School Vouchers Talking Points

Talking Points – School Vouchers

Georgia Voucher Program (SB 233, LC 49 1473S)

*Republicans plan to institute a school voucher program, which would require reallocating state funds that would otherwise have been used to support Georgia’s public school system. 

*“Vouchers will destroy our public school systems and decimate rural schools. We must protect and fight for every child to have access to a quality public education.”

• The voucher program is a catastrophic disinvestment in our public schools.
• Our public schools represent the promise that Georgia will give every child a good education and set them on the pathway to success.
• Our schools need more money, not less. 
• We need to create an opportunity weight for students in poverty to equalize the playing field in Georgia schools.
  • The opportunity weight is not some radical left idea. It was supported by Gov. Deal’s 2015 Education Reform Commission
  • From that report: “It has been demonstrated that many economically disadvantaged students enter Kindergarten at an academic level far below their peers. However, when a student enters a Georgia school…[their]…background, situation and circumstances should never predetermine how much, or how little they progress.”
• We need to better fund student transportation. Our students ride on old buses that do not transport our children to school safely.
  • 32% of buses are 15 years old or older
  • 25% of inspected buses out-of-service defects or posed safety risks
  • Buses manufactured before 2007 do not include modern safety features
  • Old buses affect our students: 65% increase in frequency of late arrival, 50% increase in behavioral problems on buses, 34% decrease in field trips and 22% impact on school sports and other extracurricular activities. 
• Gov. Kemp should want to brag about Georgia being the best state for public education, not the latest state to strip our schools of funding.

• Requirements for a school to accept voucher money
  • Schools must apply to the commission to participate in the voucher program
  • Private schools must be in operation for at least one year or submit a financial report
  • Private schools must comply with nondiscrimination, health and safety, and all other provisions related to private schools
  • Private school must be located in Georgia
• Qualified education expenses include
  • Tuition, fees, and required textbooks for eligible courses at a participating  school, accredited community college or postsecondary education institution, or nonpublic online learning program or course
  • Tutoring Services
  • Payment for curriculum or supplemental materials
  • Specialty care for qualifying students
  • Up to $500 for transportation to participating school or service provider
  • Management and administration fees
  • Individual education expenses authorized by a majority of the parent review committee
• Student qualifications include
  • Resident for at least one year
  • Is currently and has been continuously enrolled in a public school for two consecutive enrollment counts. Enrollment counts are completed in the fall and spring every school year. (20-2-160)
  • Live in the attendance zone of a public school listed in this chapter
  • Do not meet any of the ineligibility requirements set forth in 20-3-519.1. Most provisions apply to adult college students receiving HOPE, but the citizenship requirement would apply to students
  • Cannot receive the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship
  • Cannot receive a scholarship, tuition grant, or other benefit from a student scholarship organization. (defined in 20-2A-1)
  • Parent signs an agreement to provide for the child’s education and agrees not to enroll the student in a public school
  • Parents apply for the voucher
• Voucher Accounts and Amounts
  • Participating students will receive $6,500 through quarterly payments for the first year
  • Voucher amounts will be adjusted yearly based on the QBE formulation
    • The commission will develop a system for parents to direct funds to participating schools and a process for reimbursing parents for out of pocket education expenses
    • Up to 50% of deposited funds can be rolled over to the next year and remaining funds are returned to the state if the child graduates high  school or the account is inactive for two consecutive years
• Parent review committee
  • The bill creates a parent review board composed of one person with relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities and eight parents of participating students appointed by the president of the commission
  • The commission may ask the parent review committee whether a specific expense is a qualified education expense
• Reporting
  • The commission must deliver an annual report to the General Assembly that includes:
    • demographics of participating students
    • student performance
    • parent satisfaction
    • breakdown of how voucher money was spent
    • the fiscal impact on public schools
      •  (“Fiscal savings” associated with students departing the public school system must be explicitly quantified)