Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
What would it take for Mississippi to embrace School Choice? How can we join our neighboring states in empowering families to control their child’s share of the education budget? For School Choice to happen, we would need to see several steps.
Number one, we would need a committed Governor, ready to invest his political capital in this great conservative cause. Great news! This week, Governor Tate Reeves signaled in an interview with SuperTalk that School Choice will be his top priority for the 2026 legislative session.
Step two, we would have to have a supportive House Speaker. Once again, good news. This week, Speaker Jason White confirmed that the House is actively crafting legislation for 2026.
Thirdly, we would have to have strong grassroots support. Polling already shows that more than two-thirds of Mississippians support School Choice.
This week, Americans for Prosperity – Mississippi hosted an outstanding event in Jackson, led by the amazing Starla Brown. Speakers like Pastor Greg Divinity and Leah Ferretti powerfully articulated the moral imperative: Every family should have the choices that today are reserved only for the wealthy.
Fourth, it would be a big help to have the endorsement of Team Trump. Fantastic news on that front, too—having discussed this at the White House some time ago, it’s evident to me that Team Trump is not just supportive; they’re deeply passionate, viewing School Choice as “the civil rights issue of our time.”
Fifth, if we are to allow families control of their child’s share of the budget, it would be helpful to know what “their share” consists of. Thanks to the 2024 school funding reforms, every child now receives a base amount of about $7,000 annually.
All we ask is that those who want to have that money paid into an Education Savings Account that they can then allocate to a school of their choice.
Finally, it would be tremendously helpful if those against School Choice endlessly resorted to misleading claims and hyperbole. I don’t think we’ll be disappointed there, either.
Claims that school choice would force your local school board to accept students from outside areas are simply untrue—and I believe many of those that suggest otherwise know it. Every proposal I’ve seen ensures school boards retain the final say on capacity.
As I learned from the Brexit campaign, dishonest claims from opponents only undermines the credibility of their campaigns. Having been able to rely on establishment opinion for too long, they’ve never mastered the art of making their case convincingly.
All the ingredients are there for Mississippi to adopt School Choice in 2026.
Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
MageeNews.com is the online news source for Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi
