Deadline extended to Feb. 6, for high school sophomores to apply for State Board of Education 2026-27 junior representative position

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:  February 2, 2026

Deadline extended to Feb. 6, for high school sophomores to apply for State Board of Education 2026-27 junior representative position

JACKSON, Miss. – Due to inclement weather that impacted much of Mississippi, the application deadline for the Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) Junior Student Representative position has been extended to Feb. 6. The position is for students who will be a high school junior in the 2026-27 school year. The previous deadline was Jan. 30.

Now in its eighth year, the Student Representatives of the Mississippi State Board of Education program includes a high school junior and a high school senior who serve as non-voting SBE members to share their viewpoints on policy decisions regarding Mississippi public schools.

The current SBE junior representative, Michelle Xie of Oak Grove High School, will serve as the senior representative in 2026-27. Through a competitive process, the SBE will appoint a new junior representative to serve a two-year term starting July 1, 2026.

The top 10 semi-finalists among applicants, including the junior representative appointed and an alternate representative, automatically get to serve on the State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. There were 30 students who were eligible applicants for the 2025-26 junior representative position.

The SBE adopted policy in 2018 outlining criteria for adding student representatives to the State Board. Student representatives are responsible for attending monthly SBE meetings and any standing committees or subcommittees to which they are assigned. They are excused from school to attend SBE meetings as official school business, and they also work as liaisons for their peers to SBE.

The application packet must be mailed and postmarked by Feb. 6, 2026. Access the application at mdek12.org/mbe/student-representatives-of-the-mississippi-state-board-of-education/. A video component of the application must be uploaded by 5 p.m. Feb. 6, 2026.

For questions, contact Sherry Bombich at (601) 359-9714 or email sbombich@mdek12.org.

Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.

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Jean Cook, APR
Chief of Communication
601-359-3515
jcook@mdek12.org

Shanderia Minor
Public Information Officer
601-359-3515
sminor@mdek12.org