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Dear Jack,
Donald Trump wants it. Last week, the GOP adopted it as part of their 2024 platform. Parents in Mississippi overwhelmingly support it.
So why do some Mississippi ‘conservatives’ oppose school choice?
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Mississippi Republicans have had control of the Governor’s mansion since 2004. They have held the Senate since 2011 and the House since 2012. Yet little progress has been made to give families control over their child’s share of education tax dollars.
Mississippi has made less progress on school choice in 12 years than Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama made in the past 12 months. All three neighboring states now have universal school choice programs.
Louisiana passed school choice legislation a few weeks ago despite only having had a Republican governor for a year!
When many Mississippi politicians name-check school choice in speeches, they like to cite their support for Charter Schools. Great! But less than 1 percent of schools in Mississippi are Charter Schools.
Although a law was passed a decade ago to allow Charter Schools, the administrative state in Jackson has done all it can to stifle the growth of Charter Schools. The Charter Authorizer Board has rejected 80 percent of new school applications. Why has so little been done to change this?
The only significant progress made more recently was the 2024 school funding reform which gives every student a personalized education budget that reflects their needs (and which MCPP was heavily involved in). But what good is a personalized budget for students if they cannot spend it at a school of their choice?
Arkansas and other states achieved change because their leaders have been honest about the need for change.
In contrast, the conservative movement in Mississippi has indulged the myth of the ‘Mississippi miracle’ – the fantasy that we are seeing spectacular gains in education outcomes. We simply aren’t. If standards in our schools were so great, why are one in four students routinely absent?
Now that the states around us are galloping full tilt towards school choice, the absence of leadership on this issue is starting to become obvious.
Parents in Mississippi will notice when they see families in neighboring states using the $7,000 – 9,000 a year that the state will soon begin to pay into Education Freedom Accounts to send their kids to a school of their choice.
Team Trump might start to notice, too.
Stopping school choice won’t just harm the career of Mississippi students. It could be a bad career move for those wanting to find favor in Washington. Opposing school choice could make for awkward future moments at Mar-A-Lago – assuming one is still invited.
Have an awesome weekend!
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Warm regards,
Douglas Carswell
President & CEO
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