HB 1433 Summary

• Establishes the "Flexible and Rightful Education Enrollment (FREE) Act" allowing parents of students in schools or districts rated "D" or "F" within the past five years to transfer their child to higher-performing public schools or accredited nonpublic schools.

• Provides that base per-pupil state funding follows transferring students to public schools, while parents of students attending nonpublic schools receive reimbursement up to the state's full base per-pupil funding amount for tuition and eligible educational expenses.

• Allows eligible students' siblings residing in the same household to also receive FREE scholarship funds if they apply for enrollment in the same receiving school or district.

• Creates the "Mississippi Foster Child Education Scholarship Account Program Act" (FESA) providing scholarship accounts for foster children in state custody who have been in temporary placement exceeding six months, funded annually at the base student amount.

• Amends existing law to permit transfers of students from "D" or "F" rated schools without requiring mutual consent of school boards, and requires the State Department of Education to develop rules, conduct annual reviews, and audit compliance with the programs.