On July 23, 2025, the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs issued its review of Mississippi’s special education system. The report outlines items that Mississippi should implement for IDEA compliance, including monitoring school districts and ensuring an effective complaint process and due process protections.
On September 23, 2025, Dr. Lance Evans, Superintendent of the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), hosted a meeting to review MDE’s plans to address these findings. These are the slides from that meeting.
MDE’s corrective action plans cover five areas:
- Monitoring and Improvement
- Data
- Fiscal Management
- Dispute and Resolution
- Discipline and Behavior
We encourage you to review these sections carefully and note specific implications for families, including that families cannot be asked to sign a confidentiality pledge after reaching a dispute resolution with a district and anyone, including families, has the right to file formal state complaint against the MDE as well as local school districts if they believe MDE has violated a student’s special education rights.
Families as Allies held a virtual discussion about the federal government’s review of Mississippi’s special education services on September 10. We review the findings in more depth and share resources and ideas for families dealing with these issues.
