ATLANTA – Legislation providing private-school vouchers to Georgia students attending low-performing public schools is struggling to get through the General Assembly in the final days of this year’s session.
After a lengthy debate late Thursday, the state House of Representatives tabled a bill that would create $6,500 vouchers for Georgia students.
House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton, moved to table Senate Bill 233, likely because it did not have the votes to pass. The House voted 95-70 in favor of the motion, with many Democrats voting against putting off a vote on the measure.
That leaves just two legislative days – Monday and Wednesday – to get the bill passed.
“This is a chance to say to those children, those families, ‘We are here to give you an opportunity, a choice to be able to go to an alternative, to be able to do something at home or through hybrid, to be able to allow you to extend the educational opportunity,’” said Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, who sponsored the bill in the House.
“We can help the public school system and provide choice. We [have] got to be able to provide a system that allows the family to have an opportunity.”
The Georgia Student Finance Commission would oversee the program, and parents would be required to live in Georgia for one year before availing their children of the scholarships.
Parents could spend the money at private or virtual schools, or for home-schooling and other expenses such as tutoring. Up to $500 could go for transportation.
Students using the scholarship would need to take at least one assessment test each year to help ensure accountability.
House Democrats criticized the measure, arguing it would harm public schools.
“We should not be diverting resources to support private interests that undermine Georgia’s public schools,” said Rep. Miriam Paris, D-Macon.
Paris said private-school tuition is usually around $10,000 to $12,000 annually, far more than the $6,500 voucher the bill would provide.
“This is a gift to our most well-off Georgians,” she said. “School vouchers do not address the root causes of poor educational outcomes. … We need to fully and equally invest in our public schools.”
The state Senate earlier this month approved the “Georgia Promise Scholarship” bill 33-23 along party lines. If the House passes the voucher measure next week, the Senate would have to vote again to approve it because it has been amended by a House committee.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.