Bill Analysis K-12 Education Stephen Owens Potential Voucher Expansion Leaves Students and Parents at a Loss February 28, 2020 / April 28, 2020 by Stephen Owens Bill Analysis: Senate Bill 386 (LC 49 0125) Established in 2007, the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (GSNS) is a voucher that allows parents of students with disabilities to pay for private education programs using money previously allocated for public schooling. The voucher is available to students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) who have attended […] Read more » 504 plans Education K-12 vouchers
Alex Camardelle Blog Criminal Legal System Reform Fact Sheets Worker Justice Telling the Unvarnished Truth About Georgia February 26, 2020 / June 3, 2020 by Alex Camardelle As we close out Black History Month, I reflect on our commitment this month and every month to confront the troubled history that still reproduces disadvantage for hardworking Georgians. W.E.B. Du Bois debuted The Georgia Negro 120 years ago at the Paris World Exhibition. The project featured a variety of hand-drawn data visualizations that displayed […] Read more » black history month employment jim crow racism reconstruction record expungement
Blog Higher Education Inclusive Economy for Immigrants Jennifer Lee Stephanie Angel Every Georgian Deserves Access to Higher Education February 21, 2020 / June 18, 2020 by Jennifer Lee Co-authored by Policy Fellow Stephanie Angel and Senior Policy Analyst Jennifer Lee Diana graduated from Gainesville High School at the top of her class in 2014. She started attending the University of North Georgia (UNG), taking a lower course load than she wanted, because she could not afford to go to school full-time. Though she […] Read more » daca Higher Education
Fact Sheets Higher Education Jennifer Lee Unused Lottery Funds Available to Support More Affordable Access to College February 14, 2020 / April 28, 2020 by Jennifer Lee Since FY 2011, lawmakers have appropriated an average of $60 million more every year for HOPE Scholarships and Grants than students receive.[1] Over time, the state treasury has amassed nearly $1.3 billion in lottery reserves built up from unspent surplus funds.[2] Georgia is required by law to have 50 percent of the prior year’s net […] Read more » Higher Education Lottery scholarships
Fact Sheets K-12 Education Learning the Basics Stephen Owens Video What Are School Vouchers? February 12, 2020 / October 13, 2026 by Stephen Owens Download PDF Vouchers Overview Georgia legislators have debated educational vouchers since the 1950s.[1] A school voucher is an amount of money provided by the state government to parents for use for private educational programs, such as tuition at private schools. There are two basic ways the state can finance school vouchers. Tax-credit vouchers Taxpayers can […] Read more » Education K-12 school vouchers vouchers
Budget and Taxes Daniel Kanso, PhD Reports Georgia Leaders Face Choice Between Tax Cuts for High Income Earners and Funding Key State Priorities February 12, 2020 / October 13, 2026 by Daniel Kanso, PhD Download PDF Twelve days into the 2020 session of the Georgia General Assembly, legislators voted to take a week-long break from regular business to allow extra time for deliberations over Georgia’s fiscal priorities and annual appropriations bills. State leaders continue to express concerns over Gov. Kemp’s executive budget proposals, which include the first mandatory agency […] Read more » Budget Budget & Taxes Budget Cuts
Alex Camardelle Blog Criminal Legal System Reform Stephanie Angel Worker Justice Jumpstart Economic Opportunity with a Clean Slate February 10, 2020 / May 19, 2020 by Stephanie Angel By: Stephanie Angel, Policy Fellow and Alex Camardelle, Senior Policy Analyst Introduction Tens of thousands of Georgia citizens return to their home communities from prison each year with hopes of being hired and supporting their families.[1] But far too many are denied work opportunities as a result of their past record. While opportunities to seal […] Read more » Budget corrections
Budget and Taxes Health Justice Laura Harker Overview: Georgia’s 2021 Fiscal Year Budget for Georgia Department of Public Health February 6, 2020 / March 19, 2020 by Laura Harker Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a 2021 budget of $263.5 million in state general funds for the Department of Public Health. The agency is also set to receive $13.7 million from a tobacco industry legal settlement and $1.4 million from the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund. In addition to these state funds, the proposed budget […] Read more » Budget department of health health Public Health State Budget
Budget and Taxes Criminal Legal System Reform Reports Stephanie Angel Overview: Georgia’s 2021 Fiscal Year Budget for Georgia Department of Corrections February 5, 2020 / October 13, 2026 by Stephanie Angel Download PDF For Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a $1.16 billion budget for the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC), an agency charged with overseeing the state’s prison system. Georgia’s history of tough-on-crime policies impacted the growth of the GDC’s prison population and increased expenditures by $335.2 million between 1997 and 2007.[1] Following […] Read more » Budget corrections criminal justice
Health Justice Laura Harker Reports Overview: 2021 Fiscal Year Budget for Georgia’s Department of Community Health February 5, 2020 / October 13, 2026 by Laura Harker Download PDF Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a 2021 budget of $3.15 billion in state general funds for the Department of Community Health. Although Gov. Kemp instructed agencies to reduce their budgets by 4 percent for amended fiscal year (AFY) 2020 and 6 percent for fiscal year (FY) 2021, Medicaid spending was excluded from the cuts […] Read more » Budget Community Health health mental health
