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As we approach the new school year, numerous polls continue to show a newfound interest in homeschooling. Perhaps it’s because parents are nervous about their children getting sick, or maybe they don’t like new regulations at school.

Whatever the case, there is the potential for a major shift in the education landscape in Mississippi and across the nation. 

New polling from Heart + Mind Strategies reveals that 16 percent of government school parents and 10 percent of private school parents are considering homeschooling. This is down slightly from a May peak as parents are closer to making an actual decision, but we could see a lot more homeschoolers this fall.

If those numbers played out in Mississippi, more than 75,000 children would leave government schools and about 5,000 would leave private schools. All to homeschool. Keep in mind that somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 students are homeschooled in Mississippi today. 

Are you one of those families considering homeschooling? My wife and I (mostly my wife) will be going into our third year of homeschooling this fall. We’re no experts but wanted to share our thoughts for those considering or ready to make the switch.

1. Deinstitutionalize

Some call this de-schooling, but the thought is you need to get away from the traditional schooling mindset. The longer you’ve been in a traditional setting, the longer of a break you need to take. 

But the idea is this: You’re probably used to a schedule, calendar, or even grades and will be tempted to bring this to your homeschooling. That’s fine, but you don’t need to. You have more than 40 or 60 minutes to tackle a subject one day. Or you could take less time. Or you could decide your child isn’t getting it and you need to take a break for a few months. Or buy different curriculum. You might like the idea of structure, but homeschooling is about having the freedom to doing what is best for your child to gain an appreciation for learning. 

We’ll often get questions asking how long our homeschool day is. We’re not being flippant when we say it depends. The more flexible you are, the more you will like it.

2. Play to your child’s strengths

This is one of my favorite homeschooling benefits and should become yours. Especially as your children get older. What are they passionate about? Where do they excel? Homeschooling gives you the ability to play that up. It could be as simple as a book series they love or maybe they want to learn about how computers work. 

This might sound silly at first glance, but YouTube has a world of informative videos that will teach you everything from A to Z on how to build computers, websites, or maybe just do graphic design or video editing. The opportunities expand the imagination of you and your child. 

3. Get out and explore

Though many of our favorite places to visit have been closed or limited, take advantage of what is beyond your four walls. Sure, it could be your backyard – a fun place to do school in the fall or spring – but check out museums and zoos. When we go to Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, we still check out the zoo, the state park, or the historical sites. Sure, it’s education on vacation, but it’s still fun. And well worth it. And just to let you know, your local library will likely become your best friend very soon so plan on buying or building more bookcases.

When I was involved as sports as a kid, we had to run for punishment. Therefore, running isn’t something I do for fun as an adult. A lot of kids could have the same approach to learning. In the closed structure of a school, fun isn’t really something we’re supposed to take part in. Or that’s what we’re told. But we know it shouldn’t be that way. Explore. Make learning fun again. 

4. Find homeschool friends  

Homeschooling is the kind of thing you can do as privately or as publicly as you’d like. But for your own sanity, search out homeschool friends. This doesn’t mean you need get involved in a co-op, or something similar, but you certainly can. 

But because of Facebook, you will likely find homeschooling groups. Even unofficial groups plan outings and field trips. If you’re the mom running the show, as is usually the case, find other moms. Keep up with them. Share your struggles. Get advice. Ask questions. Offer feedback. You don’t need to do this alone, unless you want to. 

5. Look for outside activities

If you look around, you will find plenty of activities for your child. Yep, homeschoolers socialize. If you live in more of an urban area, it will naturally be easier for find such activities, but be on the lookout regardless. We do piano lessons from a local instructor who mostly serves homeschool students during the day. We also do P.E. at a local martial arts studio that offers the program for students during school hours.  

These are some of the fun, social, and educational activities that are out there. What your child does is up to you and his or her interest. 

6. Don’t worry if everything isn’t perfect

I would suggest you don’t go to Pinterest to get ideas on the perfect homeschool room or setup. Because there isn’t a perfect room. If you want your room to look a certain way, have at it, but it’s not that important in the grand scheme. 

Instead, focus on the functional. We have a dedicated homeschool room, but it’s more of our office. Most of the instruction takes place on the dining room table with younger brothers gathering around. Maybe for you it’s the kitchen or living room or back porch. And even if you don’t have matching pillows or inspirational signs, everything will be okay. 

7. Take advantage of free online resources

As we mentioned, YouTube is a great platform for educational videos on specific subjects of interest. But if you’re looking for more, free online learning resources, here is a comprehensive list from Kerry McDonald:

Do you want to share your story?

At MCPP, we believe your ability to raise your child as you see fit is a fundamental right that cannot be restricted by government. We have been sharing stories of new homeschoolers who have made the decision to leave public or private school this year. 

Is that you? We’d love to share your story. Just fill out this form and we’ll follow up with you! 

The limited sale of goat milk will remain legal in Mississippi after an early session attempt to ban the sale came up short.

House Bill 609, sponsored by Rep. Bill Pigott, who is the House Agriculture Committee Chairman, would have removed the current exemption that allows the sale of goat milk. Those who violated the law and continued to sell goat milk could have been sentenced to 60 days in jail with fines of up to $500.

HB 609 quickly and quietly cleared out of the Agriculture Committee but never made it passed the Public Health Committee, its next destination after constituent uproar. Still, the current law had a repealer on it, meaning it would have expired at the end of June without action. The exemption for goat milk was included in Senate Bill 2311, a bill that relates to Department of Health fees. 

Because of that, the small freedom that government gives to goat farmers in Mississippi and those that enjoy goat milk remains on the books. 

Under the current law, milk must be sold directly to the consumer on the premises of the production, you cannot have more than nine goats, and you can’t advertise your milk for sale. 

Still, attempts to expand the freedom to buy and sale raw milk that are introduced regularly never see the light of day, dying – usually in one of the Agriculture Committee’s – without a discussion. Rather, the legislature should begin to trust consumers to start and grow businesses and trust consumers to make decisions for themselves and their families.

Mississippi was the first state in the nation to enact prohibitionist policies in 1908 and was also the last state to formally end them. 

In 1966, after a raid on a Mardi Gras party led to the arrest of multiple prominent citizens, the state legislature acted to allow counties to decide for themselves whether they wanted to allow the possession and sale of alcohol. However, Mississippi remained a “dry” state, even as the slight policy change ultimately undermined attempts to enforce continued prohibition.

Today, all but 29 counties have voted to become “wet” and thus allow the possession and sale of alcohol, yet a variety of policies on the state and local level live on as enduring relics of the past, continuing to discourage alcohol sale and consumption and undermining local businesses and entrepreneurs around the state.

Two new pieces of legislation take major steps to further Mississippi’s advancement of more alcohol-friendly policy. 

Senate Bill 2545, authored by Sen. Chad McMahan and House Bill 1087, authored by Rep. Trey Lamar both offer substantive reforms that will soon be enacted into official legislative change.

House Bill 1087 is a massive win for Mississippi. The bill officially makes Mississippi a “wet” state for possession, meaning that all citizens can have beer, light spirits, and light wine, no matter the county they live in. After well over 100 years, the long legacy of prohibition in our state is coming to a close. Now, HB 1087 while making the entire state wet for possession, will still necessitate a vote to make new counties wet to the sale of alcohol. This bill also takes the important step of easing restrictions related to the transportation of alcoholic beverages. The bill will take effect January 1, 2021.

Senate Bill 2545 allows for the expanded ability for on-premises consumption of wine, as well as offering access to wine manufacturers to offer samples at “festivals” and similarly designated public events. The bill also expands the overall ability for retailers to offer samples of wine.

As we outlined in High Road to Freedom, the legislature needs to continue the work of expanding alcohol freedom in Mississippi. With each bill that slowly advances the cause of alcohol freedom in Mississippi, the legislature further chips away at the edifice of prohibition, and in so doing further expands the consumer liberties of Mississippi citizens. While many other good bills related to the sale, purchase, and distribution of alcohol died this year, these pieces of legislation are good policy and offer hope for further change in coming years.

Legislation to expand the sales cap for cottage food operators and remove the prohibition on advertising online has been signed by Gov. Tate Reeves.

House Bill 326 will raise the sales cap from $20,000, which was among the lowest in the country, to $35,000. Specific language has also been added to the law that will allow cottage food operators to advertise on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Previously, the Department of Health had sent cease and desist letters to individuals who posted pictures of their food online.

The bill, authored by Rep. Casey Eure, passed both the House and Senate unanimously.

Cottage food operators are still prohibited from selling products online, by mail, or at retail.

The city of Jackson will now issue tickets to individuals who don't wear masks in public and to businesses that don't require masks before entering their establishment.

Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said this was necessary to "protect our residents" in response to the rise of positive coronavirus cases in the state.

Individuals who don't wear masks could face citations from police officers, while businesses could face stiff penalties, according to Lumumba.

“We could shut you down if you’re not adhering to this,” he said.

While there has not been a statewide order, several cities have mask requirements, including Tupelo, Oxford, and Starkville.

As the on-again, off-again 2020 legislative session winds down, largely with appropriation bills, conference reports, and a potential vote on a new state flag remaining, we did see several bills that cut red tape for businesses and families, make it easier to work, and help ex-offenders re-enter society.

HB 326, sponsored by Rep. Casey Eure, will expand the sales cap for cottage food operators from $20,000 to $35,000 and also remove the restriction on the prohibition of posting pictures of your goodies on Facebook and Instagram. This bill is headed to the governor. 

HB 658, sponsored by Rep. Noah Sanford, will update the state’s expungement law to allow individuals with multiple convictions for drug offenses to apply for expungement. Right now, only one offense is eligible for expungement. This is in conference. 

HB 838, sponsored by Rep. Nick Bain, will allow individuals leaving state prisons to use MDOC documents as qualifying papers to obtain a driver’s license. For ex-offenders to land gainful employment, they generally need a driver’s license. Something that has been a hinderance. This will make that process easier by allowing MDOC documents in lieu of a birth certificate or social security card. This is in conference.

HB 1024, sponsored by Bain, will make various reforms to Mississippi’s “three strikes” habitual offender law for nonviolent drug offenses. It prevents offenses from more than 15 years ago counting toward the enhancement and prevents nonviolent offenses from triggering a life sentence. This is in conference.

HB 1104, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Turner, will give the Occupational Licensing Review Commission the ability to do a review of an existing regulations to determine whether it increases economic opportunities for citizens by promoting competition and uses the least restrictive regulation to protect consumers. Right now, the OLRC, which is comprised of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state, is limited to review only new regulations. This bill is headed to the governor. 

HB 1295, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Crawford, will prohibit abortions from taking place because of the preborn child’s race, sex, or disability. The Life Equality Act will require the Department of Health to create a documentation process that all those performing abortions would need to follow prior to the abortion. The law authorizes the attorney general to bring enforcement action against those who perform abortion and do not follow the law. This will be returned to the House for concurrence. 

HB 1336, sponsored by Rep. Kent McCarty, is innovative Learn to Earn legislation will expand upon alternative learning opportunities for students in Mississippi. With this program, high school students are able to work toward earning an occupational license while still in school. This bill is headed to the governor. 

HB 1476, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Horan, will make inmates with certain medical conditions eligible for parole. This is in conference.

SB 2112, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Witherspoon, is the ‘Ban The Box Act,’ which will prohibit public employers from using criminal history as a preliminary bar for employment. This is in conference.

SB 2117, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Younger, will provide universal recognition of occupational licenses for military families. Military families that move to Mississippi will no longer have to jump through new government hoops to acquire an occupational license. This bill is headed to the governor. 

SB 2123, sponsored by Sen. Juan Barnett, will allow the Parole Board to consider individuals after they have served 25 percent of their sentence for a nonviolent offense and 50 percent for a violent offense. This is in conference. 

SB 2759, sponsored by Sen. John Horhn, will update the state’s Fresh Start Act, initially adopted last year, that prevents occupational licensing boards from denying an individual an occupational license because of a past offense unless the conviction is directly linked to the occupation. This is in conference.  

SB 2830, sponsored by Sen. Josh Harkins, expands Mississippi’s Right-to-Try law. Right-to-Try laws give terminally ill patients and others the ability to try life-saving therapies and medications otherwise caught up in federal red tape. This bill adds victims of a traumatic injury to the list of eligible patients who may take advantage of experimental procedures that have passed FDA safety trials. The bill also adds adult stems cells to the list of approved therapies. This bill is headed to the governor. 

Those wanting to be able to order wine online and have it shipped to their house like residents in 43 other states are close to getting a small win. 

While direct shipment has long been dead for the year, something that looked even sillier after the coronavirus pandemic had most quarantined at home, House Bill 1088 will allow individuals to purchase wine from a winery and have it shipped to a liquor store. 

The House adopted the conference report in a 102-14 vote Friday morning. Soon after, it passed the Senate 37-10. It now awaits Gov. Tate Reeves' signature.

The main benefit of this is if you would like a product that the state liquor warehouse does not carry, you can order directly without having to jump through the traditional ABC-government hoops.

And perhaps Mississippians having the ability to order wine online, something they largely want, along with the continued inconvenience of having the liquor store middleman will help legislators move within the next year or two to allow true alcohol delivery. Rather than ceding to the demands of liquor stores who don’t want competition and can use their power created by a government monopoly to get their way.

Whether it is wine or liquor you order online or a drink you’d like delivered via an app like Uber Eats or Drizly, all Mississippians should have the option to make that choice for themselves. 

We just need to remember our free market principles when it comes to alcohol.

After 24 hours of back-and-forth, the Senate has concurred with changes from the House to a bill that will authorize the cultivation of hemp in Mississippi.

When the adoption of Senate Bill 2725, Mississippi will become the 48th state in the nation to legalize hemp.

We have seen a massive move toward hemp legalization at the state level after the 2018 Farm Bill expanded the cultivation of hemp. Previously, federal law did not differentiate hemp from other cannabis plants, even though you can’t get high from hemp. Because of this, it was essentially made illegal. But we did have pilot programs or limited purpose small-scale program for hemp, largely for research. 

Now, hemp cultivation is much broader, with the Farm Bill allowing the transfer of hemp across state lines, with no restrictions on the sale, transport, or possession of hemp-derived products. There are still limitations, but most states have taken the opportunity to find new markets for those who would like to cultivate hemp. 

Yesterday, a concurrence vote – which required three/fifths for passage – narrowly failed on a 31-21 vote. We then saw a motion to reconsider entered and withdrawn, before it was entered again prior to today’s concurrence vote. 

While there has been an unsuccessful push for years from liberty-minded Republicans and many Democrats to legalize hemp, this bill came out of the Hemp Cultivation Task Force that met last year and heard from officials in various fields. This included law enforcement, who raised multiple concerns over the ability to police this crop that looks like – but isn’t – marijuana.

The bill, like at the federal level, is heavily regulated, and whether Mississippi farmers will see a boom from hemp remains to be seen. 

The bill is effective upon passage.  

A federal court has ordered the City of Jackson to never again act on its own to restrict the right to openly carry a firearm.  

The Order was issued as a Consent Decree after the Mississippi Justice Institute (“MJI”), a non-profit constitutional litigation center and the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, filed a lawsuit against the city and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba on behalf of State Rep. Dana Criswell. The lawsuit challenged the legality of an executive order from Lumumba attempting to temporarily ban the open carry of firearms because of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Lumumba allowed his open carry ban to expire on April 30, 2020, three days after the lawsuit was filed. The court’s Order prevents such bans in the future and was agreed to by the parties involved in the lawsuit.  

“We are very happy with the outcome of this case,” said MJI director Aaron Rice. “No mayor or other elected official in Jackson will ever again be able to act on their own to take away the right to openly carry a firearm in the city of Jackson, for any reason. We hope city officials can find a way to effectively address violent crime in Jackson, but they must do so in a way that respects the right of individuals to protect themselves.”

Under the Consent Decree, the city cannot take any action that would directly or indirectly prohibit, restrict, or inhibit the open carry of firearms in the city unless Mississippi’s statutes and constitutional law are first changed to allow for that.

“I am very glad to know that this will never happen again in the future,” said Criswell. “Mississippians should be able to protect themselves no matter what city they are in.” 

“I am pleased at the result in this case,” said MJI volunteer attorney Sterling Kidd. “I greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve as co-counsel in protecting and vindicating this fundamental right.”  

The Consent Decree was issued by Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan, III in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi on June 12, 2020. It went into effect immediately. 

A copy of the Consent Decree can be found here.

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