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Board Approves $1.4 million Emergency Contract to Fund Statewide School Safety Platform
Summary
Board approved an emergency $1.4 million contract to pay for the statewide school safety platform after the legislature corrected a prior appropriation error with House Bill 48.
The Mississippi State Board of Education on July 17 approved an emergency contract to use $1,400,000 in legislative funds to pay for the statewide school safety platform.
MDE staff explained the money was originally appropriated in FY25 but was miscoded by the legislature to ‘‘school mapping’’ rather than the school safety platform. MDE said House Bill 48, passed in the 2026 special session, corrected that clerical error and authorized the department to apply the FY25 appropriation to the safety platform.
Nut graf: The emergency contract will cover the statewide platform vendor’s work on crisis management planning, school mapping and tools to help districts develop and implement crisis plans; the board moved and approved the contract at the July meeting.
MDE described the platform as a crisis-management tool for districts and the state, and said the contract term corresponds to the original appropriation period (March 4, 2025 through March 3, 2026). A board member asked for confirmation that the platform supports district crisis plans; staff affirmed that it does and that the contract includes support for district and state-level planning.
The board made a motion, the item was seconded and the vote to approve the emergency contract carried without recorded opposition.
Ending: MDE staff said the department will work with districts to implement the platform and to ensure the services align with district crisis-management needs.
