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SB 2170

School nurses; direct the Office of Healthy Schools to develop a salary schedule that all school districts shall use when employing.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Rita Parks

Mississippi bill requiring statewide standardized school nurse salary schedule to ensure consistent nursing compensation across all districts.

Died In Committee
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Bill Summary · SB 2170

Legislative bill overview

SB 2170 would require Mississippi's Office of Healthy Schools to develop a standardized salary schedule that all school districts must use when employing school nurses. This represents a significant shift from the current system where individual districts set their own nursing salaries based on local budgets and policies.

Why is this important

School nurse salaries vary dramatically across Mississippi districts, potentially creating recruitment and retention challenges in lower-paying areas and contributing to healthcare inequities among student populations. Standardizing compensation could help ensure consistent access to qualified school nurses statewide and reduce the likelihood of nurses leaving rural or underfunded districts for better-paying positions.

Potential points of contention

  • Local control vs. state mandate: School districts may resist state-imposed salary schedules, arguing they should retain autonomy to set compensation based on local economic conditions and tax bases
  • Fiscal burden: Standardization could increase costs for wealthier districts that currently pay above a proposed floor, or conversely, fail to adequately fund nursing positions in all districts depending on where the schedule is set
  • Implementation challenges: Creating a one-size-fits-all schedule across districts with vastly different populations, property values, and cost-of-living requires complex decision-making about baseline compensation

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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