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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) Program, which provides special needs students $6,765 per year from the state to attend nonpublic schools. Dubbed “The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act,” the program was established in 2015. “This legislation allows children who have special needs to continue receiving critical services at a school which has a program addressing those needs,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said in a statement. “It also [...]

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 amended the bill on the floor to include specific language for licensure of teachers at the Mississippi School of the Arts who have advanced degrees in artistic disciplines. “With MSA’s specialized classes in the arts, their teachers have had numerous issues getting through the licensure process, even though they are overly qualified,” Doty said. “I appreciate Chairman Debar supporting my amendment." Doty authored SB 2523, [...]

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 that’s another story. Effective government, however, cannot be singularly driven by tactical political thinking. Strategic policy thinking has a critical role. As state and local officials assess the decimating impact of the 2020 Pearl River flood, flood control is an appropriate example of the need for strategic policy thinking. Flood control and prevention seldom occupy public officials’ minds…until a flood happens. Of course, then, all [...]

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 strategies to meet legislative priorities for this session during “Natchez Day at the Capitol.” The priorities Russ listed included creating a 1% food and beverage tax countywide to pay down the debt for various economic development projects, funding renovations for Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center and allowing the City of Natchez to increase the amount of money allocated to Natchez Inc. to assist downtown development [...]

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 on behalf of students in school districts in Southwest Mississippi. Hosemann was elected Mississippi Lt. Governor in November 2019. The lawsuit filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims, contends that the federal government unconstitutionally took 8,000 acres of public school lands. The state seeks at least $25 million in damages from the federal government under the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment Takings clause which [...]

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 were leasing and outgrowing the previous building that was built about 80 years ago and needed a new facility. The long process of thinking, planning and building took about six years total. “This was tax-forfeited property and two years ago they came to me when I was secretary of state and they said ‘can you give this to the city, we want to build a [...]