Mississippi students may no longer have to take an exit exam if an amendment to the House appropriations bill lands on the governor’s desk as part of the state budget.

District 55 Rep. Oscar Denton, D-Vicksburg, said the amendment introduced by Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, would prevent the Mississippi Department of Education from receiving state funding unless the department removes the requirement that all students pass the end-of-the-year exit exams.

The amendment was passed by a voice vote, Denton said. He called the exit exam “one of the craziest” ideas from the Department of Education.

Under the amendment, the Department of Education’s policy must provide that a student who fails to achieve a passing score on an exit exam “may not be prohibited from graduating from high school if the student has fulfilled the requirements for a standard Mississippi high school diploma, as demonstrated by having achieved the requisite number of academic credits or Carnegie units and successful mastery of each course of instruction with a satisfactory grade.”

Attempts to contact District 54 Rep. Kevin Ford about the amendment and other issues in the House were unsuccessful.

The Miles amendment was one of several financial matters as the House examined the preliminary budgets of state agencies.

In a related education matter, House Bill 1550, which would allow recent college graduates to file for a tax deduction after graduating from a four-year college or university was sent to the floor by the House Ways and Means Committee.

“If you are a recent college graduate, you can file for a deduction within one year of graduating from a four-year college or university,” Denton said.

Under the bill, the graduates would be entitled to this deduction for up to three consecutive years if they remain a resident and are employed in the state of Mississippi. The deduction can be extended an additional two years if the graduate purchases property in the state for residential or commercial use.

Like the House, the Senate spent the week on appropriations as it prepared to have financial issues ready to meet deadlines later this week.

“There are a lot of bills still in committee,” state Sen. Briggs Hopson said, adding he won’t be able to know exactly what issues will be coming until the committees release their bills to the floor.

“We should have a better idea of what’s going to be considered by mid-week,” he said.