The members of the Mississippi Legislature’s House Education Committee, headed by Chairman Richard Bennett, should stand and take a bow. We applaud each of you for allowing Senate Bill 2675 to die quietly, without it even being considered by the committee deadline on March 5. Great Job!!! We at Parents for Public Schools couldn’t be more delighted!
Senate Bill 2675, introduced by Sen. Gray Tollison, amounted to a voucher program, and would have expanded the Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program dollars for public school students with disabilities to include footing the bill for private school student education.
Sen. Tollison’s bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and made it to the House Education Committee on February 20th.
Thank you for responding to the emergency e-blast sent out by PPS asking you to immediately let your state lawmaker know your position on Senate Bill 2675 — that it was a bad measure for the equity and excellence we all want for our public schools. Undoubtedly you helped influence this positive outcome! Now, let’s follow up and thank each member of the House Education Committee and its Chair Richard Bennett for speaking loudly without taking a single vote.
Please take the time to reach out to House Education Committee members who merit our heart-felt thanks on behalf of parents, public school staffs and all who work hard every day to help our students succeed.
House Education Members: Rep. Richard Bennett, Chair; Rep. Rob Roberson, Vice Chair; Otis Anthony; Manly Barton; Joel Bomgar; Randy P. Boyd; Charles Busby; Credell Calhoun; Gary Chism; Alyce G. Clarke; Angela Cockerham; Carolyn Crawford; Dana Criswell; Becky Currie; Scott DeLano; Jarvis Dortch; Bob Evans; Jeffrey S. Guice; Ashley Henley; Gregory Holloway, Sr.; Steve Hopkins; Chris Johnson; Vince Mangold; Carl Mickens; Orlando Paden; Rufus Straughter; Kenneth Walker; Jason White; and Sonya Williams-Barnes.
Other resources
SB 2675 – Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program; revise.
- To amend the “Equal Opportunity for Mississippi Students with Special Needs Act” providing Education Scholarship Account (ESA) funds for eligible students
- To establish the Office of Educational Opportunity within the State Department of Education to administer the ESA program,
- To clarify parental obligations to qualify eligible students for the program
- To clarify the authorized use of education scholarship funds
- To prescribe certain norm-referenced tests for participating students
- To revise the limitations on eligible student participation in the program, to clarify ESA funding amounts for participating students
- To clarify procedures for student applications for the program
- To create the special ESA fund in the state treasury
- To revise limits on administrative costs
- To clarify reporting requirements by participating service providers, and to provide that program rules are subject to the requirements of the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act
- To conform to the provisions of the Compulsory School Attendance Law
- To include Education Scholarship Account (ESA) programs as “add-on programs” funded under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and to provide for the distribution from the MAEP fund to the special ESA fund
- To delete the automatic repealer on The Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program
- This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage