Education Freedom Will Eventually Prevail in Mississippi

Washington, D.C.—The recent defeat of the omnibus bill designed to expand education opportunity in Mississippi is disappointing, but the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is confident this is not the end of the quest for education freedom by families in the Magnolia State.

"We remain optimistic about the future of education freedom in Mississippi, despite our disappointment that the Mississippi Senate for not advancing the education freedom bill," said Erika Donalds, Chair of Education Opportunity the America First Policy Institute. "Mississippi families have shown they're ready for more educational options, and universal education savings accounts are the obvious next step."

There were many positive policies included in the bill, but the Magnolia Student Account (MSA) provisions were a significant compromise. The bill excluded too many students from eligibility, placed income caps on applicants, restricted the supply of participating schools, and did not provide sufficient funding for homeschool families.

Mississippi already has experience with narrow, limited school choice programs. The time for incrementalism is over.

"House Bill 2 tried to thread the needle to win over skeptics of education freedom," Donalds said. "It failed anyway. My advice is to go bold. Pursue a universal ESA that serves all students with formula-based funding. There will be opposition either way, so we might as well fight for a policy that delivers real educational freedom to every child in the state."

Educational freedom rarely arrives overnight. Mississippi can take solace in the example of Texas, where families waited decades to secure a robust school choice program. Just this week, the Lone Star State opened applications for its Education Savings Account (ESA) program that now has the nationwide record for most day-one enrollments for a new school choice program. Mississippi can ultimately follow the same path.

AFPI has released an Issue Brief outlining how states can design ESA policies to maximize education freedom and AFPI believes that ESAs should be available to all students, with funding equal to what would otherwise follow the student to a traditional public school. Programs should also encourage new options by minimizing barriers to entry for private schools and innovative education providers.

The America First Policy Institute will continue to support and promote policies in all fifty states that empower families and students access to more freedom in their pursuit of education.