2/7/25 Legislative Update: House Approves Public School Choice Bill

Tuesday night, February 4, was the first committee deadline of the session. Any general bill not passed out of its respective committee(s) by this deadline died on the calendar. Thousands of bills died with Tuesday’s deadline.

Special thanks to Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar and members of the Senate Ed Committee for killing that chamber’s school choice bill Tues afternoon when SB 2602 died in committee for lack of a motion to pass. We greatly appreciate Chairman DeBar listening to his committee members who listened to their constituents’ concerns regarding school choice. Senator DeBar acknowledged there was no support on the committee for the bill.

The following bills are of great concern

• HB 1078 removes changes that were made during the 2024 Legislative Session to enhance oversight and accountability of the ESA voucher program for special needs students. The bill also removes current law’s cap of 500 new enrollees each year and eliminates the ESA wait list. HB 1078 passed the full House yesterday. Click here to see how your representative voted. HB 1078 is now headed to the Senate where it will be assigned to committee. 
• As it was introduced, HB 1431, the Education Efficiency Act, created a 15-member task force to study the potential for consolidation and the efficiency of districts throughout the state, especially those in counties with two or more school districts and those school districts whose boundaries are within two counties. As passed House Education Tuesday afternoon, these 15 members only included one (1) K-12 educator – the State Superintendent of Education - and three members of the Commission on School District Efficiency. The last information I can find regarding this Commission is from 2018, so I am not sure it still exists. The remaining 11 members were comprised of eight (8) legislators, the Commissioner of Higher Education, the Director of the Community College Board and the Commissioner of Revenue.  HB 1431 was amended on the House floor yesterday to add five (5) more legislators to the task force, so 13 (65%) of the now 20-member task force will be legislators. HB 1431 passed the full House yesterday. Click here to see how your representative voted. HB 1431 is now headed to the Senate where it will be assigned to committee. 
• HB 1432 creates additional opportunities for charter schools to expand and allows charters to be approved in C rated districts until the State Board of Education adjusts the cut scores for the accountability model. Charters are currently only allowed in D and F districts. HB 1432 also diminishes accountability for charter schools. The Charter School Authorizer Board opposes HB 1432 as it was developed and is being pushed by external entities. HB 1432 passed House Education Tuesday and is awaiting consideration by the full House.
• HB 1433: This school choice and voucher bill sends public tax dollars to private schools and opens the door for universal school choice in our state. It allows any student in any public school or district rated D or F in the last five years to transfer to another public school or district or private school. Despite remarkable post-pandemic growth, 42 districts would qualify under this provision of HB 1433. State funding follows a student which could result in a significant financial impact on districts with already limited resources, possibly exacerbating inequities. See my email of Tuesday night, February 4, for an overview of House Education’s vote on HB 1433 Tuesday. Please continue to contact your representative and Speaker of the House Jason White (601-359-3300) between now and February 13 and ask them to kill HB 1433 and to vote “No” if it is brought up on the House floor. In our Fall 2024 MPE Member Survey, 81% of respondents did not support legislation that would allow families to send their children to private schools at taxpayer expense via vouchers. HB 1433 is awaiting consideration by the full House.
• HB 1435 is a school choice bill that allows a public school student in any public school district to transfer to another public school district. HB 1435 eliminates current law’s authority for the releasing district to deny a transfer. HB 1435 requires districts to report their enrollment capacity three times each year, including space available for each school and grade. The district must also report its transfer policy. Athletic participation of students who transfer will be governed by MHSAA rules. HB 1435 was amended on the House floor yesterday to require the Legislative PEER Committee to issue a report after the first year of implementation of this choice bill if it is enacted into state law. HB 1435 passed the House yesterday morning by a vote of 67-46.  Click here to see how your representative voted. HB 1435 now heads to the Senate where it will be assigned to committee. 
• HB 1617, commonly referred to as the Tim Tebow Act, allows homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular activities. While public school athletes must maintain a 2.0 GPA to participate in MHSAA activities, HB 1617 allows homeschool students to submit a portfolio of their work (which is not subject to state standards) and requires public school administrators to determine the appropriateness of such portfolios. HB 1617 is awaiting consideration by the full House.

Next Thursday, February 13, is the floor deadline. Any general bill not passed by its chamber of origin (i.e., House or Senate) will die on the calendar. MPE's first bill tracking spreadsheet of those bills that survived Tuesday night’s committee deadline will be posted in the “Legislative News” section of this website later this weekend. This first spreadsheet will only reflect the short titles of the bill, while descriptions of what each bill does will be added to next week’s bill tracking spreadsheet.

It is extremely critical that all educators stay informed and engaged during this legislative session as multiple bills that will fundamentally change our state’s approach to public education are under consideration at the capitol.