Phil Bryant in 2015 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Families & Children: Support Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs

"I can assure you from personal experience, this response to dyslexia will result in direct benefits. This reading disorder is the number one reason children drop out of school. If we confront it aggressively, we can see a dramatic decrease in our state's dropout rate and help turn around our reading scores for thousands of Mississippi children.

"This year, we must also do all in our power to help children with special needs. The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act will empower parents with educational choice to get their children the services they need. When only 22.5% of special needs children graduate from high school, something is terribly wrong. I call on you to send this bill to my desk. Mississippi children with special needs, and their parents, deserve nothing less."

On Jobs: $50M for Keep Mississippi Working Fund & workforce training

Due to reduced demand on Mississippi's Unemployment Trust Fund, $50 million will instead be allocated for workforce training in high-demand industries. The Keep Mississippi Working Fund will not increase taxes.

The governor also called on the Legislature to fund a $3 million scholarship program for high school students in career tech programs to pursue skills certifications and academic degrees at Mississippi's community and junior colleges: "I believe with these two programs, we can focus on creating a world-class workforce. With that accomplished, our economic progress can be unlimited," Gov. Bryant said of the workforce development initiative and scholarship program.