2023 Legislative Priorities
An excellent early education experience for every child
- Increased funding for pre-k programs
- amend Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) statute to embed increased per-student state match of $2,500 per student in a full-day program (current statute provides for $2,150) and $1,250 per student for a half-day program (current statute provides for $1,075)
- increase the early childhood education appropriation for FY2023 (ELCs and public pre-k)
An excellent teacher in every classroom
- Teacher shortage – codify a plan to address Mississippi’s critical teacher shortage, which may include, but is not limited to:
- allowing retired teachers to return full- or part-time and draw their retirement allowance
- a career ladder that allows teachers to stay in the classroom and be compensated at higher levels for additional leadership responsibilities
- PRAXIS preparation assistance
- Require the identification and publication of university/college preparation programs that yield the highest growth outcomes in K-12 student achievement
An excellent public school for every Mississippi child
- Increased Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) funding – codify a plan to reach full funding of the MAEP no later than the 2025-2026 school year (FY2026), with substantial increases each year
- Full funding of the special education add-on portion of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program
- Maintain the current level of funding for literacy coaches and math coaches
- Amend the Educational Facilities Revolving Loan Fund statute to increase the per-district cap and remove the requirement that the funds be repaid
Public funds restricted to public schools (defeat of privatization measures)
- Defeat all new voucher or tax credit scholarship proposals or expansions
- Maintain and strengthen as necessary, restrictions on the existing ESA voucher program implemented as a result of SB 2594 in the 2020 Legislative Session
- Defeat measures that would alter the way school boards are elected. These are privatization measures, generally authored by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), that:
- simplify the process by which privatizers take majority control of local school boards by having all seats elected simultaneously (not staggered), and
- facilitate recruitment and funding of privatization candidates by out-of-state organizations and persons by aligning school board elections with presidential or gubernatorial elections, making it easy for out-of-state funders to identify when the elections are taking place
