One day after concluding a raucous special session to pass a state budget, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White told reporters they’re planning to focus on K-12 education policy next year during the 2026 session. 

Hosemann, the Republican leader of the Senate, said he wants to pass legislation to give public school teachers a pay raise and find a way to allow retired teachers to work in the classroom again. 

“Without an educated workforce, Mississippi’s momentum will not continue,” Hosemann said at a press conference on Friday. 

State law sets the salary for public school teachers based on how much college education they have received and how long they have taught. The last time the Legislature raised teacher salaries was during the 2022 session. 

White, a Republican from West, conducted a press conference Friday, but he excluded some media outlets including Mississippi Today. But according to a recording of the press conference in his Capitol office, White intends to push lawmakers, again, to consider school choice legislation and will form a study committee to conduct hearings on the issue during the summer. 

“Our sister states surrounding us here in the South all have basically open enrollment now,” White said. “Now, are we ready to go that far? Do we have the votes to go that far? I don’t know that. But it’s time we have a real conversation about what is best for kids and parents and not the status quo or what might upset somebody somewhere.” 

Full school choice policies typically give state dollars to families and allow them to use that money for their child’s K-12 education, regardless of whether they attend a public or private school. But it’s unclear if White would push for full school choice or a more moderate measure.

Earlier this year, the speaker pushed the House to vote for a bill that allows students in D and F-rated districts to transfer to another school, public or private. However, the bill died on a legislative deadline without a vote from the entire House. 

The House also passed a public-to-public “open enrollment” bill to allow students to transfer to a public school district located outside of the district they live. But a Senate committee killed the measure without bringing it up for a vote.

Mississippi currently has a very limited form of “open enrollment” that allows students to transfer from their home district to a nearby school district. However, the transfer requires the approval of both the home and receiving school districts. 

The House’s proposal would have prevented the home district from blocking the student’s transfer. 

Hosemann on Friday said he was personally in favor of both of those proposals, but he was unsure if a majority of the Senate would vote for the measures. 

Other priorities White outlined were: 

• Continuing to focus on improving the city of Jackson, especially the capital city’s water and sewer systems 
• Reforming the public employee retirement system 

Hosemann’s other priorities include: 

• Restructuring government agencies and their office space 
• Banning student cell phones in public K-12 schools 
• Free community college tuition