Data & Information
Mississippi
The Mississippi Virtual Public School (MVPS) is the state virtual school that serves students who qualify, which is determined by the local school district’s policy.Fully online schools
The current charter school law, the New Start School Program and Conversion Charter School Act, allows parents of students of a school that has been failing for three consecutive years to request that the state board turn it into a charter. If 50% of a failing school’s parents are in agreement, they can request the school be converted to charter and seek state board authorization. However, there are no virtual charter schools in Mississippi. The Center for Education Reform calls Mississippi’s charter law the worst in the country. As of July 2013, there are no charter schools – virtual or brick and mortar – in Mississippi.
State virtual school
The Mississippi Virtual Public School (MVPS), established by legislation in 2006, is the only major online program in the state. HB1056 (2010) authorized the “State Board of Education to select private providers … to administer, manage, or operate virtual school programs, including operation of the Mississippi Virtual Public School Program.” The Department of Education (MDE) issued a Request for Proposal in May 2010 and selected Connections Academy to run MVPS, which is the first state virtual school to be entirely run by a private provider. (Other state virtual schools use private providers, but there are no other cases of the entire state virtual school operation being run by an outside entity.) MVPS began with $1.8 million in funding in 2009-10, but that has dropped to $500,000 per year in the previous two years. MVPS reported 3,121 course enrollments in SY 2012-13, an 8% decrease from SY 2011-12. MVPS serves students in grades 9-12, giving preference to juniors and seniors. All students are required to gain approval from their local school district; and homeschooled students must pay for their courses.
District programs
There are some district-level programs in Mississippi.
Online learning policy history
The State Board of Education established policy for virtual schools in 2006 and retains approval authority for all coursework and policy of MVPS and any other programs in the state. The State Board also established a set of “guiding principles” for virtual schools that is administered by the MDE.
HB1056 (2010) authorized the “State Board of Education to select private providers, overseen by the State Department of Education, to administer, manage, or operate virtual school programs, including operation of the Mississippi Virtual Public School Program.”
last updated September 29, 2013
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