For decades, Mississippi’s school funding formula was convoluted, overly complex, and more centered on bureaucratic systems than students. As a result, students—especially those with special needs—were deprived of the resources they needed to succeed.
Data showed the formula’s shortcomings. Overall state education funding and per-student funding increased each year, however, student performance failed to follow the same track. Also, students who needed additional resources were frequently lacking the necessary support. Year after year, Mississippi officials talked about these failures but were never able to pass true fundamental reforms.
Until Empower Mississippi took on the challenge.
Empower Mississippi has long been a leader in the fight for education reform in the Magnolia State. Over the years, they’ve launched an app giving parents easy access to school and district data, and they’ve been a leading voice for common-sense school choice reforms.
And leading up to the 2024 legislative session, they put a plan in place to finally achieve the funding formula reforms Mississippi families have been calling for.
Almost a year before the 2024 legislative session began, Empower Mississippi teamed up with SPN partner Mississippi Center for Public Policy and Mississippi First (a left-of-center organization but aligned with Empower Mississippi on school funding.) One of the biggest reasons past reform attempts failed was inaccurate information. Legislators were misinformed about how changes would impact their individual districts.
Good data would be crucial.
To start, Empower contracted with Bellwether Education Partners—one of the nation’s leading education reform nonprofits. The coalition analyzed Mississippi’s existing formula and compared it to student-centered funding models from other states. This allowed them to not only learn from past mistakes in Mississippi but learn from high-performing states to develop the best policy solutions for Mississippi students.
Then, the coalition built an interactive, web-based computer model where legislators could evaluate the impact of various changes to the school-funding formula. This program allowed Mississippi’s leaders to take Empower’s data and reform ideas and see the real impacts for the students and families they represent.
Next was getting the legislation passed. Because of the political dynamics of Mississippi’s statehouse, Empower knew the best strategy would be for the speaker and House leadership to be the leading voices for reform without outside influence. So, they limited their advocacy work to private talks with legislators through a well-respected lobbying firm they contracted to help promote the reforms.
For over four months, legislative leaders in the House, Senate, and governor’s office negotiated and debated. Even though Mississippi families and most of the state’s leaders all favored a new system, it wasn’t always an easy path. At one point, some legislators even threatened to oppose the reforms because they were too bipartisan.
But despite all the political back-and-forth, at the end of those four months, in the final days of the legislative session, Mississippi leaders did something they hadn’t done in over 25 years: they passed meaningful reforms to the state’s school funding system.
Now, thanks to Empower Mississippi and the coalition they put together, education money will follow the student and not be controlled by a convoluted formula or bureaucratic system. Funding for students with special needs, low-income students, students learning English, gifted students, and many others will increase based on an easy-to-understand formula. Additionally, the state’s base funding levels will now automatically increase with need and inflation.
There is still work to do to ensure Mississippi students receive all the necessary resources they need and deserve. But the funding formula reform passed in 2024 is a critical step in the right direction, and thanks to Empower Mississippi, it is finally a reality.
