Republican Speaker Jason White got his omnibus education overhaul/school-choice bill through the House last week, but it was a squeaker for the speaker.
The vote was 61-59 with 17 of White’s GOP supermajority peeling off and voting no, and two either absent or “taking a walk” and not voting.
White put on a full-court press in whipping reluctant Republicans to vote for the measure, which would, notably, allow families to use state tax dollars for private schooling.
Last week White invoked President Donald Trump and secured a social media endorsement for the bill from Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon. White has touted letters of endorsement from the state’s Catholic dioceses and other religious groups supporting school choice that could garner their school systems public money. And famed football star Tim Tebow is coming to Mississippi this week to promote the “Tim Tebow Act” part of the House bill that would allow homeschooled kids to play public-school sports.
But opposition to the bill appears more grassroots, and lawmakers are getting calls from their school superintendents and teachers back home urging them to oppose it.
Can White keep his razor-thin vote together for what promises to be an uphill battle for House Bill 2? Senate Republican leaders have declared the House school-choice bill — at least the part about using tax dollars for private schools — dead on arrival.
A win-one-for-the-Gipper campaign, even with Trump as the Gipper, might not be enough to keep the bill alive through a battle with the Senate, especially if House supermajority votes are needed to do so later in the session.
When Trump says jump, Republican Mississippi politicians typically only ask “how high?”
But so far, this appears to be the odd occurrence where a majority of Republicans in the 174-member Legislature in ruby red, Trump-supporting Mississippi are prepared to buck a proposal from his White House.
Quote of the Week
“If little Johnny’s momma is on crystal meth, and little Johnny’s daddy is a pimp, can you tell me how they (are) gonna be able to choose that little Johnny is getting the right kind of education services when that’s not even on their plate?” — Rep. John Hines, during debate over accountability for private schools if the Legislature approves letting parents use tax dollars to pay tuition.
In Brief
Legislation would support nuclear expansion in MS
State officials have signaled they are open to expanding nuclear power development in the state.
Bills to support this have been proposed in the House and Senate, driven in part by demand for power created by data centers popping up all over the South and Mississippi to support the artificial intelligence boom.
A bill authored by Sen. Joel Carter, a Republican from Gulfport, would provide $10 million to the Mississippi Development Authority to spend on “future nuclear development” for the upcoming fiscal year. A House bill by Rep. Jody Steverson, a Republican from Ripley, would create a special fund for MDA to administer nuclear site development grants, including reimbursement for some expenses. – Katherine Lin
Antisemitism bill would exempt reporting from DEI ban
Mississippi captured international attention last week after a 19-year-old Madison man allegedly set fire to the state’s largest synagogue, allegedly for its “Jewish ties.”
In the Legislature, Rep. Lee Yancey, a Republican from Brandon, has introduced a bill to combat what he says is a “historic rise in antisemitic violence, harassment and discrimination targeting Jewish students” at K-12 schools and in the higher education system.
The bill would require public schools to prohibit and report antisemitic discrimination and use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by several other state legislatures. Notably, the bill exempts all its provisions of a law the Legislature passed last year to ban DEI statements. This could mean that public school might be required to implement measures that might otherwise be considered DEI-related. – Michael Goldberg
Senate considering pieces of House ed plan
Senate leaders have started filing education bills that mirror portions of the massive education package the House passed Thursday.
This includes a bill that would allow homeschooled children to play public school sports and another that would establish a math program modeled after the 2013 literacy act. It’s a sign that the Senate is going to kill the House bill — after they pick the sections that they like.
Another education issue showing up in both chambers: cellphone bans. Both the House and the Senate have filed multiple bills that restrict or prohibit the usage of cellphones in school.
Youth mental health concerns have resulted in similar bans in at least 11 other states. A bill that would have required Mississippi school boards to create cell phone policies died last year, but several Mississippi school districts have since passed their own policies, including Jackson Public Schools and Madison County. – Devna Bose
More money for career coaching proposed
Rep. Donnie Bell, a Republican from Fulton, has proposed a bill to provide $20 million to expand a career coaching program for middle- and high-school students.
The career coaching program under Accelerate Mississippi, the state’s office of workforce development, helps students figure out their post graduation paths.
In a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting last week week, Courtney Taylor, director of Accelerate Mississippi, said there are currently 204 career coaches that serve 209 schools. The office has identified healthcare, advanced manufacturing and construction as priority career fields. – Katherine Lin
Sales tax exemption for farmers considered
Farmers are being squeezed from both sides with high input costs and low crop prices.
While there are larger economic forces at play, a bill authored by Sen. Neil Whaley, a Republican from Potts Camp and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, would exempt commercial farmers from the 1.5% state sales tax on some agricultural and logging equipment. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has also championed this exemption. – Katherine Lin
Stand-alone tourism department considered again
A bill to create a Department of Tourism has once again passed the Senate.
A bill authored by Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, a Republican from Winona and chair of the Tourism Committee, would remove tourism from the purview of the Mississippi Development Authority.
Last year, a similar bill was vetoed by Gov. Tate Reeves over funding issues, and the issue has been debated for years. In 2024, tourism contributed over $18 billion to the state’s economy and provided 136,094 jobs. – Katherine Lin
Bill would create Bobby Gentry Day
Rep. Sam Creekmore IV, a Republican from New Albany, has filed legislation to designate June 3 as Bobby Gentry Day in Mississippi — a nod to the date that Gentry once described in a song as “another sleepy, dusty Delta day.”The bill would honor Gentry, born Roberta Lee Streeter, a singer-songwriter from Woodland in northeastern Mississippi’s Chickasaw County.Gentry rose to national prominence in 1967 with her hit “Ode to Billie Joe,” a haunting song in which an unnamed narrator learns that Billie Joe McAllister has died after jumping from the Tallahatchie Bridge.Gentry has not made public appearances for decades and has largely avoided speaking with fans or the media, including in her home state. – Taylor Vance
Workers’ Compensation exemption proposed
A new exception to the workers’ compensation law would allow employers to not pay workers’ compensation for death or injury when an employee deliberately breaks a safety regulation.
The measure, authored by Rep. Donnie Bell, a Republican from Fulton, places the onus on the employer to prove that they had clearly communicated safety rules to the employee. – Katherine Lin
By the Numbers
$162 million
Estimated first-year cost of the House’s omnibus public education bill, including providing tax dollars for parents to use for private schooling or homeschooling.
More Legislative Coverage
Tears, Trump and student transfers: House barely passes school-choice bill. Will it survive?
The Mississippi House narrowly passed a major public-education overhaul Thursday after four hours of debate that centered on school choice — but also invoked President Trump, rifles and shotguns, the Psalm of David, pimps and meth addicts and even sexual innuendo. Read the story.
‘Absent’ Republicans, heavy whipping help Speaker Jason White pass school-choice bill
After perhaps the most intense vote-whipping he’s done as House speaker, Republican Jason White prevailed on a major school-choice bill, but only by a razor-thin, two-vote margin, with the future of the legislation uncertain. Read the story.
Mississippi House speaker invokes Trump in push for school choice. How involved might the president get?
Faced with internecine Republican opposition to “school-choice,” or spending tax dollars earmarked for public education on private schools, House Speaker Jason White broke out the biggest gun in Mississippi GOP politics: He invoked President Donald J. Trump. Read the story.
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