Jackson, Miss. (Y'all Politics) - Legislation in the Senate would prevent public employers from requiring applicants to disclose whether or not they have been convicted of a felony crime on an application. This effort is otherwise known as “ban the box.” “I’ve been working on this piece of legislation for years now,” said bill author Sen. [...]
Louisville, Miss. (Winston County Journal) - Outstanding students and faculty members from 34 Mississippi public and private universities and colleges were honored at the annual HEADWAE program, held earlier this week in Jackson. Higher Education Appreciation Day—Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) was established by legislative resolution to honor individual academic achievement and the overall contribution [...]
Tunica, Miss. (Mississippi Today) - Mississippi students soared on kindergarten readiness exams, third-grade reading “gate” tests, graduation rates and reading and math assessments, outperforming the nation. Carey Wright, state Superintendent of Education, said at a Mississippi Delta high school last week that the state could do even more with additional dollars from the federal government. [...]
Jackson, Miss. (Mississippi Today) - A controversial program that provides scholarships for special needs students to attend private school may see substantial changes if a bill continues in the legislative process. Senate Bill 2594 passed out of the Senate Friday on a voice vote. The bill would add accountability measures to the Education Scholarship Account (ESA) [...]
Brookhaven, Miss. (Daily Leader) - Several bills either authored or amended by Sen. Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven, passed the Mississippi Senate Tuesday and will now go to the House for consideration. SB 2511, authored by Education Chairman Dennis Debar Jr., addressed the critical teacher shortage in Mississippi by revising requirements for entrance into teacher education programs. Doty [...]
Meridian, Miss. (Meridian Star) - Politicians tend to be adept at tactical political thinking. How do I win the next election? How do I get this project my financial backers want approved? How do I keep special interest groups on my side? And so on. Strategic policy thinking to solve systemic and long-term problems, well [...]
Natchez, Miss. (Natchez Democrat) - Local officials gathered at the capitol building in Jackson on Wednesday and presented the city needs to state legislators over tables filled with Fat Mama’s Tamales and Darby’s fudge. Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ said Natchez Inc., in conjunction with other economic development partners, was able to map out [...]
Natchez, Miss. (Natchez Democrat) — Motions to dismiss a lawsuit that could bring millions of dollars to the Natchez-Adams School District and other area school districts failed in federal court Thursday. Federal Judge Elaine Kaplan denied the federal government’s efforts to dismiss a lawsuit filed in February 2019 by then Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann [...]
Picayune, Miss. (WLOX) - The city of Picayune celebrated its new fire station with a ribbon-cutting on Monday. The city leased the previous facility for many years and said it was never theirs because it was on school property. The Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi Delbert Hosemann and other officials were aware that the Picayune firefighters [...]
Jackson, Miss. (Clarion Ledger) - After hearing pleas from underpaid teachers for years, Mississippi legislators on Thursday took a first step toward giving them $1,000 raises this year and bringing starting salaries to $37,000. The Senate Education Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 2001, which would also bump starting assistant teacher salaries by $1,000, up to [...]
