JACKSON, Miss. (AP, abc24.com) - State senators are moving ahead with a relatively broad plan to expand charter schools in Mississippi.
Senators voted 34-17 Wednesday to agree to the bill. The Republican majority turned back a series of amendments, some of which would have narrowed the expansion of charter schools.
The measure, as passed, allows students from anywhere in the state to attend a charter schools. School boards in 32 highly-rated districts would have a veto over charter schools. But schools could be set up in any other district once approved by a new seven-member commission created by the bill
Senate Education Chairman Gray Tollison, an Oxford Republican, says that charter schools offer an innovative solution to poor school performance in Mississippi. But critics worry that they will hurt existing public schools.
