Bill Text: MS HB1601 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: MS Parental Responsibility Act of 2026; create to improve parental participation in schools.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB1601 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1601-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations A
By: Representative Scott
House Bill 1601
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 2026; TO MAKE CERTAIN FINDINGS AND TO DECLARE THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE ACT IS TO BETTER EQUIP PARENTS TO PARTICIPATE WITH SCHOOLS IN THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN; TO REQUIRE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP AND ADMINISTER A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO INCREASE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOLS; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO USE ANY FUNDING OTHERWISE AVAILABLE FOR COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Parental Responsibility Act of 2026."
SECTION 2. (1) The Legislature finds and declares that according to national publications on education matters and trends:
(a) Efforts to educate parents so that they understand the importance of parental involvement in their child's education is essential to increasing educational attainment.
(b) The act of engaging parents helps build a sense of community for families and can help bridge cultural and linguistic gaps between schools and parents.
(c) Barriers hindering engagement between parents and school officials include lack of training for parents, families and school staff, as well as limited funding.
(d) Communities across the country have demonstrated through programs and initiatives that focusing time and attention on family engagement and providing training to develop parents' leadership skills builds a genuine sense of community and improves two-way communication, thereby paving the way for a stronger school system.
(2) It is the purpose of this act to create a program that equips parents with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable them to proactively participate with their children in their education to ensure their academic success.
SECTION 3. (1) The State Department of Education shall develop and implement a program designed to increase parental involvement in their child's education and school system. Under the program, school districts may receive materials and support in offering activities and training designed to foster a relationship with the parents of students, particularly parents who traditionally have not actively participated in their child's education and school activities.
(2) The program created under this section must be designed to enable local schools and their parents to achieve, over a period of time, the following goals:
(a) Educating and training parents, students, educators and the community through a field-tested training curriculum that identifies and seeks remedies for the root causes of poor student outcomes;
(b) Helping parents and youth learn their rights and responsibilities to hold public officials accountable for improving the quality of education for all students;
(c) Utilizing a parent-to-parent learning process to accomplish efforts that increase parent involvement;
(d) Engaging in active listening of parents, inquiring of them what they think they need to learn and validating what they already know;
(e) Building confidence and helping parents understand the power they have on the school campus;
(f) Developing partnerships with community-based organizations to build parent capacity through a mentorship component where parents instruct parents on educational equity and college access;
(g) Empowering local communities through effective community organizing work;
(h) Instructing parents of the value of participating in and holding the educational system accountable to the needs and interests of the community;
(i) Analyzing historical data of where the community has been, where they are, where they need and want to go, and how to get there;
(j) Using an intergenerational model of community organizing to enable all communities to pursue, individually and as a community, strategies to self-betterment;
(k) Focusing on substantive public policy issues designed to impact the formation and implementation of public policy at the local, county, state and national levels; and
(l) Building partnerships, alliances and collaborations at the local level in order to maximize the capacity to impact the formation and the implementation of public policy.
(2) The department shall make information about the assistance available to schools and local communities under the Parental Responsibility Act by posting information about the various programs on its website and when possible, providing printed information to schools that may be provided to parents through their children. The department may utilize any available monies, the use of which is not prohibited by state or federal for such purposes.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
