Georgia Democrat calls for lawmakers to pass school choice bill

by Buzz Brockway | Jun 2, 2023

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

Georgia Democrat calls for lawmakers to pass school choice bill

A bipartisan group of lawmakers made their case for school choice in Georgia, saying parents should have the opportunity to choose better schools for their children.

During this year’s session, Georgia lawmakers killed Senate Bill 233, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, a measure to create state-funded education savings accounts. Nearly all Democrats and a few Republicans voted against the measure.

It called for taxpayers to cover the cost of scholarships up to $6,500 per student per school year. The proposal would have allowed the families to use the money to defray “qualified” education costs, such as private school tuition.

Last week, the Georgia Center for Opportunity lamented Georgia lawmakers’ missed chance to expand educational opportunities for Peach State students with the failure of SB 233.

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Group says Georgia lawmakers missed a chance to expand educational opportunities

by Buzz Brockway | May 26, 2023

Group says Georgia lawmakers missed a chance to expand educational opportunities

Georgia lawmakers missed an opportunity to expand educational opportunities for Peach State students when they failed to pass a bill to establish state-funded education savings accounts, a nonprofit said Thursday.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity pointed to Indiana and South Carolina, which passed measures recently to create education scholarship accounts. The accounts generally allow recipients to use the money for educational expenses, including tuition for private schools.

“We’re seeing an increasing tide of states choosing to give all students access to the best education for their unique needs,” Buzz Brockway, GCO’s vice president of public policy. “It’s a shame that Georgia didn’t join that list this year.

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Utah’s ‘One Door’ Policy Shows the Way Forward on Safety-net Reforms

by Buzz Brockway | May 26, 2023

Utah’s ‘One Door’ Policy Shows the Way Forward on Safety-net Reforms

By Buzz Brockway

The April unemployment report shows that job opportunities remain at historic highs across the country. In fact, the report came in better than expected at a 3.4% unemployment rate, exceeding expectations for the resilience and strength of the labor market.

In this environment, no work-capable person should be without a job. But the sad reality is that the very safety net system created to help people who are struggling is the same one contributing to keeping them mired in generational poverty. I’m talking about America’s social-safety net system.

As it stands, our nation’s welfare system is a fragmented hodgepodge of programs. The dozens of programs that make up “the system” have different and, at times, competing goals, inconsistent rules, and overlapping groups of recipients.

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State Spotlight: Fighting for Students’ Futures in Georgia

by Buzz Brockway | Apr 25, 2023

State Spotlight: Fighting for Students’ Futures in Georgia

What is it like when your child’s school is failing them? For Georgia mother Tanya Schlegel, it was heartbreaking. Her son “would routinely come home from school with tears in his eyes, saying the school wasn’t treating him fairly. I discovered they were not implementing his Individualized Education Plan as written but were putting pressure on my son to perform outside of the accommodations that were agreed upon. It caused a lot of meltdowns and angst. The situation eventually became so severe that he began self-harm. That progression broke my heart because he is a good kid. He’s not aggressive. He’s not violent. But the pressures the school system put on him caused him to hurt himself.”

Tanya felt stuck. Her son and daughter both have special needs and require extra attention and resources that their school can’t provide. Tanya and her husband also can’t afford to move to an area with better schools or pay for their children to go to better equipped (but expensive) private schools.

Tanya’s story isn’t unique in Georgia. Families all across the state—and especially in rural areas—are stuck in schools that don’t provide the education their students need, but there’s no alternative available.

This is why the Georgia Center for Opportunity launched their campaign to champion school choice programs for Georgia families.

During the 2022 legislative session, there were several bipartisan bills introduced to increase school choice opportunities in Georgia. Two of the most significant bills (HB 999 and SB 601) would have created Educational Savings Accounts called “promise scholarships.” These promise scholarships would have offered Georgia families up to $6,000 a year for approved education expenses. As GCO’s Vice President of Public Policy, Buzz Brockway explains, “Promise Scholarships would step far beyond a typical voucher by fully putting parents in the driver’s seat when it comes to their child’s education. The funds could [be] used for private-school tuition, but there would [be] added flexibility depending on each family’s unique needs, extending to paying for things like tutoring, specialized therapies, or homeschool co-ops.”

For families like Tanya’s, promise scholarships would be a lifeline. She explained “Promise Scholarships would provide the type of resources to ensure that our children are not left behind.”

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Georgia is poised to expand workforce opportunity

by Buzz Brockway | Apr 5, 2023

Georgia is poised to expand workforce opportunity

Key Points

Georgia General Assembly, lawmakers unanimously approved House Bill 155, which creates a pathway for thousands of Georgians who might face roadblocks to getting an occupational license to smooth the path for doing so, provided they held a license
One in four workers now need some type of occupational license
H.B. 155 will help to keep our economy prosperous

As our nation continues to face a shortage of skilled and qualified workers in a variety of occupations, it’s important that state policy work to reduce as many barriers as possible to employment. Unfortunately, frequently one of those barriers is occupational licensing, which in many cases tosses up roadblocks that don’t make sense but keep good workers from entering the labor force.

Thankfully, Georgia could soon be taking a step in the right direction on this issue. In the recently concluded session of the Georgia General Assembly, lawmakers unanimously approved House Bill 155, which creates a pathway for thousands of Georgians who might face roadblocks to getting an occupational license to smooth the path for doing so, provided they held a license in good standing in their previous state of residence. By providing these licenses immediately, these new Georgia residents will be able to quickly get a job.

Georgia is still one of the fastest growing states in the country. Estimates show that over 81,000 people moved to our state in 2022—a 1.2% increase in our population. There is no indication this type of growth will slow down any time soon. Additionally, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, one in four workers now need some type of occupational license. For these reasons, H.B. 155 will help Georgia maintain its status as the nation’s best state in which to do business.

A recent study by Heather Curry and Dr. Vance Ginn looked at the positive impacts of Arizona’s “universal recognition bill – House Bill 2569 passed in 2019. Their study showed that since 2019, 6,500 people benefitted from Arizona’s universal recognition policies. While H.B. 155 is not universal—firefighters, law enforcement, medical and legal professionals are excluded—most licensed occupations are included, so we could expect thousands of new Georgians each year benefitting from the passage of this legislation.

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Reforms to occupational licensing are a key piece of the puzzle to help reinvigorate our workforce. The changes will ultimately help the individuals we are helping through BETTER WORK in Gwinnett County and Columbus—individuals who need training, wrap-around services, and opportunities for easy on-ramps into the workforce. Many of the professions that have unfair occupational licensing practices fall into this category.

The bottom line is that by allowing these Georgians to quickly get to work, H.B. 155 will help to keep our economy prosperous and our families strong. The bill currently sits on Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk, awaiting his signature.