STATE OF EDUCATION FUNDING
Mississippi
Fair school funding systems ensure that districts, schools, and ultimately students receive significant additional funding according to their specific needs. Providing high-quality learning opportunities for students living in poverty, English learners, students with disabilities, and rural students requires additional resources.
According to The Education Trust’s State of Funding Equity, in Mississippi:
- The highest poverty districts receive $748 or 8.4% more state and local revenue than the lowest poverty districts.
- The districts serving the most students of color receive $839 or 9.5% more state and local revenue per student than the districts serving the fewest students of color.
For more information about how these data compare with other states or district specific information, see The Education Trust’s State of Funding Equity report.
Learn more about
how Mississippi
funds students
According to EdBuild, “Mississippi has a hybrid funding formula incorporating both resource-based and student-based elements. The state determines the cost of delivering education to a student with no special needs or services based on the cost of the resources, such as staff salaries and maintenance services, required to do so. This cost is then used as a base amount. The state also provides additional funding to educate specific categories of students, including students from low-income households, students with disabilities, students identified as gifted, students enrolled in career and technical education programs, and students in sparsely populated districts.”
The Education Law Center’s 2023 Making the Grade Report rated Mississippi’s school funding:
- F on per-pupil funding relative to the national average.
- C on the percentage difference in per-pupil funding in high-poverty districts relative to low-poverty districts.
- C on the PK-12 funding as a percentage of state GDP.
How fair is
Mississippi’s Funding?
Strong schools build strong communities, and that starts with fair and transparent funding. Our State Ratings Rubric shows how Mississippi is doing when it comes to making sure every student gets the resources they need to thrive. Using criteria grounded in research, best practices, and what we know works for students, we rate Mississippi across five key areas: whether the state funds students adequately, funds student needs equitably, funds districts appropriately, funds students transparently and effectively, and keeps public dollars in public schools.
To explore ratings across Southern states and learn more about the criteria we use, click here.
| Component | Description | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| FUND STUDENTS ADEQUATELY | |||
| Funding Adequacy | Per student funding is at or above the national average ($16,645). | Red | Per student funding was $4,393 less than the national average in the 2021-22 school year. |
| Yearly Increases | Base funding for all students increases every year to account for inflation. | Red | Mississippi has not finalized its per-student base amount for the 2025-26 school year yet, but it is only required to increase by 0.6%, from $6,695 to $6,736. |
| Progressive Tax Policies | The state maintains healthy revenue sources for schools. | Red | Legislation passed in 2025 to ultimately eliminate the state's individual income tax. |
| FUND STUDENT NEEDS EQUITABLY | |||
| Student-Based Formula | The funding formula is primarily student-based. | Green | Primarily student-based formula. |
| Students from Low-Income Backgrounds | The state provides additional funds for students from low-income backgrounds. | Yellow | 30% weight. |
| English Learners | The state provides additional funds for English Learners. | Yellow | 15% weight. |
| Students with Disabilities | The state provides additional funds for students with disabilities, based on their needs. | Green | Three different weights based on the type of disability, ranging from 60% to 130%. |
| FUND DISTRICTS APPROPRIATELY | |||
| Cost Sharing | The state requires local governments to share the cost based on their ability to pay. | Yellow | Local governments must share the cost, but high-wealth areas are not required to contribute more than 27%. |
| Local Revenue Cap | The state limits wealthy districts from contributing excessively more than other districts. | Yellow | The state sets a cap that voters can override. |
| Rural Districts | Small districts and districts with few students per square mile ("sparse districts") receive additional funds. | Yellow | Additional funding for sparse districts for transportation, ranging from 1% to 8% per student. |
| Concentrated Poverty | Districts with high concentrations of poverty receive additional funds. | Yellow | 10% weight. |
| FUND STUDENTS TRANSPARENTLY & EFFECTIVELY | |||
| Formula Transparency | The funding formula is easy to understand and clearly explained. | Green | The formula is easy to understand and clearly explained. |
| Funding Data | The state shares detailed, timely, and user-friendly public data on districts’ funding. | Red | Data only shows total funding for each district. |
| District Spending Plans | The state requires districts to share public reports about how they invest funds to meet students' needs. | Red | No requirement. |
| Formula Review | The state requires a clear, stakeholder-led process to evaluate the formula and recommend improvements. | Yellow | The formula must be recalculated every four years, but does not require stakeholder engagement. |
| FUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS EXCLUSIVELY | |||
| Vouchers | The state does not divert public funds to private schools through voucher programs, education savings accounts, or scholarship tax credits. | Yellow | Three different programs provide vouchers or education savings accounts to students with disabilities. |
Who’s Who
in Mississippi
Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is a bicameral body. The Mississippi House of Representatives has 122 members and the State Senate has 52 members. Both the House and the Senate have standing Education Policy committees that hear all related education legislation. In 2024, the legislature will convene January 2, 2024 and adjourn no later than May 5, 2024.
State Superintendent of Education
The Mississippi State Superintendent of Education is appointed by the Mississippi Board of Education. The State Superintendent oversees the Mississippi Department of Education and the state’s PK-12 schools.
State Board of Education
The Mississippi Board of Education is composed of nine members. Three of the members are appointed by the governor from each of the state’s Supreme Court districts. Two remaining gubernatorial appointees are required to be a school administrator and a public school teacher. The lieutenant governor and speaker of the Mississippi House also each appoint two at-large members.
