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.
Our state is now completely surrounded! Tennessee has just passed an Education Freedom Act, meaning that every single surrounding state is a school choice state.
In Tennessee from 2025 families will be entitled to an education freedom scholarship worth $7,075. Capped to 20,000 low income families at first, the idea is that in a couple of years every family in the state can use their pot of money for tuition and fees at a public school or private school of their choice.
What about Mississippi? Are we in danger of being left behind by our bolder neighbors?
Every time there is any suggestion that families be allowed to have any control over even a tiny portion of the $14,676 that it costs to educate a child in the public system, there is an outbreak of outrage. Often those most vocally opposed to school choice have been wealthy liberals who sent their own kids to private school. None of the bills being considered in the Mississippi legislature this year offer anything as comprehensive as Tennessee’s Education Freedom Act.
There is, however, a very sensible bill offering a step towards more public-to-public school choice, HB1435. This bill would allow students in a public school to take their share of the education budget to a public school of their choice – if the recipient school has capacity.
Under the excellent leadership of Speaker Jason White, Rep. Rob Roberson and Rep. Jansen Owen, HB1435 is now out of committee and heading to a vote on the floor of the House. The bill still faces many obstacles, but it can no longer be quietly killed off. (See Texas primary elections for details).
A second bill, HB1433, would allow students in failing districts to take about $6,600 of their share of education funds to a private school. It would be similar to what our neighbors do, but for a handful of school districts.
With all our neighboring states on board with school choice, it would be absurd if even these modest steps towards school choice are derailed. Of course, even these modest proposals have generated the usual hysteria from the so-called “Parent’s Campaign”. Comically, the “Parent’s Campaign” describes a bill to allow parents more choice between public schools as “troublesome”.
Desperate to find a reason to oppose HB1435, they attack it on the grounds that it might require school districts to determine what their capacity is. Pesky parents, eh? Given what conservative leaders have now accomplished in every neighboring state and given the unequivocal support for school choice from President Trump, it will be interesting to see if any Republicans dare to vote against.
The White House just announced a roundtable on school choice with top Republican governors. The event, moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who spearheaded a major victory for school choice in her state after taking office, is an attempt to encourage pro school choice conservatives to move ahead with passing legislation.
Opposing school choice in Mississippi is probably not a great career move for any Mississippi Republicans. Nor is would it help raise standards in our schools.
Momentum is with parent power. This is a fight we can and must win.
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
