The ideas presented below are focused on the K-12 education system in Mississippi and flesh out the concepts presented in the full report. This is far from an exhaustive list of ideas, but they are all consistent with the principles in our publication,Governing By Principle. These ideas, if enacted, would provide parents with more options for their children, they would encourage competition among schools, and they would put in place the proper incentives for improving the quality of education for all students in Mississippi.

1. Allow creation of Charter Schools
[Please note that this is a very brief explanation of this topic. For more detail, go to www.parentpower.net.]
Charter schools are public schools which are held to a higher standard of educational and financial account- ability than traditional public schools. To reach that higher standard, charter schools are allowed increased flexibility in their operations, including freedom from many state and local bureaucratic rules.
Charter schools cannot charge tuition or discriminate in enrollment.

Current status in Mississippi: Mississippi does not allow charter schools to be created. A law passed in 2010 allows schools in certain situations to be "con- verted" to a new format and be called charter schools, but the law does not allow the essential elements of a true charter school.
Changes necessary to make Mississippi's law a true charter school law:
A. Allow new charter schools to be created. This does not require additional funding for new buildings. In fact, in most states, there is no additional funding for facilities. Charter schools either pay for their facilities out of their operating funds, or they obtain donated space or contributions.
B. Provide funding based on the number of students attending the school, just as it is for regular public schools. Require the schools to report their finances, and punish them if they violate a law or their charter, but don't allow micromanaging pre-approval by the district or state, which is allowed under the current law.
C. Allow enrollment in a charter school by any stu- dent in the district or even across district lines.

2. Allow an income tax credit for contributions to non-profit organizations that provide scholarships to low-income children to attend a school other than the one to which the government has assigned them. [This type of tax credit exists in eight states.]

3. Allow parents and schools to use digital (also known as "online") educational options.
Online courses allow students in rural or inner city areas - or anywhere else for that matter - to learn subjects regardless of whether their school offers these courses in a classroom. With personalized learning, students can spend as little or as much time as they need to master the material. School contracts with providers of these services can be structured so that the provider is paid only after the student masters a particular subject or section of the course.

4. Require school districts to allow a student to attend school in another district if the other district is willing to accept the student. (Currently, the home district also has to approve.) The home district should be required to transfer the per-pupil funding that would have been spent on that student at his assigned school (or some other amount acceptable to the receiv- ing district).

5. Provide scholarships to children with special needs, permitting them to attend a school which meets their needs as determined by parents. (The state currently provides only $600 for tuition for special-need students whose parents make this choice.) Scholarships would provide the full per-pupil funding allotment the district would receive if it could count that child as attending.

6. Provide scholarships similar to #5 to children in foster care, protecting them from the instability of changing schools each time they change foster homes.

7. Adopt merit pay for teachers to attract and re- tain the best and brightest educators