Voucher Bills Filed This Session

The following bills have been introduced in the 2014 Legislative Session; all are designed to divert taxpayer dollars from public schools to private 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 states that have tried them. 

Ask legislators to vote NO on vouchers, tax credit scholarships, or other schemes to divert taxpayer dollars from public schools to private schools. Click here to find contact information for the legislators who represent your school district. 

See related ALEC bill:  Great Schools Scholarship Tax Credits  
   

SB 2209 (Authored by Sen. Gandy) (DEAD)

See related ALEC bill:  Great Schools Scholarship Tax Credits 

SB 2595 (Authored by Sen. Watson) (DEAD)

• Establishes a tax credit program to be administered by the Mississippi Development Authority for the purpose of providing up to $92-million in tax credits to businesses and corporations that contribute to scholarships for low- and middle-income students to attend any private, online, or home school in the state
• 75 percent of funds in the program must be directed toward organizations that provide scholarships for nonpublic schools
• 25 percent of funds must go educational improvement organizations that provide assistance to public traditional or charter schools

• Requires the state to pay directly to parents funds to cover the costs of private school tuition
• State funds are diverted from the MAEP allocation intended for the student’s resident school district
• Allows for student transfer to a nonresident school district with funds to follow the student
• Requires the resident district to provide transportation up to 10 miles to the chosen school in the nonresident district
• Establishes a separate bureaucracy to manage the program, including a paid executive director and staff
• The first two years of the program will be limited to low-income children residing in attendance zones of the lowest performing 20 percent of schools in the state
• Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year the program will be open to all low- and middle-income children throughout the state regardless of their schools’ performance classification  

• Sets up a program for a student’s MAEP funds and local ad valorem taxes to be transferred into individual student education savings accounts
• Parents agree to use the funds for private school, online/virtual school, home school, or other education services in at least the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science
• Includes no verification of school attendance or accountability other than the parent’s signed agreement
• Sets no limit on the number of participating students or on the amount of taxpayer funds that can be diverted from MAEP or local ad valorem collections to privately held individual accounts

• Both of these bills deplete the State Treasury by creating a state income tax deduction for private school tuition or home school expenses
• SB 2280 allows a per household deduction up to $1,000
• SB 2749 allows a per household deduction up to $5,000

• These are companion bills that shift state funding to private or online schools for students with special needs
• Participating nonpublic schools are not held accountable for the quality of education they provide to special needs students and are not required to provided special education services at all, despite being paid for by taxpayer funds
• Mandate payments to Individualized Education Funds (IEFs) for students with special needs at an amount equal to the MAEP base student cost plus the proportionate share of funds for categorical aid programs
• Students are eligible who have either an IEP (Individualized Education Program) or a 504 accommodation (both bills amended to remove 504 accommodations)
• SB 2325 allows the participation of up to 2,500 students with a 504 accommodation and places no limit on the number of IEP students receiving vouchers (amended to limit participation)
• HB 765 limits the program to 500 students with a 504 accommodation and places no limit on the number of IEP participants (amended to limit participation)

HB 529 (Authored by Rep. Crawford) (DEAD)
Exceptional Children Scholarships – Diverts funds from the State Treasury to pay private school tuition for children with disabilities

• Allows per-student scholarships of up to $3,400 annually for exceptional children attending private schools

HB 831 (Authored by Rep. Barker) (DEAD)
Speech-Language Therapy Scholarships – Diverts funds from the State Treasury to pay private school tuition for children with speech-language impairments

• Expands existing speech-language scholarship program to divert additional state funding to special purpose schools

HB 562 (Authored by Rep. Barker) (DEAD)

• Establishes scholarships for students with an eligibility ruling of autism spectrum disorder to receive services from a private, special purpose school
• Creates unfunded mandates for public schools: 1) requires autism screening for all children before the end of first grade and 2) establishes comprehensive new requirements for all students in grades kindergarten through six, not just those with autism, regarding placement of students and determination of instructional levels