The establishment of a school choice program is expected to be heavily debated during the 2026 legislative session.
School choice allows public education funds to follow students in kindergarten through 12th grade to the schools or services that best fit their needs —whether that’s to a public school, private school, charter school, home school or any other learning environment families choose.
States surrounding Mississippi already have policies that allow families to enroll students in schools other than those in the districts where they live and pay for education services, including private school tuition, using public dollars.
Private education advocates, religious conservatives and some families, who believe families should have the freedom to determine the best K-12 school options for their children and receive help footing the bill, have campaigned throughout the country for school choice programs.
In Mississippi, Jason White, speaker of the state House of Representatives, has said passing a comprehensive school choice bill is a top priority for the upcoming session. He established the House Education Freedom select committee to study school choice.
Gov. Tate Reeves also supports comprehensive school choice.
The idea of parents having the freedom to use taxpayer dollars on schools that align with their values “isn’t going to slide for another year, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to pass,” said Marty Wiseman, Ph.D., former longtime director of the John C. Stennis Institute for Government and Economic Development at Mississippi State University.
Marlana Walters, a parent of twins, a son and a daughter who are sophomores at Madison Central High School, wants to know more about what legislators will consider and the impact it could have.
“When I think of school choice, I think I had a choice about where I live,” she said. “I chose to live in Madison because of the schools. It’s why people buy in certain areas.”
The idea of students being able to attend a public school in a district where they do not live concerns Walters because she believes it could lead to overcrowding at the top schools.
“If you have a high-performing school with great programs and great support from the community, everybody will want to go there,” she said.
Madison County has an infrastructure problem and Walters believes if additional students are able to attend school there it would worsen that. “Is it going to mean 200 more cars on the road, trying to make that light so they can get their kids to school on time?” she asked.
Walters said her two children attended a private school during kindergarten and first grade and she is curious about how a school choice policy that implements vouchers, also known as educational savings accounts, would impact enrollment at private schools.
“The private schools can’t take all the children,” she said.
Walters also wonders if school choice policies could disturb what private schools stand for.
“There’s a reason why people send their kids to private schools,” she said. “They don’t want the state involved. If a private school takes public funds, does it fundamentally change what it stands for? Will children still be allowed to pray in the classroom?”
Barrett Donahoe, executive director of the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), said it’s tough to determine on the front end how broad an impact school choice legislation would have on independent schools in the state.
The Mid-South Association of Independent Schools has 114 member schools in Mississippi, which represents 40,000 students in the state and about 6,000 faculty and staff members.
It’s also tough before any legislation is passed to determine how many additional students in Mississippi would opt for independent schools, Donahoe said.
Should the Legislature implement a policy with vouchers and provide funding for them, independent schools would see growth, he said. Some independent schools would be able to admit additional students while other schools would have room only for a limited number of students due to their physical size, he said.
The Jackson metro area has the greatest concentration of MAIS schools than any other area of the state, Donahoe said. “I can’t see a situation where they wouldn’t be impacted,” he said.
Leaders of the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools have spoken with White and his staff about protecting faith-based values that are part of many independent schools and preserving admission standards already in place, Donahoe said.
“We want to be part of the conversation,” he said. “We feel like we’re needed and a valuable accrediting institution in the state.”
Not everyone believes school choice policies are desirable.
The Jackson City Council adopted a resolution in September against public and private school choice programs that “undermine” education. The resolution was patterned after one the board of aldermen in the city of Clinton passed earlier this year.
Ashby Foote, who represents Ward 1 on the council, was the only council member who did not support the resolution. Competition would be good for all schools and that parents need access to schools they think are best for their children, he said.
Kevin Parkinson, who represents Ward 7, supported the council’s resolution because he believes in public schools and public charter schools. He also supports the state’s limited number of vouchers that are to educate students with special needs.
He believes vouchers for all students would take money away from public schools and put it in private schools, a move he doesn’t support.
Private schools unlike public schools can hand select students and are not held to the same accountability and academic standards as public schools, he said.
When asked about that, Donahoe said MAIS has a robust accrediting process, and its member schools have standardized testing through various entities. “The association’s average ACT score is three points higher than the state average,” he said.
Parkinson wrote in an email recap of the Sept. 23 city council meeting: “I will never judge any family for any education option they choose for their children. But the general public should not be expected to pay for it. Most importantly, we’ve seen this game play out elsewhere. A handful of states have tried full or near-full voucher/ESA programs. So far, results show budget overruns, mixed academic outcomes.”
Sen. David Blount, a Democrat who represents District 29 (Hinds County), echoes the thoughts of Parkinson. He, too, opposes school choice legislation.
Vice chair of the Senate Education Committee, Blount believes state dollars are meant to provide public education that is open to all students and includes accountability with state financial oversight and academic testing, something which are not currently in place with private schools.
The state spends about $6,900 per student annually on public education.
Blount estimates vouchers could cost the state as much as $350 million per year if they are fully funded.
Wiseman believes if legislation passes that allows universal vouchers the majority will go to families whose children are already enrolled in private schools.
“The taxpayers would be paying for it,” he said. “The private school folks say, ‘We pay taxes and tuition and the least we could do is benefit from vouchers.’”
Wiseman believes school choice could hurt school districts that are unfunded and that large, well-funded districts would adapt to it.
Depending upon details of how district-to-district student transfers work, a family living in an underperforming district might do all it could to ensure its students attend a better district, he said.
“Individuals in south Holmes County might say, ‘I’ve got one chance to get my kids to college, and I can send them to Madison County Schools, and no matter how I do that I will,’” he said.
Wiseman wonders if school choice could be slowed by residents of school districts who like the way their districts are, naming those in Northeast Mississippi with successful basketball programs.
“If it looks like it would do damage to that then the legislators who represent those areas might not vote for it,” he said, because it could lessen their chances of getting re-elected.
During the 2025 session, several school choice bills died. One in the House would have allowed students in D and F-rated districts to transfer to another school, public or private.
A Senate committee killed a bill that passed the House that would have allow students to transfer to a public school district located outside of the district they live.
Another bill would have prevented a student’s home district from blocking a student transfer to a nearby district. The state lets students transfer from their home district to a nearby school district but both districts must OK it.
This coverage is supported by a grant from Press Forward Mississippi, part of a nationwide philanthropic effort to reinvigorate local news.
