Teacher pay raise bills from the House and Senate are set to be negotiated over the final days of the legislative session.

It’s the latest in a session-long fight to pass a raise for Mississippi teachers, the lowest paid on average in the country. Mississippi teachers last got a meaningful pay raise in 2022.

Since January, the House and Senate have fought over education policy issues, including a teacher raise. Earlier this session, each chamber killed the other’s proposal, then revived their own. 

The Senate’s plan would give teachers a $6,000 raise over three years, while the House plan would provide an immediate $5,000 raise. 

Despite Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, a Republican from Leakesville, previously telling reporters that the House’s teacher pay proposal would not be considered in his chamber, the legislation was brought up on the floor Tuesday morning and sent to further negotiations.

The House declined to agree to the Senate’s proposal that same morning, and did the same.

Now, legislative leaders will appoint three representatives and three senators to negotiate terms of a final proposal. 

The House’s lengthy teacher pay bill, nearly 500 pages, has many other provisions, including changes to the state retirement system.

If the chambers come to an agreement, they’ll produce a negotiated bill to their full chambers for a vote.