As Mississippi legislators prepare to open their 2025 session, they find themselves under siege from well-funded school choice proponents. Two non-profits are principals – the Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP) and Empower Mississippi (EM).
“Parental choice is the only certain way to raise standards and counter left-wing values in the classroom,” claims Douglas Carswell, MCPP’s strident mouthpiece. MCPP’s key goal is for legislators to allow for parents to enroll children at any public school of their choice. With caveats, of course: receiving schools could limit capacity; and refuse children with a “history of disciplinary problems.” Two other goals call for legislators to create a state budget for each individual student and to provide tax credits for costs to send children to private schools.
How this would raise standards is murky, likewise is evidence that Mississippi school boards allow “left-wing values” to be taught. Problematic, too, is MCPP’s push for tax credits while also advocating for zero personal income taxes.
Also for open enrollment and more charter schools, Empower Mississippi’s top target is an enhanced voucher system called Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Available since 2015 to children with certified disabilities, EM wants to “expand this life-changing scholarship program” in order to “save new generations of students,” explains EM’s CEO Grant Callen.
While EM touts benefits to students leaving public schools, research shows the vast majority of ESA accounts in other states have benefitted families whose children were already attending private schools.
In this scheme, legislators would provide a stipend that parents can draw down to pay tuition and other costs. Ideally, the stipend would match the amount the state puts up per student in public schools – about $6,695 for this school year. If just 50% of the 55,842 students already attending private schools drew such a stipend, the added costs to taxpayers would be $1.87 billion annually.
Problems with the above approaches, including unknown costs and consequences, have no doubt hindered legislative approval. Yet, the well-funded movement sustains momentum.
Offsetting the school choice siege are public school stalwarts. Another well-funded non-profit, The Parents Campaign (PC) helps lead that effort.
“Mississippi’s public schools are delivering impressive results, while research from voucher states shows that private school vouchers consistently produce dismal academic outcomes,” contends Nancy Loome, PC’s executive director. “Legislators should continue to invest in what has proven to deliver an excellent return: strong public schools and robust pre-k programs that provide all students a path to meet their potential.”
Yes, there are strong and improving schools, but there remain problem schools with unsafe, unruly classrooms. Until legislators make the hard choices to fix those schools, they should give the parents there reasonable choices to school their children elsewhere.
“Blessed are the peacemakers” – Matthew 5:9.
Crawford is the author of A Republican’s Lament: Mississippi Needs Good Government Conservatives.
