ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp signed a private-school vouchers bill Tuesday, culminating a fight Republicans have waged for years to give students in low-performing schools another option.
Senate Bill 233, which the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed last month largely along party lines, will offer vouchers worth up to $6,500 to parents of children enrolled in the bottom 25% of lowest-performing public schools who wish to send their kids to a private school.
“The amount of the voucher, $6,500, is not nearly enough to pay for most private schools, for which tuition may be as high as $50,000,” said Lisa Morgan, a kindergarten teacher and president of the Georgia Association of Educators. “Vouchers are not a lifeline for working families. They are a handout to upper class parents paid for by the working class.”
“Research shows that vouchers are used overwhelmingly by wealthier Georgia metro counties but not by rural areas – likely because, in many cases, private schooling options are unavailable,” added David Schaefer, vice president of research and policy for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, an Atlanta-based progressive think tank.
