• Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho sue the U.S. Department of Education over new rule that expands Title IX to include “sexual orientation, gender identity.”

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) has joined the attorneys general from Louisiana, Montana, and Idaho in challenging the Biden Administration’s new Title IX final rule that broadens the federal law to prohibit discrimination based on “sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.”

“Title IX has been a game-changer for generations of women,” said Attorney General Fitch. “For more than fifty years, it has given girls an opportunity to compete on a level playing field and offered them a fair chance to excel. The Biden Administration’s pursuit of an extremist political agenda here will destroy these important gains.”

Fitch says under this new rule, “safe and private spaces for women to engage in healing, fellowship, and support will be torn away” from girls and women. She said the Biden Administration’s legal theories “are novel, at best, and they cut legal corners to push them through, and we intend to defeat this rule in the courts.”

As previously reported, the original intent of the 1972 law was to give women an equal playing field in educational attainment, particularly at public schools and institutions of higher learning that receive federal financial aid. However, presidential administrations supportive of the LGBTQ movement have used Title IX to expand protections and access for people who identify as lesbian, gay or transgender.

READ MORE: Biden Administration broadens Title IX to include sexual orientation, gender identity

The new Biden Administration rule handed down by the U.S. Department of Education also places additional requirements on schools to communicate their nondiscrimination policies and procedures to all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs, among other mandates.

Failure to comply with the new rule could result in the loss of federal funding and legal action taken by the federal government against local schools.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) is leading the challenge for the states in the case titled Louisiana v. The U.S. Department of Education. In a release announcing the filing, Murrill’s office called the expansion of Title IX rules “illegal,” saying it would apply burdensome requirements on nearly every school, college, and university in Louisiana and across the nation.

“This would deprive women and girls of the equal educational opportunities they struggled for decades to secure, and cost states billions of dollars to implement,” the Louisiana AG’s office states, adding, “The rules rewrite Title IX, requiring all schools, colleges, and universities that receive federal assistance across the country to disregard the concept of biological ‘sex.’”

The attorneys general claim in the lawsuit that the new Title IX rule “cannot help but sound the death knell for female sports.” They say their challenge is intended to “save Title IX.”

Read the full lawsuit below.

For the second year in a row, Madison Central High School in Madison County ranked within the top 10 on the U.S. News Best High Schools list for the state of Mississippi.

The list studied data from nearly 18,000 public high schools in the nation, including traditional, magnet and charter public schools. The rankings are based on six different factors including graduation rate, college readiness and state assessment scores.

Nationally, the highest ranked Mississippi school is Ocean Springs High School, which earned a No. 682 national ranking.

Ocean Springs High School is the only Mississippi school in 2024 to break 1,000 on the rankings list. The next highest school, Lewisburg High School in Olive Branch, ranked 1,464.

Several other southern states broke the top 100 nationally. Alabama had one school at No. 21 nationally; Louisiana had one school at No. 49 and one school at No. 89; Tennessee had one school at No. 19 and one school at No. 48; Georgia had one school at No. 9.

The Mississippi coastal schools won out this year, earning five spots out of the state’s top 10.

Madison Central High makes top 10

Madison Central High ranked 10 on the 2024 list, the only Jackson Metro area school to break the top 10 in best high schools in Mississippi.

This ranking falls short of last year’s ranking by one; Madison Central held ninth place on the 2023 list.

In comparison to neighboring public schools, Madison Central earned first place in the Jackson Metro area.

Overall, Madison Central High School ranked No. 2,926 in the nation out of the nearly 18,000 ranked.

No Jackson Public Schools broke the top 10 for the Jackson Metro area.

The top 10 public high schools in Mississippi for the U.S. News 2024 list, in order from first place to 10th, are as follows:

1. Ocean Springs High School, Ocean Springs School District, No. 682 nationally
2. Lewisburg High School, Desoto County School District, No. 1,464 nationally
3. Hernando High School, Desoto County School District, No. 1,964 nationally
4. Pass Christian High School, Pass Christian Public School District, No. 2,028 nationally
5. Raleigh High School, Smith County School District, No. 2,034 nationally
6. Petal High School, Petal School District, No. 2,346 nationally
7. West Harrison High School, Harrison County School District, No. 2,678 nationally
8. Biloxi High School, Biloxi Public School District, No. 2,789 nationally
9. Long Beach Senior High School, Long Beach School District, No. 2,906 nationally
10. Madison Central High School, Madison County School District, No. 2,926 nationally

Compare to last year: See how Jackson area and state schools ranked in U.S. News and World Report rankings

Top 10 high schools in the Jackson Metro

The Jackson Metro area refers to the capital city and its surrounding counties, including Hinds, Madison, Rankin and Copiah among others.

Here are the top 10 schools in the Jackson Metro area, according to the U.S. News 2024 list, in order from first place to 10th:

1. Madison Central High School, Madison County School District, No. 10 in state, No. 2,926 nationally
2. Germantown High School, Madison County School District, No. 14 in state, No. 3,658 nationally
3. Brandon High School, Rankin County School District, No. 30 in state, No. 5,140 nationally
4. Clinton High School, Clinton Public School District, No. 32 in state, No. 5,337 nationally
5. Raymond High School, Hinds County School District, No. 37 in state, No. 5,885 nationally
6. Pearl High School, Pearl Public School District, No. 38 in state, No. 5,923 nationally
7. Northwest Rankin High School, Rankin County School District, No. 45 in state, No. 6,385 nationally
8. Terry High School, Hinds County School District, No. 72 in state, No. 8,527 nationally
9. McLaurin Attendance Center, Rankin County School District, No. 77 in state, No. 8,759 nationally
10. Wesson Attendance Center, Copiah County School District, No. 79 in state, No. 8,779 nationally

More in education news: Belhaven is first MS university to pair with Amazon for new curriculum. Read details here

Top high schools by district

Here are some top public schools in Jackson and Madison County by school district.

Jackson Public School District:

Some schools within the Jackson Public School District received a ranking between two values rather than a specific number placing.

1. Murrah High School, No. 104 in state, No. 10,321 nationally
2. Callaway High School, No. 106 in state, No. 10,354 nationally
3. Jim Hill High School, No. 118 in state, No. 10,854 nationally
4. Forest Hill High School, No. 142-229 in state, No. 13,242-17655 nationally
5. Lanier High School, No. 142-229 in state, No. 13,242-17655 nationally
6. Provine High School, No. 142-229 in state, No. 13,242-17655 nationally
7. Wingfield High School, No. 142-229 in state, No. 13,242-17655 nationally

In Dec. 2023, the Jackson Public School District voted to permanently close Wingfield High School, along with 10 other schools, when the current school year concludes.

More on Wingfield’s closure: Wingfield football coach, players describe the pain of learning of their school’s closing

Madison County School District:

1. Madison Central High School, No. 10 in state, No. 2,926 nationally
2. Germantown High School, No. 14 in state, No. 3,658 nationally
3. Ridgeland High School, No. 83 in state, No. 9,043 nationally
4. Velma Jackson High School, No. 117 in state, No. 10,847 nationally

Hattiesburg and its surrounding districts:

Lamar County School District, which covers schools in Hattiesburg and surrounding cities, had four schools ranked as follows:

• Oak Grove High School, No. 15 in state, No. 3,667 nationally
• Sumrall High School, No. 46 in state, No. 6,427 nationally
• Lumberton High School, No. 99 in state, No. 9,959 nationally
• Purvis High School, No. 109 in state, No. 10,491 nationally

The only Hattiesburg Public School District school ranked by the U.S. News for 2024 is Hattiesburg High School, which came in at No. 53 in the state and No. 6,828 nationally.

Forrest County School District also had one school ranked. North Forrest High School ranked No. 66 in the state and No. 7,949 nationally.

Neighboring district Petal School District also had only one school ranked, Petal High School, which earned 6th place in the state’s top 10 and ranked No. 2,346 nationally.

Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – The 2024 NFL Draft has finally reached its conclusion, and teams begin signing undrafted free agents, it’s time to see who will be representing the Magnolia State come this Fall.

Mississippi’s first rep to come off the board during the draft was Florida State’s Trey Benson, a runningback from Greenville and St. Joseph Catholic School alum who was selected in Round 3 with the 66th pick by the Arizona Cardinals.

From there, eight more players who attended school in the state were selected over the next two days.

Round #, Pick # — College, Position, Name, Pro Team (Hometown/High School)

• Round 3, Pick 96 — Florida St. CB Jarrian Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars (Magee/Northwest Rankin)
• Round 3, Pick 97 — Texas A&M DT McKinnley Jackson, Cincinnati Bengals (Lucedale/George Co.)
• Round 4, Pick 112 — Mississippi St. CB Decamerion Richardson, Las Vegas Raiders
• Round 5, Pick 153 — Ole Miss CB Deantre Prince, Jacksonville Jaguars (Charleston/Charleston)
• Round 6, Pick 200 — Mississippi St. DT Jaden Crumerdy, Carolina Panthers (Hattiesburg/Oak Grove)
• Round 6, Pick 206 — Mississippi St. LB Nathaniel Watson, Cleveland Browns
• Round 6, Pick 214 — Ole Miss EDGE Cedric Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals (Mobile, Ala./Davidson)
• Round 7, Pick 224 — Ole Miss S Daijahn Anthony, Cincinnati Bengals

Even after the draft, NFL teams continue to add undrafted free agents. Here are those who will look to earn a roster spot over the next few months:

• Southern Miss RB Frank Gore Jr., Buffalo Bills
• Southern Miss LB Swayze Bozeman, Kansas City Chiefs (Flora/Tri-County Academy)
• Southern Miss C Briason Mays, San Francisco 49ers
• Southern Miss WR Latreal Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Taylorsville/Taylorsville)
• Ole Miss EDGE Isaac Ukwu, Detroit Lions
• Ole Miss LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, Los Angeles Chargers
• Ole Miss WR Dayton Wade, Baltimore Ravens
• Ole Miss CB Zamari Walton, Los Angeles Chargers
• Ole Miss QB Spencer Sanders, Kansas City Chiefs
• Ole Miss CB Deshawn Gaddie Jr., Carolina Panthers
• Mississippi St. CB Marcus Banks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Mississippi St. WR Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin, Las Vegas Raiders (Philadelphia/Philadelphia)
• Mississippi St. LB Jett Johnson, New York Jets (Tupelo/Tupelo)
• Alcorn St. RB Jarveon Johnson, Green Bay Packers (Columbia/East Marion)
• UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee, Pittsburgh Steelers (Hattiesburg/Oak Grove)
• Washington RB Dillon Johnson, Tennessee Titans (Greenville/St. Joseph)
• Arkansas St. CB Leon Jones, Chicago Bears (Hattiesburg/North Forrest)
• Florida St. DT Fabien Lovett, Kansas City Chiefs (Vicksburg/Olive Branch)

Altogether, 27 players that either attended high school or college in the state of Mississippi currently look forward to suiting up for minicamp.

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