No matter how many times you’ve already called your senator about HB 1046, please call again! The Senate has adjourned for the weekend without taking the bill up for a vote. They will reconvene on Monday at 4 p.m.; midnight Wednesday is the deadline for action on this bill.
A committee amendment turned HB 1046 into a privatization bill that sends public school MAEP funds to private schools. See the amended version.
This bill creates private school vouchers to pay tuition at any private academy that employs a dyslexia therapist, including those in other states. Vouchers create a 2-tiered system of state-funded schools that operate under two completely different sets of rules (one has rules, one doesn’t; both get MAEP funds), the privatizer’s blueprint for dismantling public schools.
Please ask your senator to vote NO on HB 1046.
Find contact information for legislators who represent your school district.
Capitol Switchboard: 601.359.3770
Share the same message with Lt. Governor Reeves: 601.359.3200
Our Legislature has, for years, claimed that it did not have the funds necessary to provide public school students and teachers the funding that state law says they need to be successful. At a time when revenue is plummeting and more cuts to public schools are likely, it is inconceivable that they would vote to take away even more funding from public schools to pay tuition at private academies that pick and choose the students they want to teach. Read more about the dangers of HB 1046.
Research shows that vouchers do not improve students’ academic performance. In fact, the most recent research finds that voucher students experience significant losses in achievement.
Please help us spread the word – ask everyone you know to call their senators about this bill. Our children are counting on us to keep public funds in public schools. Together, we’ve got this!
