It’s official! Governor Tate Reeves has signed a declaration making this week School Choice Week in Mississippi.
It is not just the Governor that supports school choice. A recent poll showed around eight out of ten Mississippians do, too.
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Giving families the right to use state money to get their children the education that suits their own needs is wildly popular. According to Arc Insights, both Democrats (73 percent) and Republicans (84 percent) back the idea.
School choice in Mississippi means giving every family Arkansas-style Education Freedom Accounts. That would mean any family that wanted to take part in the program receiving a deposit equal to about 90 percent of the prior year’s average net public school aid per student.
In other words, school choice means something very specific. This matters because people that would rather not allow parents control over their child’s share of education money, often imply that school choice somehow stops short of Education Freedom Accounts. Or they imply school choice means something else.
Mississippi parents love charter schools, which is why the handful that we have been allowed are oversubscribed. But even if we trebled the number of Charter Schools in the state, we would still not be giving enough families meaningful choice.
Broadening the choice of courses available for high schoolers is a good idea. It would help prepare young people for the world of work. But promising a wider range of choices within the system is not the same as allowing families to decide where their share of tax dollars goes.
Some suggest that school choice is good – but only in areas where school boards are rated D or F. If that was the case, there would only be choice in half a dozen districts. The whole point about school choice is that it should be for mom and dad to rate the education options available, not bureaucrats. School choice means Education Freedom for everyone!
The exciting news is that the voting public understands all this. A recent poll showed 3 in 4 Mississippians not only want school choice, but they specifically want Education Freedom Accounts.
It is great to see momentum building for school choice in this state. That has to mean Education Freedom Accounts available to everyone.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who lead the fight for school choice in Arkansas, called herself "a change-maker, not a caretaker of the status quo". Mississippi needs school choice, too.
