4/3/25 Legislative Update: 2025 Regular Session Ends

The 2025 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature has ended without legislators adopting a FY 2026 state budget. House members went home last weekend rather than staying to finalize conference reports on appropriation bills, so those bills died with Saturday night’s deadline. The House then passed a resolution yesterday afternoon, April 2, to extend the session on paper which would allow work to be completed on appropriation bills and the budget, as well as SB 3095 to establish a dedicated revenue stream for PERS. The resolution required the Senate to adopt the measure by 5:00 yesterday afternoon or the measure would die. Senators did not consider the resolution, so House members adjourned sine die late yesterday afternoon and went home. Senators then adjourned and went home earlier today and the regular session concluded.

The governor will now have to call a special session for legislators to return to Jackson to complete their work on the budget. Special sessions cost approximately $100,000 per day. The governor will set the agenda for the special session and could direct legislators to address other issues, including vouchers or school choice. The date of the special session remains to be seen. The situation proves challenging for state agencies, colleges, universities and local school districts trying to plan for the next fiscal year.

Click here for our current bill tracking spreadsheet which reflects action as of end of the session today on those bills we have monitored. Both chambers adopted conference reports for the following bills this week, so they are headed to the governor:

• HB 809 clarifies “active duty” for purposes of school enrollment and transfers. The bill now heads to the governor.
• HB 1193 bans diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in our state’s public schools, community colleges and universities and allows these institutions to be sued by students, parents of minor students, faculty/staff or contractors for alleged violations of the law.
• SB 2181 exempts test security plans for the administration of state assessments from the Public Records Act. The bill now heads to the governor.

Thank you to our members and concerned citizens throughout Mississippi who engaged with their respective representative and/or senator and the legislative leadership during the session on critical pieces of education legislation. Without your efforts, several voucher and choice bills could have fundamentally changed our state’s approach to public education. Your calls, texts, emails and conversations made a difference. We still have work to do, and MPE encourages you to stay engaged throughout the upcoming special session.