August 21, 2025 board agenda

Mississippi Board of Education
August 21, 2025
10:00 a.m.
4^th Floor Boardroom
Central High School Building
Mississippi Department of Education (MDE)
359 North West Street
Jackson, Mississippi

Agenda

I.          Call to Order

II.         Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Invocation

III.       Approval of minutes of July 17, 2025 Board Meeting and minutes of August 4, 2025 Special-Called Board Meeting

IV.        Approval of Agenda

V.         Recognition Ceremony

              American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) Designation 2024-2025
            East Central Upper Elementary School
            Jackson County School District

VI.        Report of State Superintendent of Education

VII.       Report of Chair

VIII.      Report of the Student Representatives

IX.        Report on State Board of Education Subcommittee (SBE) Meetings

X.         Discussion and/or Approval of Board Items (All action items require vote)

• 1. 01. Information: Update on Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) and the Mississippi University for Woman (MUW) [Goals 2, 4, and 5 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
  2. 02. Information: Discussion on proposed reorganization within the Mississippi Department of Education, related to Educational Accountability [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Lance Evans and Erin Meyer) Back-up material
  3. 03. Information: 2024-2025 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) Results [Goals 1 and 2 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
  4. 04. Action: Approval of the MDE Grant Awards [Goal 4 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Kym Wiggins) Back-up material
     1. 04.A. Action: Award grants for special projects appropriated by the Mississippi Legislature to the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) with a World ClassTeacher Program (WCTP) site in House Bill 42, 2025 Legislative Session [Goal 4 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material

  5. 05. Consent Agenda (All consent items are action items which require vote, unless otherwise noted.) Back-up material
     1. A. Approval of monthly expenditures for the Mississippi School of the Arts (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
     2. B. Approval of monthly expenditures for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
     3. C. Approval of dyslexia screeners for use in kindergarten and first grade (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
     4. D. Approval to revise the Mississippi Early Learning Guidelines for Classrooms Serving Three- and Four-Year-Old Children (2025)
        (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process with one public comment) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
     5. E. Approval to adopt the Grant Funded Program Quality Assessment for Classrooms Serving Four-Year-Old Children (2025)
        (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
     6. F. Approval to revise Title 7 of the Miss. Admin. Code: Part 142: Career and Technical Education (CTE) Licensure Guidelines K-12: To revise the “Special Notes” section to include a sixth (6th) “Special Note” that would establish criteria for obtaining certain Career and Technical Education (CTE) License types after an Initial Standard Renewable CTE License has been Granted: These Criteria will be referenced as applicable throughout the Official CTE Guidelines Document and shall Only Apply to certain CTE Licensure Pathways
        (Has cleared the Administrative Process with public comments) (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     7. G. Approval to revise student teacher ratio requirements beginning with the 2025-2026 school year to include the following:
        1. A. To revise State Board Policy Chapter 19, Rule 19.1 – Class Size
        2. B. To revise the Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2024 specifically, Process Standards 2, 28.1, 28.2, 28.3, and 28.4, and the Glossary
        3. C. To revise the Mississippi Nonpublic School Accountability Standards, 2024 specifically, Process Standards 2, 24, 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, and 24.4, and the Glossary
        4. D. To establish Process Standards 28.6 and 28.7 of the Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2024
        5. E. To establish Process Standards 24.7 and 24.8 of the Mississippi Nonpublic School Accountability Standards, 2024

        (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material

     8. H. Approval to revise Miss. Admin. Code 7 – 4: Part 4: Licensure Guidelines K-12 to remove references to and associated requirements related to the Highly Qualified Teacher Status as formerly defined and required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
        (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     9. I. Approval of Mississippi Valley State University’s request to establish a licensure-track Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Elementary Education (K-6) program (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     10. J. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process: To revise Title 7 of the Miss. Admin. Code: Part 142: Guidelines and Clarification of Requirements for Issuance of Career and Technical Education (Occupational Educator) Licenses: To include a new pathway to licensure in the area of Driver Education (Licensure Endorsement Code 114) (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     11. K. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act Process: To revise Miss. Admin. Code: 7 – 4: Part 4: Licensure Guidelines K- 12 to require all candidates seeking initial licensure in the area of Elementary Education (K-3/K-6/4-6) to earn a passing score on either the Foundations of Reading assessment or Pathways to Proficient Reading following a Foundations of Reading assessment attempt and to establish a Three-Year Entry-Level Elementary Education Non-Renewable License option to allow completion of the Pathways to Proficient Reading while in-service for the purpose of obtaining a standard renewable five-year license (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     12. L. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act Process: To revise Miss. Admin. Code: 7 – 4: Part 4: Licensure Guidelines K- 12 to amend the Foundations of Reading assessment requirement by removing the assessment from being required as one condition for obtaining licensure in the endorsement area of Special Education Mild/Moderate (licensure codes: 221 (K-12) and 223 (K- 8) (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     13. M. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process to revise Miss. Admin. Code 7 – 4: Part 4: Licensure Guidelines K- 12 to revise the acceptable degree requirement for Mississippi State Board of Education-approved nontraditional licensure pathways (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     14. N. Approval to upgrade the accreditation status of one (1) nonpublic school accredited by the MDE (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
     15. O. Approval of methodology to award grant funds to local educational agencies for the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Non- traditional Participation Grant Program (John Ferrell) Back-up material
     16. P. Approval of methodology to award grant dollars appropriated from the Mississippi Legislature to local educational agencies for agricultural certification programs, and equipment upgrades for agricultural programs, computer science, engineering or robotic engineering programs, and Mississippi Elementary STEM and STEAM programs (John Ferrell) Back-up material
     17. Q. Approval of Mississippi Seal of Biliteracy proficiency assessments and vendors for use in determining student levels of language proficiency (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material

XI.        Consideration of Executive Session

XII.       State Board of Education

1. 1.  Report on meetings attended
2. 2.  Approval of attendance at meetings

XIII.      Other Business

XIV.      Adjournment

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