Jackson Jambalaya

"The ESA program lacks the accountability structure needed to ensure that nonpublic schools enrolling ESA students meet statutory requirements, and that students with disabilities are receiving the services they need and progressing toward their special needs goals." Being that these monies are meant for special needs children, and I would think since they're public dollars, they would go to public school children only - WHY on earth is any of this money going to private schools????

@11:39

As a parent of a special needs child that has tried public schools, I can attest that the money needs to go somewhere other than public schools in this matter. We have been failed by two different public school districts in the area. We have resorted to home schooling, and unfortunately cannot use the funds. A lot of the public school administrators are only concerned about meeting the state testing goals, as opposed to educating all of our children.

I know too many parents that have special needs kids that the public schools are failing to assist, and I applaud this program for assisting families with educating their children.

We pay taxes that go towards the public schools, and our children cannot benefit, so I do not have a problem with this, as long as the funds are used as intended.

one of my kiddos benefits from ESA, we couldn't be happier as the school we're zoned for isn't capable to meet his needs.

Maybe you should hook up with Donner 11:39 and find a way to claim that helping special needs children is part of a racist conspiracy.

Sorry 12:18pm.....but those tax dollars were meant to be prioritized to special needs children in the public school system. Sorry if you're unhappy with the service, but you should take that up with your District Superintendent. Oh, and you're welcome in having your hand in my tax dollars.

This "public school system" that people love to talk about and "defend" is nothing but a socialized jobs program. Who would tolerate a grocery store that people were mandated to shop in just based on where they live? How about an assigned doctor's office based on your district? We would rightly reject that as socialism. Public schools have been a failure because they are tasked with the impossible job of providing a standardized "education" to every student in a defined geographical region. The "public school system" is graduating students who cannot even read at a price tag of $6K-$9K annually per kid. That's pathetic. Competition, including ESAs, are the only way to actually improve the quality of this dismal situation.

This is just PEER working on behalf of the MAE faction of the legislature which includes plenty of so-called Republicans. No PEER audit is random and the contents of the report are always decided long before any “audit” happens. Somebody has their greedy eyes on those funds.

1:23 yep except they were specifically approved for private school also when public schools did not offer the proper resources. You can’t just make stuff up and put it on the internet. Well I guess you can but you’ll be called out for it on here.

Sorry, but squawking that "your" tax dollars are being wasted on disabled kids a week before Christmas makes me think you're a sorry excuse for a man. The programs in Mississippi for disabled kids, and adults, are a sin.

I'm well off. I don't mind at all paying for kids to receive an education and assistance. Maybe because my Dad was a disabled vet of both WWII and Korea, I believe in being an actual Christian, and caring for the poor and the sick. I really think some of the greedy geezer trolls on here are pathetic. Sick, and evil.

But, hey, pride yourself on keeping some poor kid from getting a school breakfast, so you can save a few pennies to lease a Range Rover and feel really special.

@3:31 You clearly missed the point....That doesn't make it fiscally sound -nor is it morally right. We are responsible for our children. Period. This story is fodder over pocket change and meant to garner sympathy only to distract away from more meaningful realities they don't really want to investigate, much less expose.

@4:09 LOL You have to claim your father's sacrifice to make your point? AND being a Christian? Lots of fathers fought bloody battles (mine three years in the Philippines) and that generation didn't ask, nor expect diddly from others....AND Mississippi is the least Christian state in the union because of the utter poverty that is perpetrated generation after generation through governmental engineering. Either you're part of the problem, or you're completely ignorant of how Mississippi operates. Is it ugly? Yes. Is it true? Yes.

So parents with the new choice are happier and believe their child is getting a better education. End of story. The amazing thing about having choices is you usually pick the right one for yourself or your family, even without the government's help.