A bill that would increase the amount of taxpayers dollars available to Mississippi private schools is, once again, proposed in the House. 

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, has introduced a bill that would increase the tax credits available to the state’s private schools through the “Children’s Promise Act.” 

The Children’s Promise Act, through which private schools have been receiving money since 2020, allows people or corporations to donate to private schools certified by the Department of Revenue and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for up to 50% of the donor’s state tax liability.

The program was originally billed as a way to give money to nonprofit organizations that care for foster children. However, a provision to give tax credits to private schools was quietly included in the bill. Private schools that have any students in the foster care system, students with chronic illnesses or disabilities or students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals can receive money through the program. 

To receive the money, that private school only has to have one student with diabetes or asthma, for example, and write a letter to the state Department of Revenue, the agency that manages the program, to explain why they meet the program’s criteria, according to Nancy Loome, leader of public school advocacy group The Parents’ Campaign. 

Despite receiving this money, private schools do not have to change anything about their accountability measures.

Loome said the act is a convoluted way to funnel taxpayer dollars to private schools. 

“We believe that any school that receives state funding or is supported through state funding should operate under the same rules if they’re going to receive taxpayer dollars,” she said. “This is the state saying, ‘The constitution says that we can’t appropriate money to private schools, so if private school supporters will just write a check, we’ll pay you back with state funds.’”

Lamar, who has served on the board of a private school in his community, has unsuccessfully tried to increase the cap on the program for the past three years. Currently, that total is set at $9 million.

This year’s bill would raise the maximum tax credit money private schools can receive through the program to $16 million in 2026. Then, under HB 1944, that cap would increase to $18 million in 2027 and $20 million for 2028 and every year after. 

“(Lamar) is relentless in his efforts to try to get additional funding to private schools,” Loome said. “He is not listening to his constituents. Mississippians do not want their tax dollars going to private schools.”

Half of the program’s tax-credits are specifically allocated to foster care service organizations. A new provision this year would allow unclaimed foster care service organization tax credits to be directed to private schools. 

The state Department of Revenue, the agency responsible for certifying the private schools that are eligible to receive funds through the Children’s Promise Act, could previously not explain how these funds are spent. 

House Bill 1944 awaits consideration in Lamar’s committee.

Correction 2/19/2026: A bill to increase the amount of money for tax credits for private schools has been introduced and is pending in the Ways and Means Committee. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the bill’s status.