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More students eligible for school vouchers
Georgia parents could learn today if their children may be able to get a school voucher, and a new rule makes significantly more students eligible.
ATLANTA - Hundreds of thousands of Georgia parents could learn on Thursday if their children can get a $6,500 voucher to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses after a new rule made significantly more students eligible.
Students who attend the lowest performing 25% of schools under the state's academic rating system are supposed to be eligible to apply for the Georgia Promise Scholarship.
However, the Georgia Education Savings Authority, a body created to run the program, wrote rules that could open the opportunity to more than one in five children in the state.
The authority's rule says that any student in such a school’s attendance zone is eligible, even if they don’t attend that school. For example, if a middle school is on the list, elementary and high school students who live in that zone can also apply.
SEE MORE: Georgia's school voucher program hits snags as eligibility confusion looms
Georgia Education Savings Authority spokesperson Hayley Corbitt pointed to the language in the law, which says eligibility applies if "the student resides in the attendance zone of a public school that is included on the list."
A stop sign attached to a school bus is shown on April 19, 2023, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Georgia currently has 1.75 million public school students. An analysis by the Associated Press finds more than 400,000 students could get a chance to apply, including every child in the Augusta and Macon districts and more than half in Atlanta, DeKalb, Clayton, and Douglas counties.
"It’s going to dramatically increase the number of students who are eligible," said Rep. Danny Mathis, a Cochran Republican who opposed the law.
The law capped spending at 1% of the funding formula for public schools, or $144 million. That could provide more than 22,000 vouchers if lawmakers decide to spend that much in 2025.
The broad eligibility means applications could far exceed the spending limit, creating pressure to raise it. Some opponents have said a push toward universal vouchers has been the point all along.
If too many parents apply, the money would be prioritized to families making less than four times the federal poverty level. That’s about $100,000 for a family of three. If there are still too many applications, a random statewide lottery will decide who gets the money.
The authority is supposed to accept applications early next year. The money can be spent on private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, home-schooling supplies, therapy, tutoring or even early college courses for high school students.
Teachers concerned about Georgia's new school vouchers law
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Georgia school voucher program off to rough start
Georgia's new school voucher program, Georgia Promise Scholarship, is off to a rough start. Parents who expected to know by now whether their children were eligible for the scholarship to attend private school are still in limbo.
The program's rollout has been closely monitored by teachers' unions, many of which have long opposed school choice initiatives. Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, expressed skepticism about the program's implementation. Although students are expected to begin applying for vouchers early next year, Turner is doubtful the process will unfold smoothly.
"You are dealing with a symptom," Turner said, emphasizing her broader concerns with the initiative. She referred to the program as a "false promise," adding, "Parents are going to feel like they have something now. I have money to send my child to private school. $6,500 is not going to send my child to private school."
Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, criticized the program's reliance on standardized test scores to determine school eligibility. "It is problematic because we are, once again, using standardized test scores to rank schools. They were not designed to rank schools," she said.
Lawmakers push back against school vouchers rule update
The House Education Committee chair, Republican Rep. Chris Erwin of Homer, said that if the rule isn’t rewritten, he will work to get it overturned.
"The scholarships are specifically designed for children in an individual school that meets the eligibility requirements, and are not intended to be provided to every student in a district where the qualifying school is located," Erwin wrote in a text.
Erwin was superintendent for 11 years in Banks County, where all students could be eligible for vouchers.
It’s unclear how Senate Republicans feel. Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming, who as the bill’s sponsor was consulted on the rule-making, referred questions to Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. He didn’t respond to questions about how the law is being implemented, instead only expressing support for "educational freedom."