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

TRS-768x512 Fact Sheets

Teachers Retirement System of Georgia Explained

State lawmakers introduced several bills in the 2019 legislative session that could significantly alter the Teachers Retirement System ...
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How Does Georgia Fund Schools?

The video above is narrated by Dr. Stephen Owens, GBPI Senior Policy Analyst. Below is a full transcript. ...
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A Half-Billion Steps in the Right Direction for Public Schools

In the 2019 legislative session Georgia lawmakers committed more than half a billion dollars to increase pay for ...
CharterSchool-696x464 K-12 Education

Bills Set Stage to Divert Hundreds of Millions of Dollars From Public to Private Schools

March 28, 2019 Update – The original voucher expansion bill, SB 173, failed on the Senate floor before Crossover ...
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Georgia Lawmakers Should Renew Their Commitment to Student Transportation

In House Bill 31, the state of Georgia continues a pattern of shortchanging pupil transportation that triggers safety ...
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Changes in Charter School Funding Explained

The enactment of House Bill 787 on July 1, 2018 guaranteed state charter schools additional funding to make ...
Elementary-classroom-student-696x464 Budget and Taxes

Overview: 2020 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education

Governor Brian Kemp’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 allocates $10.6 billion to Georgia’s public schools, a nearly ...

Analyzing the Numbers on the Proposed Teacher Pay Raise

What is the cost of the proposed teacher pay raise? Gov. Kemp proposed a $5,000 raise for all ...

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