Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin blocked the law in October 2022 after Parents for Public Schools sued the state. The nonprofit group argued the grants would give private schools a competitive advantage over public schools. “Any appropriation of public funds to be received by private schools adversely affects schools and their students,” Martin wrote. Tate Reeves created a grant program to help private schools pay for water, broadband and other infrastructure projects. State attorneys also wrote that the Mississippi Constitution only blocks the Legislature from sending money directly to private schools.

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Persons: JACKSON, Crystal Wise Martin, ” Martin, Tate Reeves, general's, “, lopsidedly, Martin Organizations: Mississippi Supreme, Public Schools, Mississippi’s Republican, Republican Gov, Midsouth Association of Independent Schools, Public, American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, Mississippi Center for Justice, Democracy Forward, Mississippi Department of Finance, Administration, DFA, Mississippi Constitution, Mississippi Adequate Education Locations: Miss, Mississippi, Hinds County