Exclusive: House Speaker Jason White has two key agenda items in new role. See what they are

If there is anything Mississippi House Speaker Jason White hopes to accomplish this legislative session, it’s reforming the state’s role in providing new opportunities for K-12 schools and possibly expanding healthcare to the “working poor.”

White told The Clarion Ledger that while he hopes to help craft new legislation for students and the healthcare industry, he won’t be ignoring the inputs of the house's Democratic minority, consisting of 40 of the 122-member house.

“I have to have buy-ins from our Democratic friends across the aisle on those two issues. It affects their people just like it affects my constituents, and I want them to have a seat at the table,” White said. “I want them to be part of the solution.”

White said the major issues facing the legislature this session are making sure that education in the state’s K-12 schools provide more workforce development curriculum, as well as options for students to pick where they want to receive those classes.

To address this, White plans to work with legislators to draft bills removing steps families have to make before transferring to other school districts from the one they live in, such as receiving approval from both districts before being allowed to move.

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White said that he also plans to try and reform how the state appropriates funds to public schools to cover the cost of student attendance. Currently, school districts can pay up to 27% of a student’s cost of attendance through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

“Let's give them some other options, and then when you think about these alternative career tracks that I want to offer them as early as ninth or 10th grade, all school districts don't offer that, so parents should be able to say ‘I found a school district that meets these needs, and I would like my per-student costs so that I can take that money and they can (attend) there,’” White said.

White added that private school vouchers, which would provide public funding for families to send their children to privately funded institutions, are not yet on the table for this session, but that could change as lawmakers begin drafting bills.

White said that he and his Republican colleagues have also noticed more of the constituents advocating for Medicaid expansion and for the working poor to have more avenues to afford and receive health insurance.

“I feel like we haven't fully vetted and looked at the Medicaid expansion population, or what has been termed the working poor in Mississippi that are uninsured,” White said. “I'm not going to be hung up on names like Obamacare or Affordable Care Act. We're going to try to do what's best for Mississippi, and I think with less than 3 million people in our state, there ought to be a way for us to figure this out.”

White, 50, was first elected to the House in 2011 as a Democrat, but he switched to the Republican Party that next year. He represents portions of Attala, Carroll, Holmes and Leake counties and previously led the House Rules Committee and the House Management Committee. Other than serving as a member of the house, White has his own legal practice in Kosciusko.

How house members see White

Republican Rep. Rob Roberson, who serves Oktibbeha County, said he has been working with White for eight years, often sitting with him in general sessions of the house and on drafting bills from time to time.

Roberson said as the 2024 session gets underway, White’s pragmatic attitude and willingness to listen to opposition will set him apart from his predecessor, former House Speaker Philip Gunn, who chose not to run for reelection this past year.

“Speaker Gunn was an excellent leader, but he was very one-track minded once he got on in a direction, and I see Jason as being more willing to hear all of the concerns on an issue,” Roberson said.

Rep. Jill Ford, who serves Madison County as a Republican, noted that White may still be new to his role as house speaker, but she believes he will guide the house toward increased bipartisanship.

“White has encouraged us to build relationships with each member of the House, specifically to invite a member from the Democratic party to lunch to discuss how we can work together. I look forward to watching us grow closer as a body.

Representatives Justis Gibbs and Christopher Bell, who both serve Hinds County as Democrats, said they optimistic about working with White on key issues such as healthcare and education this session, but that they will have to wait and see what happens as bills make it to the floor later this year.

“I've known Jason, since I've been elected in 2016, and he's always been, in my estimation, a fair and honest guy that you can trust his word,” Bell said. “If he truly says that he plans to work across the aisle among party lines, then I have no doubt in my mind that he'll do that.”

Rep. Zakiya Summers, A Democrat serving Hinds and Rankin counties, said she believes White will at the very least listen to Democrats, even when their positions oppose one another this session.

“We've talked about his proposal around the school vouchers issue, and I told him that I would not be in support of that, but I would like to work with him on perhaps tweaking the formula, to see how we can bring more equity to ensure that the schools that need the most funding get what they need to take care of students,” Summers said.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS Speaker Jason White pushes education reform, working with Democrats