EdBuild: Mississippi Should 'Divorce' Education Policy from Spending
After a few quick months of touring around Mississippi, speaking with lawmakers, administrators, teachers and students, EdBuild released its 80-page recommendations report to Mississippi lawmakers, suggesting the state move to a weighted, student-centered school-funding formula.
Governor Picks Legislators to Represent #msleg at Inauguration
Gov. Phil Bryant selected Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, and Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, to represent the Mississippi Senate and House of Representatives at President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday in Washington, D.C.
AG Hood: State Must Fund Mental Health Care, Not Ignore Lawsuit
Attorney General Jim Hood is calling on the Legislature to increase funding for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health as a part of his legislative priorities this session.
UPDATED: JPS Audit Will Take Time; Board Votes for National Supe Search
The way out of an investigative audit and into compliance for Jackson Public Schools will not be easy—or quick.
Politics Cripple Superintendents Group
The Mississippi Association of School Superintendents is running out of funding, largely due to a last-minute change a few lawmakers made last session to the State's education budget bill, cutting off all funding to the group.
Infrastructure: Can the State Afford to Wait on Trump?
Some Mississippi Republican leaders invoked President-elect Donald Trump's expensive infrastructure plan last week when discussing Mississippi's crumbling roads and bridges, seeming to believe it will solve the state's urgent issues with roads and bridges.
Lt. Gov. Reeves: EdBuild Recommendations Coming, Even If No Media Access
EdBuild's recommendations to change the state's school-funding formula will be ready before the deadline to introduce legislation, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves told the Stennis Capitol Press Forum on Monday.
Early Learning, Third-Grade Gate and Vouchers: A Legislative Education Update
Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education, addressed House Education Committee members last week at the Capitol about progress on education initiatives as well as room for growth and improvement.
Mississippi Must Help Neediest Families Now, Advocates Demand
The neediest families families in Mississippi must have access to assistance when they need it, a group of community advocates, nonprofit organizations and lawmakers gathered at the Capitol Thursday argued.
Jackson School Board Off to Slow Start on Supe Search, Seeks Public Input
With Dr. Cedrick Gray leaving the top position early last November, Jackson Public Schools needs a new superintendent and invited public comment regarding the search at its Jan. 3 work session.
No Apologies: Confederate State Flag Likely to Fly Over Bicentennial Bonanza
State leaders kicked off Mississippi's bicentennial celebration at the Capitol on Tuesday, announcing several events around Mississippi as well as grants for communities to apply for in order to host events in honor of the state's 200th year. The state is not, however, likely to change the Mississippi flag in time for the big birthday on Dec. 10, 2017.
Mississippi Still Faces Merged Mental-health Lawsuits
Medicaid-eligible children are entitled to services under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Services (called EPSDT) provisions of the Medicaid Act.
‘Unborn Child Protection’ Law Prohibits Rare Procedure
Mississippi lawmakers' ban on Medicaid reimbursements for the state's only Planned Parenthood clinic stalled in federal court last year, but another anti-abortion bill did become state law last summer despite advocates warning of its shifty legal standing and legal challenges in surrounding states.
Continental Tire Spends More Than $200,000 in Mississippi
Continental Tire spent $228,300 in November, a spending report from the German-based corporation shows. The tire plant, opening just off Interstate 20 in Hinds County outside Clinton, will eventually hire 2,500 employees once the plant has reached the projected size around 2020.
Obama Appoints Jackson Airport CEO to National Council
President Barack Obama will appoint Carl Newman, the CEO of the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
Sanderson Farms, IBM: HB 1523 Hurts Businesses, Economic Growth
Mississippi business leaders, corporations, lawyers and locals denounced House Bill 1523 in eight legal briefs filed just before Christmas, supporting plaintiffs that want the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the lower court's decision and deem the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" unlawful.
Making Ends Meet: Lawmakers Wrestle with Education, Infrastructure and Shrinking Revenue
Education funding dominated headlines throughout 2016, as lawmakers worked to level-fund and not cut the amount of funding that went to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program in previous budget years, despite cutting most other agency budgets.
Settlement: State Has One Year to Improve Foster Care After Maltreatment
Mississippi's newly formed Department of Child Protection Services will have a year to revamp the state's foster-care system, due to the long-running "Olivia Y" lawsuit over maltreatment of children in State care.
Campaign Finance, BP Money Bills Await Legislators
Thanks to BP, Mississippi has additional income to spend in the 2017 legislative session. The state received its first payment from BP from the 2010 oil-spill settlement last summer.
Saving Tax Dollars with Re-entry and Rehabilitation
Former inmates could leave Mississippi prisons with dignity and be able to find jobs, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett told the Mississippi House Corrections Committee last week. The advocate of drug courts and re-entry programs for former inmates said some of the reforms would not have fiscal consequences.
Mississippi Electors Choose Trump
Mississippi's six presidential electors cast their votes for Donald Trump for president and Mike Pence for vice president this morning at the Capitol.
HB 1523 Opponents Fight Back, Say Law Gives 'Special Rights'
LGBT rights proponents are pushing back on Gov. Phil Bryant's effect to bring House Bill 1523 back to life today, saying that it endorses and gives special treatment "to certain religions or religious beliefs over others."
Certified: Trump Wins Mississippi with 58 Percent, Electors Ready to Vote
Donald Trump officially won Mississippi with 58 percent of the vote this week when Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann certified the election results this week.
‘Not a Dungeon’: The Evolving Approach to Juvenile Detention
Across the pod, from inside the darkness of a cell, two shining circles stared out: the still and steady eyes of a black boy, locked up before he is even a man.
Fighting for Women: Workplace Rights, Paid Leave and Pay Gap
Child care, wages, domestic violence, pay equity and paid family and sick leave are at the top of the Mississippi Women's Economic Security Initiative's agenda for the upcoming legislative session.
Protecting Refugee Children
The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program that Catholic Charities runs in the state is one of 19 programs nationally that resettle refugee minors in the U.S. The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement funnels funds to states with unaccompanied minor refugee programs.
Mississippians Rally Against Hate, HB 1523: 'We Cannot Be Silent'
More than 200 Mississippians staged a "Rally Against Hate" Sunday, demonstrating against Gov. Phil Bryant's determination that a law allowing individuals, businesses and government workers to discriminate against LGBT citizens based on their religious beliefs must go into effect.
Legislative FY18 Budget Plan: Agencies Prepare to Operate at 'Leanest Levels'
Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn, who chairs the Legislative Budget Committee, said on Thursday that state agencies should be prepared to operate "efficiently and with potentially [fewer] dollars" in the coming fiscal year.
Task Force: Invest in Criminal Justice Reforms
Judges in Mississippi can assign non-violent offenders, usually those who commit petty crimes while under the influence of drugs or who are arrested for possession of illegal drugs. The two- to five-year program includes addiction treatment, counseling and intense supervision, and participants are subject to randomized drug tests regularly.
JSU Students Raise Awareness About National Debt
A group of Jackson State University students is working to educate its peers about the nation's growing national debt and how it affects their financial futures in the U.S.
U.S. Rep. Harper Slams Election Recounts, Calls Pence His 'Bellcap' on Votes
U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, who just learned that he will help oversee federal elections, says the Hillary Clinton and Jill Stein campaigns are using vote recounts to portray the presidential election results as less than legitimate.
Lawmakers Address Blight, Praise God
The capital city's blight, mainly visible in hundreds of abandoned properties, was a priority for concerned citizens who met with the Hinds County delegation to plan legislation that will address the needs of Jackson last week.
What’s Up with House Bill 1523?
In the language of people who refuse to fight in wars like Vietnam, Mississippians should have "conscientious objector" status if they do not want to recognize LGBT citizens' right to get married, Gov. Phil Bryant is arguing in a federal appeal to help House Bill 1523 become law in the state.
Mississippi's Child Human Trafficking Laws Receive "B" Grade
A Shared Hope International study of states' child human-trafficking laws gives Mississippi a "B" grade for its state laws.
Early Years Network Set to Close by Year’s End
Meghan Gallagher, a mother of four who lives in Oxford, was disappointed to hear the news that a statewide network of early learning resource centers will close at the end of the year.
Jobs, Budgets and Preparing for 2017
If the Mississippi state budget is a "moral document" or at least one that reveals priorities, the fiscal-year 2018 budget likely faces dramatic tampering in the upcoming legislative session.
Helping Mississippians Get Degrees Goal of New Initiative
Almost 300,000 Mississippians have received some college credit and finished courses from a public university or college without earning a degree in the last 15 years. Mississippi Public Universities is working to bring that number down with the launch of the Complete 2 Compete Initiative.
Faith Leaders, Black Caucus Members Talk Education, Infrastructure, Health Care
Members of several Mississippi Baptist conventions along with members of the Legislative Black Caucus hosted a public hearing at the Capitol on Nov. 17 to discuss education, infrastructure and health care.
How Trump’s Health Reform Could Affect Mississippi
Lower- and middle-class Mississippians could have the most to lose from Trump's proposed health-care reforms, including those who benefit from insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace as well as those who qualify for Medicaid.
Buying Justice: ‘Dark Money’ in Judicial Elections
The "dark money" that poured into the state in order to defeat incumbent Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens did not pay off this election cycle, as he defeated his challenger Kenny Griffis by 25,000 votes.
Trump Protesters in Mississippi: 'Protect One Another Right Now'
Mississippi native Marisa Green was scheduled to come home for Thanksgiving from New York where she lives and works as a photographer and an artist. But in the wake of Donald Trump's election last week, Green decided to come home early and organize a peaceful protest outside the state capitol on Sunday, instead.
Saluting Those Who Serve on Veterans Day
Veterans, their family members, men and women in the military, and state leaders gathered at the Mississippi War Memorial Building today to honor the veterans from Mississippi and the country who have served their country.
Gov. Phil Bryant: Unite Behind Trump 'in Civility and in Trust'
Leaders from the Mississippi Republican Party called on the state's citizens to unite as Donald Trump won enough states Tuesday night to be the next president of the United States, even though Democrat Hillary Clinton led in the nationwide popular vote.
Teaching Teens Financial Literacy
Students at Provine High School will soon be able to open up accounts with Hope Credit Union right in their own hallway.
Confronting the Realities of Autism
For Angela Douglas, the realities of autism are all around her at work and at home. As an advocate at Disability Rights Mississippi in Gulfport, Douglas works with parents whose children need special education.
Hear Online Sales Tax Case, AG Hood Asks
Attorney General Jim Hood has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a 1992 decision, Quill v. North Dakota, which prohibited states from implementing online sales taxes on businesses not physically located in the states themselves.
Mississippi Can Go Blue, or Purple, if Turnout High, Black Caucus Says
Members of the Legislative Black Caucus are encouraging Mississippians to vote on Nov. 8, not only in the presidential contest but for the sake of other races on the ballot.
Continental Tire Breaks Ground, Promises 2,500 Jobs Over a Decade
Lawmakers, business executives and almost everyone involved with bringing Continental Tire to Hinds County gathered at the almost 1,000-acre site outside of Clinton on Thursday morning to ceremoniously break ground on the site.
Repealing Tax Cut Will Yield $6 Billion for Infrastructure, Senate Dems Say
Repealing the "Taxpayer Pay Raise Act of 2016" is the first step to funding the state's infrastructure needs, our Mississippi state senators, all Democrats, say.
JPS Superintendent Officially Resigns, Board Names Interim
Dr. Cedrick Gray formally submitted his letter of resignation Tuesday, Nov. 1, which was effective immediately. After two consecutive executive sessions, the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Freddrick Murray has agreed to serve as interim superintendent.