The Mississippi Supreme Court is set to deliberate over a contentious issue concerning allocating federal pandemic relief funds to private schools. The dispute arises from a state law aiming to direct $10 million of federal aid into infrastructure grants for private educational institutions.
 Mississippi Supreme Court Grapples with Dispute Over Spending Federal Relief Funds on Private Schools (Photo from: USNews.com)
Constitutional Challenge Raises Concerns Over Public Funding for Private Schools
In response to a lawsuit brought by Parents for Public Schools, Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin suspended the statute, expressing concerns that the grants would unfairly benefit private schools. The complaint cited a constitutional ban on public funding for non-” free schools.”
Public schools were excluded from applying for the infrastructure grants, with a separate provision for interest-free loans to enhance their facilities. The Mississippi Supreme Court lawsuit argued that the state’s decision to channel federal funds into private schools was unconstitutional.
After federal money was merged into the state treasury, the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, the Mississippi Center for Justice, and Democracy Forward argued that federal funds should be distributed equally to all schools. The state attorney general defended the legislature’s authority to appropriate cash, arguing that the state constitution doesn’t prevent indirectly financing non-“free schools.”
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Mississippi Supreme Court Deliberates on Education Funding Dispute
The debate underscores broader concerns about the equitable distribution of education funding and the chronic underfunding of Mississippi’s public education system.
As the Mississippi Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments, the case underscores fundamental questions about allocating public funds for education, interpreting constitutional provisions, and pursuing educational equity in the state.
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