Mississippi Senate Approves Bill To Expand Charter Schools

Now it's up to the House

JACKSON — A bill to expand charter schools in Mississippi has easily cleared the Senate, and attention shifts to the House for the second year.

In a 31-17 vote, the bill had two Democratic supporters but no Republican opponents. The vote came after more than three hours of debate and a day after Senate Bill 2189 was introduced and passed by the Senate Education Committee.

Charter schools are public schools that agree to meet certain standards in exchange for freedom from regulations. Mississippi has a charter school law that allows a small number of existing schools to convert to charters, but none have done so.