The bill that would force private school vouchers into Mississippi passed the U.S. House in the wee hours this morning. It now will go to the U.S. Senate, where we need your help to stop it. Please reach out to Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker and ask them to oppose tax-credit vouchers for private schools!
Our members of Congress receive calls on many issues – let’s make sure public education is high on that list! We cannot afford to have Mississippi’s public schools lost in the shuffle in D.C. Our senators need to hear loudly and clearly that Mississippians DO NOT want federal tax dollars going to private schools! See additional information here.
Ask both of our U.S. Senators to oppose the Qualified Elementary and Secondary Education Scholarships (federal tax-credit vouchers)
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
Mississippi Offices
Brookhaven (limited hours): 601.748.8024
Gulfport: 228.867.9710
Jackson: 601.965.4459
Oxford: 662.236.1018
Washington Office
U.S. Capitol: 202.224.5054
Senator Roger Wicker
Mississippi Offices
Gulfport: 228.871.7017
Hernando: 662.429.1002
Jackson: 601.965.4644
Tupelo: 662.844.5010
Washington Office
U.S. Capitol: 202.224.6253
Find additional contact information for your members of Congress
The measure that passed the House this morning would divert badly needed funding away from public schools and empower private interests and voucher-backers to pick and choose which children in Mississippi get to be educated with federal tax dollars – and which should be denied. The ultimate choice always goes to the private schools, not to parents or students.
The results of “school choice” in other states have been abysmal. The majority of vouchers have gone to more affluent families whose children already were attending private schools, and research has told us for years that academic outcomes of private voucher schools are inferior to those of public schools. Recent results on national assessments confirm that. While Mississippi’s test scores have surged forward over the past decade, every single one of the states that EdChoice names a Top 10 State for School Choice has moved backward.
And while public schools have every expenditure scrutinized and are held to stringent accountability standards, voucher recipients have used their “education” dollars for trips to Disney World, luxury BBQ grills, and other questionable purchases, with no audits and no accountability for private voucher schools. Shouldn’t all schools that receive taxpayer dollars be held to the same standards?
If you haven’t already, please consider making a donation to The Parents’ Campaign to help us continue tracking federal legislation – an expansion of our work that is stretching thin the resources of our small non-profit.
Regardless, do help us defeat these tax-credit vouchers by calling Senator Hyde-Smith and Senator Wicker right away. Ask your friends and family to call, too. Our children are counting on us, and together, we’ve got this!
