JACKSON, Miss. — Education advocates and school superintendents packed the Mississippi House Education Committee Room on Tuesday as lawmakers advanced a set of “school choice” bills, including one that would allow public education funds to go to private schools.
House Bill 1433, or the Flexible and Rightful Education Enrollment Act, would allow students in poorly performing public schools to use their allotment of public education funds to go to higher-rated public schools or private schools.
Several House Education Committee members left the meeting in disbelief after House Education Committee Chairman Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, advanced the bill on a voice vote and refused requests for a roll call vote.
“We’re not going to do a roll call today. I’m sorry. I’m just not going to recognize it. You’ll have an opportunity later to possibly do that,” he said, reiterating several times that he wanted the bill to survive so the conversation about “school choice” would continue.
“I don’t want it to die today,” the Republican told the committee. “I want us to be able to continue having the conversation. Look, we may get a federal block grant sent down to us that deals directly with some of this and while we’re in session if we have that opportunity, I’d like for us to have a meeting to do that.”
Last month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Education to prioritize school-choice programs through its discretionary grant programs, including ordering guidance on how states receiving block grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can use them to support private and religious schools.
The Mississippi “Free Act” that the House committee advances Tuesday would allow students enrolled in a district rated D or F within the past five years to use state per-pupil funding at a higher-rated public school or to attend an accredited private school. Students must have been enrolled in a public school for the prior year to be eligible.
The student’s base student cost under the state’s funding formula would be placed in an Education Savings Account that would be paid monthly through a third-party vendor.
“And if they go to a district that is going to cost more—if it’s a public school or if it’s a private school that would cost more—there will be an amount there that’s set aside for that,” Roberson said.
Vouchers for private schools have long been a contentious issue in Mississippi, dating back to efforts by white lawmakers in the 1960s and 1970s to use them to help white families avoid integration in public schools.
‘We’ve Got to Keep Talking About These Things’
The first vouchers would be issued to students in families that make less than 138% of the federal poverty level. Rep. Roberson said that if funds were left over, other families could apply. Once a student was accepted into the program, their siblings would also become eligible. Foster children would also be eligible with a Child Protective Services case manager making the ultimate decision about the best school for a child.
“Keep in mind that the people that will have the first choice to do this are going to be children in poor families that are in those districts, that really have no choice other than where they’re at. We’re trying to get them an opportunity first,” he said.
The bill does not include a provision for transportation nor does it provide provisions for how schools would determine which students to accept or deny. Roberson said that the State also has no say in who private schools can accept or deny “as long as there are no discriminatory practices.”
Mississippi House Rep. Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, raised concerns about equity.
“There is no guarantee that all children who want the same opportunity could be absorbed by private and non-public schools. So my theory is that there will be a separation of those who have access (and) the ability to do it. Transportation in this bill is not provided, which is an added burden on families,” the Democrat said. “Help me understand how (this) helps a student who has issues with transportation (or) who has issues of getting accepted. Where is that student left with a school district that now has less money than they had?”
Roberson said the bill was an effort to find ways to improve the state’s education system. Some committee members balked, citing the state’s recent educational gains.
Recently released data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress that Mississippi’s fourth-grade students ranked first in the nation for achieving the highest score increase in reading and math since 2013. African-American fourth-grade students ranked third in the country for reading and math. Hispanic students scored first in the nation in reading and second in math among their peers. The state’s fourth graders rank ninth overall in the nation for reading and number 16 for math.
“You gave us these handouts last week about how well our schools are progressing and now you’re trying to change things when this state has made gains, strong gains. So why are we changing them now?” Rep. Jeffery Harness, D-Fayette, asked.
The Democratic lawmaker also questioned whether private schools that received the funds would be held to the same accountability standards as public schools.
“There is nothing in this bill that requires them to (adhere to) the accountability model at all,” Roberson replied.
Roberson conceded that there were still conversations lawmakers needed to have about the legislation.
“The bottom line here is we’ve got to keep talking about these things and we can pretend like this stuff isn’t happening around us,” Roberson said. “Every single state that surrounds us right now has a school choice issue that they’re dealing with. Some of them have gone full-blown. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think we’re there yet. We may not ever be there, but I do want to have the conversation. I think it means something for us to continue having that conversation.”
Education Committee Advanced Other Bills
The House Education Committee also sent the following bills to the floor for consideration, listed below along with their legislation description:
- H.B. 1078: “Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act”; remove wait list requirement and restrictive certification of services language.
- H.B. 1431: “School districts; require administrative efficiency joinder of multiple districts in a county into a single countywide district.”
- H.B. 1432: “MS Charter School Act of 2013; revise to expand opportunities for establishment of charter schools in certain districts.”
- HB 1434: “Aeronautics, Geospatial, Engineering, Nursing and Technical Skills (AGENTS) of Excellence Program Act; create to improve academic and workforce outcomes.”
- H.B. 1435: “Student transfers; provide greater access to open enrollment and remove requirement for home district approval of release.”
- HB 1439: “City of Laurel; authorize tax on hotels and motels to promote tourism.”
Mississippi House Speaker Jason White said on Feb. 5 that the House’s education priorities this session “directly align with President Trump’s ‘Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families’ Executive Order.” He said it “promotes the idea of school choice, allowing families to select educational settings that best fit their children, thereby improving overall student outcomes and success.”
Mississippi already has a limited Education Scholarship Account program that allows vouchers for some private schools. The Mississippi Legislature created the Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act during the 2015 Session, giving parents with special needs children the option of withdrawing their child from the public school system and receiving a designated amount of funds to help cover the cost of private school tuition or other specific allowable activities to educate their child.
A December 2024 PEER review found that 515 ESA participants attended 109 public schools in the previous school year, but said the law would need improvement to ensure participating schools meet requirements in state law.
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