Mississippi parents are eager for more school choice, and they’re letting their lawmakers know about it:
A hearing on Tuesday foreshadowed the emotional debate lawmakers will face as they consider increasing the number of students who receive state funds to attend private schools.
Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, said he expects to have a bill filed by Monday’s deadline, outlining the plan for school choice expansion.
Right now, Mississippi’s school choice programs are limited to students diagnosed with special needs or dyslexia.
“I think there’s a need out there,” Tollison said. “One size doesn’t fit all. There are lot of young students and Mississippi children who are in communities across this state where the public-school system is not the best fit.”
That was the message delivered to lawmakers by Leah Ferretti, a mom from the Mississippi Delta, who told legislators that she went back to school to become a dyslexia therapist after her son’s school district failed to provide adequate services for his learning disorder.
National School Choice Week is coming up on January 21, and Mississippi parents are getting a jumpstart on the year, leading the way toward education freedom.
SOURCE: The Clarion-Ledger
IN THIS ISSUE:
- NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina is witnessing a battle over charter schools in affluent districts.
- ILLINOIS: Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoes a funding bill over concerns about how it will affect private schools.
- TAX-CREDITS: Illinois taxpayers pledged more than $36 million to the state’s new tax-credit scholarship program.
Common Core and Curriculum Watch
- STEM: Most Americans think STEM education is mediocre at best, a new poll finds.
- ME TOO: The #MeToo movement is making its way into K-12 classrooms, reports U.S. News and World Report.
- COMPUTER SCIENCE: Several states implemented computer science classes last year, EdScoop reports.
- ANCHORAGE: Anchorage, Alaska opens its first, full-time career and technology school.
- TAX BILL: NPR reports only negative responses to the new Republican tax bill’s expansion of the 529 accounts.
- FLORIDA: Florida considers a bill to scale-back teacher merit-based pay.
- PRE-K ALL DAY: A Minnesota district wants to offer all-day preschool.
- THE GOOD FIGHT: TruthInAmericanEducation.com provides four ways to fight for your kids’ education.
Teresa Mull is a policy advisor for education and an editor at The Heartland Institute.
