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
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 …
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 …
Bill Analysis: SB 233
Key Takeaways Senate Bill 233 is conservatively projected to cost an additional $150 million upon full implementation This …
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 …
State of Education Funding (2023): Opportunity is Knocking
The United States is experiencing income inequality at a level not seen since the 1920s, and …
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 …
Special Education Funding in Georgia
By several measures Georgia has a typical special education program, but this says less about the state and …
Three Ways to Fix Georgia Education Funding
Five Georgia senators will meet over the next few months to review education funding mechanisms as a part …
How to Support Georgia’s Schools Post-Roe
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down Roe v. Wade has left states to decide limits on abortion …
Hundreds of Millions of Dollars at Stake for a Failed Policy | Bill Analysis House Bill 60 (LC 49 0793S)
Note: This piece provides an update to a 2021 analysis of a previous version of the bill, …
Bill Analysis: House Bill 999 (LC 49 0739)
Key Takeaways House Bill 999 relies on a faulty measure to calculate the state’s allocations to public …
Overview: 2023 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education
Gov. Kemp’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 provides Georgia’s public schools $10.7 billion, a …
