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Not 'Soft on Crime': Clergy Want Prison Reforms to Become Law
The Mississippi Legislature could approve two re-entry and criminal-justice reform measures this session, which are still alive.
JPS Closing Four Elementary Schools Due to Funding, Costly Repairs
Four elementary schools will close at the end of this school year in Jackson Public Schools.
Senate's 'School Safety Act' Tightens Teacher Gun Training, Carry Laws
Schools, colleges and universities around Mississippi could create school-safety programs, designating certain licensed firearm owners who complete approved training courses to carry a concealed gun for the explicit purpose of resisting violent intruders on campus.
Mutiny at the Senate: Bi-partisan Death of New Ed Formula
Twenty-six senators joined Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, to kill the Republican-driven proposal to scrap MAEP, which would have replaced it with a weights-based student funding formula, which EdBuild developed and GOP leaders cherry-picked.
Jacksonians Value JPS and Teachers, Poll Finds
The local community supports both Jackson Public Schools and the teachers in a stronger way than in many communities, a poll of 500 local residents in January found.
Private Prison Trial Starts Today Over Alleged Squalor, Rats, Deaths
Inmates housed at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility alleged squalor conditions, solitary confinement practices, lack of medical and mental health care, and an overall unsafe environment. Five years later, the case goes to trial before U.S. District Judge William Barbour today.
Bipartisan Vote Kills New Education Funding Formula Proposal
Sen. Gray Tollison, R-Oxford, thought he had the votes to pass the Republican proposal to replace the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, when he stepped up to the speaker well in the Senate chamber Thursday afternoon.
UPDATED: Senate Takes Up New Ed Funding Formula Proposal Today
The push to re-write the State's education-funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, is in the Senate waiting on a full vote.
The Racist Roots of Disenfranchising Voters
Mississippi is one of 12 states with disenfranchisement laws that can affect people for life. The list of 22 disenfranchising crimes means an estimated 218,181 people in the state are unable to vote, a new study from the Sentencing Project, One Voice and the Mississippi NAACP, shows.
JPS Board Pushes Supe Search Forward
Jackson Public Schools could have a new superintendent by July if the Board of Trustees gets its way. Earlier this month, the board finalized its top two superintendent search firm candidates: McPherson & Jacobsen LLC and Hazard Young Attea Associates.
'One Lake' Bond Bill Passes House By Slim Margin After Questions
Proponents of the "One Lake" project along the Pearl River through Jackson got a financial boost when the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a nearly $100-million bond and loan measure by a three-vote margin on Thursday.
Hood Joins Net Neutrality Fight
Attorney General Jim Hood will challenge the Federal Communications Commission's decision earlier this year to repeal net neutrality regulations.
Equal Pay Amendment 'Harmful' to Mississippi Workers, Advocates Say
Equal-pay advocates say that an amendment the Mississippi House of Representatives passed to guarantee that women are paid as much as men is actually harmful because it exempts many employees from the protection.
Budgets, Infrastructure Funding and What’s Still to Come
It's halftime in the Mississippi legislative session, and the heavy lifting for lawmakers trying to pass a balanced budget is just beginning.
Judge: Charter School Funding Constitutional
Mississippi's charter-school law does not violate the state's Constitution, Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Dewayne Thomas ruled almost a year after getting the case.
Better Together Commission Hires Contractor for JPS Study
The Better Together Commission, an independent group of community leaders and stakeholders tasked with soliciting input from Jackson Public Schools families, hired Insight Education Group to complete an in-depth study of the school district.
'Brain Drain' Tax Credit Legislation Passes Mississippi House
The Mississippi House of Representatives wants young people to stay in Mississippi. It unanimously passed a measure Wednesday to offer tax breaks to recent college graduates who stay in Mississippi and work in the state, immediately after graduation from a four-year college or university.
Gang Bill Could Increase Prison Costs, Disparately Affect African Americans
Proposed legislation to crack down on gangs statewide could lead to increased prison costs, a move that would counteract the state's progress in decreasing the number of inmates—and taxpayer dollars used to incarcerate those inmates—since 2014.
Medicaid and Guns Bills Live, Vouchers Die
Rep. Jason White, R-West, who is largely responsible for writing the House's Medicaid bill, supported Rep. Cheikh Taylor's amendment to the House Medicaid legislation and asked the House to vote for it.
Re-Entry Reforms Still Alive in Legislature
Mississippi can begin to look at justice reinvestment, and it should be a priority, Andre de Gruy, the state public defender who is also on the state's Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force, told the re-entry council earlier this month.