Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:
___
May 29
The Greenwood Commonwealth on an education lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center against the state:
There’s no doubt, as a lawsuit filed against the state of Mississippi alleges, that public education creates unequal opportunities and unequal outcomes.
The question is how much responsibility the state bears for this.
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s case, filed on behalf of four black mothers with children in public elementary schools, claims that Mississippi has for more than a century violated an 1870 federal law that allowed the state to rejoin the Union.
The suit says the 1870 law requires Mississippi to provide a uniform system of free public schools for all children. But the suit claims the state’s 1890 Constitution changed that mandate to effectively create a white supremacist effort to deny black students a full and proper education - and the effect continues today.
Where to start poking holes in this trial balloon? Let’s look at the timing first. The lawsuit seems about half a century late, since Mississippi, resistant to the end, integrated the last of its public schools in 1970 after a sharp rebuke from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Segregated schools, with larger shares of spending on white students, were inherently unfair. Since then, the many thousands of black students who have graduated from Mississippi high schools - some from the poorest counties in the state - and gone on to better things cast a cloud on the claim that there is no state and local effort to provide a good education.
Put another way, if the white supremacists are still running the show, they have failed miserably at keeping greater numbers of black people from improving their lives.
Now, there’s no sense being naive. Black education achievement in Mississippi is noticeably lower when compared to white students. More black students drop out of school. Standardized test scores of black students are lower, as is overall achievement.
The outcomes certainly are unequal, and there is much work to be done to reach anything near parity. But short of removing all local control of public school districts, it’s hard to see how much difference the state can make.
A big complaint, and the topic of a separate case before the state Supreme Court, is that the Legislature has rarely fully funded the Mississippi Adequate
Education Program, which directs more state money to poorer districts.
There are a lot more pieces to this puzzle than money, however.
A key element, which the Southern Poverty Law Center overlooks, is the difficult family situations from which many struggling students come: single-parent households in which academics are a low priority. Also, many of the school districts with high numbers of failing students are also poorly managed and poorly staffed. These problems are more rooted in the quality of the labor pool and low expectations and low standards in these communities than it is in the level of school funding.
The state can only do so much, such as put 39 percent of its general fund into education and hold school boards and superintendents accountable for improving their results.
The rest has to be accomplished at the local level. Teachers and administrators have to be creative, and families must expect more of their children and be more involved in their education from Day 1. No lawsuit can force that.
Online: https://www.gwcommonwealth.com/
___
May 30
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal of Tupelo on a program that helps students with disabilities:
A unique program - the only one of its kind offered in Mississippi - aimed at assisting those with intellectual disabilities will now be able to help even more students.
The United States Department of Education recently designated Mississippi State University’s ACCESS program a comprehensive transition program, meaning students who qualify for that program are now eligible to receive federal financial aid.
The designation is a significant one for the program to reach since only 25 percent of similar programs throughout the country meet that criteria.
The program provides a complete college experience, with a curriculum that encompasses independent living skills, enhancing self-advocacy and adaptive skills, as reported by the Daily Journal’s education reporter Emma Crawford Kent.
Eligible students now can receive Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and participate in Work-Study programs.
While those assistance programs are likely ones that some students and parents might not consider to be significant, they offer a great opportunity for students in the ACCESS program, which has a higher tuition rate than tuition for traditional students at MSU.
The annual cost of tuition, excluding housing and dining, for ACCESS in 2016-17 was $17,500, compared to the $7,780 annual cost of tuition and fees for a traditional, in-state student at MSU.
Previously, financial aid was only available to ACCESS students through a few private scholarships.
ACCESS is one of approximately 50 programs in the country and the only one in Mississippi to hold the comprehensive transition program designation.
“Financial aid can make ACCESS available to students who otherwise could not afford the program, opening it to a more diverse student population,” said Julie Capella, MSU director of student support services. “It’s wonderful to increase the financial accessibility of this successful program.”
All ACCESS students have an individualized advising and curriculum structure designed to meet the specific goals of each student and help them reach their maximum potential. Students are integrated into an inclusive environment for a true college experience, in addition to completing internships that allow them to gain valuable work experiences and career skills.
As part of the program, ACCESS students have substantial freedom on campus as they navigate between meals, academic activities and extracurricular activities independently. The independence helps ACCESS students develop self-confidence, explore their interests, manage their time and become fully engaged in campus life.
The recent designation is a significant step for the program to help even more students in Mississippi. We hope this accomplishment is used as positive momentum to accomplish even more for these students. Support from the state level could be considered with the goal of allowing even more eligible students to attend.
Any efforts to ensure our higher education institutions are helping each and every student reach their full potential should be considered of utmost importance.
Online: https://www.djournal.com/
___
May 31
The Oxford Eagle on new seat belt legislation:
Being in last place gets old in Mississippi.
The latest list revelation: More children die in car crashes in our state per capita than any other state in the country.
Mississippi also led the nation in a study in the percentage of children in fatal accidents who were not properly restrained.
The reason is rather clear, since many children killed are either not buckled into safety belts or buckled improperly.
This problem dates back to our rural roots and a Deep South culture that has long viewed seat belts as more of a hindrance than a lifeline. Even our state laws, to date, haven’t cooperated.
Only the driver, front-seat passengers are required to wear safety belts and under 7 are required to be restrained in a child safety seat, booster seat or seat belt. In other words, children 8 or older can sit in the back seat completely unrestrained.
And that has been a deadly equation.
Thankfully Mississippi has a new law coming into effect on July 1 of this year that will require all passengers in a car to wear a properly fastened seat belt or be restrained in a car seat.
This change will undoubtedly save lives, and hopefully move us off this bottom of this dreadful list.
Online: https://www.oxfordeagle.com/
Please read our comment policy before commenting.