MS HB646

Creates a 16-member Task Force on the Future of Gifted Education in Mississippi to study and improve gifted education infrastructure and access for academically talented students.

Task force responsibilities include examining existing gifted education opportunities, assessing best practices from other states, projecting costs and returns on investment, and exploring curriculum additions such as coding.

Membership comprises legislative appointees (House/Senate Education Committee chairs, Speaker-appointed Representatives, Lieutenant Governor-appointed Senators), institutional representatives (Mississippi School for Math and Science, Karnes Center for Gifted Studies), and nonlegislative members including a gifted education teacher, former gifted student, and parent appointed by legislative leadership and the Governor.

Task force must submit recommendations to the State Board of Education, Governor, and appropriate legislative committees no later than January 1, 2016, with first meeting required by September 1, 2015.

Task force automatically repeals on June 30, 2016; legislative members serve without state compensation, though nonlegislative members may receive private funding.