In close vote, House Education Committee advances sweeping school choice bill

The Mississippi House Education Committee on Wednesday advanced a sweeping education bill that combines private school vouchers, expanded charter school authority, public school choice provisions and a range of other policy changes into a single legislative package.

The bill, House Bill 2, Committee Substitute, passed out of committee on Jan. 14, 2026, by a vote of 13–11, with two members absent and no members present but not voting. The measure now moves forward in the legislative process.

The legislation proposes one of the more significant restructurings of Mississippi’s K–12 education landscape in recent years.

Private school vouchers and homeschool provisions

HB 2 establishes a school choice program that would provide state-funded vouchers for private school tuition as well as direct funding for homeschool families. Under the bill, participating private schools would receive approximately $7,000 per student—the same base cost amount that public schools receive under the Mississippi Student Funding Formula. At 12,500 initial voucher slots, the program would cost an estimated $87.5 million.

However, the bill explicitly prohibits the state from requiring private voucher schools to alter their admissions practices, administer state assessments or participate in the Mississippi Statewide Accountability System.

Homeschool students would also be eligible for public funds without being subject to the academic standards or accountability requirements imposed on public school students.

Public school choice and the Tim Tebow Act

The legislation also expands public school choice, requiring public school districts to report capacity and accept transfer students where space is available.

The bill includes the Tim Tebow Act, which allows homeschooled students to participate in public school extracurricular activities—such as athletics—without being subject to the same academic, attendance or testing requirements as enrolled public school students. Every neighboring state already permits some form of this policy.

Charter school expansion and amendments

As originally drafted, HB 2 would have allowed charter schools to locate in any school district statewide without approval from local school boards. The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board currently oversees the state’s existing charter schools.

During the committee meeting, chair Rob Roberson introduced a committee substitute amendment narrowing that provision. The revised language allows charter schools to locate—without local school board approval—only in districts containing at least one D- or F-rated school, rather than in all districts statewide.

The amendment also removed a provision altering the definition of net enrollment in the state funding formula that would have excluded pre-kindergarten students—a change critics argued would have permanently reduced public school funding.

According to the Mississippi Parents Campaign, legislators were informed that all other provisions of the bill remained unchanged. The revised version of the bill was not made publicly available online until approximately one hour after the committee vote.

Additional provisions

Beyond school choice and charter expansion, the bill includes an adolescent literacy initiative building on the state’s nationally recognized Literacy-Based Promotion Act, a new statewide math program; loosening of operational restrictions on charter schools; National Board Certified Teacher salary supplements for charter school teachers; an assistant teacher pay raise from $17,000 to $20,000 annually; the consolidation of the Copiah County and Hazlehurst City school districts effective July 2028; and various additional technical and policy changes.

Notably absent from the House bill is a broad teacher pay raise. The Senate recently passed a $2,000 across-the-board raise for certified teachers, estimated at $132 million annually—a measure that could emerge as a bargaining chip between the chambers.

Committee vote breakdown

Yeas (13): Manly Barton, Charles Blackwell, Randy Boyd, Sam Creekmore, Kevin Felsher, Jimmy Fondren, Zachary Grady, Celeste Hurst, Vince Mangold, Brad Mattox, Jansen Owen, Kimberly Remak, Beth Luther Waldo.

Nays (11): Stephanie Foster, Justis Gibbs, Jeffery Harness, Greg Holloway, Kenji Holloway, Kent McCarty, Dana McLean, Carl Mickens, Robert Sanders, Cheikh Taylor, Percy Watson.

Absent (2): Richard Bennett, Becky Currie.

What this means for public education

If enacted, HB 2 would mark a fundamental shift in how Mississippi funds and governs public education.

The bill moves public education dollars beyond traditional public schools and into private schools and homeschools with minimal state oversight, creating parallel systems operating under different rules. Public schools would continue to face testing mandates, accountability ratings and enrollment reporting requirements, while private and homeschool recipients of public funds would not.

The accountability double standard is stark. According to the Mississippi Department of Education’s 2024-25 accountability data, 80 percent of public schools and 87 percent of districts earned grades of C or higher under the state’s A-F grading system—a decline from the previous year but still reflecting sustained improvement since the Literacy-Based Promotion Act began transforming reading instruction in 2013. Mississippi climbed from 49^th in fourth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2013 to 21st by 2022, a transformation widely studied as a model for evidence-based education reform.

Meanwhile, six of seven existing Mississippi charter schools that received accountability grades in 2024-25 were rated D or F. The list of authorized charter schools is maintained by the Charter School Authorizer Board. The bill’s charter expansion provision would allow new charters to open in districts with at least one D- or F-rated school—the same performance category that defines most current charter outcomes. Nine traditional districts earned D or F grades in 2024-25, opening them to charter expansion without local school board approval.

The charter school provisions would significantly limit local school board authority, particularly in districts already struggling academically, by allowing new charters to open without local approval. This could reshape school governance in D- and F-rated districts while intensifying competition for students and funding.

For rural Mississippi, where public schools often serve as community anchors and major employers, the stakes are high. School district funding follows students under the Mississippi Student Funding Formula. If students leave for private schools using public voucher dollars, the per-pupil funding follows them—but the fixed costs of operating buses, maintaining buildings and staffing classrooms remain. Districts operating on thin margins could face difficult choices about school closures and staff reductions.

At the same time, the bill bundles together unrelated initiatives such as literacy programs, teacher pay adjustments, and district consolidation, making it difficult for lawmakers to support or oppose individual provisions without accepting the entire package.

The close committee vote and the late public release of the amended bill suggest the proposal is likely to remain contentious as it moves forward. Senate leaders have indicated they will not consider voucher legislation, setting up a likely confrontation between the chambers. If passed, House Bill 2 would accelerate Mississippi’s shift toward a market-based education model, raising long-term questions about equity, accountability and the future role of public schools in the state.