A proposal to spend taxpayer dollars on private schooling is back at the Georgia Capitol after a handful of Republicans bucked their party to stop the measure last year.
The version of Senate Bill 233 that passed the Senate during the 2023 legislative session was later blocked in the House. It would have given $6,500 in taxpayer funding to the family of each public school student who switched to a private school or who chose homeschooling.
The House Education Committee is scheduled to hear the bill at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The “Georgia Promise Scholarship Act” would have been available only to students enrolled in a K-12 school that was listed among the lowest-performing 25% on test-based state metrics.
It’s a new spin on an old idea.
Vouchers, which have been operational in many states for decades, are a direct taxpayer subsidy to a private school to help pay for a student’s tuition. But these newer programs, implemented in more than 10 states, allow parents to spend the money on more than tuition.
Their broad latitude has been the subject of criticism. For instance, Florida’s program allowed parents to spend taxpayer money on theme park passes, televisions and paddleboards.
Though SB 233 failed in the Georgia House by six votes last year, the chamber immediately voted to keep the measure alive for reconsideration in this second session of the biennial General Assembly.
Sixteen Republicans sided with Democrats to stop SB 233 last year, one of the biggest surprises of the session. They’ve been under pressure since then to switch their votes to “yes.” But many have told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they had fundamental concerns about the financial consequences for public education, noting that their constituents were strong supporters of their own schools.
Some also wanted mandatory state testing that might indicate whether the taxpayer money diverted from public schools was buying a good education, something that private schools have traditionally opposed.
“I would like to know if students who leave the system perform better or worse,” said Rep. Beth Camp, R-Concord. “The transparency piece is a pretty big factor for me.”
Rep. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville, said she wanted lawmakers to fund the program with “another bucket” of money instead of stripping schools of the state funding associated with departing students.
She’s also concerned about financial oversight: “I saw the things that happened in Florida — buying trips to Disney, and big screen TVs. That’s not the educational expenses I’m looking for. I’m looking for curriculum, tutors ... and tuition.”
It’s unclear how the Republican lawmakers who are guiding the bill have amended it to address such concerns.
The committee chairman’s office had no copies of the new version of SB 233 for the public Tuesday afternoon. The chairman, Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, told the AJC via text message that the amended bill would be available for review Wednesday, before the hearing. The bill’s author, Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, was unavailable for comment.
Gov. Brian Kemp told the AJC Tuesday that he wanted the bill passed before the legislative session ends this month. “There are no more next years … It’s my hope that we’ll get that done this year, and yes, we’ll be aggressively pushing for that.”
Staff writer Greg Bluestein contributed to this article.
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