3/4/25 Legislative Update: School Choice Bills Die

Today was a good day for public education in our state, as the Senate Education Committee did not take up the following bills, so the bills died on the calendar with tonight’s committee deadline:

• HB 1078 removed changes made during the 2024 Legislative Session to increase accountability of the ESA voucher program for special needs students. The bill also removed the current cap of 500 new enrollees each year and expanded the voucher program to kids in foster care who do not have special needs.
• HB 1431 created a task force to study consolidation, but the 20-member task force only included one K-12 educator.
• HB 1432 expanded opportunities for charter schools and allowed charters in C districts.
• HB 1435 allowed a public school student in any public school district to transfer to another public school district. Although HB 1435 died in Senate Education this morning, Rep. Jansen Owen of Pearl River County amended SB 2618, the school attendance officer bill, in House Education this afternoon to insert HB 1435’s school choice language into the bill. SB 2618 is now headed to the full House, but today’s amendment violates House rules and should be subject to a point of order because SB 2618 does not contain the section of state law (MISS. CODE ANN. Section 37-15-31) contained in HB 1435.
• HB 1617, commonly referred to as the Tim Tebow Act, allowed homeschool students to participate in public school extracurricular activities.

Please join MPE in thanking Lt. Governor Hosemann, Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar and members of the Senate Education Committee for standing up for our public schools today. MPE deeply appreciates their commitment to our students, educators, schools and communities.  As we have shared before, Mississippi does not need to adopt choice just because other states have done so, especially when school choice in those states has proved to be an academic failure.

With regards to other bills we are monitoring, SB 2439, which created a new Tier 5 for employees who become members of PERS on or after March 1, 2026, also died today after the House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee failed to consider it.

Other dangerous bills remain alive, including HB 1902 and HB 1903 that increase tax credits for donations to private schools and reduce state revenues. MPE will continue to monitor legislation and keep you updated as to developments. This Friday’s bill tracking spreadsheet will reflect all of the bills that died with tonight’s committee deadline.

Thank you for your calls, texts and emails to members of the Senate Education Committee and other senators. Educators from throughout our state have made their voices heard and it is making a difference!