GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate in schools has increased to 27 percent over the past year, prompting Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann to prioritize the issue heading into the 2026 legislative session.

“I was in Bayou View just a couple of weeks ago, an ‘A’ school with a four percent chronic absentee rate. So I gave them an award for having one of the lowest absentee rates in the state,” Hosemann said.

Another hot topic on the agenda will be school choice. Hosemann said he supports public-to-public school transfers, but noted concerns about public funding going to private schools.

“They (the Gulfport School District) charge money for people to come there out of district. Some of them pay $1,500, some of them pay more than that. So there’s a choice r

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