Privatization

When you pray, move your feet.  It’s an old proverb that is among my favorites. Sometimes, the answer to a heartfelt prayer comes in a call to get up and do something – to be the vessel, the hands and feet, through which important works are done.  Mississippi parents are answering that call. They are moving their feet […]

We need your help again! Vouchers are still very much in play. A voucher bill that would send $6,500 per student to private schools is slated for a vote by the full House. Click here to see an analysis of the bill. Legislators whose ultimate goal is to privatize our public schools are still pushing their plan to hand debit

Legislators have gone home for the weekend, and they need to hear from you. Here’s the good news… None of the troublesome bills we told you about earlier in the week have been debated as of yet, so there is still time to influence your legislators’ votes. The even better news is that word is

Several bills being proposed in the 2015 Legislative Session open Mississippi’s doors to privatization of public schools. Tell your legislators to examine every bill carefully and to vote NO on any measure that allows state funds to pay or offset the cost of tuition at a private, for-profit, or virtual school. HB 394 and SB 2695

Our kids need your help. Well-funded privatization forces are gaining ground in their efforts to privatize Mississippi’s public education system, a move that would hand state tax dollars and our children’s futures to unaccountable for-profit, virtual, and private schools. Here’s what we know: a wealthy Mississippi businessman who supports privatization measures is offering large amounts

The Senate Education Committee has passed a voucher bill that, if enacted, would be a big step toward privatizing public education in Mississippi. That bill could be brought up for a vote of the full Senate as early as tomorrow. Please call your senator as soon as possible. This legislation, SB 2695, is being promoted

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

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

Vouchers are part of the scheme to privatize and “profitize” public education – to funnel taxpayer dollars to unregulated, unaccountable private and/or for-profit schools. Public schools operate under the most stringent standards of government accountability and transparency; private schools are completely unaccountable to taxpayers for the public dollars that go into their coffers. Vouchers have been shown to be ineffective in