Opinion: Expanded school choice can help pandemic learning losses

by Buzz Brockway | Aug 31, 2022

Opinion: Expanded school choice can help pandemic learning losses

Buzz Brockway, a former Republican legislator from Gwinnett, is vice president of public policy for the right-leaning think tank Georgia Center for Opportunity, which promotes school choice.

In this guest column, Brockway discusses solutions to pandemic learning loss.

Georgia students are flocking back to their classrooms, but in addition to the usual assortment of back-to-school supplies, kids are taking something else with them — profound learning losses from the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A 2022 research brief reveals that K-2 students are the greatest victims of learning loss. Furthermore, the literacy gap between minority and white students is now larger post-pandemic. Parents and teachers know that the earliest years of instruction are often the most impactful.

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Education Promise Scholarships Should be a Winning Issue

by Buzz Brockway | Jul 27, 2022

Education Promise Scholarships Should be a Winning Issue

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a watershed moment for expanding educational options for Georgia students. For many parents and families, the pandemic was the crisis point that showed them, in stark reality, the dire need for a full menu of educational options – whether that be a traditional public school, a public charter school, virtual educational programs or home education.

You don t have to look far to understand why. During the worst of the pandemic and resulting school closures, many familes were forced into alternative ways of schooling for tthe first time ever. Families’ experience with how traditional public schools handled the shift to distance learning were mixed and inconsistent. Some schools and teachers excelled, ensuring students did not lose out on learning. Others threw their hands up –and the towel in — early. Kids have suffered as a result.

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The U.S. Department of Education has approved Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements

by Buzz Brockway | Jun 7, 2022

The U.S. Department of Education has approved Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements

Key Points

Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements for the 2022 school year was approved by U.S. Dept. of Education
This move locks in the learning loss that took place during the COVID-19
American Relief Package Act requires at least 20% of funds be spent on recovering learning loss

Georgia’s request approved

The U.S. Department of Education has approved Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements for the 2022 school year. “Our goal is to establish a new baseline, rather than compare your schools’ performance to pre-pandemic norms,” said School Superintendent Richard Woods.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take:

“By doing this we are locking in the learning loss that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of GCO. “This means for some students, they will never recover from the pandemic learning loss they experienced, nor are they expected to recover. This ignores the millions and millions of dollars Georgia’s school districts are being sent via the American Relief Package Act, which requires that at least 20% of those funds be spent on recovering learning loss. What will local districts do with that money? Is giving up best for students? Georgia’s parents should march in loud protest to accepting that pandemic learning loss is the new norm.”

Passed: House Bill 517

by Buzz Brockway | Apr 6, 2022

Passed: House Bill 517

The Georgia General Assembly passed a bill, which increases the cap on our state’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program

On Monday, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 517, which increases the cap on our state’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program from $100 million to $120 million per year. HB517 also doubles the amount individuals, LLCs, and S Corporations may contribute and removes the automatic sunset of the program.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “The real beneficiaries of this legislation are the thousands of Georgia kids who will benefit from expanded access to a great education,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of GCO. “We commend lawmakers for taking these important steps forward to strengthen the tax-credit program. At the same time, we’re disappointed the Senate retreated from raising the cap to $200 million as passed by the House. The new $20 million increase is a marginal gain and appreciated, but the program needs dramatically increased capacity. Our hope is that lawmakers will raise the cap even further in the next legislative session.”

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

by Buzz Brockway | Mar 15, 2022

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

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.