Overview The state of Georgia maintains two pension systems for employees in public schools: the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and the Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS). TRS members include full-time, certificated public teachers and school leaders. Once you
UPDATE: On 8/6/21 the U.S. Department of Education released updated guidance on the calculation for Maintenance of Equity requirements for the American Rescue Plan Act. Under this new determination for state expenditures, Georgia will likely not be found in violation
Dear Superintendent Woods: The undersigned civil rights and education advocacy organizations in Georgia write to provide public input for the Georgia Department of Education’s (GaDOE) use of funds provided through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). This joint
This report was co-authored by Stephen Owens, Ph.D, Senior Policy Analyst & Denae Clowers, Policy Intern Key Takeaways Reliable lottery funding helped grow Georgia’s Pre-K Program in early years, but a change to raise class sizes has endured
Debates around school funding and the best use of public dollars are rife with confusion. Discussion around school vouchers, which provide public funding for private education, seem to be a particular magnet for half-truths or previously disproven claims. The following
Dear Chairman Payne and Members of the Georgia Senate Committee on Education and Youth: By way of introduction my name is Stephen Owens, and I’m a senior K-12 education policy analyst for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. It is always my desire to give testimony in-person, but as
Co-authored by Jennifer Lee, Senior Policy Analyst and Stephen Owens, Ph.D, Senior Policy Analyst Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposed 2022 budget includes $1.3 billion for Georgia’s lottery-funded pre-Kindergarten and HOPE financial aid programs. About $903 million is for HOPE,
Gov. Kemp’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 provides Georgia’s public schools $10.2 billion, a $573 million increase above current funding. This addition would partially restore cuts from the FY 2021 budget, with the Quality Basic Education
Update on Feb. 25, 2021: A new substitute for House Bill 60 (LC 49 0460S) lowers the cap on students participating to half of the original estimate, which would put the cost to the state at $224 million
Current Status: In the 2022 Legislative Session, lawmakers may consider House Bill 60 and House Bill 142, two bills that would enact or expand voucher programs to take hundreds of millions of dollars of state money away from public schools
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