Blog K-12 Education Tireless Effort Culminates in Full Funding for Schools May 3, 2018 / May 19, 2020 by GBPI Admin One of GBPI’s key goals is to ensure all Georgia students get the chance to attend great public schools. Those efforts reached new levels when Claire Suggs joined the team in 2012, soon rising to senior education policy analyst. Suggs worked more than five years with GBPI making the case for a fully-funded education system, […] Read more »
Blog Health Justice Laura Harker A Health Insurance Card in Every Georgian’s Pocket May 1, 2018 / June 24, 2020 by Laura Harker Thousands of Georgians are stuck without any affordable options for health insurance because state leaders repeatedly reject billions of dollars meant to pay for coverage. About 240,000 workers, students, veterans and other Georgians make too little to get financial help to buy health insurance and do not currently qualify for Medicaid. The majority of these […] Read more » coverage-gap medicaid Medicaid Expansion
Blog Higher Education Jennifer Lee Helping Students Navigate Financial Aid Forms Offers Georgia Big Return April 30, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Jennifer Lee Janai Raphael’s job as a college advisor at Maynard Jackson High School in Atlanta often means she plays the role of translator. “The terminology is a challenge. Pell grants, scholarships, subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans. I walk through what each type of financial aid means,” she says. Raphael knows that students who successfully apply for federal […] Read more » college FAFSA Financial Aid Higher Education tuition
Blog Worker Justice A Reflection: The Poor People’s Campaign and Dr. King’s Economic Vision April 27, 2018 / January 18, 2021 by GBPI Admin By Charles Johnson, GBPI Board Member and General Counsel, VP of External Affairs for Tuskegee University Much attention is currently focused on the events which occurred 50 years ago, the last year in the life of Dr. of Martin Luther King, Jr. As one who spent a good deal of that year working with Dr. […] Read more »
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Shifting Public Funds to Private Schools: High Costs, Poor Track Record April 26, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia lawmakers created multiple pathways to shift public funds to private schools in recent years. These schemes risk reducing money available to invest in public schools and critical state services including early learning, higher education, and community health. Little is known about the academic outcomes of Georgia students participating in these programs or the private […] Read more » 529 plans Claire Suggs Education K-12 private schools public-schools school vouchers student scholarship organizations tax credit
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Valuable Progress, More Work Ahead for Public School Funding April 18, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia lawmakers reached a critical milestone during the 2018 legislative session: They ended 16 years of shortchanging the state’s formula for funding K-12 schools. The General Assembly added $167 million to the 2019 state budget to send school districts across Georgia the full amount promised under the formula for the first time since 2002. It […] Read more »
Blog Higher Education Jennifer Lee Lawmakers Pass Need-Based Aid Bill, What’s Next? April 10, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Jennifer Lee On the last day of Georgia’s 2018 legislative session, the Senate passed a bill that aims to help more students go to college and complete their degrees. The bill creates a need-based aid program for university system students in Georgia, primarily focusing on their financial need. This legislation represents a critical first step to help […] Read more » Financial Aid Higher Education HOPE Scholarship Legislature need-based aid tuition University System of Georgia
Blog Cash and Safety Net Jennifer Owens Proposed Rule on Food Assistance Would Limit State Flexibility April 4, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by Jennifer Owens The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute is submitting objections this week to a proposed federal rule change that threatens to block access to food assistance for Georgians living in poverty. The comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urge the rejection of a proposed rule that governs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) 3-month time-limit […] Read more » economy Food Assistance SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program U.S. Department of Agriculture
Blog Budget and Taxes Higher Education Inclusive Economy for Immigrants K-12 Education Wesley Tharpe Sine Die 2018: Education Gets its Due March 29, 2018 / April 2, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe A fully funded K-12 education formula. Hasty and sweeping tax changes. Georgia’s first foray into need-based financial aid for college students. A harmful anti-immigrant measure left on the cutting room floor. Georgia lawmakers left those legacies from the just-ended 2018 General Assembly. March entered with a controversial income tax cut and went out with the […] Read more » Budget & Taxes Education Higher Education K-12 Legislature State Budget
Blog GBPI In The News Legislative budget vote includes full funding for Georgia schools March 29, 2018 / January 14, 2020 by GBPI Admin Lawmakers will vote Thursday on Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2019. The governor surprised a lot of people Tuesday when he revealed plans to fully fund the state’s K-12 education formula. More than a decade ago, the state enacted so-called “austerity cuts” to education. Deal has added money to the Quality Basic […] Read more » Claire Suggs Education K-12