The education bills listed below have passed the House and Senate Education Committees, and most are awaiting floor votes. A few are double referred and must pass a second committee before going to the floor for a vote of the full chamber.
Ask your legislators to VOTE NO on these bills:
• HB 867 imposes an extensive administrative burden on school districts by requiring that they report publicly the capacity in each grade of each school that is available for out-of-district transfer students. The bill allows students to attend schools in districts where they do not live and do not pay property tax, if the receiving district approves. Passed House Education Committee; goes to House floor. VOTE NO
• HB 1192 allows a for-profit virtual school company with abysmal academic results to operate schools in Mississippi. Passed House Education Committee; goes to House floor. VOTE NO
• HB 1449 creates a committee, with a majority of members appointed by voucher supporters, to determine whether Mississippi should adopt a vouchers-for-all scheme. Passed House Education Committee; goes next to House Appropriations Committee. VOTE NO
Ask your legislators to VOTE YES on these bills:
• HB 765 allows the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act to remain as law by extending the repeal date. Passed House Education Committee; goes to House floor. VOTE YES
• HB 1672 expands eligibility for the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program beyond first-year teachers; includes alternate route teachers and graduate level loans. Passed House Education Committee; goes next to House Appropriations Committee. VOTE YES
• SB 2332 makes minor adjustments to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program to increase funding for low-wealth school districts and reduce the inflation factor. Passed Senate Education Committee; goes to Senate floor. VOTE YES
• SB 2682 allows the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act to remain as law by extending the repeal date. Passed Senate Education Committee; goes next to Senate Appropriations Committee. VOTE YES
• SB 2685 allows retired teachers to work full time in critical shortage areas while receiving PERS benefits. Passed Senate Education Committee; goes to Senate floor. VOTE YES
Capitol Switchboard: 601.359.3770
Speaker White: 601.359.3300
Lt. Gov. Hosemann: 601.359.3200
These bills could be taken up for votes at any time, so please make those calls right away. Ask other public school supporters you know to call, too.
We are still watching for the House MAEP rewrite, which has not yet been taken up in committee. The deadline for that is tomorrow (Tuesday). You can find the status of all bills we’re following on our website’s bill tracker: https://msparentscampaign.org/bill-tracker/
We promise to keep you posted, because together, we’ve got this!
