I have great news and a little not-so-great news to report on this deadline day.Just after noon today, Sen. Hob Bryan led a successful effort to add $60-million to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) appropriation. The amendment passed the Senate on a 26 to 24 vote. See that vote here.Please join me in thanking the 26 senators who supported better […]
Mixed News on Deadline Day Read More »
Tomorrow is the deadline for the House and Senate to act on general bills that originated in the other chamber. (The deadline for the funding bills comes later.) Numerous members have called, emailed, and texted from your spring break vacations to check on the status of the voucher, funding, and pay-raise bills. No action has been taken on
Tomorrow is a Deadline Day for Voucher Bills Read More »
Families as Allies, an organization that advocates for families whose children have special needs, has announced strong opposition to the special needs voucher bills, SB 2325 and HB 765. The concerns presented by Families as Allies (see complete list here) include: the loss of IDEA protection by any children whose parents accept vouchers and agree to withdraw their
Special Needs Advocacy Organization Opposes SB 2325 and HB 765 Read More »
The Senate this week passed its own version of a teacher pay raise bill, differing from the previously passed House bill by providing higher increases up front and eliminating the benchmark requirements. The Senate plan also provides for a performance-based stipend available to teachers beginning in 2016. Lt. Governor Reeves and Senate Education Chair Gray Tollison
Senate Passes Teacher Pay Raise Bill Read More »
The following is a Mississippi Department of Education summary of the House version of The Children First Act – HB 1142 Section 2 : Requires students in sixth grade or above to maintain a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale to participate in sports or extracurricular activities. The State Department of Education would monitor
The Children First Act of 2009 – House Version Read More »
The following is a Mississippi Department of Education summary of the Senate version of The Children First Act – SB 2628 Section 2 : Authorizes the State Board of Education to define underperforming schools and districts, using such factors as student assessment data, graduation rate, dropout rate and completion rate. Requires a school district to publish
The Children First Act of 2009 – Senate Version Read More »
The current iteration of the education funding bill underfunds public schools by $265-million. Now legislators are pushing legislation that gives $6,000 vouchers to pay tuition at private schools or for school supplies, computers, and myriad other expenses for parents of children with special needs who agree not to enroll their children in public schools. Many of the legislators who voted against adequate
Legislators Vote Against Funding for SPED Accommodations and for Vouchers Read More »
This afternoon, an attempt was made in the House of Representatives to increase the MAEP appropriation in HB 1476, the K-12 funding bill. That effort failed when 66 House members voted instead to table the motion to reconsider the bill. A “yes” vote on this motion was a vote to send the bill to the Senate without increasing MAEP funding. You can see that vote here. Please join
House Fails to Amend HB 1476 Read More »
We will have another chance to amend HB 1476, the K-12 funding bill, to increase the funding for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP).Phone calls to legislators from Mississippi parents and educators about the education funding bill are having an effect – we need to keep it up!There is reason to believe that an amendment to increase MAEP funding will
Another Chance to Amend K-12 Funding Bill, Increase MAEP Read More »
Enough is enough! This morning, the House Appropriations Committee passed HB 1476, the K-12 funding bill, and once again, schools are massively underfunded. HB 1476 contains no increase in the MAEP beyond a $25-million allocation for the first half-year of a proposed teacher pay raise. This bill underfunds the MAEP by $265-million. The economy has recovered.In
HB 1476 – MAEP Grossly Underfunded Again Read More »
