MS Legislature

Today, the House reconsidered the motion to invite conference on HB 890 and passed it on a 61-56 vote. The bill will now go to conference. House Education Chairman John Moore assured members of that chamber that the conference report would not include charter school language. HB 890, as it passed the Senate, includes: ·         Charter school language that: o   Allows charters in C, […]

(The following is for informational purposes only. The Parents’ Campaign has no position on these bills.) These bills are alive as of this posting:HB 590 – Sales tax revenue collected from certain business activities within a revitalization zone is distributed to the municipality if the municipality received a loan under this act.Loss to the General

Full Funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) HB 513, signed by the governor, provides full funding of the MAEP.This is the first time in MAEP’s history that it has been fully funded in consecutive years.   Restoration of Diverted Funds Teacher Supply Fund The legislature did not fully restore this funding.HB 513, signed by

Both the House and Senate now have bills that include a “New Start School” amendment that could have a far-reaching impact on good schools in any district across the state. The “New Start” provision stipulates that a school rated F has one year to move to at least a D rating, then the school must move

Both the House and Senate now have bills that include a “New Start School” amendment that could have a far-reaching impact on good schools in any district across the state. The “New Start” provision stipulates that a school rated F has one year to move to at least a D rating, then the school must move

In a late afternoon meeting, the Senate Education Chairman proposed amendments to HB 890 that included language from a number of bills, a surprise move that left committee members scrambling to decipher the tremendous omnibus bill. The amendment includes the following: Charter Schools ·         Contains the for-profit loophole, allowing for-profits to manage charter schools ·         Gives A & B districts

The good news is that funding for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) will increase by $19.38-million for the 2012-2013 school year (Fiscal Year 2013). The bad news is that school districts will have to cover a $23-million increase in the employer’s share of the annual cost of the state retirement system. Therefore, schools will have about

You can see how your legislators voted on bills tracked by The Parents’ Campaign by clicking here. Bills of interest that passed during this session on which The Parents’ Campaign did not take a position include: HB 707, which affects the start date of school. This bill says that school may not begin before the third Monday in August. Because a

SB 2401, the Senate charter school bill, needs to be amended significantly by the House if it is to 1) provide children trapped in underperforming schools with a better education option, 2) improve student achievement, and 3) provide a good return on investment for taxpayer dollars.  Please continue to talk with your representatives about this

The UPSTART project is proposed in House Bill 1101. It is a “virtual” school bill for preschoolers. The bill appears to be written for the Waterford Institute, which has a program in Utah almost identical to that described in HB 1101.  The bill requires that the state (the MS Department of Education) provide free computers to any