Georgia Senate approves school voucher bill, paving the way for private school scholarships

The Georgia Senate passed the school voucher bill, along party lines on Wednesday afternoon. After the 33-21 vote, the bill is now headed to Governor Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature.& The bill promises $6,500 per child per year for private school or homeschooling for kids in the lowest 25% of performing public schools.& This is how the program is structured: If a parent wants to use the money to pay for part of a private or homeschooled education, the money would be placed into a Promise Scholarship Account. Additionally, if a parent wants to draw down those funds to pay tuition for a particular school, the state must also determine that the school is authorized to participate in the program (provided that the student gains admission to the private school of his/her choice). The changes the House made to the bill last week were to have a means-tested priority for students whose families make 400% or less than the federal poverty level, which equates to a family of four making less than $120,000 annually. The second change to the bill establishes a dedicated authority that will be housed within the Georgia’s student finance commission which manages the disbursement of...