The Push For School Choice

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Backers of allowing Mississippi parents to spend public education money outside the traditional public school system continue to push for action in the 2018 legislature.

Today, January 9, Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison, an Oxford Republican, held a hearing where supporters made their case.

Tollison says he still plans to introduce a bill that would expand the current program beyond students who need special education services to also include aid for children of low- and middle-income families to attend private schools.

The plan’s prospects are uncertain in the House, though. Proponents were counting votes last week but it’s unclear if they found a majority to support it.

New House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, a Long Beach Republican, says he’s unfamiliar with the measure and doesn’t know if he’ll support it.