Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Policy Dei topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves APA process to publish model complaint policy implementing House Bill 1193
Summary
The board voted to publish a proposed state board policy and model complaint and investigation procedures to comply with House Bill 1193, which prohibits specified diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in public education; local districts will be required to adopt policies based on the model.
The Mississippi Board of Education approved initiating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) process to publish a proposed state board policy implementing House Bill 1193, which the presenter said the governor signed April 17, 2025.
Aaron Meyer, presenting the proposal, said the law “provides [an] act to prohibit both public schools and public post secondary schools, educational institutions from taking certain actions and engaging in discriminatory practices specifically related to diversity, equity, inclusion.” Meyer told the board the state board must produce a model complaint process and investigative procedures that local school boards will adopt.
Under the policy described by Meyer, the model will define who has standing to file a complaint, set the required contents and timelines for formal complaints, and supply investigation procedures with timelines the statute prescribes. Meyer said the law requires local districts to certify compliance to the Department of Education and report annually on complaints and dispositions; the department will also report annually to the legislature.
Meyer told the board the statute includes a withholding-of-funds sanction for repeated violations: a district that fails to cure subsequent violations could have part of its student funding withheld until compliance is certified by a court or the attorney general. The department plans to run the proposed state board policy through the secretary of state and requested the APA filing window to meet statutory timelines.
Board members asked whether the proposed policy covered all statutory requirements and whether it would follow the regular APA process; presenters said yes and noted the department coordinated with the Mississippi School Board Association, the Institutions of Higher Learning and the Community College Board while drafting the model.
The board moved and seconded the motion to initiate the APA process; the motion passed and staff will return in June for final adoption following the APA publication period.
