We’re one step closer to giving children in Mississippi more education options! Several school choice bills survived the first committee deadline and will continue moving forward through the legislative process:
House Bill 1432, sponsored by Rep. Rob Roberson, would make several changes to Mississippi’s charter school law to expand the landscape where charters can be created in the state and foster a healthy charter sector.
House Bill 1433, sponsored by Rep. Rob Roberson, known as the Quality Desert Education Enrollment and Transfer Scholarship Act (QDESA), would allow a student who has been enrolled in a school or district rated D or F within the past five years to use state funds to attend another public or private school.
House Bill 1435, sponsored by Rep. Jansen Owen, would allow students to transfer to public schools outside of their residentially assigned school district without having to get approval from the student’s home district. Approval would still have to be granted by the district to which the student wants to move (the receiving district).
House Bill 1078, sponsored by House Speaker Jason White, removes the requirement that families be accepted into a private school before they can qualify for the state’s Education Scholarship Account program for students with special needs. The implementation of this mandate in 2024 resulted in approximately 150 students being kicked off the ESA waitlist.
All the Senate school choice bills died in the Senate Education Committee.
We are grateful for the leadership of Speaker White, House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, and the House Education Committee to advance education freedom in Mississippi, but the work is just getting started. These bills now face a critical February 13 deadline to pass out of the full House of Representatives, and your lawmakers need to know you support these important bills! Contact your legislators and ask them to pass these bills so that every Mississippi student has access to the education that best meet their needs.
