Fact Sheets Higher Education Jennifer Lee Learning the Basics 2021 Fast Facts on HOPE July 19, 2021 / July 19, 2021 by Jennifer Lee HOPE At-a-Glance provides a quick and simple reference of the state’s six lottery-funded HOPE programs. HOPE provides grants and scholarships to students pursuing technical certificates and diplomas and associate and bachelor’s degrees. This downloadable, one-page fact sheet includes state budget information, eligibility requirements and number of students served. For more detailed information on HOPE, […] Read more » higher ed Higher Education HOPE Scholarship
Higher Education Jennifer Lee A Brief History of HOPE July 16, 2021 / July 19, 2021 by Jennifer Lee | 1 Comment on A Brief History of HOPE This blog was co-authored by Allie Schneider, a Southern Education Foundation Policy Fellow. HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) is Georgia’s best-known state financial aid program. Funded by the Georgia Lottery, it has provided college scholarships and grants to almost 2 million public, private and technical college students in Georgia during the more than 25 […] Read more »
Blog Higher Education Jennifer Lee Keeping and Losing HOPE July 1, 2021 / July 12, 2021 by Jennifer Lee | 1 Comment on Keeping and Losing HOPE HOPE scholarships financially support tens of thousands of Georgia college students each year. A first-of-its-kind study from Georgia State University’s Georgia Policy Labs examines how students enrolled in colleges in the University System of Georgia gain and lose HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships throughout their college experience. To enter college with the HOPE scholarship, students must have at […] Read more » higher ed Higher Education HOPE Scholarship
Budget and Taxes Budget Primer Georgia Revenue Primer for State Fiscal Year 2022 June 29, 2021 / July 1, 2021 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Introduction Georgia plans to spend $27.3 billion in state money raised through taxes and fees for the 2022 fiscal year. The budget maintains nearly $850 million in cuts from FY 2020 levels, a reduction equivalent to cutting approximately 4 percent of General Funds from the budget. Although lawmakers restored about half of the previous year’s […] Read more » Budget Budget & Taxes Budget Cuts State Budget
Budget and Taxes Budget Primer Georgia Budget Trends Primer for State Fiscal Year 2022 June 29, 2021 / July 1, 2021 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Budget Trends The $27.3 billion state budget signed into law by Gov. Kemp for FY 2022, which started July 1, 2021, represents an $849 million decrease in state spending from the state’s 2020 budget that was enacted two years prior—that is, compared to pre-pandemic levels—without adjusting for changes in population and inflation. The FY 2022 […] Read more » Budget Budget & Taxes Budget Cuts State Budget
Budget Primer Criminal Legal System Reform Georgia Criminal Legal Systems Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2022 June 29, 2021 / July 1, 2021 by Ray Khalfani Georgia’s 2022 Department of Corrections Budget The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) budget for FY 2022 is $1.12 billion. The department oversees all aspects of the state’s prison system, including contracts carried out by private prisons. Corrections officers make up most of the department’s workforce. The most recent reform efforts focus on more cost-efficient spending […] Read more » Criminal Legal Systems Department of Corrections State Budget
Blog Budget and Taxes Caitlin Highland Fostering Recovery and Prosperity: Guidelines for Georgia Agencies Receiving American Rescue Plan Funds June 29, 2021 / June 29, 2021 by Caitlin Highland Under the American Rescue Plan, several state agencies are set to receive significant funding to help address the effects of the pandemic. For example, the Department of Education has an additional $4.3 billion for emergency relief for public schools, the Department of Early Care and Learning received an additional $607 million for child care assistance and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental […] Read more » agencies American Rescue Plan Budget COVID-19
Budget Primer Cash and Safety Net Georgia Human Services Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2022 June 29, 2021 / July 1, 2021 by Ray Khalfani Georgia’s 2022 Human Services Budget The $817 million FY 2022 budget for the Department of Human Services (DHS) increases spending from FY 2021 levels by $20 million to protect the safety of Georgia’s most vulnerable children and families. The Department remains $13 million below FY 2020 spending levels, which were reduced due to anticipated declines […] Read more » Department of Human Services Safety Net State Budget
Budget Primer Health Justice Georgia Health Care Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2022 June 28, 2021 / July 1, 2021 by Laura Harker Georgia’s 2022 Health Care Budget The Departments of Community Health, Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and Public Health are the three primary agencies focused on the state’s health care and public health systems. Georgia plans to provide $5.6 billion in total state funds for these three agencies in the 2022 budget year, or about 20 […] Read more » health medicaid Medicaid Expansion State Budget
Budget Primer Higher Education K-12 Education Georgia Education Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2022 June 28, 2021 / July 1, 2021 by Stephen Owens This section is co-authored by K-12 Senior Policy Analyst Dr. Stephen Owens and Higher Education Senior Policy Analyst Jennifer Lee Georgia’s 2022 Education Budget The state budget for K-12 public schools is $10.2 billion in FY 2022. In the 2020 General Assembly, state lawmakers passed a budget with $1 billion in cuts to the Department […] Read more » Education Higher Education K-12 State Budget