March 19, 2026 board agenda (archive)

Mississippi Board of Education
March 19, 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

            Mississippi School of the Arts Chorale
            Mississippi School of the Arts
            Sarah Hamman, Vocal Music Teacher
            Dr. Avery Peagler, Principal
            Dr. Suzanne Hirsch, Executive Director

III.        Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Invocation

IV.        Approval of minutes of February 19, 2026 Board Meeting

V.         Approval of Agenda

VI.        Recognition Ceremony

            2025 National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished Schools

            Ackerman Elementary School
            Choctaw County School District

            Puckett Elementary School
            Rankin 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. Action: Approval of the updated Mississippi Strategic Plan for Pre-K through Grade 12 Education [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Lance Evans) Back-up material
2. 02. Action: Approval and renewal of Districts and Schools of Innovation for 2026-2027 [Goal 2 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
3. 03. Action: Approval of the MDE Contracts [Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Kym Wiggins) Back-up material
   1. 03.A. Action: Award contract to Renaissance Learning, Inc. to provide services to the Mississippi Department of Education for the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment [Goals 1 and 2 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   2. 03.B. Action: Award contract to The Focus Group to provide services to the Mississippi Department of Education for media strategy planning and execution to publicize the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Media Campaign throughout the state [Goal 1 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   3. 03.C. Action: Approval of emergency contract with Caveon, LLC for statewide assessment security services for the 2025-2026 school year for the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) [Goals 1 and 2 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   4. 03.D. Action: Modify contract with North Mississippi Education Consortium to provide service as fiscal agent for the Regional Education Service Agencies (RESA) Mega Contract [Goal 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material

4. 04. Action: Award Educator-in-Residence (EIR) grants to school districts for mathematics coaching supports [Goals 1, 2, and 4 – MBE Strategic Plan] (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
5. 05. Action: Approval 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]
   (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process with one (1) public comment) (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 contract for Janitorial Services for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (MSDB) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   5. E. Approval of school calendar for the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and the Blind for 2026-2027 school year (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   6. F. Approval to establish Miss. Admin. Code 7-3: 99.4, State Board Policy Chapter 99, Rule 99.4 – School Donations
      (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   7. G. Approval 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 with the 2025-2026 school year
      (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (Wendy Clemons) Back-up material
   8. H. Approval to establish a new part number for the revised Mississippi Administrator Professional Growth System Standards, 2025
      (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   9. I. Approval of recommendations on exceptions to pupil-teacher ratio requirements (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   10. J. Approval to upgrade the accreditation status of three (3) nonpublic schools accredited by the MDE (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   11. K. Approval of Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) for Districts assigned a PROBATION or WITHDRAWN status in accordance with Accreditation Policy 2.8.1 (Paula Vanderford) Back-up material
   12. L. Approval to revise selected Mississippi Secondary Curriculum Frameworks in Career and Technical Education
       (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (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

   13. M. Approval to establish selected Mississippi Secondary Curriculum Frameworks in Career and Technical Education
       (Has cleared the Administrative Procedures Act process without public comments) (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

   14. N. Approval of the License and Facility Use Agreement between the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and Mississippi State University for the use of their track and field facilities (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

1. 01. Action: Approval to change the regularly scheduled State Board of Education meeting date from Thursday, April 16, 2026 to Wednesday, April 29, 2026 Back-up material

XV.      Adjournment

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