Allowing parents to spend public money on private schools has been a two-decade effort that ran through three governors, four House speakers and five education superintendents.
Public schools could not apply for the infrastructure grants, under the 2022 law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.
They’re expected to consider spending more on Medicaid and beefing up funds for scholarships for K-12 children to attend private schools.
The push for the constitutional amendment follows court rulings that said tax dollars must be spent on the state’s ‘common’ schools — a reference to public schools — and cannot be diverted to charter or private institutions.
The bill that would also eliminate state audits for private schools getting the money and not require them to give their students the same standardized tests as public school students.
Rob McDuff, one of the attorneys representing the nonprofit group Parents for Public Schools, said the Mississippi Constitution specifies that public money should go only to public schools.
The lawsuit cited a section of the Mississippi Constitution that prohibits the use of public money for any school that is not “a free school.”
Ahead of Iowa, DeSantis used the opportunity as a victory lap for conservative themes he pushed through the Legislature last year.
