funds appropriated from the Education Enhancement 232
Fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall lapse 233
into the Education Enhancement Fund. 234
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 235
and after its passage. 236