Posted 12/23/2011; updated 1/13/2012

The Parents' Campaign's Legislative and Policy Priorities

2012 Legislative Session 

Convened January 3, 2012

Providing Resources that are Adequate for Teachers to Teach and Children to Learn 

Close significantly the gap between current funding and full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) in the 2012 Legislative Session; fully fund the MAEP by the end of the 2014 Legislative Session

Appropriations to public schools (excluding MDE) have been $1-billion below what is required in statute in the last 5 years resulting in:

The loss of over 2,000 teachers and other education personnel

Increased class size

Reduced elective options

Reduced advanced placement offerings

Reduced gifted classes

Reduced intervention programs for struggling students

Reduced extracurricular activities

Current funding is $237-million below full funding of the MAEP

Since FY2008, K-12 funding has been cut disproportionately:

Total state appropriations to K-12 funding – including federal ARRA appropriations – have decreased by 9.7%, while the entire state budget has decreased by only 3.6%;  the K-12 budget has suffered cuts at twice the level of the entire state budget

MAEP has lost significant ground as a percent of total appropriations; had MAEP been appropriated the same percent of the total budget that it was designated in FY2008, the FY2012 appropriation would have been $93.4-million higher

Improving Teacher Quality

(A recommendation of the Mississippi Economic Council's Blueprint Mississippi 2011) 

Increase the number of Teach for America (TFA) and Mississippi Teacher Corps (MTC) teachers in Mississippi schools with low accountability ratings or that have difficulty attracting highly effective teachers

$12.5-million annual appropriation

The increased appropriation would yield within 3 years a total of approximately:

1,000 TFA teachers working in Mississippi each year

100 MTC teachers working in Mississippi each year

Reform universities' teacher education programs to require:

More focus on content areas (the subjects teachers teach) will not require legislation

Instruction in Common Core Standards will not require legislation

Raise the standards for admission into schools of education and the requirements for teacher certification will not require legislation

Include in the teacher compensation package a merit-based approach that provides significantly increased compensation for teachers who demonstrate excellence in moving students forward   

Improving School Leadership

(A recommendation of the Mississippi Economic Council's Blueprint Mississippi 2011) 

Transition to all appointed superintendents by 2015; elected superintendents would be eligible for appointment by their boards   Read more

Authorizing Charter Schools in Attendance Zones of Chronically Underperforming Traditional Public Schools 

(A recommendation of the Mississippi Economic Council's Blueprint Mississippi 2011)

Authorize conversion and open-enrollment charter schools to provide an alternative for students who reside in the attendance zones of schools that for the two most recent consecutive years have been unsuccessful (those with accountability ratings of Academic Watch, Low Performing, At Risk of Failing, or Failing); currently, 232 schools have been unsuccessful for two years and 188 have been unsuccessful for three years

The following should apply:

Conversions may occur when at least 20% of the registered voters living within the attendance zone of the consistently unsuccessful traditional public school sign a petition requesting the conversion

All children living within the attendance zone of the relevant traditional public school shall be entered into a random admission selection process of an open-enrollment charter school; parents who do not want their children to attend the charter school may "opt out”

Students living within the school attendance zone but not enrolled in the traditional public school may opt in to the lottery of an open-enrollment charter school

Students living outside of the school attendance zone and enrolled in unsuccessful public schools within the district or within a contiguous district may opt in to the lottery of an open-enrollment charter school

Chartering entities must have a track record of academic and financial success 

Virtual charter schools shall be prohibited 

All charters shall be subject to the same accountability regulations, reports, and ratings as traditional public schools

The chartering entity must be non-profit

Read more about charter schools

Streamlining Reform Measures for Failing Schools and Districts

Consolidate accountability statutes to streamline school reform efforts

The current structure is a hodge-podge of statutes with varying timelines and consequences for unsuccessful schools and districts

Statutes addressing accountability and school improvement should be consolidated to provide a comprehensive, seamless, and efficient approach to improving struggling schools

Developing a Statewide Early Childhood Education System  

(A recommendation of the Mississippi Economic Council's Blueprint Mississippi 2011) 

Move toward development of a high quality system of early childhood development and education