JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Oral arguments will be heard in Mississippi’s State Supreme Court in an appeal that challenges the constitutionality of private schools receiving public funds.
The case stems from 2022 when the Mississippi Legislature provided $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for private schools in the state.
The Jackson-based nonprofit, Parents for Public Schools, challenged the allocation in court and emerged victorious when Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Crystal Wide Martin found it unconstitutional to provide public money for private schools.
The state appealed the decision from October 2022, claiming the Legislature is well within their rights to allocate the federal funds to private schools.
Mississippi Center for Justice Attorney Rob McDuff, who represented the nonprofit, spoke to WJTV 12 News about the appeal.
“Private schools need to be funded on their own, and public money, taxpayer money that goes to education should go to public schools. That’s what …