NESHOBA COUNTY — Two of the state’s political leaders said at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday that they’re pushing lawmakers to adopt school choice legislation next year, indicating the issue may be one of the most fiercely debated policies during the next legislative session. 

House Speaker Jason White, one of the most vocal school choice advocates in the state, said under the pavilion at Founder’s Square that his caucus plans to craft legislation in response to the Republican-controlled federal government’s efforts to incentivize “school choice” or “education freedom” – policies that proponents say empower parents to have more control over their children’s education. Opponents say such policies undermine public schools and exacerbate inequality. 

White has said that he favors “universal school choice”, which often refers to policies that allow all households — regardless of income level — to use public education dollars to send their children to private schools or other institutions of their choice, rather than being assigned to public schools based on where they live. 

But his own Republican caucus likely doesn’t support some of those efforts. Instead, legislative efforts to expand school choice will likely center on making it easier for students to transfer between public schools, opting into newly created federal tax credits awarding scholarships to private school students and potentially closing some underperforming schools. 

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves also told reporters at the fair that he agrees “wholeheartedly” with White’s school choice push and is generally supportive of any policy that allows parents to become more involved with their children’s education.  

“He’s on the right track in trying to get more opportunities and more options for students,” said Reeves of White’s plans.

The speeches from the two state leaders set the stage for school choice to be a central priority in the 2026 legislative session. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and other leaders of the 52-member Senate have expressed support for some school choice policies, but the upper chamber has been reluctant to agree to more sweeping proposals. 

Hosemann said at the fair on Wednesday that he personally is in favor of allowing public school students to transfer to other public school districts, a policy commonly called portability. He said he also believes students in F-rated school districts should have the option to transfer to any other district. 

But it’s unclear if the Republican-majority Senate would support the measure. Earlier this year, during the legislative session, the Senate Education Committee killed those two measures. 

Before the next session, White plans to use a select committee on “education freedom” to build consensus for a “big, beautiful bill” that will include the House’s education priorities. 

Last month, White announced that his caucus will propose one sprawling education reform package containing many of the school choice provisions that died last session. 

This is a departure from the piecemeal strategy House Republicans undertook last session, where the chamber passed a series of standalone education bills. Many of the House’s bills either died in the Senate or, in the case of a proposal that would have allowed some Mississippi parents to use taxpayer money to pay for private schools, didn’t come up for a vote on the House floor.

In his Thursday speech, White called for Hosemann to adopt his “education freedom” agenda, which he said aligns with President Donald Trump’s agenda just as much as the lieutenant governor’s newly proposed tax rebate plan. 

“Yesterday, I heard the lieutenant governor and some of our folks on the other end of the building wanting to maybe copy President Trump with this idea of tax rebates with some of our surplus,” White said. “Maybe we’re all for that in the House. But I certainly hope we find that same copycat agenda when it comes to what President Trump wants to do on education freedom as well.”

Reeves, when asked by reporters whether he supported Hosemann’s tax rebate, said the lieutenant governor spoke to him about the idea before unveiling it publicly and that it highlights Mississippi’s budget surplus. 

Aside from education and tax policy, Secretary of State Michael Watson said his office next April will roll out a new website where the public can search campaign finance reports and individual donors online, similar to info available to the public in most other states and how the Federal Election Commission’s website operates. 

State law currently allows candidates for state office to file PDFs, or pictures of reports, and handwritten reports on the website. The files are not searchable, and sometimes are illegible, making it difficult for the public to examine who is funding their campaigns. County and municipal candidates are not required to file reports online. 

Watson, the chief administrator of state elections, is pushing for the Legislature to adopt a law that requires all candidates running for office, “from dog catcher to governor,” to file reports online. 

State Treasurer David McRae said that the treasury will begin accepting cryptocurrency in September. McRae told reporters that the state will only be accepting bitcoin for now. 

“This is going to be a great investment opportunity for us,” McRae said to reporters. He’s recently indicated that he’s become more open to crypto due to its decentralized structure.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that recent efforts from her office led to 72 arrests in connection with human trafficking, fentanyl and sex offender crimes.

Several justices on the state Supreme Court in fair speeches called on the Legislature to improve youth courts across the state. 

When asked about a recent Mississippi Today investigation unveiling allegations from an ex-state corrections department official alleging widespread medical neglect and mismanagement in Mississippi’s prison system, Reeves said he was “comfortable” with the leadership of Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain, but would hold VitalCore, the system’s private medical contractor, accountable if the company fails to meet the terms of its contract.