Mississippi

School Choice Policies

Charter School Choice

Does the state have charter schools?

Are for-profit charter schools or management companies allowed?

No-

"A charter school and any education service provider which provides comprehensive management for a charter school must be a nonprofit education organization."

37-28-39 (2) Charter school and certain service providers to be nonprofit education organization; charter school to function as local educational agency

Is there a cap on the number of charter schools?

Yes-

"The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board may approve a maximum of fifteen (15) qualified charter applications during a fiscal year."

37-28-7 (2b) Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board created; jurisdiction; mission; composition

Are charters required to provide transportation for any students?

Unclear-

"The terms of each charter school must include a transportation plan for students attending the charter school."

37-28-43 (5) Prohibition against discrimination; prohibition against charging tuition; transportation plan; virtual courses

Can charter schools employ uncertified teachers?

Yes-

No more than 25% of teachers may be exempt from state teacher licensure requirements. Administrators are exempt from state licensure requirements. All teachers and administrators must have a bachelor's degree and teachers must demonstrate subject-matter competency.

37-28-47 (1)(a) Qualifications of charter school employees; applicability of Education Employment Procedures Law

Virtual School Choice

Do state statutes allow for full-time virtual schools?

No-

Mississippi statutes allow for the Mississippi Virtual Public School, where students can take online courses to supplement their local course choices. Students cannot earn a diploma completely online.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-161-3

Mississippi DOE: Mississippi Virtual Public School (MVPS)

Are virtual schools required to track attendance?

Not applicable

Do virtual schools have to comply with state teacher certification requirements?

Not applicable-

While MVPS is not full-time, "each teacher employed by or participating in the delivery of instruction through the Mississippi Virtual Public School must meet all qualifications for licensure in the State of Mississippi."

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-161-3(8)

Private School Choice

Does the state have voucher programs?

Yes-

Mississippi statutes allow for two voucher programs: the Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship for Students with Speech-Language Impairments Program and the Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia.

37-175-1 through 37-175-29 Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship for Students with Speech-Language Impairments Program

37-173-1 through 37-173-31 Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia

Does the state have educational expense tuition tax credits or deductions?

No-

No educational expense tax credits or deductions found.

EdChoice School Choice in America

Can students use vouchers to attend religious schools?

Unclear-

To be eligible to participate in either the Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship or the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship, a nonpublic school must be a state accredited nonpublic special purpose school. For the Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship, the school must be organized to provide and emphasize instruction in speech-language therapy and intervention as the primary purpose of the school.

This is "Unclear" because the statute does not specify whether these schools can be religious. However, a Mississippi policy expert stated that students cannot use vouchers to attend religious schools because law only allows vouchers for children with special needs who may go to a limited number of special purpose schools.

37-173-17 Eligibility requirements for nonpublic schools to participate in scholarship program.

37-175-17 Eligibility requirements for nonpublic schools to participate in scholarship program.

Is there a cap on the number of students or private schools participating in voucher programs?

Did not find-

We did not find information about caps on the number of students or private schools participating in voucher programs. However, a Mississippi policy expert stated that there is no cap for the voucher program.

Are voucher students in private schools required to take any standardized tests?

Did not find-

We did not find information about whether voucher students are required to take standardized tests. However, a Mississippi policy expert stated that there is no requirement.

Can private schools be removed from voucher programs based on performance?

Did not find-

We did not find information about whether private schools can be removed from voucher programs based on performance. However, a Mississippi policy expert specified that private schools cannot be removed from voucher programs based on performance.

Are private schools in voucher programs required to provide transportation?

No-

Mississippi Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship: If parent opts to remove child from public school to nonpublic special purpose school and to receive a scholarship, then transportation shall be provided at the parent/guardian expense.

37-175-13 (3) State Department of Education duties regarding administration of program; determination of funding; transportation of students

Interdistrict School Choice

Does the state have interdistrict choice programs?

Yes-

"...individual students living in one school district or a grade or grades of a school within the districts may be legally transferred to another school district, by the mutual consent of the school boards of all school districts concerned, which consent must be given in writing and spread upon the minutes of such boards."

37-15-31 (1)(a) Transfer of students between school districts generally

Are receiving schools or districts required to provide transportation to any students?

Unclear-

"Any such agreement by school boards for the legal transfer of a student under this subsection shall include a provision for the transportation of the student by either the transferor or the transferee school district...However, if the school boards agreeing on the legal transfer of any student shall fail to agree on which district shall provide transportation, the responsibility for transporting the student to the transferee school district shall be that of the parent or guardian."

37-15-31 (3) Transfer of students between school districts generally

Page last updated: December 2020

Click here to download the State Policy Spreadsheet. Click here to download the State Policy Map Data Memo.

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The State Policy Map provides a snapshot of school choice policy found in laws passed by the legislative bodies, for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on information gathered from state statutes in fall 2019; data checks continued through December 2020. Information on this site may not include the most up-to-date policy information. The State Policy Map does not systematically reflect state Department of Education administrative policies, rules, or regulations. All content on this site is provided for informational purposes only. Links to third-party websites are for the user’s convenience; neither REACH nor any affiliated entities endorse the contents of third-party sites.

Note: On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Montana's exclusion of religious schools from the state's tax credit scholarship program was unconstitutional (Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue 591). The responses to the question "Can students use vouchers to attend religious schools?" were collected before this ruling and therefore do not reflect any changes resulting from the Espinoza decision.