Unless there are massive and unexpected compromises soon, it looks like the Mississippi Legislature’s 2026 session will end without progress on a number of prominent issues.
Chief among the disputed issues is school choice. The House passed a comprehensive bill that would give families options on a public school for their child and would provide state money for private school education as well. A Senate committee killed the bill in less than two minutes, and the House had no interest in the Senate’s less ambitious proposal, which would have allowed students in public schools to switch districts but did not address families who wanted to switch to private schools.
School choice advocates reacted with hostility to the House bill’s defeat. They overlooked that a surprising number of Republicans, first on the House floor and then in the Senate committee, cast votes against the bill. GOP opposition is the only way the bill could have died.
It takes time and compromise to get majorities in both chambers on board. But so far, there doesn’t seem to be much willingness to negotiate solutions.
