This study was primarily concerned with the status of biology education in a select sample of public high schools in the state of Mississippi and how that status related to selected aspects of the status of biology education in the nation as a whole and to certain recommendations of authorities in the field for an optimal biology program. The major areas surveyed were: (1) personal characteristics of biology teachers, (2) equipment and facilities, (3) offerings and enrollment, and (4) curriculum and instruction. The results of this study indicated that Mississippi biology teachers, as represented by the total study population, were similar to science teachers in the nation as a whole as far as age, sex, teaching experience, and teaching loads were concerned. All schools in the total study population offered first-year biology courses of the more traditional type, as did most schools in the nation. Only a few schools offered a second-year biology course. Only a few schools indicated any type of curriculum change within the past 10 years. Less than 10 percent taught BSCS courses; the majority of courses offered were traditional. On the average, biology facilities and equipment were inadequately provided by the schools represented in this study. (Author/MLH)