Bill Text: MS SB2595 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Supplemental pay and loan repayment programs; add salary supplement for school psychologists.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-20 - Referred To Education;Appropriations [SB2595 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2025-SB2595-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Parker, Boyd, Williams
Senate Bill 2595
AN ACT TO A CREATE THE EDUCATIONAL COUNSELOR, PSYCHOLOGIST AND PSYCHIATRIST LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM, TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI POSTSECONDARY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BOARD; TO PROVIDE FOR THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPLICANTS UNDER THE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAMS; TO ESTABLISH FUNDS FOR THE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAMS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-19-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY LICENSED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST WHO HAS ACQUIRED NATIONALLY CERTIFIED SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST CREDENTIALS FROM THE NATIONAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY CERTIFICATION BOARD, AND WHO IS EMPLOYED BY A LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD OR THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AS A SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST AND NOT AS AN ADMINISTRATOR, SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN ANNUAL $6,000.00 SALARY SUPPLEMENT, PLUS FRINGE BENEFITS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) There is established the Educational Counselor, Psychologist and Psychiatrist Loan Repayment Program.
(2) Subject to the availability of funds, an eligible applicant for an initial award under either program established in this section must have:
(a) Graduated from a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher learning which is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or a comparable accreditation body;
(b) Signed a contract as a full-time counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist in a public school district in Mississippi, or in a college or university under the State Institutions of Higher Learning or the Mississippi Community College Board, for the Educational Counselor, Psychologist and Psychiatrist Loan Repayment Program;
(c) Obtained a standard license for the applicable profession. Persons with provisional emergency licenses shall not be eligible applicants; and
(d) Outstanding qualifying undergraduate or graduate educational loans, which may include the principal, interest and related expenses, such as the required interest premium on the unpaid balances of government and commercial loans obtained by the recipient for undergraduate educational expenses.
(3) Persons who have received funds from other forgivable loan programs established for school, college or university counselors, psychologists or psychiatrists under Mississippi law, or who are presently in default or delinquent on any federal, state, local or commercial qualifying educational loan, shall not be eligible for these programs.
(4) Provided that initial recipients remain eligible under subsection (2) of this section, they may retain eligibility for two (2) additional awards, subject to the availability of funds.
(5) Initial recipients shall be selected on a first-come, first-served basis of all eligible applicants, subject to the availability of funds. In the second and third years of an applicant's continued eligibility, priority consideration shall first be given to renewal applicants. The Mississippi Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board shall develop rules for ensuring that expenses of the programs in a fiscal year do not exceed funding for the programs in that fiscal year. For that purpose, and any other provision of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, the Mississippi Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board may limit the acceptance of applications and may limit the number of awards.
(6) Awards for recipients who work in a public school that is not designated as a Comprehensive/Targeted Support and Improvement School, or who work in a college or university, shall be as follows:
(a) One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) for the initial award;
(b) Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for the second award; and
(c) Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) for the third award.
(7) Awards for recipients who work in a public school that is designated as a Comprehensive/Targeted Support and Improvement School shall be as follows:
(a) Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) for the initial award;
(b) Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the second award, provided the recipient continues employment as a counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist in the same public school or another public school designated as a Comprehensive/Targeted Support and Improvement School; and
(c) Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000.00) for the third award, provided the recipient continues employment as a counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist in the same public school or another public school designated as a Comprehensive/Targeted Support and Improvement School.
(8) An initial recipient of an Educational Counselor, Psychologist and Psychiatrist Loan Repayment Program award who moves to another school district, college or university shall be eligible to receive an award based on the amount allowed under the program in the new district, college or university where the counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist is employed.
(9) Awards shall be granted on a year-to-year basis, and recipients shall have no obligation to seek a future award.
(10) Awards shall be paid annually to the recipient's lender or loan service provider and shall be applied to the outstanding balance. Monies paid on the recipient's behalf toward qualifying undergraduate or graduate educational loans prior to receiving payment of the award shall not be eligible for repayment through either program.
(11) During the academic year for which the award is granted, a recipient must at all times keep the Mississippi Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board informed of any changes to the recipient's current contact information and employment status.
(12) Recipients who fail to maintain a standard professional license or fail to fulfill the employment contract on which the award was based shall forfeit any right to the award.
(13) The Mississippi Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board, in collaboration with the State Board of Education, shall track recipients of an award under the Educational Counselor, Psychologist and Psychiatrist Loan Repayment Program through the fourth year after receiving their initial award, unless the recipient shall leave the counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist position in a school district, college or university at an earlier date. Data collected shall include recipients' undergraduate or graduate institution, school district, and any other pertinent information necessary to determine the efficacy of the program in retaining school counselors, psychologists or psychiatrists.
(14) The Mississippi Postsecondary Financial Assistance Board shall promulgate regulations necessary for the proper administration of this section, including rules for ensuring that expenses of the programs in a fiscal year do not exceed funding for the programs in that fiscal year.
(15) (a) There is established in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "Educational Counselor, Psychologist and Psychiatrist Loan Repayment Program Fund," into which shall be deposited those funds appropriated by the Legislature, and any other funds that may be made available, for the purpose of implementing the program. Money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and interest earned on any amounts deposited into the fund shall be credited to the special fund.
(b) There is established in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "College and University Counselor Loan Repayment Program Fund," into which shall be deposited those funds appropriated by the Legislature, and any other funds that may be made available, for the purpose of implementing the program. Money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and interest earned on any amounts deposited into the fund shall be credited to the special fund.
(16) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2029.
SECTION 2. Section 37-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-19-7. (1) Teachers' salaries in each public school district shall be determined and paid in accordance with the scale for teachers' salaries as provided in this subsection. For teachers holding the following types of licenses or the equivalent as determined by the State Board of Education, and the following number of years of teaching experience, the scale shall be as follows:
2022-2023 AND SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEARS MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE
Exp. AAAA AAA AA A
0 45,500.00 44,000.00 43,000.00 41,500.00
1 46,100.00 44,550.00 43,525.00 41,900.00
2 46,700.00 45,100.00 44,050.00 42,300.00
3 47,300.00 45,650.00 44,575.00 42,700.00
4 47,900.00 46,200.00 45,100.00 43,100.00
5 49,250.00 47,500.00 46,350.00 44,300.00
6 49,850.00 48,050.00 46,875.00 44,700.00
7 50,450.00 48,600.00 47,400.00 45,100.00
8 51,050.00 49,150.00 47,925.00 45,500.00
9 51,650.00 49,700.00 48,450.00 45,900.00
10 53,000.00 51,000.00 49,700.00 47,100.00
11 53,600.00 51,550.00 50,225.00 47,500.00
12 54,200.00 52,100.00 50,750.00 47,900.00
13 54,800.00 52,650.00 51,275.00 48,300.00
14 55,400.00 53,200.00 51,800.00 48,700.00
15 56,750.00 54,500.00 53,050.00 49,900.00
16 57,350.00 55,050.00 53,575.00 50,300.00
17 57,950.00 55,600.00 54,100.00 50,700.00
18 58,550.00 56,150.00 54,625.00 51,100.00
19 59,150.00 56,700.00 55,150.00 51,500.00
20 60,500.00 58,000.00 56,400.00 52,700.00
21 61,100.00 58,550.00 56,925.00 53,100.00
22 61,700.00 59,100.00 57,450.00 53,500.00
23 62,300.00 59,650.00 57,975.00 53,900.00
24 62,900.00 60,200.00 58,500.00 54,300.00
25 65,400.00 62,700.00 61,000.00 56,800.00
26 66,000.00 63,250.00 61,525.00 57,200.00
27 66,600.00 63,800.00 62,050.00 57,600.00
28 67,200.00 64,350.00 62,575.00 58,000.00
29 67,800.00 64,900.00 63,100.00 58,400.00
30 68,400.00 65,450.00 63,625.00 58,800.00
31 69,000.00 66,000.00 64,150.00 59,200.00
32 69,600.00 66,550.00 64,675.00 59,600.00
33 70,200.00 67,100.00 65,200.00 60,000.00
34 70,800.00 67,650.00 65,725.00 60,400.00
35
& above 71,400.00 68,200.00 66,250.00 60,800.00
2024-2025 AND SUBSEQUENT SCHOOL YEARS MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE
The school district, with assistance from the Department of Education, shall consider the teacher's years of service and license type and determine the corresponding salary for the retired teacher. After determining the retired teacher's corresponding salary, the school district may allocate up to one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the amount provided under the salary schedule for such teacher, as applicable, as salary and assessment under the program.
After determining the retired teacher's salary, the school district may pay no more than fifty percent (50%) of the retired teacher's compensation as salary to the retired teacher. The remaining fifty percent (50%) of the retired teacher's compensation as salary shall be paid by the school district to PERS as a pension liability participation assessment.
It is the intent of the Legislature that any state funds made available for salaries of licensed personnel in excess of the funds paid for such salaries for the 1986-1987 school year shall be paid to licensed personnel pursuant to a personnel appraisal and compensation system implemented by the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall have the authority to adopt and amend rules and regulations as are necessary to establish, administer and maintain the system.
All teachers employed on a full-time basis shall be paid a minimum salary in accordance with the above scale. However, no school district shall receive any funds under this section for any school year during which the local supplement paid to any individual teacher shall have been reduced to a sum less than that paid to that individual teacher for performing the same duties from local supplement during the immediately preceding school year. The amount actually spent for the purposes of group health and/or life insurance shall be considered as a part of the aggregate amount of local supplement but shall not be considered a part of the amount of individual local supplement.
The level of professional training of each teacher to be used in establishing the salary for the teacher for each year shall be determined by the type of valid teacher's license issued to that teacher on or before October 1 of the current school year. However, school districts are authorized, in their discretion, to negotiate the salary levels applicable to licensed employees who are receiving retirement benefits from the retirement system of another state.
(2) (a) The following employees shall receive an annual salary supplement in the amount of Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000.00), plus fringe benefits, in addition to any other compensation to which the employee may be entitled:
(i) Any licensed teacher or retired teacher employed by a school district under the authority of Section 25-11-126 who has met the requirements and acquired a Master Teacher certificate from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and who is employed by a local school board or the State Board of Education as a teacher and not as an administrator. Such teacher shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education that the certificate was received prior to October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school year, or the teacher shall submit such documentation to the State Department of Education prior to February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the school year.
(ii) A licensed nurse who has met the requirements and acquired a certificate from the National Board for Certification of School Nurses, Inc., and who is employed by a local school board or the State Board of Education as a school nurse and not as an administrator. The licensed school nurse shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education that the certificate was received before October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school year, or the licensed school nurse shall submit the documentation to the State Department of Education before February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the school year.
(iii) Any licensed school counselor who has met the requirements and acquired a National Certified School Counselor (NCSC) endorsement from the National Board of Certified Counselors and who is employed by a local school board or the State Board of Education as a counselor and not as an administrator. Such licensed school counselor shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education that the endorsement was received prior to October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school year, or the licensed school counselor shall submit such documentation to the State Department of Education prior to February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the school year. However, any school counselor who started the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards process for school counselors between June 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, and completes the requirements and acquires the Master Teacher certificate shall be entitled to the master teacher supplement, and those counselors who complete the process shall be entitled to a one-time reimbursement for the actual cost of the process as outlined in paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(iv) Any licensed speech-language pathologist and audiologist who has met the requirements and acquired a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and any certified academic language therapist (CALT) who has met the certification requirements of the Academic Language Therapy Association and who is employed by a local school board. The licensed speech-language pathologist and audiologist and certified academic language therapist shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education that the certificate or endorsement was received before October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school year, or the licensed speech-language pathologist and audiologist and certified academic language therapist shall submit the documentation to the State Department of Education before February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the school year.
(v) Any licensed athletic trainer who has met the requirements and acquired Board Certification for the Athletic Trainer from the Board of Certification, Inc., and who is employed by a local school board or the State Board of Education as an athletic trainer and not as an administrator. The licensed athletic trainer shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education that the certificate was received before October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school year, or the licensed athletic trainer shall submit the documentation to the State Department of Education before February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the school year.
(vi) Any licensed school psychologist who has met the requirements and acquired Nationally Certified School Psychologist credentials from the National School Psychology Certification Board established by the National Association of School Psychologists, and who is employed by a local school board or the State Board of Education as a school psychologist and not as an administrator. The licensed school psychologist shall submit documentation to the State Department of Education that the certification was received before October 15 in order to be eligible for the full salary supplement in the current school year, or the licensed school psychologist shall submit the documentation to the State Department of Education before February 15 in order to be eligible for a prorated salary supplement beginning with the second term of the school year.
(b) An employee shall be reimbursed for the actual cost of completing each component of acquiring the certificate or endorsement, excluding any costs incurred for postgraduate courses, not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for each component, not to exceed four (4) components, for a teacher, school counselor or speech-language pathologist and audiologist, regardless of whether or not the process resulted in the award of the certificate or endorsement. A local school district or any private individual or entity may pay the cost of completing the process of acquiring the certificate or endorsement for any employee of the school district described under paragraph (a), and the State Department of Education shall reimburse the school district for such cost, regardless of whether or not the process resulted in the award of the certificate or endorsement. If a private individual or entity has paid the cost of completing the process of acquiring the certificate or endorsement for an employee, the local school district may agree to directly reimburse the individual or entity for such cost on behalf of the employee.
(c) All salary supplements, fringe benefits and process reimbursement authorized under this subsection shall be paid directly by the State Department of Education to the local school district and shall be in addition to its allotments from the total funding formula provided in Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215 and not a part thereof in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. Local school districts shall not reduce the local supplement paid to any employee receiving such salary supplement, and the employee shall receive any local supplement to which employees with similar training and experience otherwise are entitled. However, an educational employee shall receive the salary supplement in the amount of Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000.00) for only one (1) of the qualifying certifications authorized under paragraph (a) of this subsection. No school district shall provide more than one (1) annual salary supplement under the provisions of this subsection to any one (1) individual employee holding multiple qualifying national certifications.
(d) If an employee for whom such cost has been paid, in full or in part, by a local school district or private individual or entity fails to complete the certification or endorsement process, the employee shall be liable to the school district or individual or entity for all amounts paid by the school district or individual or entity on behalf of that employee toward his or her certificate or endorsement.
(3) The following employees shall receive an annual salary supplement in the amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00), plus fringe benefits, in addition to any other compensation to which the employee may be entitled:
Effective July 1, 2016, if funds are available for that purpose, any licensed teacher or retired teacher employed by a local school district under the authority of Section 25-11-126 who has met the requirements and acquired a Master Teacher Certificate from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and who is employed in a public school district located in one (1) of the following counties: Claiborne, Adams, Jefferson, Wilkinson, Amite, Bolivar, Coahoma, Leflore, Quitman, Sharkey, Issaquena, Sunflower, Washington, Holmes, Yazoo and Tallahatchie. The salary supplement awarded under the provisions of this subsection (3) shall be in addition to the salary supplement awarded under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
Teachers who meet the qualifications for a salary supplement under this subsection (3) who are assigned for less than one (1) full year or less than full time for the school year shall receive the salary supplement in a prorated manner, with the portion of the teacher's assignment to the critical geographic area to be determined as of June 15th of the school year.
(4) (a) This subsection shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Performance-Based Pay (MPBP)" plan. In addition to the minimum base pay described in this section, only if funds are available for that purpose, the State of Mississippi may provide monies from state funds to school districts for the purposes of rewarding licensed teachers, administrators and nonlicensed personnel at individual schools showing improvement in student test scores. The MPBP plan shall be developed by the State Department of Education based on the following criteria:
(i) It is the express intent of this legislation that the MPBP plan shall utilize only existing standards of accreditation and assessment as established by the State Board of Education.
(ii) To ensure that all of Mississippi's teachers, administrators and nonlicensed personnel at all schools have equal access to the monies set aside in this section, the MPBP program shall be designed to calculate each school's performance as determined by the school's increase in scores from the prior school year. The MPBP program shall be based on a standardized scores rating where all levels of schools can be judged in a statistically fair and reasonable way upon implementation. At the end of each year, after all student achievement scores have been standardized, the State Department of Education shall implement the MPBP plan.
(iii) To ensure all teachers cooperate in the spirit of teamwork, individual schools shall submit a plan to the local school district to be approved before the beginning of each school year. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, how all teachers, regardless of subject area, and administrators will be responsible for improving student achievement for their individual school.
(b) The State Board of Education shall develop the processes and procedures for designating schools eligible to participate in the MPBP. State assessment results, growth in student achievement at individual schools and other measures deemed appropriate in designating successful student achievement shall be used in establishing MPBP criteria.
(5) (a) If funds are available for that purpose, each school in Mississippi shall have mentor teachers, as defined by Sections 37-9-201 through 37-9-213, who shall receive additional base compensation provided for by the State Legislature in the amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per each beginning teacher that is being mentored. The additional state compensation shall be limited to those mentor teachers that provide mentoring services to beginning teachers. For the purposes of such funding, a beginning teacher shall be defined as any teacher in any school in Mississippi that has less than one (1) year of classroom experience teaching in a public school. For the purposes of such funding, no full-time academic teacher shall mentor more than two (2) beginning teachers.
(b) To be eligible for this state funding, the individual school must have a classroom management program approved by the local school board.
(6) Effective with the 2014-2015 school year, the school districts participating in the Pilot Performance-Based Compensation System pursuant to Section 37-19-9 may award additional teacher and administrator pay based thereon.
SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act shall be codified in Chapter 106, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.
