State Board of Education Holds October Meeting

The Mississippi State Board of Education held its monthly meeting yesterday, October 16. Among its agenda items, the Board:

• Received presentations by the interim superintendents of the Humphreys County, Yazoo City, and Noxubee County Districts of Transformation on the districts’ 2024-25 Accountability Results, including the causes for decreased ratings and corrective action plans for future work.
• Approved beginning the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) process to revise Accreditation Policy 2.9 to reflect 2024 legislation which abolished the Mississippi Achievement School District and technical amendments related to Districts of Transformation.
• Received a report from the Commission on School Accreditation regarding the assignment of an “Accredited” status to 119 districts and a “Probation” status to 19 districts for School Year 2025-26.

MDE released the 2024-25 Chronic Absenteeism Report yesterday. The report shows our state’s chronic absenteeism rate increased to 27.6%, an increase from the 2023-24 rate of 24.4%. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% (18 days) or more of the school year for any reason, including excused and unexcused absences and suspensions. The 2024-25 report shows approximately one-third of all absences were excused. The report also shows that while rates declined in elementary and middle school from 2023-24 to 2024-25, they increased from 30% to 39% in high school.