January 15, 2026 board agenda

Mississippi Board of Education
January 15, 2026
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.         National Anthem
            Oxford High School Chamber Choir
            Oxford School District
            Dr. Thomas Ardrey, Choir Director
            Dr. Dana Bullard, OHS Principal
            Bradley Roberson, OSD Superintendent

III.        Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Invocation

IV.        Approval of minutes of December 18, 2025 Board Meeting and minutes of December 17, 2025 Board Work Session

V.         Approval of Agenda

VI.        Recognition Ceremony
            Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History
            State History Teacher of the Year for Mississippi
            Kreissa Reed
            Neshoba Central High School
            Neshoba County School District

VII.       Report of State Superintendent of Education

VIII.      Report of Chair

IX.        Report of Student Representatives

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

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

1. 01. Information: Progress on the Mississippi State Board of Education’s (SBE) Strategic Plan [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Lance Evans) Back-up material
2. 02. Action: Approval of a temporary rule and to begin the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) process: To revise Miss. Admin. Code 7-24: Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2025, specifically Appendix H, in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-6 [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
3. 03. Information: Update on Internal Audit Charter [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Sam Atkinson and Matt Mayo) Back-up material
4. 04. Action: Approval of the MDE Contracts [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Kym Wiggins) Back-up material
   1. 04.A. Action: Contract with Guidesoft Inc., d/b/a Knowledge Services under the terms of the Master Consulting Services Agreement to provide for the acquisition of Information Technology Professionals [Goal 5 – MBE Strategic Plan] (John Kraman) Back-up material
   2. 04.B. Action: Contract with Bailey Education Group to provide an Interim Superintendent in Holmes County Consolidated School District [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (John Ferrell) Back-up material

5. 05. Action: Consideration and determination by the State Board of Education that the Wilkinson County School District is impaired with a history of serious academic deficiencies which warrants their placement into a District of Transformation in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. § 37-17-6(12)(b)(ii) [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
6. 06. 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 to adopt policies required by state statute for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to be placed on the District Policy Service website established by the Mississippi School Boards Association (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   4. D. Approval of list of professional vendors to provide educational consulting to schools and districts in the areas of English Language Arts (K-12) and mathematics (K-12) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   5. E. Approved to begin a temporary rule and to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process: To revise Miss. Admin. Code: 7-24, Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, 2025, Appendix A-8 and Miss. Admin. Code 7-163: Mississippi Nonpublic School Accountability Standards, 2025, Appendix A-8 to be effective the 2025-2026 school year (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   6. F. Approval for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to receive a donation (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   7. G. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process: To establish Miss. Admin. Code 7-3: 99.4, State Board Policy Chapter 99, Rule 99.4 – School Donations (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   8. H. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process: To revise selected Mississippi Secondary Curriculum Frameworks in Career and Technical Education (John Ferrell) Back-up material
      1. 1. Advanced Manufacturing Back-up material
      2. 2. Diversified Agriculture – Agribusiness Core Back-up material
      3. 3. Diversified Agriculture – Animals Core Back-up material
      4. 4. Diversified Agriculture – Environment Core Back-up material
      5. 5. Diversified Agriculture – Mechanization Core Back-up material
      6. 6. Diversified Agriculture – Plants Core Back-up material
      7. 7. Principles of Agriscience Back-up material
      8. 8. Information Technology – Networking Back-up material
      9. 9. Lodging, Hospitality, and Tourism Back-up material

   9. I. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process: To establish selected Mississippi Secondary Curriculum Frameworks in Career and Technical Education (John Ferrell) Back-up material
      1. 1. Information Technology – Cybersecurity Back-up material
      2. 2. Multimedia – Advanced Digital Design Back-up material
      3. 3. Multimedia – Advanced Digital Video Production Back-up material
      4. 4. Multimedia – Capstone Back-up material

   10. J. Approval of the Invitation for BID for purchase of Apple Branded Products for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   11. K. Approval to begin the Administrative Procedures Act process to establish a new part number for the revised Mississippi Administrator Professional Growth System Standards, 2025 (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   12. L. Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and the Columbus Municipal School District for the use of their track and field facilities (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   13. M. Approval of two certified personnel resignations for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material

XII.       Consideration of Executive Session

XIII.      State Board of Education

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

XIV.      Other Business

XV.      Adjournment

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