Bill > HB190

This bill establishes a four-year Professional School Counselors Pilot Program in Mississippi school districts that have high rates of teen pregnancy and school violence, with the program set to begin in the 2026-2027 school year. The State Department of Education, in conjunction with the State Department of Health and the Mississippi Department of Human Services, will select three districts based on data related to teen pregnancies, school violence, dropout rates, and other factors, and will ensure at least one professional school counselor is placed in each school within those districts. The program aims to evaluate the effectiveness of professional school counselors in providing services like academic, personal/social, crisis intervention, and career counseling, comparing outcomes in participating schools to those without such counselors, and importantly, professional school counselors involved in the pilot program will be prohibited from counseling students that abortion can be used to prevent pregnancy. Finally, by January 1, 2031, the State Department of Education will submit a report to legislative committees detailing the program's results, including comparative data on pregnancies and school violence, and will recommend whether the program should be permanently implemented statewide.

Education

https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history/HB/HB0190.xml