Mississippi’s top court to hear arguments over spending public money on private schools

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments over a state law that would put $10 million of federal pandemic relief money into infrastructure grants for private schools. The court will hear arguments Tuesday. A chancery judge blocked the law in 2022 after nonprofit group Parents for Public Schools sued the state. The lawsuit argued the grants, worth up to $100,000 each, would give private schools an advantage over public schools. The lawsuit cited the Mississippi Constitution’s ban on using public money for private schools. State attorneys argue the law does not prevent the Legislature from routing money through an agency before sending it to private schools.