HB 1292 Mississippi House · 2026 Regular Session

School Board members; require to be elected for term of four years at the statewide general election or presidential election.

HB 1292 requires all Mississippi public school board members to serve four-year terms and be elected in either statewide general elections (starting November 2027) or presidential elections (starting November 2028), giving each school district the choice of election cycle. It directly affects all county, municipal, and special school districts by replacing current election methods with standardized four-year terms and flexible election timing. Key provisions include allowing districts to choose between single-member districts or at-large elections, standardizing nomination petition requirements, and establishing procedures for filling vacancies. The bill updates election rules for all school boards under the State Board of Education's jurisdiction, excluding charter school boards.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 19, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026

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What changed between versions

As Introduced → Current version · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a recall provision for school board members, codify additional code sections related to school district consolidation, and update the effective dates for certain provisions. The changes expand the bill's scope to include new mechanisms for removing school board members and clarify the administrative consolidation process for specific counties.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a recall procedure for school board members and additional codification of school district consolidation provisions that were not present in the original version.

REQUIREMENT

Added a recall procedure mechanism allowing qualified electors to petition the Governor for removal of school board members or trustees through a new code section 37-6-19.

Modified section 37-7-207 to clarify that line consolidated school district board members shall be elected under Section 37-6-17 for four-year terms beginning with the 2027 or 2028 election cycle.

DEFINITION

Added a definition clarifying that the term 'school board' does not apply to governing boards of authorized charter schools.

TIMELINE

Updated effective dates for certain consolidation provisions, changing some references from 2012/2013/2014/2015/2017/2018/2019/2020/2023/2024 to align with the 2027/2028 election cycle framework.

TECHNICAL

Added new code section 37-6-19 codifying the recall procedure and amended section 25-5-7 to conform with the new recall provisions.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

lower

Jan 19, 2026

Committee

Referred To Education

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor