This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.
- Despite having a supermajority Republican Legislature, school choice policies in the Magnolia State have remained stagnant over the last decade.
Universal school choice was made a part of the Republican Party’s platform during the recent GOP Convention.
“We support Universal School Choice in every State in America,” the 2024 Republican Platform reads.
Republican-led states across the nation have embraced the idea of empowering families to choose the best possible education for their children. Yet, Mississippi – arguably one of the most conservative states – has lagged behind.
If Speaker of the House Jason White (R) has his way, that could soon change.
Magnolia Tribune recently spoke with White on efforts to increase school choice in the Magnolia State. He said he’s long been on record as a supporter of increasing educational opportunities for Mississippi students by allowing parents to make decisions that are best for their children.
“As I review our Mississippi Republican Party platform, I affirm my position as reflected in our party principles,” Speaker White said.
White noted the following Mississippi GOP platform statement:
“We support policies to curb administrative costs and more efficiently run schools and school districts that might hinder effective funding for classroom instruction. We believe our schools must respect and reinforce parental authority and should make every effort to involve parents in the education of their children. Parental involvement in education should extend to allowing parents to choose the school that best meets the educational needs of their children. While we may provide incentives and encouragement for voluntary early childhood education, we must respect families who do not choose that option.”
During the 2024 Legislative Session, Speaker White said the House of Representatives led the charge to fund students, not systems.
“With the passage of the Mississippi Student Funding Formula, the state took a major step forward in our effort to emphasize outcomes, rather than inputs while putting the emphasis of funding on the individual student (and not the system or district),” White said.
READ MORE: Mississippi schools to share nearly $240 million more in education funding this fiscal year
Like most transformational policy, White understands that efforts to provide education freedom will require support from a majority of legislators. With a supermajority of Republicans in both chambers a casual onlooker could think such a task would be simple, yet that has not been the case.
“We will continue to gather support in the House to give each parent the opportunity to make decisions best for their own family,” White said.
During the 2025 Legislative Session, White said he expects Mississippi will see multiple bills filed and pushed in the House designed to provide additional educational opportunities for Mississippi’s parents and students “surrounding portability and transfer freedom between public school districts according to the students’ needs.”
“I believe these policies will not only improve our educational success but create a thriving class of students and schools today and bolster a revitalized workforce in Mississippi’s future,” Speaker White said. “It’s what our kids deserve, and it’s what parents and taxpayers are beginning to demand in our state.”
In the Senate, the drive to expand educational freedom for families has not been as robust in years past. However, Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) told Magnolia Tribune lawmakers will take up related legislation in the 2025 session, noting that, “Parents should choose the best education for their children.”
“We currently have charter schools and ESAs [Educations Savings Accounts] for special needs children, which I believe are particularly important,” Hosemann said. “Next year, the Legislature will consider a process for students to transfer between school districts, as well as other education opportunities and initiatives.”
Expanding ESAs are also part of the national Republican Party Platform.
For this part, Governor Tate Reeves (R) has previously expressed support for school choice, speaking at annual Capitol rallies. His deputy chief of staff told Magnolia Tribune on Friday that Reeves supports more education freedom for families.
“Governor Reeves remains committed to bolstering education for all of Mississippi’s kids. He’s been a longtime supporter of efforts to secure more education freedom for parents and students in our state,” Cory Custer said. “And he’s hopeful that we can continue to advance education freedom for Mississippians in the years to come.”
According to Empower Mississippi, polling conducted in the Magnolia State last year showed that 72% of Republicans and 74% of conservatives indicated support for an Arkansas-style universal school choice program. Also of note, 46% of Democrats and 59% of Independents also expressed support for this policy, according to the same poll.
Arkansas enacted a massive school choice bill last year, and Louisiana and Alabama followed suit in 2024. The Arkansas model legislation led to the expansion of ESAs, allowing parents to choose the school their child attends and the services they receive. It will start as a program focused on helping families with disabled children, but in three years will expand to offer universal school choice.
Mississippi’s current form of ESAs only allows parents of children with disabilities to decide which school district or charter school their child can attend.
Wil Ervin with Empower Mississippi recently wrote that school choice policies in the Magnolia State have remained stagnant over the last decade.
“Since the enactment of the state’s charter school law and the creation of an Education Scholarship Account program for students with special needs nearly 10 years ago, the issue of school choice has made no demonstrable progress,” Ervin writes.
Despite the national Republican Party Platform endorsing universal school choice, Ervin cautioned school choice supporters in Mississippi to temper their expectations.
“Even as school choice has seemingly been embraced by elected Republicans across the country, there’s been little indication that big changes are coming to the Magnolia State in the near future,” Ervin noted, adding, “In a state that is overwhelmingly controlled by Republicans, it remains somewhat of a mystery why school choice policies have not gained more traction.”
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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