Mississippi
U.S.
Rank
Rank
#31 D
Overall PPI Score: 66%
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Leadership
Your Governor:
Tate Reeves (R) (50)
First term began in 2020 (two-term limit). Re-elected in 2023.
Tate Reeves has been an advocate for parent power. During his tenure in office, he signed into law a modest Education Savings Account (ESA) program for students with special needs along with a revised charter school bill that has led to the first charter high school set to open in 2025. With the Governor in full support, efforts to push for greater opportunities seem to be on the agenda in 2024.
STATE LEGISLATURE:
Upon his election the new Speaker of the House has vowed to increase education freedom in the Magnolia state. A broad section of the legislature seems to support him in those efforts. Working in tandem with the Governor may result in Mississippi seeing a major expansion of parent power on the horizon.
Constitutional Issues
The Mississippi constitution contains a Blaine Amendment, but in a recent case "the Mississippi Supreme Court distinguished between aiding students and aiding the schools they choose to attend," (Institute for Justice) and therefore has validated the use of public funds for parental choices including parochial schools.
In September 2019, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of charter schools receiving state and local dollars. As of February 2024, The Liberty Justice Center argued before the Mississippi Supreme Court that a lawsuit preventing independent schools' access to educational funding violates the U.S. Constitution's First and Fourteenth Amendments, contending that Section 208 of the Mississippi constitution, alleged to prohibit funding for private schools, is a discriminatory Blaine Amendment from 1890 designed to discriminate against racial and religious minorities.
Transparency
School report cards are easily accessible and highlighted under the “Reports & Data” section on Mississippi’s Department of Education website. Report cards are incredibly clean and easy to navigate, featuring a summative letter grade at the top of the report. Data on student proficiency, state assessments, teacher quality, and school environment are displayed in simple charts with the function of clicking for more detailed information on that specific measure.
Educational options can be accessed easily via the homepage, under “Family.”
School board elections in Mississippi align with the general election cycle, empowering parents with greater influence in their decision-making due to increased voter turnout.