03/14/2024
CALL TO ACTION
The Georgia Promise "Scholarship" Act Passes Committee!
House to meet today at 10:00
Contact Your Representative - Tell them to vote NO on SB 233
Watch here
PTA opposes all forms of diverting public funds to private entities. Our association believes that private school choice systems have detrimental effects on our public school systems. Public dollars must remain invested in public schools for the benefit of all students and the future of our nation.
In a rare move, House Speaker Jon Burns addressed the committee and gave his endorsement of the bill. He told the committee, “We will not let our children continue to be trapped in "failing schools." [If schools in Georgia are indeed failing, the General Assembly need only look at themselves for inadequately supporting our schools: see class size, waivers, for example.] While most of the bill now deals with issues unrelated to the use of tax dollars to pay for or reduce the cost for affluent families who send their children to private schools, the voucher part of the bill is more expansive than the bill shot down in 2023. Quoted from G*E.
This year we have implemented a new literacy law. Incentivizing the general population to consider options that will not be sustainable in the future months and years leaves all students AT RISK. Private schools do not have the capacity to take ALL students, the standards of enrollment differ, the rigor and teaching credentials are not held to the higher quality educational standards and accountability as related to public education. In addition, there is a history of private schools being used as segregation academies.
We are better off as a state to factor in the poverty weight and provide wrap-around support to help aid in inclusive learning. The majority of the state of Georgia is rural. In fact, 122 of the 159 counties are rural, many of which are without private schools. It is not ethical to divert agricultural revenue to fund metro Atlanta students with a private education, leaving rural GA workers and families without educational resources.
GA state economist Robert "Bob" Buschman told lawmakers at the budget appropriations meeting during the start of the session that he expects the national and state economies to shift into reverse in the coming months. “A mild recession is more likely than not, beginning in the first half of this year,” Buschman warned GA. This is not an appropriate time to divert funds or mislead the public to believe the scholarship funds will be allocated to this voucher during a recession.
This bill, again, would not be suitable and sustainable. Although it was stated in the committee meeting that the QBE has been fully funded, GA still does not allocate any funding pertaining to the poverty weight. There has been a lot of great work done in the research regarding the bill. However, the ex*****on would lead to a poor outcome for the children and young people in GA.
Please contact your House Representative and oppose SB233!
