The Senate Education Committee met today and resurrected a controversial private school voucher bill that was narrowly defeated on the Senate floor before Crossover Day. Skirting rules requiring that all bills pass the House or the Senate by Crossover Day, the Senate Education Committee attached “Education Savings Account” (ESA) voucher language from the failed
SB 173
to a bill which successfully met the Crossover deadline, HB 68.
HB 68
is sponsored by Rep. John Carson (R-Marietta), a strong supporter of private school vouchers, who appeared to agree to the changes made today to his bill. Carson’s legislation would prevent accrediting agencies from operating as student scholarship organizations (SSOs). In previous committee meetings, Carson has described HB 68 as an attempt to prevent potential conflicts of interest between private school accrediting organizations and student scholarships organizations (SSOs), which serve as pass-through entities for Georgia’s tuition tax credit voucher program. Georgia has two existing private school voucher programs: the tuition tax credit program and the Special Needs voucher program.
Senate Education member Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), the lead sponsor of SB 173, conducted today’s presentation on
the voucher addition to HB 68
. He mentioned that “conversations with constitutional officers” inspired him to attach voucher language to Carson’s House bill.
Dolezal briefed the committee on updates to the ESA voucher proposal in SB 173. The new language requires all students to be enrolled in public schools for two FTE counts before becoming eligible for the voucher. Additional new language provides that in any year in which QBE is not fully funded, the voucher program will not add new students. Dolezal clarified that local school districts’ five mill share would not be included in the voucher. Dolezal also added an amendment limiting student enrollment in the voucher program to 2.5 percent of a school district’s student population and caps statewide enrollment in the voucher program at 2.5 percent of eligible students, per year.
In addition to representatives from the Georgia School Boards Association, the Georgia School Superintendents Association, the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, and Public Education Matters, PAGE testified at today’s hearing, sharing deep reservations regarding the legislation. PAGE Director of Legislative Services Margaret Ciccarelli reminded committee members that the bill does not require certified teachers at private school accepting the voucher and that studies on voucher programs do not indicate that vouchers boost student academic outcomes. Ciccarelli recommended the bill be revised to require that private schools accepting the voucher administer the same standardized tests as those administered in Georgia public schools, allowing for a comparison of student achievement.
Unfortunately, the bill passed 5-4
after a series of amendments
, and is on its way to Senate Rules to be scheduled for a floor vote as soon as this Friday, March 22. Learn more from the AJC’s T
y Tagami
HERE
.
Senators voting for the voucher bill include:
- P. K. Martin (R-Lawrenceville) As committee chair, Martin did not vote to move the bill forward to Rules, though he did cast a deciding vote on a proposed amendment to the legislation.
- John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa)
- Matt Brass (R-Newnan)
- Ellis Black (R-Valdosta)
- Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming)
- Jesse Stone (R-Waynesboro)
Senators voting against the voucher bill include:
- Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson)
- Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta)
- Lester Jackson (D-Savannah)
- Elena Parent (D-Atlanta)
Over the next few days, please stay tuned to PAGE Capitol Reports and social media feeds for more on how you can help defeat this harmful legislation.
The committee also passed
HB 83
by Rep. Demetrius Douglas (D-Douglasville), a bill that requires daily recess for K-5 students with some exceptions, such as on days when students have physical education.
HB 530
by Rep. Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon) also passed the committee. The bill prohibits parents or guardians from withdrawing a child from a public school to avoid compliance with mandatory attendance, school discipline, parental involvement, or parental responsibility laws. The bill stems from a heinous crime in Rep. Hitchens’ district in southeast Georgia in which parents removed their children from their local public schools and later murdered the children.
HB 130
by Rep. Randy Nix (R-LaGrange) was scheduled for a hearing only, but the committee took a vote and passed the bill. HB 130 authorizes the Georgia Foundation for Public Education, which is an entity of the Georgia Department of Education, to qualify as a 501(c)(3).
