Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

On April 24, 1997, then-Governor Kirk Fordice signed Mississippi's charter school law (House Bill 1672). The law allows any public school to convert to a charter school.[1] Schools may not be managed by for-profit organizations, and the conversion schools will receive no additional funding over what they received before conversion. The conversion must be supported by a majority of the students' parents, school staff, and school faculty. Charter contracts last for four years, and the state has a limit of six charter schools.[2]

In 1999, two voucher bills, H.B. 500 and H.B. 437, died in committee. H.B. 500 would have established a program providing vouchers worth up to $3,350 per recipient for use at either a public or private school.[3] H.B. 437 would have provided vouchers worth up to $2,500 for students whose families met certain income requirements (married couples who earned less than $30,000 per year and single parents who earned less than $20,000).

CEO Metro Jackson provides scholarships to low-income students. In 1998, Jackson became a Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF) "partner city." The CSF is a foundation that provides privately funded vouchers.[4] Parents must submit an application, and voucher recipients are selected by lottery. In 1999, CEO Metro Jackson received nearly 5,000 applications and awarded 325 scholarships.[5]

In January 2001, Representative Joseph L. Warren (D-90) introduced H.B. 924, which would have allowed the creation of new charter schools as well as the conversion of conventional public schools. The legislation would have enabled the Mississippi State Board of Education to grant charters for schools and would have required the state to provide students with transportation to charter schools. H.B. 924 died in committee.[6]

Voucher legislation similar to that which was proposed in 1999 was introduced again in 2001. H.B. 71 would have established a program to provide vouchers worth up to $3,350 for students to attend participating private schools.[7] Like H.B. 437 from 1999, H.B. 1398 would have established a program offering vouchers worth up to $2,500 to parents who met certain income requirements.[8] Both H.B. 71 and H.B. 1398 died in committee.

The Mississippi Public School Relief Act, Senate Bill 2122, was also introduced in 2001. The bill would have provided tax credits worth up to $500 for contributions to scholarship organizations.[9] S.B. 2122 died in committee.[10]

H.B. 100 was introduced in 2002 to provide low-income families with private-school vouchers worth $2,500 for their children. H.B. 100 died in committee.[11] Another bill, H.B. 349, would have established vouchers worth $3,500 for students to use for tuition or educational materials at either a public school or a private school. H.B. 349 also died in committee.[12]

In 2003, three voucher proposals were introduced. H.B. 935 would have established vouchers worth up to $2,500 for use at participating private schools.[13] H.B. 372, introduced by Thomas F. Cameron, III (I-52), would have established vouchers worth $3,350.[14] S.B. 2598 would have created a program similar to Florida's Opportunity Scholarship Program. Students in schools deemed "low-performing" by the state two years out of the past four would have received Opportunity Scholarships. All three bills died in committee.[15]

One tax credit bill was introduced in the Senate in 2003 but died in committee. S.B. 2043 would have created a tax credit for contributions to public schools or scholarship organizations. The credits would have been worth up to $500.[16]

H.B. 164 was introduced as tax credit legislation in the House. This bill would have provided tax credits for the purchase of tutoring services. The bill died in the Ways and Means Committee.[17]

In February 2004 Governor Haley Barbour announced in his State of the State Address that he intended to see Mississippi's charter school laws reformed and improved to give parents more choices.[18]

Senator Alan Nunnelee (R-6) introduced S.B. 2042 to provide tax credits for contributions to tuition scholarship organizations or public schools. Taxpayers would have been able to receive a dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $500 for a contribution to a scholarship organization or up to $200 for a contribution to a public school. The bill died in committee.[19]

In 2005, Gov. Barbour signed H.B. 238, which mandates that a commission be created to study the "feasibility" of charters in the state.[20] The bill passed after some debate, as members of the House only wanted to re-enact the law, which was set to expire. The compromise legislation created the commission and extended the law.[21]

In response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which ravaged parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, House Committee on Education and the Workforce chairman John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) introduced H.R. 4097, the Family Education Reimbursement Act. The bill would create Family Education Reimbursement Accounts--essentially vouchers for students displaced by the storms. The vouchers would be worth up to $6,700 per student and could be used at a public, charter, or private school of choice. The program would last for only one year.[22]