Mississippi State Board of Education Announces Thursday That it will continue to review public comments regarding proposed changes to the state’s standards for social studies. The board started the process of revising Mississippi’s K-12 social science standards in December. It received passionate feedback via social media. People were concerned that the proposed changes would remove specific names, events, or details from state history and replace them with more general descriptions. On Jan. 28, the board held a public hearing where officials revealed that some of those proposed changes had been reversed. Based on feedback received, the department decided not to remove the lists from its standards. Teachers provide feedback and the department updates the standards periodically. The last revision was in 2018. Officials from MDE stated that teachers felt certain standards needed to be more clear while others contained too many examples. This led to revisions in 2021. A report summarizing Thursday’s public comment hearing was presented to the board. The hearing officer described it as emotional and diverse. MDE stated that it has started to sort the feedback into major categories and will invite a group social studies teachers to assist with incorporating feedback that strengthens standards. If the changes are substantive, they will be again open for public comment.