JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) laid out its legislative priorities at the Mississippi State Capitol on Thursday.

After Mississippi shot up in the rankings in nationwide reading and math scores last year, the focus in 2024 is to replicate those successes.

Interim State Superintendent Raymond Morgigno shared the legislative priorities of MDE with lawmakers. Fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) was among them, which is a $3 billion ask.

“It’s, I think, traditionally funded at about 90%. Outside of the formula, they allocated an additional $100 million, which helped our school districts tremendously. They funded education at a rate greater than I’ve seen in the past 30 years,” said Morgigno.

It’s because of that funding that Morgigno said is why the state has seen educational gains.

“We have 849 schools in the state of Mississippi, and 40 of them are rated F, so that’s 40 too many. But if you look at that, I’m a percentage wise that that’s less than 5%,” he stated.

Workforce development is a priority for MDE, as well. With record-breaking economic development projects being announced in Madison and Marshall counties, work is being done to ensure Mississippi students can one day get those jobs.

“Our school districts have worked with our community colleges over the past few years, and we’ve seen more and more kids going into the career and technical education pathway. We’ve seen a big uptick in our number of internships, and we’re excited about that and just trying to get more and more internships, apprenticeship type programs, where kids have that opportunity,” said Morgigno.

The department also asked for an increased statewide assessment of budget and more funding to expand early childhood education programs.