Mississippians want new ideas and further improvement in education, and they are concerned about the effects of AI on their child’s wellbeing and independent learning. Andy Gipson has always believed every child in Mississippi deserves a great education, and equal educational opportunity. Gipson’s education plan will build upon recent improvements in Mississippi education. Today, despite recent improvements, far too many Mississippi schools and school districts do not have sufficient qualified teachers to be able to offer advance placement courses to students in local schools. Under Gipson’s Governor’s School of Excellence Plan:

a.    Advanced placement courses, particularly STEM courses, will be offered and taught by Mississippi’s best and most qualified advanced course teachers, through remote teaching technologies (such as Zoom), with lessons made available in every school classroom within the State of Mississippi, from the North Delta to the Coast and all points in between. The best qualified Mississippi teachers from the Mississippi schools will be recruited and compensated with additional earned pay to offer these courses through remote teaching technologies to every willing and participating child in every school in Mississippi. Local classroom teachers will oversee the advanced course students in person. Participating students who enroll in these advanced courses, including STEM courses, will have access to the best educational resources available in Mississippi. Those students who enroll and complete the advanced coursework will receive a Governor’s School of Excellence Scholarship toward attending a Mississippi college or university, provided they execute a commitment to remain in Mississippi for at least ten years following graduation from higher education;

b.    Gipson’s education plan will implement safeguards for all schools to protect our children from online threats, cyber-bullying and other online dangers, including the risk of using AI as a “crutch;”

c.    The Plan will require in-person teaching procedures in every school district to ensure that students are not utilizing predominantly digital resources such as Artificial Intelligence as a means to pass required instructional tests, but are in fact learning and retaining the material on their own, in a way to develop their God-given learning, reading, writing and critical thinking skills. d.    Establish a statewide School Choice Working Group with all affected stakeholders including public schools, private schools, parents and homeschoolers to research our neighboring states’ programs and effects, and based on these findings, reset the policy conversation to find the best path forward on school choice for the parents and children of Mississippi.