“Public schools are places like no other,” MAE President Erica Jones writes. “In every neighborhood in our state, they are where our children’s minds are challenged, their curiosity encouraged, their critical thinking skills sharpened, and their ambitions nurtured.”
“Whether you vote for the candidate directly, or vote for the official who appoints them, you have the power. You must use it,” Body writes.
“Politicization happens when candidates connected with deep pockets use hardline partisanship and, often, religion to incite fear about decisions affecting our children,” Becky Glover writes.
The Mississippi Board of Education voted today to recognize a right for individuals with permits to carry guns in the state’s elementary and secondary public schools, repealing a 1990 policy that prohibited anyone other than “duly authorized law enforcement officials” from doing so.
Former Pearl River Central High School art teacher Catherine Bass said she left teaching after the administration warned her she could be fired for discussing her LGBTQ identity with students. The administration said it was “inappropriate” for her to tell students she was pansexual.
Mississippi lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Tate Reeves’ desk today that will raise pay for the average Mississippi teacher by $5,140 this year, with additional future pay raises throughout their careers.
Magnolia State educators may soon enjoy an income bump of about $4,850 on average after lawmakers in the Mississippi House and Senate struck a deal this evening to raise teacher pay.
Lawmakers in the Mississippi Legislature have mere hours left to reach a compromise on plans for a teacher-pay raise. In January, the Senate and House each passed bills that would raise pay for the state’s teachers by thousands, but with key differences.
Every Black member of the Mississippi Senate walked out today as their white colleagues voted to approve a bill that Republicans have described as legislation to prevent so-called “critical race theory” from being taught in schools.
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The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).