HB 1528 Mississippi House · 2026 Regular Session

Teacher licensure; revise provisions related to educator preparation programs and criteria for entry.

HB 1528 revises Mississippi's teacher licensure requirements by removing minimum academic barriers for entering educator preparation programs. It eliminates the need for a 21 ACT score, SAT equivalent, Praxis passing score, or 3.0 GPA to begin training, making entry more accessible for prospective teachers. The bill also requires participants in the Teach Mississippi Institute to complete two 6-hour internships and allows up to 15 credit hours toward a provisional teaching license. These changes directly affect individuals pursuing teaching careers in Mississippi, particularly those in traditional and non-traditional educator preparation programs. The policy shifts aim to streamline entry into teaching while adding structured internship components.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 13, 2026 Last action Mar 3, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Current version · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill significantly expands its scope by adding a new medical education pipeline program alongside existing teacher licensure reforms. The new program aims to increase the number of Mississippi students admitted to medical school by creating a structured pathway from high school through college, jointly administered by the Department of Education, State Board of Trustees, and University of Mississippi Medical Center. Key changes include establishing new duties for each agency, setting uniform readiness standards, and creating accountability measures through annual reporting.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from primarily teacher licensure reform to include a comprehensive medical education pipeline program, making it applicable to high school students, college students, and medical education institutions in addition to teachers and administrators.

SCOPE

Added new Mississippi Medical Education Pipeline and Readiness Act establishing a statewide initiative to connect K-12 education, higher education, and medical school admission

REQUIREMENT

New requirements for MDE, IHL, and UMMC to jointly administer the medical pipeline program with specific duties for each agency

Established uniform readiness standards including required coursework, GPA thresholds, clinical exposure hours, and research participation for medical education

Added provisions for MDE to establish Pre-Medical Career Pathway within Career and Technical Education

Created conditional acceptance or priority interview consideration for students completing pipeline benchmarks

ELIGIBILITY

Students may apply to enter the medical pipeline beginning in 9th grade with no minimum GPA required for initial high school entry

TIMELINE

Changed effective date from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026 for the new medical pipeline provisions

ENFORCEMENT

Created joint annual reporting requirements for enrollment, demographics, retention rates, and medical school matriculation data

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill revises Mississippi's teacher and administrator licensure requirements by updating the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development structure, modifying entry requirements for educator preparation programs, and establishing new licensure pathways including a Teach Mississippi Institute program. The changes aim to modernize licensure standards, remove certain minimum score and GPA requirements for program admission, and create alternative routes for nontraditional teachers while maintaining accountability measures.

Scope change

The bill expands licensure options by adding new license categories (Expert Citizen, Nonrenewable, Transitional Bilingual Education) and creates a new Teach Mississippi Institute program for nontraditional teachers, while maintaining existing standards for traditional educator preparation programs.

REQUIREMENT

Removed minimum 21 ACT score or SAT equivalent, Praxis passing score, and 3.0 GPA requirements necessary for admission into approved educator preparation programs for both traditional and nontraditional teaching routes.

Established Teach Mississippi Institute (TMI) program requiring completion of two semester, six-hour internships and up to 15 credit hours for provisional teaching license, with implementation contingent on appropriated funding.

Revised administrator licensure to include Entry Level (nonrenewable), Career Level, and Nontraditional Route options for those with master's degrees in business, public administration, or law with five years of administrative experience.

Added requirement that individuals issued provisional teaching licenses under the nontraditional route must complete a one-year beginning teacher mentoring and induction program administered by the employing school district.

Modified salary compensation requirements for teacher interns and nontraditional route teachers, establishing specific salary steps for different licensure stages.

SCOPE

Created new license categories including Expert Citizen License for industry professionals with relevant certifications and experience, Nonrenewable License for those not meeting standard requirements, and Transitional Bilingual Education License.

ENFORCEMENT

Established Office of Educator Misconduct Evaluations to assist the commission in responding to infractions, conducting hearings, and enforcing provisions related to educator misconduct and violations of the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics.

TIMELINE

Set effective date for the act as July 1, 2026, with specific implementation dates for various provisions including TMI program and licensure requirements.

Floor votes · House Feb 11, 2026

How they voted

121–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 122

Feb 11, 2026

D Democratic40

40 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican80

79 Yea 1

98% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Referred To Education;Universities and Colleges

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed As Amended

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amended

lower

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