Kemp poised to sign school voucher bill
Growing number of Republican-led states adopting voucher systems
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is on track to sign a bill creating a taxpayer-funded school voucher system, joining a growing number of Republican-led states in overhauling public education.
The state Senate on Wednesday voted along party lines to approve a revised version of SB 233, or the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act. This comes nearly a year after a similar effort was defeated on the last day of the session.
The bill is set to provide students who attend public schools ranked in the bottom quartile with a $6,500 waiver to put towards other schooling options, such as private schools, homeschooling and even college-level courses. Budget writers expect the entire program to initially cost $140 million a year.
Republican sponsors of the bill would like to see the vouchers aimed toward lower and middle-class households, particularly ones that earn less than 400 percent of the federal poverty line. Currently, that’s about $120,000 for a family of four.
“This bill is for the single moms out there working two jobs to keep the lights on who want school choice for their kids,” said state. Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth). “They can’t afford to move to a neighborhood in an area that has a successful public school. They can’t afford to move and sell their house because they’re upside down in their mortgage.”
But Democrats, who were united against the bill, pointed out the fact that $6,500 is roughly half of an entire year’s tuition at a K-12 private school — which averaged $12,350 in 2023. They also worry that the bill could take much-needed resources away from underperforming public schools.
“This voucher program will cost [taxpayers] $140 million a year, and it claims to be a ladder for educational opportunity,” said state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, who reminded her colleagues that she attended lagging public schools growing up and was on the reduced lunch program. “But in reality,” the Duluth Democrat finished, “it is a mirage for families like mine and for countless others across our state.”
Gov. Kemp, who had previously said he hoped to sign a school voucher bill this year, thanked lawmakers Wednesday for passing SB 233 and said that it’s time to take an “all-of-the-above approach” when it comes to education.
With his signature, the new law will take effect for the 2025-2026 academic year and will remain in place for 10 years unless lawmakers renew funding for it.
Georgia is joining a growing list of Republican-controlled states with near-universal voucher systems. Iowa and Indiana both approved similar bills last year. The issue appears to be a particularly hot topic in the south this year, with school voucher bills currently making their way through statehouses in Alabama and South Carolina.