Thanks to Empower Mississippi, more students with special needs now have access to funds to help pay for their education. On June 17, 2025, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed House Bill 42, which increases funding for Mississippi’s Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program from $3 million to $5 million, ensuring more children can participate.
This ESA program gives special needs students and their families money to pay for education expenses like private school tuition, educational therapies, and tutoring.
Empower Mississippi Delivers for Special Needs Families
Empower Mississippi, a nonprofit policy organization and member of State Policy Network, was a big reason why lawmakers advanced this legislation. Empower has been working for years to ensure all students in the state have access to a quality education they need and deserve.
In 2015, Mississippi enacted the ESA program for special needs students—but limited state funding left hundreds of eligible children stuck on a waitlist. Empower stepped in and launched the #Waitlisted campaign, which included advocacy, community engagement, compelling storytelling, and targeted ads to encourage policymakers to increase funding and serve more students. The campaign highlighted the stories of waitlisted students, their families, and their unique learning challenges and needs.
After years of work, Empower Mississippi’s persistence paid off. In May 2025, lawmakers appropriated additional funding, sufficient to cover every student on the waitlist.
Empower Founder and CEO Grant Callen noted:
“We are incredibly grateful to Mississippi lawmakers for increasing funding for the state’s ESA program. This investment means that families who have been waiting—some for years—will finally have access to the educational resources their children need and deserve.
Parents of children with special needs face unique challenges, and this program has been a lifeline for so many families. We applaud our leaders for prioritizing these students and taking meaningful action to ensure that opportunities are not limited by zip code or diagnosis.”
Wil Ervin, Empower Mississippi’s Senior Vice President, added:
“This would not have happened without State Policy Network’s support. The Waitlisted campaign was the driving force behind this, and the generous support we’ve received from SPN was a huge part of making that happen. There will be a lot of happy families today who have been worried about their kids’ futures. There’s still a lot of work to do to give every family these same opportunities, but this is a big win worth celebrating.”
Additional Reading
WAITLIST FUNDED: Lawmakers Increase Funding for Special Needs ESA
Empower Mississippi