Mississippi House Speaker Jason White has made it clear he will aggressively pursue school choice legislation in 2026, and that message was further emphasized during his time at the podium during the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday.
For those unfamiliar with the topic, school choice refers to the ability of parents to select the educational facility their child attends, rather than being limited to the public school in their zip code. School choice has been a hot topic in Mississippi for quite some time, but legislation seeking to increase options for parents has seldom made headway in the Senate.
White, one of the state’s strongest vocal supporters of school choice, made note while on the stump that his chamber is aligned with President Donald Trump on education freedom. One of the provisions of the commander-in-chief’s self-proclaimed “One Big Beautiful Bill” enables states to opt in to a voucher program allowing taxpayers to be credited for money sent to nonprofits offering financial assistance for K-12 students.
The measure allows taxpayers to donate $1,700 in cash or stocks annually to a nonprofit that grants scholarships. In return, the donor would earn a federal dollar-for-dollar tax credit. Families earning up to 300% of the area median gross income would qualify for a voucher that could be used on private education, supplies, technology, and even homeschooling.
The House speaker promptly urged state lawmakers to opt Mississippi into the federal program. He also suggested that the measure would be supported by Gov. Tate Reeves. However, White has had doubts that the Senate would be as gung-ho over the effort. Pointing to Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann’s rebate proposal he told fairgoers about on Wednesday, White urged that same level of support to be shown for the president’s school choice agenda.
“I certainly hope we find that same copycat agenda when it comes to what President Trump wants to do on education freedom as well,” White said. “Continuing the House’s pursuit of common sense, conservative legislation, and education freedom will be presented as one of our ‘one big beautiful bills’ of the 2026 legislative session, as the House finally aligns with President Trump’s priority for what he calls ‘parent power.’ It just makes total sense.”
Contrary to what was likely expected of Hosemann, the state’s second-in-command gave the federal voucher program a nod of approval. Though he acknowledged that there are a couple of “t’s” to cross and “i’s” to dot before the program could come to fruition, Hosemann referred to it as a priority when lawmakers gavel back into the capitol.
“We need to pass the deal that allows the federal deduction of $1,700,” Hosemann said. “Apparently, we have to do some statutory work, and there are some restrictions on the $1,700, but we want to get that done. [That will be] job one in January.”
Outside of the Trump-backed voucher program, White is calling for wholesale reform of the state’s education system, pushing lawmakers to explore legislation that would expand school choice options specifically tailored to meet the needs of the poorest and neediest pupils. He even recently created a select committee to explore legislation to expand “educational freedom” in Mississippi.
The speaker has long vied for students to have the chance to transfer to any other school in Mississippi, with the state’s share of money allocated for the pupil following him or her to the new district or even a private school. Opponents to the concept commonly called “portability” fear that public schools would be subverted, while also expressing a fundamental disapproval of taxpayer dollars subsidizing private school education.
White has repeatedly contended that the plan would ultimately aid pupils in D and F-rated school districts as they would theoretically have the opportunity to relocate to an educational center capable of providing a more robust curriculum. He fervently believes that this would alleviate burdens for children belonging to military members and first responders, those with special needs, and students in poverty.
Earlier this year, the House passed a bill that fell near-perfectly in line with the speaker’s plan. House Bill 1435 was proposed to allow parents to move their student from one school to another and eliminate the power the school currently facilitating the student has in blocking the transfer. The measure went nowhere in the Senate, much to the chagrin of White.
“Education should be a powerful equalizer that you often hear politicians talk about, yet our current system often falls short of delivering quality options for all students. Economically disadvantaged communities in Mississippi have been left with few too options for far too long,” White said. “We have the opportunity to dismantle systemic barriers that damage educational opportunities for our students. Every child, regardless of their zip code, deserves that fair chance to succeed.”
White found an ally in Mississippi’s governor on Thursday. Reeves, who is in his second term, spoke on how he has not been afraid to make waves in the state’s education scene by making moves that received pushback. During his time as lieutenant governor, Reeves helped lead efforts to make some iterations of school choice possible through the presence of charter schools in failing school districts and education scholarship accounts for pupils with special needs.
“I agree wholeheartedly with Speaker White’s attempt to enact more reforms in our public educational system. I think he is on the right track in trying to give more opportunities and more options for students,” Reeves said. “The more involved we can get parents into their kids’ education, the better off we are going to be as a state.”
With the apparent support of the House and the backing of the governor, one hurdle remains for White’s full education agenda to be implemented statewide — the Senate.
Though Hosemann espoused his approval for some aspects of portability, saying parents seeking to transfer a student to another school shouldn’t be “held hostage” by the child’s current education center, and supported the idea of affording students in failing districts to transfer without penalty, he leaned on the fact that the Senate had unresolved reservations during the most recent session.
The fight to expand school choice in Mississippi will still continue, despite an apparent uphill battle. White, who was successful in 2024 in spearheading an initiative to change the state’s public school funding formula, is not shying away from any challenge that may stand in the way of the legislature affording more options for parents over their child’s education.
White maintains that the next step in building on recent successes Mississippi has had in the classroom is to transform the educational landscape through a diversification of options that could better meet the needs of all students. And on that front, he is not willing to surrender until his work is accomplished.
“We’re going to keep rocking this boat until we’re at the top. We can do it,” White added. “While the opposition concerns itself with preserving the institutions and the status quo, the House will see about preserving the rights of parents and the best interests of families. Our education system should work for our parents, our teachers, and our teachers, and not the other way around … Education freedom will be the No. 1 priority for us in the House of Representatives.”
