Legislative Analysis

House Bill 1944, introduced in the Mississippi House of Representatives on February 16, 2026, increases significantly the amount of state funding diverted to private schools via Children’s Promise Act tax credits. The bill ramps up state funding going to private schools to $20-million or more annually, with no corresponding accountability, oversight, or reporting required. 

The Children’s Promise Act is current law and works by allowing donations to private schools and foster care services organizations to be claimed as tax credits, with up to $9-million allocated to foster care services and up to $9-million allocated to private schools. Participating private schools can receive up to $405,000 annually per school. Those taxpayers making donations are able to eliminate their tax liability dollar-for-dollar for the amount of the donation. Businesses and sole proprietors can claim the credits against their state income taxes; individuals can claim the credits against their local property taxes. In both cases, donors’ tax liability is eliminated by one dollar for every dollar donated. Those are tax dollars that would have been collected by the state that now are not available to the state to fund public services such as public education, universities and community colleges, Child Protection Services, roads and bridges, and more.

Key points regarding HB 1944 and the significant changes it makes to the Children’s Promise Act:

• More than doubles state funding for private schools. Allocates $16-million statewide for private schools in calendar year 2026, $18-million in 2027 (double the current $9-million), and $20-million in 2028 and annually thereafter.
• Allots up to $500,000 in state funding annually to each participating private school, regardless of school size.
• Many of the private schools receiving state funds through the Children’s Promise Act are double-dipping, getting state funding twice for the same students. More than half of the private schools receiving Children’s Promise Act funds last year also participated in the ESA voucher program for children with special needs. They likely used the ESA voucher students to qualify for the Children’s Promise Act funding.
• Does not subject participating private schools to any of the accountability measures and oversight to which public schools are held, though both public and private receive state funds; includes no restrictions for private schools on expenditure of funds, no reporting requirements, and no state audit to verify the number of qualifying children enrolled; private schools are no required
• Participating private schools are not required to adjust their admissions or academic standards, or admit any new students in this program; private schools can accept state funds and continue operations as usual with no obligation to accept new students.
• Allows tax credits meant for foster care service organizations within the Children’s Promise Act (CPA) to be directed to private schools if not claimed by October 1 of each year. While the reverse is also true, private school tax credits in the current program are claimed very quickly and reach their $9-million limit far earlier than October 1 each year. 
• $20-million allocated annually to private schools in HB 1944 is equal to the amount it would cost the state to provide every assistant teacher a $2,000 annual salary increase; a $2,000 pay raise for assistant teachers would increase their minimum salary from $17,000 to $19,000.
• Similar efforts to increase CPA tax credits for private schools were defeated in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
• Past attempts to amend the law to direct all of the program’s tax credits to foster care service organizations were rejected by the bill’s sponsors, revealing that their priority is the diversion of public funds to private schools, not the needs of Mississippi’s most vulnerable children.

Specific provisions of HB 1944:

• • Allocates public funding to private schools, escalating funds each year from the current law’s $9-million annually.
    • $16-million in calendar 2026
    • $18-million in 2027
    • $20-million in 2028 and annually thereafter
  • Does so via dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to private schools, reducing the taxpayer’s tax liability by their donation amount.
    • Tax credits can be claimed on state income taxes by corporations or sole proprietors and on local ad valorem (property) taxes by individual taxpayers.
    • Tax credits eliminate tax liability by one dollar for every dollar donated, unlike itemized tax deductions, which reduce the taxpayer’s taxable income on which tax liability is calculated, meaning deductions are far less valuable to a taxpayer than credits. Most charitable donations, to churches for example, qualify as tax deductions, not credits.
  • Carefully worded to ensure that virtually any private school would qualify for the funds while giving the appearance of benevolence toward children with some disadvantage.
    • Example: A private school is eligible for the maximum benefit annually if only one enrolled student has a “chronic illness or disability,” which could be one child with attention deficit disorder, asthma, or an allergy.
    • Many of the private schools receiving Children’s Promise Act funding also receive state funding through ESA vouchers for students with special needs; a private school can use one ESA voucher student to qualify for the entire CPA private school allocation. This double-dipping means a private school could receive almost half a million dollars for one child.
    • To qualify, a school must send a letter explaining how it meets the criteria.
    • Once the school is approved, the certification lasts for 7 years; no one checks to see if the qualifying students continue to be enrolled.
  • In 2025, 102 private schools in Mississippi were approved to receive funds through the program.
  • Each private school can claim funds on a first-come, first-served basis.
    • Up to $400,000 per private school in 2026
    • Up to $450,000 in 2027
    • Up to $500,000 in 2028 and thereafter
  • Tax credits meant for foster care organizations were not fully claimed in 2023, 2024, and 2025; under HB 1944, foster care credits not claimed before October 1 would then be made available to private schools. 
  • Of the 64 private schools receiving state funding through the CPA in 2025, the following schools netted the maximum per-school funds available:
    • Jackson Academy
    • Madison-Ridgeland Academy
    • Magnolia Speech School
    • North Delta School
    • Pillow Academy
    • Wayne Academy