Our View: Transparency missing from school choice debate

Published 8:22 pm Thursday, January 8, 2026

State Legislators convened this week in Jackson for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session, and both the House and Senate wasted no time in passing bills relating to school choice.

School choice is a broad topic, and both chambers outlined different approaches in their legislation. The Senate advanced a bill allowing public school students wanting to switch to a different school district to change without the approval of their current district. The House version takes the public spending per pupil — around $7,000 — and puts it in an education savings account for parents to use sending their child to public, private or charter school or even homeschool.

While no one likes paying taxes, public school districts are required to be at least semi-transparent about how they are spending the funds local residents provide. As with meetings of municipal and county officials, anyone can attend meetings of the public school board, and the district is beholden to the same rules for public hearings, publication requirements, bidding laws and more.

Many public school district records are also available to the public through Public Records Act requests. Those include the annual budget, pay for different positions and non-privileged communications.

In short, public school districts are set up so that local taxpayers should be able to identify what their tax dollars are being spent on, how much it costs and who to call if they don’t like it.

Private school districts have none of those things. Private schools in Mississippi are not subject to the state’s Public Records Act and do not have to give the public access to records.

While nothing prohibits a private school from making the information available, there is no requirement for institutions to hold public meetings, publish information about annual budgets or show how much money they spend on teachers and classroom instruction as opposed to administration.

School choice is a hotly contested issue in Mississippi. Advocates for expanding school choice say it empowers parents and gives students opportunities when their local public school district isn’t up to par. Private school is expensive, and having the state-level spending available to put toward tuition or other expenses will open doors for children that will otherwise stay closed.

Advocates against school choice fear a widening gap between the haves and have-nots in the community. Those with the means to do so will transfer their child to private school, while those unable to cover the cost, transportation or other obstacles will remain in a public school system that has been largely defunded.

Private schools also have the luxury of denying applicants, opponents say, giving them the option of turning away learners with special needs or disabilities, who will also be left in the diminished public school system.

Where the school choice debate will be at the end of this year’s legislative session is anyone’s guess, but both House and Senate seem set on giving parents more options for their children’s education. That being said, taxpayer money must be accounted for, and legislators should require any private institutions receiving public funds follow some minimum level of transparency in how that money is spent.