The Potential Impact of H.R.1 on School Funding
By Grace Breazeale, Director of Research and K-12 Policy On May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping domestic policy bill, H.R.1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed into law, it could indirectly lower the amount of state funding that school districts receive and reduce […]
Parents’ Campaign Long-Term Comparison of INSPIRE and Senate Bill 2332 Erroneous
This post is part of our ongoing analysis of 2024 education legislation. See our bill tracker here for all analyses. Mississippi First has spent the last year closely researching the impact of MAEP on districts throughout the state in order to determine how best to direct additional resources to students with the greatest needs. Having built up […]
Evaluating Equity in Mississippi’s 2024 School Funding Proposals
This post is part of our ongoing analysis of 2024 education legislation. See our bill tracker here for all analyses. In the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers have introduced two separate school funding proposals that each promise to inject at least an additional $200 million into funding for public education in Mississippi, with the House plan providing about […]
We Raised the Rate: 2023 Pre-K Legislative Review
By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy After four legislative sessions, we are excited to announce that our bill to permanently raise the per-pupil funding rate, HB 817, passed! The Governor signed the bill into law on April 17. This bill increases the state share of per-pupil pre-K funds from $2,150 to a minimum of $2,500 per […]
Pre-K in the 2022 Legislative Session
The 2022 legislative session was a wild ride for pre-K. Our bill to permanently change the per-pupil funding rate, HB 1246, died late in the session due to unrelated politics. This bill would have increased the state share of per-pupil pre-K funds from $2,150 to $2,500 per child—an increase of $350 per child in state funds […]
$16M for Mississippi Four-Year-Olds!
This news deserves its own post. The Mississippi State Legislature doubled its investment in state-funded pre-K to $16M. This is an historic step that ensures educational excellence for Mississippi kids. Pre-K has been a founding policy area for us. When we helped pass the original law in 2013, we hoped that within 10 years 25% of Mississippi’s […]
The “Raise the Rate” Impact
Last year, the legislature proved its commitment to early education by ensuring per-pupil pre-K funding was enough to promote quality. The legislature raised the pre-K rate from $4,300 to $5,000 per child, a difference of $700 total and $350 in state funds. Because the pandemic interrupted the session, the legislature made this change directly in the budget […]
Legislative Update: Pre-K
In 2020, the legislature decided to raise the per-pupil funding rate for collaboratives from $2,150 to $2,500. Because of the pandemic sidelined many general bills, our legislative champions did this directly in the budget bill. We were thrilled with this progress, but a change in the budget bill only lasts for one year. This year, we are back […]
Mississippi First Officially Launches Raise the Rate
Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First officially launched the Raise the Rate campaign at the Capitol. During the 2020 legislative session, Mississippi First will be working with partners, collaboratives, and legislators to raise the pre-K funding rate from $4,300 to $5,000 per child for early learning collaborative students. Because the cost of the state-funded pre-K program is shared between the state […]