2/20/26 Legislative Update

Attention turned to the state budget this week, as each chamber began considering its revenue and appropriation bills. This is the first step in finalizing the state’s Fiscal Year 2027 (2026-27 school year) budget that is scheduled to be adopted in the closing days of the session in late March/early April. MDE’s appropriation bill is a House bill, while the community college and IHL appropriation bills originate in the Senate. Revenue and appropriation bills have their own set of legislative deadlines, as work begins on them later in the session. Next Wednesday, February 25, is the deadline for original floor action on appropriation and revenue bills originating in each chamber.

House Education met Wednesday afternoon and passed two bills:

• SB 2103: House Education amended the bill to provide that MDE develop a model code of ethics for school counselors that local districts may adopt.
• SB 2294: House Education passed a strike all amendment for the bill that includes the House’s reading, math and financial literacy initiatives.

After passing these bills, Chairman Rob Roberson announced that Wednesday’s meeting would be the only meeting the committee would be having prior to the March 3 committee deadline to report/pass general bills that originated in the other chamber. If House Education does not meet again before the March 3 deadline, all other Senate bills that have been referred to the committee will die on the calendar at the deadline, including the Senate’s teacher pay raise, public-to-public student transfers, compulsory school attendance, and increased gifted funding bills.

Click here for MPE's latest bill tracking spreadsheet which reflects action as of 3:00 p.m. Thursday, February 19, on those bills we are monitoring, including the following:

• HB 1126, the House’s $5,000 teacher pay raise bill, has been double referred to the Senate Education and Appropriations committees. I expect both committees to meet next week.
• HB 1944 has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. It increases tax credits the state may award via the Children’s Promise Act for donations to private schools in 2026 ($16 million), 2027 ($18 million), and 2028 ($20 million). These tax credits are a form of vouchers and reduce the amount of state revenues available to fund critical state services, including education.
• SB 2523 requires IHL to develop performance-based budgeting standards for our state’s universities. It has been double referred to the House Universities and Colleges and Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency committees.