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S. B. No. 2524 *SS08/R197SG* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Universities and
Colleges
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Boyd
SENATE BILL NO. 2524
(As Sent to Governor)
AN ACT TO REPEAL SECTION 37-163-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
WHICH CREATES THE EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT COUNCIL; TO ESTABLISH THE 2
MISSISSIPPI POSTSECONDARY ATTAINMENT COUNCIL; TO NAME THE MEMBERS 3
OF THE COUNCIL; TO PROVIDE FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE COUNCIL; TO 4
REQUIRE ANNUAL REPORTS AND PROGRESS REPORTS; TO PROVIDE FOR 5
STAFFING OF THE COUNCIL; TO PROVIDE FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR MEMBERS; 6
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 37-163-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, which 9
creates the Education Achievement Council, is hereby repealed. 10
SECTION 2. (1) The Legislature finds that: 11
(a) Advanced skills training at any age that leads to 12
an individual's postsecondary attainment is vital for 13
Mississippi's economic growth and directly contributes to a higher 14
quality of life for its citizens. 15
(b) An effective strategy for increasing postsecondary 16
attainment requires close collaboration between educational 17
entities, companies doing business in Mississippi, workforce 18
programs and economic development systems to ensure long-term 19
prosperity. 20
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(c) Mississippi's public and private two- and four-year 21
colleges and institutions are a valued partner in the state's 22
economic and workforce development activities, serving as the 23
primary suppliers of a trained workforce required to meet the 24
demand of expanding or newly established private and public sector 25
employment opportunities. 26
(d) The Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) 27
collects valuable information that can help align regional and 28
state-level postsecondary attainment with current and future 29
workforce needs across the state. Third parties, including 30
citizens, should be able to easily access data so they can 31
identify high-growth, high-wage and high-demand private sector 32
priority occupations and public sector jobs at each postsecondary 33
educational attainment level. 34
(2) For the purposes of this section, "postsecondary 35
attainment" means a workforce certification, an industry 36
credential, or an academic degree leading to an occupation in the 37
public or private sector. A credential of value is affiliated 38
with a private sector priority occupation, as designated by the 39
state's Office of Workforce Development, leading to a high-growth, 40
high-wage occupation. 41
(3) There is hereby created the Mississippi Postsecondary 42
Attainment Council (M-PAC) whose purpose is establishing the 43
state's postsecondary attainment goals, as well as action-oriented 44
strategies designed to make progress toward that goal. The work 45
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of M-PAC shall be conducted in a collaborative manner between 46
Mississippi's public and private education leaders and workforce 47
and economic development leaders to identify and promote solutions 48
to achieve the state's educational attainment goals. The council 49
shall not displace any existing, codified governing or 50
coordinating bodies or their responsibilities. 51
(4) M-PAC shall have a total membership of twenty-six (26) 52
voting members and six (6) ex officio members, representing 53
academic, private and state sectors. A voting member may 54
designate a person or persons to represent him or her at all 55
meetings from which he or she may be absent. Any such designee 56
shall have the power to attend and vote with the same force and 57
effect as if the member designating him or her were present and 58
voting. The members shall be as follows: 59
(a) Academic Sector Representatives: 60
(i) The Commissioner of the State Institutions of 61
Higher Learning; 62
(ii) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 63
Community College Board; 64
(iii) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 65
Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities; 66
(iv) The President of the Mississippi Association 67
for Proprietary Schools; 68
(v) The State Superintendent of the Mississippi 69
Department of Education; 70
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(vi) Three (3) presidents of a community or junior 71
college to be appointed by the Mississippi Community College 72
Board; 73
(vii) Three (3) presidents or chancellors of a 74
public institution of higher learning to be appointed by the Board 75
of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning; 76
(viii) One (1) president of a private college or 77
university to be appointed by the Executive Director of the 78
Mississippi Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities; and 79
(ix) One (1) superintendent of a local K-12 school 80
district to be appointed by the Superintendent of the Department 81
of Education. 82
(b) Private sector representatives: 83
(i) One (1) representative of the Mississippi 84
Business Alliance Foundation's WorkFuture Institute for Workforce 85
and Educational Excellence; 86
(ii) The President of the Mississippi Economic 87
Development Council; 88
(iii) The President of Build Mississippi; and 89
(iv) Five (5) representatives of priority 90
occupation businesses to be appointed by the Executive Director of 91
the Office of Workforce Development. 92
(c) State government representatives: 93
(i) One (1) representative of the Office of the 94
Governor, to be appointed by the Governor; 95
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(ii) The Chairman of the State Workforce 96
Investment Board; 97
(iii) The Executive Director of the Office of 98
Workforce Development; 99
(iv) One (1) representative of a Local Workforce 100
Development Area to be appointed by the Governor; and 101
(v) One (1) representative from the State 102
Longitudinal Data System; 103
(d) Ex officio legislative members: 104
(i) The Chairmen of the Universities and Colleges 105
Committees of the Mississippi State Senate and House of 106
Representatives; 107
(ii) The Chairmen of the Education Committees of 108
the Mississippi State Senate and House of Representatives; 109
(iii) The Chairman of the Economic and Workforce 110
Development Committee of the Mississippi Senate; and 111
(iv) The Chairman of the Workforce Development 112
Committee of the Mississippi House of Representatives. 113
(5) (a) The council shall have an executive committee 114
comprised of the members, as follows: 115
(i) The Commissioner of the State Institutions of 116
Higher Learning; 117
(ii) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 118
Community College Board; 119
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(iii) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 120
Office of Workforce Development; 121
(iv) The State Superintendent of the Mississippi 122
Department of Education; 123
(v) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 124
Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities; and 125
(vi) Two (2) representatives of priority 126
occupation businesses, one (1) of which appointed by the 127
Lieutenant Governor and one (1) of which appointed by the Speaker 128
of the House of Representatives. 129
(b) The chairman of the council as chosen in subsection 130
(6) of this section shall also serve on the executive committee if 131
he or she is not one of the members designated by paragraph (a) of 132
this subsection. 133
(6) (a) The council shall elect a chairman and a vice 134
chairman from among its membership. An election for chairman 135
shall be held annually, and no chairman shall serve more than two 136
(2) consecutive terms. 137
(b) A system of committees comprised of council members 138
and non-members, as needed, may be organized for the purposes of 139
performing the council's work. 140
(7) The State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) shall provide 141
data to M-PAC for the purpose of producing the following reports: 142
(a) Annual report. M-PAC shall work in coordination 143
with the Office of Workforce Development to report Mississippi's 144
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progress in raising the postsecondary attainment rate, defined as 145
the percentage of adults with a college degree, credential or 146
recognized certification. Beginning in 2027, such annual report 147
shall be published publicly on or before November 1 each year and 148
presented to the State Workforce Investment Board, the Lieutenant 149
Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Governor. 150
(b) Progress reports. M-PAC shall publish and maintain 151
a publicly accessible dashboard-style scorecard quantifying 152
progress toward the state's attainment goal. 153
(8) The Office of Workforce Development shall serve as the 154
principal staff to support the Mississippi Postsecondary 155
Attainment Council. The Office of Workforce development shall 156
utilize the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 157
Learning, the Mississippi Community College Board, the Mississippi 158
Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities, the State 159
Longitudinal Data System, and private sector partners, to provide 160
appropriate staff to support the work of the Mississippi 161
Postsecondary Attainment Council. 162
(9) The Legislature may appropriate funds for the 163
administrative costs, contractual costs, travel expenses and other 164
expenses of the council. 165
(10) Legislative members of the council shall be entitled to 166
per diem and reimbursement of expenses in accordance with Section 167
25-3-41. Nonlegislative members shall serve without compensation 168
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ST: Mississippi Postsecondary Attainment
Council; establish.
but may be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses from any 169
available funds designated for such purposes. 170
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 171
and after July 1, 2026. 172