The Assignment: Mississippi Education Policy and Politics

In this episode, Rachel and Jason cover a wide range of current education policy topics brewing at the Mississippi Legislature including funding reform, the confirmation of our new state superintendent, and school choice.

This Episode was recorded last April 16, 2024.

With the new Legislature set to gavel in on January 2, Rachel and Jason review what they think may be some of the top education policy issues they believe the House and Senate will take up. With years of observing this process, they share a little about how the proverbial sausage gets made.

In this session, Rachel and Jason discuss the recent district and school accountability model score release by the State Board of Education, their impact on educators, and what the future may hold for this issue.

In this episode, Rachel and Jason speak with Mississippi's interim state superintendent Ray Morgigno. Topics range from post-COVID student mental health to teacher recruitment and retention to Jason and Morgigno's mutual love of old school wrestling.

In 2019, Mississippi's fourth graders met the national average on the Nation's Report Card, a national test measuring reading a math achievement at fourth and eighth grades. Since then, the national press has had a lot to say about it–for good or for ill. Rachel and Jason discuss both the praise and the backlash and what the state should actually focus on.

The Mississippi Senate voted to not confirm the State Board of Education choice to lead Mississippi's school. Rachel and Jason discuss their perspectives on what went wrong and how to get back on track.

In this episode, Rachel and Jason discuss their backgrounds and why working on education policy in Mississippi is important to them.