Mississippi high court declines to rule on questions of public funds going to private schools

A three-judge panel of the Mississippi Supreme Court listens to arguments over a state law that would put $10 million of federal pandemic relief money into infrastructure grants for private schools, Feb. 6, 2024, in Jackson, Miss. A majority of the court’s nine justices ruled Thursday, May 2, that the advocacy group Parents for Public Schools lacked standing to sue the state over the program, and justices declined to rule on the larger question over using public money for private schools.

In a dissent, Justice Leslie King wrote that Parents for Public Schools has proper legal standing because it represents parents of public school students. King also echoed the group’s main argument — that the Mississippi Constitution “forbids funds to be appropriated to schools that are not free.” The grants were put on hold after the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, the Mississippi Center for Justice and Democracy Forward sued the state in June 2022 on behalf of Parents for Public Schools.

Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin blocked the law in October 2022 after Parents for Public Schools argued the grants would give private schools a competitive advantage over public schools.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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