Georgia unveils its newest private school choice program

by Kimberly Sawatka | Nov 22, 2024

Georgia news, in the news, current events, Georgia happenings, GA happenings

Georgia unveils its newest private school choice program

The Georgia Promise Scholarship was passed by the state General Assembly earlier this year. According to pro-school choice organization EdChoice, it joins two other private school choice programs in the state.

Eligible families can use the funds for private school tuition and fees, required textbooks, tutoring services, curriculum, physician/therapist services, transportation services and other approved expenses. Participating students must have attended a public school in the 2024-25 school year or be entering kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year.

Public school students will not be eligible to use the scholarship funding for tutoring.

Participating schools must be located in Georgia and:
* Be accredited.
* Be in operation for at least a year or submit financial documents.
* Comply with federal antidiscrimination policies.
* Test students annually and report assessment data.

According to the Georgia Center for Opportunity, a nonprofit that supports access to education for all, funding for the scholarship program is capped at 1% of public school funding and is expected to serve an estimated 21,000-22,000 students at most.

Read the full article here

Defending Ideas: How to empower those on the social safety net to pursue work and opportunity

by Kimberly Sawatka | Nov 19, 2024

Defending Ideas: How to empower those on the social safety net to pursue work and opportunity

In a recent interview with the Sutherland Institute’s Defending Ideas series, Randy Hicks, President and CEO of the Georgia Center for Opportunity, shared his vision for empowering individuals on the social safety net to achieve greater independence and opportunity.

Hicks emphasized the importance of fostering dignity through work, reducing barriers that trap individuals in poverty, and creating pathways to self-sufficiency. He discussed how programs like Georgia Center for Opportunity’s BETTER WORK initiative connect individuals with job resources, skills training, and community support. Hicks also highlighted the critical role of public policies in addressing challenges like benefits cliffs that can disincentivize employment.

The conversation underscored the need for collaborative efforts to build systems that encourage work, restore hope, and help individuals flourish in their communities.

Watch the full interview to explore innovative solutions to one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

Watch the full interview

Graduate puts on ‘another shield of armor’ to build career, and a better life.

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Nov 19, 2024

Graduate puts on ‘another shield of armor’ to build career, and a better life.

As the time for his graduation ceremony approached, Michael Averett joined his classmates in a small classroom. He donned his cap and gown. Just down a short hallway, family and friends waited for the ceremony to commence. When asked for his thoughts, Averett said it was a great feeling. “It just feels like putting on another shield of armor to try to conquer my career,” Averett said.

Averett was one of nine students who graduated Nov. 14 from the Jobs for Life program at Victory Mission in Columbus, Georgia. Another group of students is scheduled to graduate this week from a Jobs for Life program at Spirit Filled Ministries.

Jobs for Life is 10-week class that’s free for participants and designed to help adults overcome barriers to employment, build confidence, and get ready for successful careers. “This night means I’ve achieved another milestone in my life to become a better person,” said graduate Michael Averett. The Georgia Center for Opportunity, as part of the BETTER WORK Columbus initiative, hosts the program, with BETTER WORK serving as the hub for the program in Columbus. They partner with local churches, provide administrative tools, and train leadership to host the classes.

2024 Election Results Confirm Public Safety Is a Priority for Americans

by Josh Crawford | Nov 14, 2024

Voting preferences in the 2024 election confirm that better public safety is a priority for Americans.

2024 Election Results Confirm Public Safety Is a Priority for Americans

Key Points

In state and local elections, voters across the political spectrum chose candidates who shared their priority for greater public safety and order.
The 2024 election results underscore an important pillar of healthy communities: Safety is the first step to stability and prosperity.

In state and local elections, voters across the political spectrum chose candidates who shared their priority for greater public safety and order.

While the 2024 election represents different things to different voters, it may well be remembered, as my friend Rafael Mangual of the Manhattan Institute put it, as the “anti-crime election.”

In recent years, there has been a divide between elected officials and the public when it comes to crime. As more local leaders have taken relaxed stances to public safety, voters have become increasingly concerned.

With the 2024 election, this crime divide between voters and politicians has narrowed because voters changed their politicians. As Mangual lays out in a great new piece in City Journal, voters all over the country rejected soft-on-crime approaches to public safety, including in progressive enclaves like Oakland, CA.

Search Interest by State in Crime

In the 2024 Election, crime was consistently a top issue being searched across all 50 states.

Source: Associated Press, “What election issues are Americans searching on Google?”, October 2024

From Georgia to California, voters reject the “progressive prosecutor” movement

Voters’ frustration with soft-on-crime prosecutors began in 2022 with the recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and continued with the defeat of Portland-area District Attorney Mike Schmidt earlier this year.

For residents favoring law and order and a return to normalcy, another boost came on election day. The biggest news of the day was the defeat of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gasćon.

Gasćon had run on a progressive platform and quickly made good on his promises. He declined to pursue the death penalty in capital murder cases, instructed his office to avoid seeking lengthy sentences in gang and gun cases through available sentence enhancements, and diverted more and more cases from prosecution. Gasćon lost his re-election bid by a margin of 60-40.

Closer to home, in Athens, GA, progressive District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez lost to challenger Kalki Yalamanchili by almost the same margin. In Tampa, FL, incumbent Andrew Warren, suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis over his non-prosecution policies, lost to a law-and-order challenger. In total, of the 25 progressive prosecutors on the ballot this election, 12 either lost or were recalled.

Voters favor local candidates and ballot measures focused on stronger public safety

Voters also showed a pro-public safety bent on election day in their support of ballot initiatives. In California, voters approved an initiative to enhance penalties for repeat drug and theft offenses. Colorado residents overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative that increases consequences for violent offenses.

Voters in San Francisco elected a mayor who plans to get tough on the drug dealing plaguing the city. Oakland residents also recalled their mayor who, through a mix of bad policy and benign neglect, had let violent crime spiral.

Americans repeatedly told pollsters ahead of the 2024 election that they were concerned about crime. On November 5, they voted like it. The 2024 election may well be remembered for voters demanding better and reminding elected officials of what every leader should remember—that the first step to a prosperous community is a safe one.