Georgia Senate Failed to Pass Senate Bill 601, The Georgia Education Freedom Act

Georgia Senate Failed to Pass Senate Bill 601, The Georgia Education Freedom Act

Georgia Senate Failed to Pass Senate Bill 601, The Georgia Education Freedom Act

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The Georgia Senate failed to pass Senate Bill 601, the Georgia Education Freedom Act, by a vote of 20-29.

Today, the Georgia Senate failed to pass Senate Bill 601, the Georgia Education Freedom Act, by a vote of 20-29. The bill would have created Promise Scholarships, offering Georgia families up to $6,000 a year for any approved education expense, such as private school tuition, tutoring, homeschool curriculum, virtual classes, college classes, therapies (for kids with special needs), or technology.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “What a sad day for kids in Georgia. It’s disappointing that the best interests of Georgia’s schoolchildren have once again fallen prey to politics and special-interest groups,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of GCO. “While lawmakers will soon return to their relatively safe districts and jobs, tens of thousands of Georgia kids will be left—once again—without access to the options that would let them flourish. Simply put, a vote against S.B. 601 was a vote against the many Georgia families who desperately need help. Particularly as our state emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic where so many students are left behind, it’s unconscionable that we would deny this lifeline to families.”

A recent poll from GeorgiaCAN found that 72% of respondents favor “expanding educational options by allowing a child’s state education dollars to follow that student to the school that best fits their needs, whether that is public, private, magnet, charter, virtual, or homeschool.” Support cut across party lines, with 79% of Republicans in favor, 78% of Independents, and 64% of Democrats.

 

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Promise Scholarships would help adoptive families like mine | Gwinnett Daily Post

Promise Scholarships would help adoptive families like mine | Gwinnett Daily Post

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Promise Scholarships would help adoptive families like mine | Gwinnett Daily Post

The life of an adoptive parent is tough in normal times, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated those challenges. Even so, our family wouldn’t trade the adoption life for anything.

The trouble is, not everyone sees or acknowledges the struggles that adoptive families face. That means we often don’t have access to the type of resources that would best help our adopted or foster kids. That’s particularly true in the world of education.

Our adopted son, Joshua, has been in upwards of 20 schools during his educational journey. Joshua suffers from dyslexia and dysgraphia. He has experienced trauma, neglect and abuse that have also contributed to his learning challenges.

The local public school simply hasn’t been a great fit for Joshua. The school flagged him for reading challenges in the first grade but never put interventions in place because he didn’t have a parent advocate. Though Joshua was in the third grade when we adopted him, he couldn’t read even at a basic level.

The help Joshua truly needed came from outside the classroom in the form of a local private tutor who specialized in dyslexic learners. That avenue helped Joshua to thrive, growing from a kindergarten to second-grade reading level. Unfortunately, the arrival of the pandemic in spring of 2020 ended his access to that tutoring.

The pandemic also worsened his experience in public school. His academics have become a train wreck, and emotionally he is a shell of his former self. His teachers are doing the best they can, but Joshua needs alternatives. The last straw for us came when the administration at our school determined that Joshua was on a non-college track and gave him schoolwork several grade-levels below his abilities.

That’s when we decided to move him to a homeschool co-op in November. At the time, there were many gaps in his learning, and he was falling behind.

There is an urgency to Joshua’s situation, and the situation of countless other adoptive and foster kids across Georgia. We’re losing more and more time as the years pass. Joshua is a smart, bright child, but he can’t advance the way he needs to right now because he doesn’t have the necessary resources.

The solution we need are Promise Scholarships. Legislation authorizing these accounts has been introduced in the Georgia General Assembly in the form of House Bill 999, House Bill 60 and Senate Bill 601. These bills would give qualifying families $6,000 a year to spend on nonpublic education options.

Unlike other programs, a Promise Scholarship would allow my family to use funds for a variety of educational expenses, not just private school tuition. That includes specialized tutoring for dyslexic learners that would benefit Joshua greatly. Contrary to popular belief, homeschooling is not free. Promise Scholarships would also give a financial lifeline to families like mine to make home education work better for our kids.

It’s time for Georgia to act. Twenty-three other states have recently passed legislation to create or expand educational opportunity programs due to learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We support the traditional public school system. For most parents, public schools are the right choice. But we don’t live in a one-size-fits-all reality anymore when it comes to education. School options should be as diverse as the individual needs of students. For many families like mine, alternatives to the public schools are what’s best for students. It’s time to prioritize the needs of our most vulnerable students and pass Promise Scholarships.

Gina McCarn lives in Norcross with her husband Phil and their five children.

Originally Posted in the Gwinnett Daily Post

 

Update: State Employment Numbers Includes Major Revisions Going Back to 1990

Update: State Employment Numbers Includes Major Revisions Going Back to 1990

Update: State Employment Numbers Includes Major Revisions Going Back to 1990

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A look at the state employment numbers.

Yesterday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released state employment numbers that included major revisions going back to 1990. According to the revisions, Georgia had recovered all its jobs lost during the pandemic in December 2021. Prior to the revision, Georgia was three percentage points shy of that goal.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “For the January 2022 estimates, Georgia ranks 9th in the nation in recovering lost jobs due to the pandemic, having recovered 4.5% more than what were lost,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “Although Georgia remains short 137,600 jobs from its pre-pandemic job-growth trajectory, our state is fairing much better than other states that imposed more draconian lockdown measures due to COVID-19.”

 

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Building Resilient Communities so All Children can Thrive

Building Resilient Communities so All Children can Thrive

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Building Resilient Communities so All Children can Thrive

More now than ever, major corporations are making an impact beyond providing great products and customer service. They are also giving back and creating more opportunities for the communities they serve. Over and above just turning on the lights, Georgia Power is helping empower families to move from surviving to thriving. Recently, Georgia Power donated $100,000 to Families First to support initiatives focused on education equity, criminal justice and economic empowerment, which are all areas of community assistance provided by the 132 year old family service organization…

To achieve equity in education, Families First invests in safe and supportive networks that stimulate learning, provide access to community programs, and prepare youth for high-paying jobs. Taking a two-generation approach through its Navigator Care Model, there is a focus on creating stability for children with an emphasis on reading at grade level and graduating from high school. The Parents as Teachers program offers in-home parenting education, advocacy, and skill building support to both pregnant and parenting teens, as well as families from households where English is not the primary language. These educational efforts are furthered through a myriad of partnerships in metro Atlanta such as Raising Expectations in Atlanta; the Georgia Center for Opportunity and Impact46 in Gwinnett County. 

Consumer Price Index Increased 7.9% Over the Last 12 Months

Consumer Price Index Increased 7.9% Over the Last 12 Months

Consumer Price Index Increased 7.9% Over the Last 12 Months

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The CPI is up 7.9% over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted.

On March 10th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in February the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The CPI is up 7.9% over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “The United States is now in a precarious position where our rampant inflation rate is going to begin to infringe on the economic recovery,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “Stagflation could very well be just around the corner. As gas prices surge and there is no let-up in other categories, Americans will begin having to make cutbacks. The impact on the economy will be significant.”

 “We’re seeing firsthand the problem with accepting high levels of inflation as normal. When an unexpected event comes along, like the Russian aggression against Ukraine, it upends everything. The February inflation rate does not fully cover the most recent fallout from the invasion. We’re anticipating that the March CPI will be far worse, as the economic aftershocks of Russia’s war against Ukraine will be more fully baked in.”

 

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