It took years for Georgia Republicans to pass legislation that established a publicly funded private education subsidy for Georgia’s K-12 students, often referred to as a voucher program.
Now, House Speaker Jon Burns said the state agency in charge of managing the voucher program went too far in granting them to entire school districts.
“The legislative intent was clear,” said Burns, at a news conference ahead of the first day of the Legislative session, which begins Monday. “It didn’t apply to a system with one school failing to entitle any child in that system to be eligible for a voucher. It applies to a singular school.”
Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 233, which allows parents of students in lower-performing schools to receive $6,500 per year they can put toward a private school or home-school education.
The Georgia Promise Scholarship committee that oversees the fund needs to amend the program’s rules to keep it in line with the mission from lawmakers, Burns said.
“We’ll have to do what we need to do in the House to make sure we get it right.”
During his remarks before reporters Wednesday, Burns laid out his other priorities for the House. At the top of his list is restricting transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports.
Burns also said he wants to expand funding for school safety and technology to capture potential threats after the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder last September. The speaker proposed using money from speeding cameras around school zones to fund the safety measures.
“We want you to feel safe when you go to school,” he said. “You can’t learn when you’re under stress. A secure learning environment is what we’re concerned about.”
Burns also said he wants to enable school systems to be “proactive when it comes to mental health issues, not reactive.” The aunt of the 14-year-old arrested in the Apalachee shooting said he had struggled with mental health issues.
House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley of Columbus said Democrats are concerned about the economy, housing, educational issues, school safety and health care.
“Those are the areas we would like to partner on. Those are the issues that are important to our constituents,” she said.
Although there are no known transgender girls who are currently playing in high school sports, Burns said he wants to pass legislation that would prevent any instances from occurring.
“We want to make sure the playing field is level,” he said.
He did not commit to extending the ban to the collegiate level. “We’ll have that discussion,” he said.
Throughout his remarks, Burns emphasized that he wanted Georgians to have access to “quality, affordable health care.” To do so, he said lawmakers need to make it easier for physicians and health care workers to become licensed for various professions in the state and encourage more medical students to complete their training here.
For more than 10 years, Georgia Democrats have been pushing for the state to expand Medicaid up to 138% of the Federal poverty level. Republicans have long resisted, but some, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, have signaled an openness to consideration. In 2024, Burns said he was encouraged that lawmakers “were looking at the facts that surround expansion.”
However, it now appears that Burns will continue to back Kemp’s Pathways to Coverage program, which provides coverage for adults making below the federal poverty line if they work at least 80 hours per month, attend a technical college or perform another state-approved activity.
“What we know is that the governor is a steadfast proponent of Pathways, and I won’t say he’s wrong,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of very strong points in the Pathways Program that he’s laid out, and we’re going to make sure we are very strongly supporting him.”
In the background of all of these issues is President-elect Donald Trump, who will take over upon inauguration on Jan. 20.
“The landscape has changed in Washington, so that creates a different possibility,” Burns said.
Staff Reporter Adam Beam contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to reflect that Speaker Jon Burns wants to ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports, not all high school sports.
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