House Bill 2

[Rebel Bert]

1 hour ago, Football In MS said:

The whole of HB2 wasn’t written for the kids who are struggling (or else it would also include mechanisms to transport those troubled kids from failing schools to other schools who the state would force to take them & it would allow space for all school aged children in low income families - but the bill does none of that). Do we truly think the voucher process will be simple and easy enough for many in our most vulnerable population to figure out and access on behalf of their children? I doubt it. Government does not tend to make processes ‘easy’ on the overall.

HB2 was written for Speaker White and his buddies to get $ for their own kids private school education. There’s no uppermost income limit for receipt of funds. That’s on purpose. If this passes (REALLY hope it doesn’t), I’ll go out on a limb and predict that by percentage, the whole of those 12,500 available voucher spots won’t go to the most income-depressed areas in our state. They’ll overwhelmingly go to areas in our state where there are good public available already & parents just want the $ to reimburse themselves for the tuition they’re already paying (from the coast to around Pinebelt and then the Jackson area, if I had to venture a guess).

How many parents do you think will be willing to pull their kids out of JPS and transport them daily to Rankin, Hinds, or Madison County.  I say few will do it. It will be the same in the rural areas. Many of these kids ride the bus. The bus at this time isn't leaving the county. They may take them to another A school in the district or county. And yes Jason White spoke to on radio 200 to 300% below poverty level students will get it. The ones who ride a bus and mom and dad might not have transportation. 

[pancho]

1 hour ago, Football In MS said:

I simply reject your implication that all public schools only teach to test & thereby suck and that all private schools reject teaching to test and thereby appropriately prepare students for what comes next. Neither statement is 100% true. Surely you know that. Let’s not play this game.

What game do you play?   I am just having a discussion.  I know my kids were trained to simply do well on a test.  No ifs ands or buts about it.  Good thing the gubment keeps paying them regardless of performance.  They'd be out of work if they operated a business as I do. 

[pancho]

all I'm hearing today is that Illegals will claim homeschool simply to get paid and then keep the kids in public schools.   Fraud

[Rebel Bert]

2 hours ago, pancho said:

all I'm hearing today is that Illegals will claim homeschool simply to get paid and then keep the kids in public schools.   Fraud

If they do then others will to. Any way to get $6500 per child.

[Greyhoundtransplant]

30 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

If they do then others will to. Any way to get $6500 per child.

Can't remember where I read it but homeschool got significantly less than in person supposedly. 

 

[Football In MS]

3 hours ago, Rebel Bert said:

How many parents do you think will be willing to pull their kids out of JPS and transport them daily to Rankin, Hinds, or Madison County.  I say few will do it. It will be the same in the rural areas. Many of these kids ride the bus. The bus at this time isn't leaving the county. They may take them to another A school in the district or county. And yes Jason White spoke to on radio 200 to 300% below poverty level students will get it. The ones who ride a bus and mom and dad might not have transportation. 

Exactly this. 
The large number of kids in struggling schools won’t have access (via transportation) to other schools. Speaker White knows this and didn’t provide for it in his HB2. That’s why he has no income cap in this bill. He knows only those who can take their kids other place (those already doing so) will be able to access these funds he wants to allocate.

 

This bill is not about school choice.

[Football In MS]

3 hours ago, pancho said:

What game do you play?   I am just having a discussion.  I know my kids were trained to simply do well on a test.  No ifs ands or buts about it.  Good thing the gubment keeps paying them regardless of performance.  They'd be out of work if they operated a business as I do. 

The game is talking smack about public education to make it appear inferior on the overall to private. Look, I’m sorry if your kids were only test-trained in public school and didn’t get the education they needed. Yours is not the story for everyone, including me. So you insistence on calling the entire public school system a “fraud” is simply choosing inflammatory language to elicit a knee jerk reaction.

And that’s a game I won’t play.

 

If public education is broken, we owe it to our children to fix it - not find workarounds to it.

[pancho]

Then get rid of the crony who was just hired a top the whole Ed system.  I assure you that he isn't about much other than himself and treats every individual as a number.  i know him personally. I taught my kids the difference in what a teacher was supposedly teaching and what real life is. I know plenty people who i went to college with from private schools who made good grades as we all did but theirs wasn't free but was in many cases much safer and a better classroom environment.   It all boils down to parents and how some were raised.  The public schools will continue to raise a generation of moochers who are told at a young age they aren't capable of the same accomplishments as certain others are.  And their test scores will be exemplary.

[Rebel Bert]

3 hours ago, pancho said:

Then get rid of the crony who was just hired a top the whole Ed system.  I assure you that he isn't about much other than himself and treats every individual as a number.  i know him personally. I taught my kids the difference in what a teacher was supposedly teaching and what real life is. I know plenty people who i went to college with from private schools who made good grades as we all did but theirs wasn't free but was in many cases much safer and a better classroom environment.   It all boils down to parents and how some were raised.  The public schools will continue to raise a generation of moochers who are told at a young age they aren't capable of the same accomplishments as certain others are.  And their test scores will be exemplary.

Agree and get rid of these northerners in that position 

[Football In MS]

6 hours ago, pancho said:

Then get rid of the crony who was just hired a top the whole Ed system.  I assure you that he isn't about much other than himself and treats every individual as a number.  i know him personally. I taught my kids the difference in what a teacher was supposedly teaching and what real life is. I know plenty people who i went to college with from private schools who made good grades as we all did but theirs wasn't free but was in many cases much safer and a better classroom environment.   It all boils down to parents and how some were raised.  The public schools will continue to raise a generation of moochers who are told at a young age they aren't capable of the same accomplishments as certain others are.  And their test scores will be exemplary.

Not all public schools “…raise a generation of moochers who are told at a young age they aren't capable of the same accomplishments as certain others are…”

 

I am sorry for you if that was your experience. That is certainly not the cumulative experience for every public school student. Speaking of it as such is playing a blame game.

 

If there’s a problem at any level, including state level leadership, it should be addressed. Immediately.

[pancho]

All schools probably aren't the same.  There is plenty blame to go around when improvements and changes can be made but are simply overlooked due to status and social  standing. Our representative is ore concerned with smiling big in photos and feeling good about himself.

[pancho]

Isn't there a cap on how many kids can receive these vouchers in the house bill?

[Rebel Bert]

1 hour ago, pancho said:

Isn't there a cap on how many kids can receive these vouchers in the house bill?

12,500, i don't know if that's yearly or whatever. 

 

[Chunky6617]

So what happens to kids that are currently already in private school and have been their entire lives?  What’s to stop them from getting money too? Surely they have to pay for every single child now right? 

[Former Coach]

Talked to a Florida coach over the weekend. Here is what is happening down there after school choice. I'm going to use MS schools as an example. Three sport athlete, parents have the means, goes to Tupelo to play football, season ends and transfers to Starkville to play basketball. Season ends and then goes to Madison Central to play baseball. He said this is happening in their state right now with school choice.

[Football In MS]

3 hours ago, pancho said:

Isn't there a cap on how many kids can receive these vouchers in the house bill?

Initially it’s 12,500 (with no uppermost income limit on who can get it). Then it increases in subsequent years, with no provision for increases in accountability for use of funds 

[Football In MS]

1 hour ago, Chunky6617 said:

So what happens to kids that are currently already in private school and have been their entire lives?  What’s to stop them from getting money too? Surely they have to pay for every single child now right? 

Exactly this.

There is nothing in HB2 to stop families with high 6 digit incomes from accessing these “school choice” funds for their children who’ve been enrolled in private school since birth. Which is exactly why HB2 isn’t about school choice…

[Rebel Bert]

Again this bill is for 12,500 students at a rate of $6500 to change schools if their income falls under the 300% poverty rate. I will assume that household income has to be below $50,000 annually.  Probably way lower than that. But then who knows MAIS changes their regions today, strengthening their recruitment rules and someone introduces a bill to increase ICE in Mississippi and force us to get some type of permit to hunt animals on our own property that damage our land and crops. They have about as much chance of improving education in Mississippi as stopping that hunter killing a feral hog rooting up his land as a parent moving from Wilkinson or Holmes County sending their kid to a improved school some 40 miles away in either Adams County Christian or Manchester. You will have some that will attempt to improve their kids grades but most won't.  I really hated to write this but I feel those in Jackson might as well fund an charter school in each county and send the struggling kids to that school than send someone from  Taylorsville  to SImpson Academy. 

[Football In MS]

42 minutes ago, Rebel Bert said:

Again this bill is for 12,500 students at a rate of $6500 to change schools if their income falls under the 300% poverty rate. I will assume that household income has to be below $50,000 annually.  Probably way lower than that. But then who knows MAIS changes their regions today, strengthening their recruitment rules and someone introduces a bill to increase ICE in Mississippi and force us to get some type of permit to hunt animals on our own property that damage our land and crops. They have about as much chance of improving education in Mississippi as stopping that hunter killing a feral hog rooting up his land as a parent moving from Wilkinson or Holmes County sending their kid to a improved school some 40 miles away in either Adams County Christian or Manchester. You will have some that will attempt to improve their kids grades but most won't.  I really hated to write this but I feel those in Jackson might as well fund a charter school in each county and send the struggling kids to that school than send someone from  Taylorsville  to SImpson Academy. 

It’s SUPPOSED to be for 12,500 students whose families are at levels well below the poverty line. But HB2 provides no guarantee for that.

 

If enough of those “low income” students don’t apply (because they aren’t aware or parents don’t know how or whatever), then the applicant pool widens and widens again until all 12,500 spots are filled. There is no cutoff in HB2 for those well outside the poverty line. THIS is the loophole where existing private school families can get tuition funded. And you can bet those families will know all about it and have their applications in. On time & early.

[Old Golfer]

Why limit to poverty line?

[Rebel Bert]

2 hours ago, Old Golfer said:

Why limit to poverty line?

300% or below according to Jason White. Not sure how that becomes a dollar figure.

[Rebel Bert]

Transferred to the Senate

[pancho]

gosh, can one imagine a private school parent sending their kid to a public school?   Thats as goofy as saying a poor kid with bad grades going to  a supposedly good school.   This is fun to watch folks get all stirred up.

[coachfball87]

On 1/8/2026 at 7:24 PM, Rebel Bert said:

   I) Homeschool to Homeschool 

Sending them to the neighbor’s for homeschool?

[coachfball87]

On 1/9/2026 at 9:46 AM, Rebel Bert said:

MHSAA does not allow for homeschooling to play sports. But man can you imagine having 15 home schooled kids at $105,000 income. Someone better regulate these folks.

And they shouldn’t. They wouldn’t have to adhere to the daily schedule, discipline codes, grade requirements, etc normal, in school athletes have to adhere to in able to play and compete.