Parents would be authorized to restructure the operations of a dozen Mississippi public schools that are failing or at risk of failing, under a plan that passed the state’s House last week.
Rep. Cecil Brown, the chairman of the House Education Committee and a Democrat, said the so-called “innovative schools” plan would give a governing board of parents the power to hire and fire teachers and principals. Three such schools would be allowed in each of the state’s four congressional districts.
Under the innovative schools plan, a group of parents could petition the state board of education and say they want to change the way a school operates. A school could focus on a particular type of curriculum, for example. If the state board approved the petition, a meeting would be held to explain the plan, and at least 50 percent of a schools parents would have to agree to accept it. Then a governing board of parents would be appointed, and that board would have the power to oversee the schools operations.
