Mississippi Supreme Court Rules on High Profile Case

Late last week, the Mississippi Supreme Court issued a ruling on a case that has captured the attention of lawmakers and media alike.

The case involved $10 million in a legislative appropriation that was directed to the Independent Schools Infrastructure Grant Program, which was designed to provide financial relief to private schools for infrastructure improvements in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was funded by the state legislature using funds made available by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

In June 2022, a nonprofit organization, Parents for Public Schools, challenged the constitutionality of the program, specifically that the program violated article 8, section 208 of the Mississippi Constitution. The Mississippi Supreme Court determined that Parents for Public Schools did not have standing to bring the lawsuit, vacating an earlier ruling by the Hinds County Chancery Court.

While some have misconstrued the case as a challenge to the constitutionality of private education choice programs in the Magnolia State, such as ESAs or vouchers, the case was never about those programs at all. Rather, this case was specifically related to the direct appropriation of ARPA funds to private schools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mississippi, in fact, has had 3 private education choice programs in existence for years, none of which have ever been challenged in the courts.