Reeves: More work to do with school choice in Miss.

School choice advocates rallied in the rotunda of Mississippi’s statehouse Tuesday with one message: Choice is great, and we want more of it.

The assembly was held in conjunction with National School Choice Week with organizers estimating it to be one of 20,000 such events scheduled nationwide this week.

Amid the background of hundreds of charter school students and special needs voucher recipients decked in matching yellow scarves — symbolic of school choice — Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves told attendees that Mississippi has “significantly more work to do” in providing students options.

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“There are some people in our state who may choose a different public school because they have the private means to move from one district to the other,” Reeves said. “But why should we limit choice just to those who can financially afford it?”

Of the just over 482,000 students who attend Mississippi’s public schools, children enrolled in the state’s three charters, all in Jackson, comprise less than 1 percent.

Charters are public schools but operate without oversight from the district’s school board or the state Department of Education. Instead, they report to the state’s Charter Authorizer Board.

Opponents have argued the educational alternative takes away money from traditional public schools, a claim that culminated in a lawsuit against the state filed by several Jackson parents seeking to declare the current method of funding charter schools unconstitutional.

Reeves touted recent gains made by fourth-grade students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, and the state’s increased graduation rate as positive side effects of school choice. But his speech steered away from any reference to the accountability ratings for ReImagine Prep and Midtown Public Charter School, which scored a D and an F respectively, in their first year of state assessments.

In a stark rebuke contrasting the smiling faces behind him, Reeves dressed down opponents of school choice.

“What some would call the coalition of the status quo will continue to fight to keep things exactly the way they were for the last 50 years,” he said.

Reeves also hinted at the criticism lawmakers have received from stakeholders, saying “we have the bullet holes to show for it.

“When we talk about public education, we don’t worry about a district. We don’t focus on an individual school or a building when we talk about education. We talk about kids and what’s best for kids. It doesn’t matter what’s best for the adults; what matters is what’s best for the individual kids.”

Kevin Chavous, a founding board member of the American Federation for Children — which has been influential in influencing school choice policy — was also a guest speaker.

Chavous, who is African-American, said racial transgressions and politics can impact how people view school choice, but he encouraged communities to have an open mind.

“There is no Republican, Democrat, black or white way to teach a child to write, read or count,” Chavous said.

Although charters have received bipartisan support nationally, such as being included in both the Democratic and Republican Party's 2016 platforms, support for the schools has fallen heavily along Republican lines in the state.

Last year, the Legislature voted to expand enrollment for charters to students enrolled outside C, D and F districts.

Contact Bracey Harris  at 601-961-7248 or bharris2@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter .