Licensure Updates

Automatic One-Year Extension 

The Mississippi State Board of Education granted approval on February 25, 2021 to suspend licensure renewal requirements for all licenses scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021 and granted a one-year extension for all licenses with a June 30, 2021 expiration date.  

All license types set to expire on June 30, 2021 have been automatically extended to June 30, 2022. This includes teacher, administrator, instructional support personnel, and local district requested licenses. Educators do not need to apply for the one-year extension. All licenses set to expire on June 30, 2021 have been automatically extended for one year in the Educator Licensure Management System (ELMS).  

License holders have the one-year extension to engage in professional learning opportunities to meet requirements for maintaining, converting, or obtaining the standard Mississippi license.     

How to Invalidate a Local District-Requested License 

Local school districts are to follow the normal procedure of submitting a formal letter to the MDE Division of Educator Licensure to request the invalidation of a district-requested license if an individual holding a district-requested license voluntarily or involuntarily separates from the district for any reason, at any time. This means districts must submit letters for any individuals holding a district-requested license who will not be offered a new contract for the 2021-2022 school year. This includes district-requested license holders whose licenses have been extended to June 30, 2022.  Please email invalidation request letters to Dr. Cory Murphy at teachersupport@mdek12.org and include “Request to Invalidate Local District Requested License” in the subject line.

Programs Completed Outside the State of Mississippi

Effective February 22, 2021, prospective and practicing educators seeking to obtain initial licensure in the state of Mississippi by way of completion of a program outside of Mississippi, shall first be licensed in the state where the preparation occurred. Upon obtaining the out-of-state license, the candidate shall submit an application with required supporting documentation to the MDE Division of Educator Licensure for the purpose of determining eligibility to obtain a Mississippi license via Reciprocity guidelines in effect on the date the complete application is received by the MDE.

Verification of Lawful Presence 

New Requirement: On December 17, 2020, the Mississippi Board of Education granted approval to amend the current licensure application process to include procedures for verifying an applicant's lawful presence in the United States.

Effective with applications received January 1, 2021 and thereafter, Citizens of the United States are required to submit appropriate documentation for verification once during their next most immediate licensure application submission. Non-US citizens are required to submit appropriate documentation for verification with each licensure application submission, or when their United States Citizenship and Immigration Services documents expire, whichever comes first. Licensure application(s) shall not be processed if the applicant fails to answer the request for documentation required for verification of lawful presence in the United States.

Any initial or renewable license issued to an applicant who is not a United States citizen shall expire in accordance with the appropriate validity date required by a particular license type but, shall not exceed the expiration date of the applicant's authorized stay in the United States, whichever is the lesser period of time.  A change in a Non-US citizen’s lawful presence status will affect his/her ability to receive or continue to hold a Mississippi educator license.

It shall be the responsibility of the prospective or practicing educator to obtain and provide the MDE with required documentation regarding his/her United States citizenship or lawful presence status.  This document is built into all online applications within MECCA. Required documentation and additional information found therein, can be accessed via the following web link: Forms.