Recent Developments: No new developments.
Click here for detailed information on Mississippi's public school system and see below for school choice contacts and a history of school choice legislation in Mississippi.
State Contacts
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Children's Scholarship Fund-Metro Jackson
Taminko Kelley, Program Director Charles Irby, CEO 2906 N. State Street Suite 200 Jackson, MS 39216 Phone: (601) 960-7356 Fax: (601) 362-1810 Website: www.scholarshipfund.org E-mail: csf@irby.com |
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Forest Thigpen, President P.O. Box 13514 Jackson, MS 39236 Phone: (601) 969-1300 Fax: (601) 969-1600 Website: www.Mspolicy.org E-mail: thigpen@Mspolicy.org |
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Mississippi Home Educators Association
David Easley 3646 Henryville Road Cedar Bluff, MS 39741 Phone: (662) 494-1999 Website: www.mhea.net E-mail: Easley7@ra.msstate.edu; mhea@mhea.net |
Archived History, Pre-2006
On April 24, 1997, then-Governor Kirk Fordice signed
In 1999, two voucher bills, H.B. 500 and H.B. 437, died in committee. H.B. 500 would have established a program providing vouchers worth up to $3,350 per recipient for use at either a public or private school.[3] H.B. 437 would have provided vouchers worth up to $2,500 for students whose families met certain income requirements (married couples who earned less than $30,000 per year and single parents who earned less than $20,000).
CEO Metro Jackson provides scholarships to low-income students. In 1998,
In January 2001, Representative Joseph L. Warren (D-90) introduced H.B. 924, which would have allowed the creation of new charter schools as well as the conversion of conventional public schools. The legislation would have enabled the Mississippi State Board of Education to grant charters for schools and would have required the state to provide students with transportation to charter schools. H.B. 924 died in committee.[6]
Voucher legislation similar to that which was proposed in 1999 was introduced again in 2001. H.B. 71 would have established a program to provide vouchers worth up to $3,350 for students to attend participating private schools.[7] Like H.B. 437 from 1999, H.B. 1398 would have established a program offering vouchers worth up to $2,500 to parents who met certain income requirements.[8] Both H.B. 71 and H.B. 1398 died in committee.
The Mississippi Public School Relief Act, Senate Bill 2122, was also introduced in 2001. The bill would have provided tax credits worth up to $500 for contributions to scholarship organizations.[9] S.B. 2122 died in committee.[10]
H.B. 100 was introduced in 2002 to provide low-income families with private-school vouchers worth $2,500 for their children. H.B. 100 died in committee.[11] Another bill, H.B. 349, would have established vouchers worth $3,500 for students to use for tuition or educational materials at either a public school or a private school. H.B. 349 also died in committee.[12]
In 2003, three voucher proposals were introduced. H.B. 935 would have established vouchers worth up to $2,500 for use at participating private schools.[13] H.B. 372, introduced by Thomas F. Cameron, III (I-52), would have established vouchers worth $3,350.[14] S.B. 2598 would have created a program similar to
One tax credit bill was introduced in the Senate in 2003 but died in committee. S.B. 2043 would have created a tax credit for contributions to public schools or scholarship organizations. The credits would have been worth up to $500.[16]
H.B. 164 was introduced as tax credit legislation in the House. This bill would have provided tax credits for the purchase of tutoring services. The bill died in the Ways and Means Committee.[17]
In February 2004 Governor Haley Barbour announced in his State of the State Address that he intended to see
Senator Alan Nunnelee (R-6) introduced S.B. 2042 to provide tax credits for contributions to tuition scholarship organizations or public schools. Taxpayers would have been able to receive a dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $500 for a contribution to a scholarship organization or up to $200 for a contribution to a public school. The bill died in committee.[19]
In 2005, Gov. Barbour signed H.B. 238, which mandates that a commission be created to study the "feasibility" of charters in the state.[20] The bill passed after some debate, as members of the House only wanted to re-enact the law, which was set to expire. The compromise legislation created the commission and extended the law.[21]
In response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which ravaged parts of
[1]
[2] Center for Education Reform, "Charter School Legislation: Profile of Mississippi's Charter School Law," 2001, at http://edreform.com/charter_schools/laws/Mississippi.htm.
[3]
[4] Children's Scholarship Fund, "Children's Scholarship Fund Announces 40 Cities $140 Million in Scholarships Will Go to Kids," press release, September 28, 1998.
[5] Public Education Forum of
[6] Mississippi Legislature, 2001 Session, H.B. 924, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2001/html/HB/0900-0999/HB0924IN.htm.
[7] Mississippi Legislature, 2001 Session, H.B. 71, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2001/html/HB/0001-0099/HB0071IN.htm.
[8] Mississippi Legislature, 2001 Session, H.B. 1398, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2001/html/HB/1300-1399/HB1398IN.htm.
[9] See National School Boards Association Web site at www.nsba.org/novouchers.
[10] Mississippi Legislature, 2001 Session, S.B. 2122, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2001/html/history/SB/SB2122.htm.
[11] Mississippi Legislature, 2002 Session, H.B. 100, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2002/html/HB/0100-0199/HB0100IN.htm.
[12] Mississippi Legislature, 2002 Session, H.B. 349, http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2002/html/HB/0300-0399/HB0349IN.htm.
[13] Mississippi Legislature, 2003 Session, H.B. 935, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2003/html/history/HB/HB0935.htm.
[14] Mississippi Legislature, 2003 Session, H.B. 372, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2003/html/history/HB/HB0372.htm.
[15] Mississippi Legislature, 2003 Session, S.B. 2598, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2003/html/history/SB/SB2598.htm.
[16] Mississippi Legislature, 2003 Session, S.B. 2043, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2003/html/history/SB/SB2043.htm.
[17] Mississippi Legislature, 2003 Session, H.B. 164, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2003/html/history/HB/HB0164.htm.
[18] Center for Education Reform Newswire, Vol.6, No. 5 (February 3, 2004), at http://www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=document&documentID=1701
[19] Mississippi Legislature, 2004 Session, S.B. 2042, at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2004/html/SB/2001-2099/SB2042IN.htm.
[20] Mississippi Legislature, 2005 Session, H.B. 238, available at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2005/html/HB/0200-0299/HB0238SG.htm; and Center for Education Reform, Newswire, April 26, 2005
[21] The Associated Press, "Lawmakers Opt for Study," March 31, 2005.
[22] U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education the Workforce, Fact Sheet: Questions and Answers: Family Education Reimbursement Accounts, October 18, 2005, available at http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/109th/hurricane/feraqa.htm (October 26, 2005); Rep. John Boehner Home Page, "Boehner Introduces Bill to Simplify Hurricane Education Relief for Students and Schools," Press Release, October 20, 2005, available at http://johnboehner.house.gov/news.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=1037; Dan Lips, "The Boehner-Jindal Family Education Reimbursement Act," Heritage Foundation WebMemo #893, October 25, 2005, available at www.heritage.org/Research/Education/wm893.cfm.
