Mississippi Special Education Requirements
What special education requirements does Mississippi have beyond federal law?
Mississippi has several notable special education requirements that differentiate it from the federal baseline or from other states. Key Mississippi-specific provisions include: (1) A 60-calendar-day evaluation timeline from written parental consent — shorter than the federal 60 school days because Mississippi counts calendar days year-round (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-9; MS Sp. Ed. Regs.); (2) Prohibition on seclusion in all public schools — Mississippi explicitly bans seclusion in Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65, a state-specific protection beyond IDEA; (3) Physical restraint regulation with same-day (end-of-school-day) parent notification and documentation requirements (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65); (4) One-party recording consent: Mississippi parents may record IEP meetings without notifying other participants (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-531); (5) Mississippi follows the federal age-16 transition planning minimum without an earlier state threshold; (6) FAPE is provided through age 21 (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-3); (7) The Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) is the state assessment system, with MAAP-A as the alternate; (8) RTI/problem-solving model is an approved SLD identification method (MS Sp. Ed. Regs.); and (9) Mississippi uses all 13 standard federal disability category names without state-specific alternate terms.
What Mississippi Requires
Mississippi's 60-calendar-day evaluation timeline (not school days) is shorter than the federal standard and runs through school breaks and summer (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-9; MS Sp. Ed. Regs.).
Seclusion is explicitly prohibited in Mississippi public schools under state law (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65) — a state-specific prohibition beyond the federal baseline.
Physical restraint incidents require same-day parent notification (by end of school day) and written documentation (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Mississippi is a one-party consent state: parents may record IEP meetings without notifying other participants (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-531).
Mississippi provides FAPE through age 21 (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-3); transition planning begins at age 16 per the federal baseline.
RTI/problem-solving model is an approved method for SLD identification in Mississippi, alongside the discrepancy model (MS Sp. Ed. Regs.; 34 CFR 300.307-300.309).
Mississippi uses standard federal IDEA disability category terminology (no state-specific alternate names for any category).
Key Timelines
60 calendar days from written parental consent: evaluation timeline (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-9).
End of school day: parent notification deadline after physical restraint incident (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Age 16: transition services planning begins (34 CFR 300.320(b); Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-11).
Age 18: educational rights transfer to student (34 CFR 300.520; Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-5).
Age 21: FAPE eligibility ends (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-23-3).
Annual: IEP review required (34 CFR 300.324(b)).
Every 3 years: reevaluation required (34 CFR 300.303).
60 calendar days: state complaint investigation decision (34 CFR 300.152(a)).