Parents have registered numerous complaints about what they perceive as a disconnect between what legistors say and what they actually do. Their points are well taken. See below the differences between what legislators say and how they vote.
What they say:
Legislators claim that they would like to adequately fund our schools if the money were only available.
What they do:
Since 2012, legislators have voted to reduce state revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars by creating new corporate loopholes and tax breaks. Had these revenue give-aways not occurred, more than enough revenue would be available to provide an across-the-board teacher pay raise AND fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
Additionally, despite the give-aways, state revenue has now exceeded 2008 levels (the high-water mark for revenue and school funding), but the current version of the education funding bill funds the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) $124-million less than it was funded in 2008.
What they say:
Legislators claim that schools should provide more accommodations to children with special needs.
What they do:
Many of the same legislators who claim that schools should provide more accommodations to children with special needs routinely vote against providing schools the funding to pay for those accommodations. Schools frequently provide accommodations for one child that cost the district $50,000 or more. It is not uncommon for the cost of accommodations for a child with severe disabilities to exceed $100,000. Districts are not reimbursed for these accommodations on a cost basis. Rather, districts receive, on average, around $1,700 per child with an IEP, regardless of the cost of providing the required accommodations. The balance of the cost to meet the special needs of the child is paid for using MAEP and local funds. When legislators vote against adequate funding, they are voting against the funding needed to provide accommodations for children with special needs.
What they say:
Legislators claim to be concerned about schools providing accommodations required in a child’s IEP.
The same legislators claiming to be concerned about public schools providing accommodations required in the IEP are pushing for vouchers to pay tuition at private schools that provide no services at all for children with special needs.
What they say:
Legislators claim to be concerned about the quality of education provided Mississippi children.
Some legislators are pushing for vouchers to pay tuition at private schools with no accountability for the quality of education they provide. Not only have the authors refused to require accountability for private schools receiving taxpayer funding, even worse, their bills require that the identity of the private schools receiving taxpayer dollars be concealed from the public.
