Mississippi guide

Mississippi teacher salary schedules, lane changes and license renewal

Mississippi writes a teacher salary scale into state law, and its columns follow the class of your license rather than a running count of credits. That makes renewal and pay two separate projects: CEUs and semester hours keep a license current, while a higher degree is what moves you across the scale.

By TeacherPayGuide editorsPublished · 8 min read

Short answer

How do Mississippi teachers renew a license and move up the salary schedule?

A Class A (bachelor's) standard license renews every five years with 10 CEUs, 6 semester hours, or 3 semester hours plus 5 CEUs, earned inside the renewal cycle. Class AA and higher need 3 semester hours or 5 CEUs. Pay follows a minimum scale in state law with four columns, A through AAAA, set by the class of license a teacher holds by October 1.

Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Licensure renewal and reinstatement options. Checked .

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How do you renew a Mississippi teaching license?

The Mississippi Department of Education's Division of Educator Licensure handles renewals. Its renewal and reinstatement page starts with a gate: only a valid five-year standard license can be renewed. From there, the options depend on the class printed on the license.

For a Class A license, which rests on a bachelor's degree, the page lists these routes:

  • 10 CEUs, or the equivalent contact or clock hours, in a content or job-related area.
  • 6 semester hours of coursework.
  • 3 semester hours plus 5 CEUs.
  • The National Board process. Completing it is a renewal route on its own.
  • Final-year routes. A retirement letter from the state retirement system, or a valid standard license from another state, can be used only in the last year of the license.

For Class AA, AAA and AAAA licenses, the coursework bar is lower: 3 semester hours or 5 CEUs, with the same National Board, retirement and out-of-state options. Coursework may be undergraduate or graduate-level, must carry a grade of C or better, and must come from a regionally or nationally accredited college, university or community college. Official transcripts go straight from the school to the Division electronically, through a secure transcript exchange service.

The state's licensure guidelines (October 2026) fill in the details that trip people up:

  • Every license expires June 30. A five-year license is valid for five school years, counting the year it was issued.
  • The window is fixed. "Only credits earned within the renewal cycle" shown on the license may be used.
  • Subject rules. Content area means the endorsement area on the license. Job or skill related means pedagogy, such as technology, cooperative learning or methodology.
  • Conversion. "Ten contact or clock hours of professional learning is equal to one CEU credit," so 10 CEUs equal 100 hours.
  • Who can award CEUs. Providers approved by an accredited college or university, IACET-accredited providers and professional associations are accepted. Documents are submitted through the educator's MECCA account.

The renewal page also notes that the department "no longer approves programs" for professional learning credit, and that a college's continuing education office counts as an accredited credit-granting agency. Our guide to clock hours, CEUs and semester credits explains how those units relate, and the license renewal hub compares cycles across states.

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Renewal credits do not change your pay column. Mississippi's scale is keyed to license class, and a class upgrade needs a completed degree, not accumulated hours.

How do Mississippi teachers move to a higher salary lane?

Mississippi sets a statewide minimum salary scale in Miss. Code § 37-19-7, as amended by Senate Bill 2103 (2026). The bill was signed in April 2026 and became Chapter 477, according to its legislative history. It sets a minimum scale for the 2026-2027 school year and later years.

The scale has four columns, one for each license class, and rows for years of experience from 0 to "35 & above." Every full-time teacher must be paid at least the amount in the matching cell. Three features of the statute matter for planning:

  • Columns follow the license. The level of training is set "by the type of valid teacher's license issued to that teacher on or before October 1 of the current school year."
  • Districts add on top. Districts may pay a local supplement above the state minimum, and the statute bars a district from cutting any teacher's local supplement below the prior year's amount.
  • Other supplements are separate. The section also provides a National Board supplement and other add-ons, which sit outside the column structure.

The guidelines define the classes: A for a bachelor's, AA for a master's, AAA for a specialist and AAAA for a doctorate. A law degree or an MFA is issued at the AAA level. An upgrade requires a degree from an accredited institution, so credits that stop short of a degree do not move a teacher on the state scale. Our master's versus credits article walks through that trade-off.

The October 1 date is the practical deadline. A teacher who finishes a master's in the summer and has the AA license issued by October 1 is paid in the AA column for that school year. If the upgraded license arrives later, the column change waits for the next year's determination. For how columns generally work, see how lane changes work.

What do some of the largest Mississippi districts require?

Checked

DeSoto County Schools

The 2026-2027 licensed salary schedule mirrors the state's four classes and adds a separate local supplement column. Movement depends on license class and experience; the schedule has no credit-hour columns.

  • Columns: A (bachelor's), AA (master's), AAA (specialist), AAAA (doctorate), plus a local supplement.
  • Rows: experience from 0 to "35 & Above."
  • Contract length: separate scales for 187-, 190-, 200-, 205- and 230-day contracts.
  • Local supplement: steps up at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of experience.
Source: DeSoto County Schools, Human Resources
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Jackson Public Schools

The district's salary scales page notes that the Board of Trustees approves the scales. The FY 2027 teacher salary scale was approved on July 21, 2026.

  • Columns: four degree scales, A (bachelor's), AA (master's), AAA (specialist) and AAAA (doctorate).
  • Each row shows the state salary, the local supplement, the annual total, a monthly amount and a per diem.
  • Rows: years of experience, as on the state scale.
  • Movement: a higher license class, not credit hours, changes the scale.
Source: Jackson Public Schools, Salary scales

Both districts publish schedules that track the state's four license classes, so a Mississippi teacher plans a column move around a degree and an upgraded license, not a district credit audit.

Before you enroll

  1. Read your license. Note the class (A through AAAA) and the June 30 expiration date; only credits inside that cycle count.
  2. Pick the route. Class A needs 10 CEUs, 6 semester hours or 3 hours plus 5 CEUs; higher classes need 3 hours or 5 CEUs.
  3. Match the subject. Coursework should fit your endorsement area or pedagogy, and college courses need a C or better.
  4. Separate renewal from pay. Credits renew the license; only a completed degree and a new license class move the salary column. Our renewal versus salary credit guide compares the two tests.
  5. Send transcripts the right way. Order official electronic transcripts to the Division of Educator Licensure and upload documents in MECCA well before June 30.

The provider directory groups semester-credit providers by need, and the comparison table shows their costs and formats side by side.

Mississippi questions teachers ask

How many CEUs do I need to renew a Mississippi Class A license?

Ten CEUs, which equals 100 contact or clock hours, in a content or job-related area. You can also use 6 semester hours, or 3 semester hours plus 5 CEUs.

Do Class AA teachers need fewer hours to renew?

Yes. Class AA, AAA and AAAA licenses renew with 3 semester hours or 5 CEUs, or through the National Board, retirement or out-of-state options.

Can undergraduate courses renew a Mississippi license?

Yes. The renewal page accepts undergraduate or graduate-level coursework with a grade of C or higher from an accredited college, university or community college.

Will extra semester hours move me up the Mississippi salary scale?

Not on their own. The state scale is set by license class, and moving from A to AA or higher requires a completed degree from an accredited institution.

When does a new license class change my pay?

State law uses the license held on or before October 1 of the current school year. A license upgraded after that date counts toward the next year's placement.

Sources

  1. Licensure renewal and reinstatement options, Mississippi Department of Education, Division of Educator Licensure. Checked
  2. Guidelines for Mississippi Educator Licensure K-12, October 2026, Mississippi Department of Education. Checked
  3. Senate Bill 2103 (2026), amending Miss. Code § 37-19-7, Mississippi Legislature. Checked
  4. Senate Bill 2103 history of actions, Mississippi Legislature. Checked
  5. Human Resources, DeSoto County Schools. Checked
  6. 2026-2027 Licensed Salary Schedule, DeSoto County Schools. Checked
  7. Salary scales, Jackson Public Schools. Checked
  8. Teacher Salary Scale FY 2027, Jackson Public Schools. Checked

Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error

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