The Jackson Public School District has some work to do before the state can approve its corrective action plan, a necessary step in the district’s audit process.

At a State Board of Education meeting Thursday, members decided to delay approval of some districts’ corrective action plans, or CAPs because they needed more work.

Three districts — JPS, Natchez-Adams and Hazlehurst — will continue to work on their plans with the help of the Mississippi Department of Education. They will be presented for approval in March.

Both Jackson and state education officials said the work will be a collaborative effort. Mississippi Department Chief Accountability Officer Paula Vanderford said the necessary revisions are “across the board,” ranging from changing certain timelines in the plan to providing more detail on how instructional strategies will directly affect students.

The CAP must addresses the findings highlighted in a Mississippi Department of Education investigative audit that stated the district was in violation of 24 of the 32 state accreditation standards for public schools.

JPS spokesman Sherwin Johnson said the district is currently working on making all the necessary changes, and the school board must approve them before the plan is re-submitted to the state.

The district must resubmit its plan by Feb. 23, and it will be considered for approval at the March 15 state board of education meeting.


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Kayleigh Skinner joined the Mississippi Today team in January 2017 as an education and legislative reporter and advanced to a senior staff member in her four years with the company. Skinner most recently served as deputy managing editor before assuming the role of managing editor. Kayleigh has a bachelor’s in journalism from the School of Journalism and New Media from the University of Mississippi. Before joining Mississippi Today, Kayleigh worked at The Hechinger Report, Chalkbeat Tennessee, and The Commercial Appeal. She has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC Newsday Radio to discuss her reporting.