Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series analyzing school choice bills dropped in the 2026 Legislative Session – from student portability to a proposed voucher system – and how they could impact schools in the Golden Triangle.
The Mississippi House and Senate both released plans this week to make it easier for public school students to transfer to districts they don’t reside within.
While the change is intended to provide parents a wide array of education choices for students, District 17 Sen. Chuck Younger, R-Lowndes County, said “it could be” a litmus test for consolidating school districts.
For some school districts, including Lowndes County and Columbus Municipal, that could be a good thing, he said.
“In the long run, eventually it will cause districts to consolidate,” he said. “I’ll get beat up for it (but) Lowndes County School District is doing so good, and Columbus Municipal School District (is) not doing as good. It’s like (former CMSD superintendent Cherie) Labat said, it’s the rich versus the poor, and that’s really not fair to the kids. So it probably would be a good thing to consolidate the districts.”
The Senate on Wednesday passed its amended bill directed at making it easier for students to transfer to public school districts where they don’t reside. The House also released its plan for easing student portability Wednesday within a 553-page omnibus education bill.
When a student is looking to transfer under current state law, it requires permission from both the school district the student is leaving and the receiving district.
Both the Senate and House proposals remove the double consent aspect, requiring only the receiving district to approve the transfer. State funding allocated for that student then follows them to the new district.
Additionally, the Senate’s proposal allows the receiving district to “charge a fee it determines to be reasonable for receiving a student,” according to the legislation.
The House plan goes a step further by allowing receiving districts to request a portion of the student’s original district ad valorem funding for that student. If the request is declined, the receiving district can apply for a “student portability scholarship” of up to $2,000 funded by the state.
“To make it equitable for that child to be there,” District 43 Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville and chair for the House Education Committee, told The Dispatch.
The House plan only allows receiving districts to decline transfer requests if it would result in exceeding classroom capacity, though it will be left up to the districts to determine what that capacity is, according to the legislation.
The goal, Roberson said, is to give parents more freedom to pick a school that is in the best interest of their child.
“The parent can look at that situation and say, ‘You know what … my child fits better in (a different) school district’ for whatever reason. They can make that decision,” Roberson said. “It puts parents in the position of being a parent.”
For districts like Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated, Roberson said the change could usher in more enrollment growth.
“My honest-to-goodness impression is our school (in Starkville) is going to grow, assuming that’s what we want it to do,” he said. “No one’s going to force our school district to grow if the choose to put caps on how many (students) we put in the classrooms and that kind of thing.”
On the other hand, Roberson acknowledged that as lower-performing districts lose students and funding to transfers, they could face closure or consolidation.
“Isn’t that what we want?” he said. “Don’t we want the bad ones to go away and the good ones to flourish?”
Districts respond
Board of Trustees President Robert Smith said easing portability between districts so substantially could be devastating to Columbus Municipal School District.
“It definitely wouldn’t be good for the CMSD or no public school,” he said. “Especially with the school districts that have a low rating from the state. You know what the parents will do. Just like (CMSD) – if you’ve got a C, and you’ve got say New Hope or Caledonia (which are rated) A, where do you think parents are going to send their kids to?”
At that point, Smith said, the funding leaves the district, following the student. That’s when consolidation becomes a concern, he said.
“That’s why I’m hoping and praying that it doesn’t happen,” he said.
Lowndes County School District Superintendent Sam Allison raised a number of issues with easing portability between districts, including the pressure to increase capacity to serve more students.
“We want to treat our teachers right because we need them, and we want them to know we’re not going to overcrowd (them) with kids,” he said. “When we get to 24 or 25 (in a classroom), they know we’re looking for a way to reduce their numbers.”
Additionally, Allison is concerned the processes for accepting and denying transfer requests could open districts up to potential litigation.
“Let’s say we’ll take 10 kids at this grade level or at this school, and 30 apply,” he said. “Even if we have a foolproof way to pick those 10, who’s to say we’re not going to have 20 lawsuits?”
While both plans account for either parents or the state supplementing districts with funding for students who transfer in, neither accounts for what happens the next year after a district has seen an influx of students whose families aren’t paying ad valorem taxes within the district.
That raises concerns about local funding, Allison said.
“When you have a group of people that live (here), that pay the majority of the money, it’s hard to say you’ll let anybody there,” he said, noting that nearly 50% of funding for LCSD comes from local property tax revenue. “How do you pick and choose? That’s hard, and it’s not working in other places.”
Allison is not concerned yet that LCSD and CMSD would be a high priority for the legislature when it comes to consolidating districts. Other districts with lower enrollment numbers are more likely to be first on the chopping block, he said.
“Before they start talking about consolidating Columbus and Lowndes, there’s just so many more (districts across the state) that make much more sense because of just size alone,” Allison said. “Until they pass a law, there’s really no answer there of what it would be.”
CMSD Superintendent Craig Chapman did not return responses to questions provided by The Dispatch by press time Friday.
‘It’s just going to make that gap wider’
Both Allison and Younger acknowledged lawmakers’ push for school choice legislation this year may be rooted in pressure from national Republican leaders.
The Trump Administration has made expanding school choice a federal education priority, starting in January 2025 with an executive order directing the Department of Education to issue guidance to states on school choice initiatives.
“It checks off that box for school choice, which is being pushed from, I think, the higher party,” Allison said. “I don’t think until last year that was even something that was heard, and it came from the big party, I think.”
While Younger showed support for some school choice policies, he said the statewide agenda should not simply mirror federal agendas.
“Look, I voted for Trump, but I don’t think Trump’s right about everything,” Younger said. “I don’t think we need to be trying to do what Trump wants us to do in our districts, in our state. … I think what we did on the Senate side is a conservative approach to do it and say that we did something.”
As for portability and school choice legislation generally, Allison said he needs more evidence before he can get on board.
“Is that kid going to be better off here? Are we making this school district weaker by allowing students to leave? That’s the part they have to answer,” Allison said. “Or, show me … somewhere where (school choice) is successful. I’m not saying it’s not going to be good for one kid here, but I’ve not seen a model where it’s good for all kids. I see it as a separation between the haves and the have nots. It’s just going to make that gap wider.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
