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Rankin county mom, Amanda Kibble, is celebrating an important win for her family. Her
victory could also help military families throughout the state.
Earlier this year, House Bill 1341 was signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves. The
new law allows families of military personnel to transfer their children to any traditional
public school in the state, assuming receiving school has capacity. It means that
military families effectively now have school choice within the public school system.
“When this bill was passed” explains Amanda “it meant that we would be able to keep
our little boy in the school we really wanted him to be in”.
“Last year, we were so excited when the bill passed. It meant our son, who has a
dyslexia diagnosis, could get some stability. As a military kid, he’s already experienced
enough difficulties and instability.”
However, the good news did not last.
“At the beginning of the year, we were told that we had misinterpreted the bill” Amanda
explained. “House Bill 1341 was, they said, not for National Guard families. It was only
for Active Duty personnel.”
“This was a real blow to our family. At his current school, my son grew so much in
confidence. I was really anxious that would all be lost if we were forced out of the
school of our choice”.
Amanda reached out to local Senator Josh Harkins – and contacting the Mississippi
Center for Public Policy, which fights for school choice.
Now the Attorney General has issued a formal opinion stating the National Guard AGR
families are included in the legislation after all. National Guard families can have school
choice.
“We are ecstatic to have won and to have the opportunity to let my son stay in his
school for the rest of the year. However, while we have won a huge victory, our family
will have to move next year. We want to see a change so that school choice is a reality
for all families”.
“The Attorney General’s opinion applies specifically for National Guard Active Guard
Reserve (AGR) but does not yet apply to Traditional Guard Members or those on Active
Duty for Operational Support (ADOS) orders or Title 32 orders. This needs to change”.
“Senator Harkins was wonderful and did so much to help” she added.
“This is good news for Amanda and her family – and its great news for Mississippi
military families” explains Douglas Carswell from the Mississippi Center for Public
Policy.
“Any families in a similar situation should get in touch with us”, he added.
“Thanks to HB 1341, which was passed this year, military families – including those in
the National Guard – more families can have more school choice from public school to
public school. Anecdotal evidence suggests that demand to take advantage of this
scheme is high”, he added.
“But why not let every family have the right to choose? Provided that schools have
capacity, parents should be able to send their kids to a school in a different district, or
even a different school within the same district”.
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy, which helped Amanda fight her case, has a
legal division, the Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI). MJI successfully litigated to defend
Charter Schools, and has a successful track record of litigating in support of school
choice in our state.
“Parents have a right to expect the best for their child and school choice would give
moms like Amanda control over their child’s education”, Douglas added.
Center for Public Policy.