All results / Stories / Arielle Dreher
Are Teacher Walkouts Possible in Mississippi?
Teachers in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky and now North Carolina have made national headlines as they strike for better wages, policy matters and other various reasons.
Protecting Children: New Leader, New Challenges
Almost 6,000 children are in the state's custody, and some of them are backlogged in the system, newly appointed commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services Jess Dickinson …
Gov. Phil Bryant Confirms Third Option for Jackson Public Schools
Gov. Phil Bryant confirmed this morning that he is working with several organizations as well as the Mississippi Department of Education to find a third option to revitalize the state's …
Changing the Culture of Suspension
Juan Cloy remembers being suspended when he was at Provine High School in the 1980s. He and several friends got in a fight with some kids from the neighborhood at …
Special Session Ahead for Unfinished Business
A bi-partisan attempt to fund road and bridge repair, as well as Mississippi's top attorney's legal budget, stalled in a last-hour fight between the two houses in the Capitol last …
The State of Mississippi’s Debt, Finances
The State of Mississippi is in an $8.4-billion financial hole, a new report based on the State's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR, shows.
When State Agencies Lose Their People
The Mississippi Department of Health can have a hard time keeping nurses because they can earn more if they go to work for other hospitals, an attrition problem that afflicts …
Lawsuit to Change Mississippi Flag An ‘Uphill Battle,’ But Could Work
A black Mississippi lawyer suing Gov. Phil Bryant for flying the state flag could be successful if he can prove that the state's original intent for putting the Confederate battle …
Child Protection, Pro-Women Bills Pass Senate; House Roiled in Race Tension
Human trafficking, domestic-abuse and breastfeeding bills easily passed through the Mississippi Senate last week.
Trafficking, Anti-Terrorism Bills Still Alive; LGBT Rights Under Fire, Again
Mississippi has a human-trafficking problem that gets far too little law-enforcement and medical attention, but a bill is still alive in the Mississippi Legislature that would provide more resources to …
HB 1523: Half ‘Redundant,’ Half ‘Unconstitutional’
The controversial House Bill 1523, with its long list of protections for people who discriminate against LGBT people and others, will become law in July unless one of two things …
Special Ed Vouchers Falling Short
Ian Buckhalter will start first grade in a few weeks. His father, Josh Buckhalter, had him tested and diagnosed earlier this year: Ian has high-functioning autism.
Finding Homes for People With HIV/AIDS
Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS/HIV serves individuals, families and couples (in domestic partnerships) if one member has AIDS.
The Next Fight: LGBT Workplace Rights
Lavell Brown filed a discrimination lawsuit in federal court after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued him a right-to-sue notice in February.
Still Fighting at Home: Transgender Veterans Caught in the Flux
Some top-down changes coming soon to the VA could help alleviate inadvertent or purposeful discrimination against LGBT veterans. Due to a recent change, all VA medical centers now have the …
Tale of Two Charter Schools in Mississippi
Charter schools weren't legal in Mississippi until 2013, when the Legislature passed the Mississippi Charter School Law, allowing nonprofit charter schools to enter the state for the first time.
Task Force: Invest in Criminal Justice Reforms
Judges in Mississippi can assign non-violent offenders, usually those who commit petty crimes while under the influence of drugs or who are arrested for possession of illegal drugs. The two- …
‘Unborn Child Protection’ Law Prohibits Rare Procedure
Mississippi lawmakers' ban on Medicaid reimbursements for the state's only Planned Parenthood clinic stalled in federal court last year, but another anti-abortion bill did become state law last summer despite …
'One Lake' Bond Bill Passes House By Slim Margin After Questions
Proponents of the "One Lake" project along the Pearl River through Jackson got a financial boost when the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a nearly $100-million bond and loan measure …
Sabotage, Death, Danger: Private Prison on Trial
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Prison Project of the ACLU and two other law firms brought a class-action lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections back in 2013 …