Director of Education

Dr. Stephen Owens

Dr. Stephen Owens is the education director at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. Stephen advocates for diverse, inclusive and excellent public schools through research and data analysis.

Prior to joining GBPI in 2018, Stephen was a research and data analyst at the Georgia Department of Education. He created data visualizations to help district and state policymakers better understand school outcomes, assisted in the creation of Georgia’s plan to implement federal education legislation (the Every Student Succeeds Act), and produced analyses that shaped public policy for Georgia’s schools.

Stephen graduated from the University of Georgia, where he holds a doctorate with a focus on education policy. His dissertation centered on state-level agenda formation.

Recent Posts by Stephen

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New GBPI/UGA Poll Shows Georgians Oppose Private School Vouchers; Support Funding Public Schools

A new poll commissioned by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) from the University of Georgia (UGA) ...
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Overview: 2025 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education

    Introduction Governor Kemp’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget proposal provides Georgia’s public schools $13.3 billion, a ...
Copy of WordPress Featured Image Template K-12 Education

Video: What is Chronic Absenteeism

Op-ed: Legislature ‘24: Rethink education funding so all kids get equitable shot

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution features GBPI Director of Education, Stephen Owens’, op-ed on how Georgia lawmakers can use the ...
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Schools Left with the Bill: Results of GBPI 2023 School District Survey

    This report was co-authored by Jariel Davis, a fellow in the Southern Education Leadership Initiative, a ...
Education Ashley Young

Georgia Education Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2024

This section is co-authored by Director of Education Dr. Stephen Owens, Director of Economic Justice Ife Finch Floyd ...
Empty classroom with bright colors and zoom in on desks Bill Analysis

Fact Sheet: Voucher Dollars Take from the Many to Benefit the Few

    Using data from the state’s expenses for the existing tax credit voucher and comparing to population ...
sb 233 bill analysis Bill Analysis

Bill Analysis: SB 233

Key Takeaways Senate Bill 233 is conservatively projected to cost an additional $150 million upon full implementation This ...
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Overview: 2024 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education

    Gov. Kemp’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 provides Georgia’s public schools $11.9 billion, a ...
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State of Education Funding (2023): Opportunity is Knocking

    The United States is experiencing income inequality at a level not seen since the 1920s, and ...
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Hidden Costs Exact a Toll: Results from GBPI’s 2022 School District Survey

This report was co-authored by Monica Obregon, a fellow in the Southern Education Leadership Initiative, a program within ...
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Special Education Funding in Georgia

By several measures Georgia has a typical special education program, but this says less about the state and ...

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