HATTIESBURG — For six years, Asheena Woods taught barbering students state laws, walked them through the licensing process and gave them structure, support and transparency.
Now, she’s closing her doors — not for a lack of students but because she said she can’t keep up with the inconsistent communication and testing requirements that no longer reflect current law.
“I cannot sleep at night knowing that I am taking these students’ money and I cannot provide them with accurate information to go to the (state Board of Cosmetology and Barbering) and obtain their license,” Woods said.
Woods is one of 63 school owners across Mississippi impacted by an impasse in state government. In 2024, the state merged its independent barbering and cosmetology boards into a single regulatory body. But with no fully seated board, outdated exams and inconvenient communication methods, Woods said educators and students have been put in a tough position.
Combined boards, new rules
The merge came after reports of dysfunction from when both boards were independent. In 2021 and 2022, the state’s Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review flagged both the barbering and cosmetology boards for ineffective enforcement, limited transparency and poor financial oversight.
According to the committee, the barbering board inspected fewer than 10% of shops and schools, had a 39% pass rate on exams and delayed disciplinary action even when fraud was reported. The cosmetology board was criticized for disorganized records and board overreach into day-to-day operations.
Two years after those reports, lawmakers voted to consolidate the two agencies into a single board. The change, which took effect July 1, 2024, was designed to modernize licensing and make processes comparable to neighboring states, but the overhaul also brought changes and left schools and students trying to operate under an incomplete system.
Catherine Bell has served as executive director of the unified board since November 2024. She previously worked in the state attorney general’s office, where she served as legal counsel to the newly formed board. Bell said that, from its inception, the new regulatory authority began drafting rules and regulations, drawing on policies from previous boards as well as legislative directives.
Those rules were still being developed — with some adopted only as temporary measures — when the board lost its quorum after not being confirmed by the state senate during the 2025 legislative session.
One significant hurdle is a new tiered licensing system for schools. Programs are now classified by the state as temporary, probationary, conditional or nonconditional depending on metrics like graduation rates, pass rates and past violations.
While the structure is there, Bell said the board has yet to define key terms, such as “significant violations,” and without that structure, her office can’t apply the framework.
“Until we get some board decision on that phrasing, this office doesn’t know at which level of licensure to (issue),” she said.
Until then, all schools are uncategorized, and no new schools can open.
“That’s incredibly unfortunate,” Bell said. “There are some schools that were ready and really hoping to open this fall — actually had students already enrolled.”
Students tested on outdated laws
Barbering and cosmetology students already enrolled in programs face two exams to earn licensure: a practical test and a theory exam on state regulations. Since the rules changed, and because there isn’t board quorum, the tests haven’t been updated to reflect the new rules.
“The test that the applicants are taking is on the old law that’s not in place anymore,” Bell said.
That mismatch between what schools teach and what students are expected to know after they graduate became a breaking point for Woods.
“I didn’t want to … feel like I’m just taking the students’ tuition and not having clarification from our support, which is the state board,” she said.
She stopped enrolling new students earlier this year. Her last class completed their required instructional hours in March, and she’s now preparing to sell the business.
Bell said she understands the frustration school owners and students face — and that her office cannot rewrite tests or enforce the new licensure categories without board approval.
“Unfortunately, to change that test, we’ve got to have a board in place to craft those questions,” Bell said. “Until they get back in place, we’re stuck with a test that doesn’t reflect the current statutory scheme of the board or the current rules, even in the temporary fashion that they’re in.”
Stuck in limbo
The board’s vacancy stems from a failed confirmation process earlier this year.
According to a statement from the governor’s office on August 6, the nominations were referred to the Senate Public Health Committee for confirmation, which were scheduled but later canceled.
Cory Custer, the governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff, said when State Senator Hob Bryan (D-37), the chairman of the committee, declined to reschedule and the Senate recessed without voting, the nominees’ terms expired.
“Short of an Attorney General’s opinion that has been sought by some state Senators to confirm the Governor’s ability to make ‘recess’ appointments, it is assumed that any new appointments made by the Governor to serve on the Board will be unable to begin serving until confirmed by the Mississippi Senate,” Custer explained.
Bell said her office is ready to move forward on long-awaited changes — from updating exams to finalizing licensure rules — but none of it can happen without board members appointed.
“We’re still in the same posture,” she said. “We’re waiting on those appointments from the governor.”
But those changes will have to wait.
“The Governor is aware of the potential regulatory challenges under existing law created by the absence of a functioning Board of Cosmetology and Barbering,” Custer said. “But the decision to decline to take up and confirm the slate of nominees put forward by the Governor in July 2024 was made by the Lieutenant Governor and the Chairman of the Senate Public Health Committee.”
RHCJC News contacted Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Sen. Bryan for a response to the governor’s statement but has not received a reply.
In the absence of a board, Bell said she’s focused on keeping schools informed, hosting virtual meetings, answering compliance questions and working to modernize how the agency communicates with its more than 50,000 licensees.
“We can’t protect the public if the licensees don’t know what’s required,” Bell said. “One of the things I would like to help accomplish is more education into what those standards are so that they understand and can walk alongside us to protect the public.”
She also acknowledged the transition has not been easy — but urged school owners like Woods not to give up.
“Hang in there,” she said. “We are in a period of growth. And with growth comes growing pains … but on the backside of it, you’re stronger, you’re taller, you’re more ready. And I think that’s where we’re going to end up. We’ve just got to get through that middle hurdle.”