At the Nov. 6 meeting of the Mississippi Department of Education Data Governance Committee, committee member Lemuel Eubanks reported substantial updates from the course-code work group that will affect how districts report courses in MSIS.

Eubanks said the work group completed a grade-span revision for more than 300 courses: all credit-bearing courses in grade 7 and above were adjusted to a grade span of 7–12. Advanced courses — including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge, dual credit and dual enrollment — were set to reflect a 9–12 grade span, with exceptions where legislation or State Board of Education policy requires a different assignment.

The work group identified approximately 19 course codes that lacked descriptions and collaborated with content specialists in the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Career Technical Education to add descriptions for proper district usage; Eubanks said four of those courses were deactivated in MSIS due to an absence of standards.

Eubanks also reported a review, in coordination with the Office of Technology and Strategic Services, of more than 40 courses that could be exempt from student-teacher ratio requirements. He said the updates aim to prevent MSIS warnings when class sizes exceed limits in process standards 28.6 and 28.7, which the State Board of Education approved on Aug. 21, 2025. A training webinar for MSIS coordinators and school counselors is scheduled in 2026.

Eubanks said the work group will continue to maintain the course-code portal and respond to incoming requests from districts.