While seemingly not seeing eye-to-eye on much before gaveling in at the state capitol in January, leadership in both the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate vocally supported a teacher pay raise as a 2026 legislative priority. But it appears a collective agenda has been derailed, as bills bumping public school educators’ salaries died at Tuesday’s deadline.
Both chambers unanimously passed a teacher pay raise early on in the session. The Senate moved quicker than the House, approving a $2,000 teacher pay raise bill on Jan. 7. Less than a month later, the House sent a $5,000 salary hike for educators measure across the capitol hall without a dissenting vote. Both Senate Bill 2001 and House Bill 1126, however, did not make it to a floor vote in their opposing chambers.
Mississippi most recently enacted legislation putting more money in the pockets of teachers back in 2022, though the state still ranks below its peers in compensation. A 2025 report from the National Education Association found that Mississippi’s starting salary for teachers, which currently hovers around $42,000, is in the cellar nationwide.
Political conflict is likely the culprit of the decision by both legislative chambers to hold any education-related measures hostage. House and Senate leadership have been at odds for quite some time over classroom policy. Three days after the Senate passed its teacher pay raise bill, the House narrowly moved forward with an omnibus package primarily aimed at expanding school choice in Mississippi. The Senate’s education committee promptly struck down that measure.
“Instead of engaging in meaningful work to build Mississippi’s educational gains, the Senate has chosen the route to shut down any productive pathway to put students before systems,” House Speaker Jason White said after HB2 was killed in committee. “To avoid conversation, debate, or thorough evaluation is a disservice to parents, students, and future generations.”
Opponents of the school choice portion of the legislation espoused concerns with the notion of public money being used on private education and argued that strengthening public schools would be more beneficial.
Though it has not been publicly confirmed that infighting among leaders in the GOP-controlled state legislature has stymied efforts to give teachers financial relief, it is worth noting that both education committees have seldom passed bills from their legislative counterparts this year.
As things stand, the only way to bring a permanent teacher pay raise to fruition would be for Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session. Otherwise, the legislature could approve a one-time bonus payment for educators before the regular session ends.