School governing changes

Mississippi lawmakers could change the rules governing schools in significant ways in coming weeks.
Among proposals being considered are limiting the number of statewide and district wide testing days, requiring 17-year-olds to stay in school, and requiring a district taken over by the state to achieve a ‘C’ rating for five years in a row before it could be returned to local control.
Lawmakers rejected a number of proposals including requiring school board members to be elected at the same time, cutting the number of school days from 180 to 170, and requiring students to pass the U.S. citizenship test.
This year’s top education debate is over rewriting Mississippi’s school funding formula and other legislation being considered is less weighty than earlier debates over charter schools and taking over struggling schools.