NEWS & OPINIONS
Georgia Passes Promise Scholarships and Expands Education Opportunity
On April 23, 2024, Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 233, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, into law. This education savings account program—the first of its kind in Georgia—will allow eligible students to receive $6,500 state-funded scholarships that they can use to access the education option that best fits their needs.
Safer Kentucky Act: Six Crime Reforms Included and How They Help
The Safer Kentucky Act (House Bill 5) is a package of crime-related bills, including six GCO-recommended solutions for restoring community safety and better opportunities close to home, especially in impoverished neighborhoods that tend to bear the brunt of increasing violence.
Promise Scholarships Cross Major Hurdle
On March 14, 2024, the Georgia House passed SB233, The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act. This bill is an important first step in extending an education lifeline to the over half-a-million kids stuck in failing public schools.
Why Georgia Policies Matter
Georgia is a battleground state and the policies it enacts can have a huge impact on those living in poverty. We discuss why policy matters in Georgia and what we can expect in 2024.
A Better Safety Net in Georgia: Mapping the One Door Policy (House Bill 738) Would Be a Big Step Forward
Legislation pending in the Georgia Legislature, House Bill 738, would create a task force to explore how Georgia could use Utah’s One Door policy to build a safety net system that helps more people find meaningful work and pathways out of poverty.
SB 233: Georgia Promise Scholarships Would Help Thousands of Students. Why Did Some Districts Vote Against It?
If we truly want all of Georgia’s students to obtain a quality education that prepares them for a meaningful career and a stable life, parents need more options. Promise Scholarships are an incredible opportunity, but making them available to Georgia families depends on support from a few districts.
The Marriage Penalty: A Barrier to Relational Support and Better Opportunities for the Poor
Strong relationships are a cornerstone of vibrant communities, and research has shown that marriage is one key type of relationship for empowering individuals, regardless of race or circumstance, to escape poverty and find stability and opportunity. But a current tax policy is making it difficult for communities in Georgia and beyond to reap the benefits of marriage.
Understanding How Benefits Cliffs Impact Those In Poverty
We discuss the issue of Benefits Cliffs and what we are doing on this important issue for anyone on welfare or safety net services.
Public School Transfers: How to Go to a School You’re Not Zoned for in Georgia
Do Georgia parents have the option to move their kids to a different public school than the one assigned to their neighborhood? Yes…and no. Setting up a more flexible public school transfer program is one way Georgia could expand public school options and success.
Georgia’s 2024 Legislative Session: An Agenda to Lift Up Vulnerable Communities
Key Points As Georgia lawmakers convene for the 2024 legislative session, multiple bills are on the table that could break down barriers in poor and disadvantaged communities. A key issue to track: education opportunity. Lawmakers have a chance to enact several...
Building Better Work: The Power of Community and Business Partnerships
Key Points Our BETTER WORK program harnesses the transformative power of local partnerships to get more people hired and build prosperous, stable communities. Four standout collaborators—Essendant, Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries, D.P. Jones Electrical, and...
Georgia School Choice Week: Gov. Kemp Encourages Access to Quality Education for Every Kid
Key Points A new proclamation from Governor Brian Kemp has designated January 21-27, 2024, as School Choice Week in Georgia. Georgia School Choice Week celebrates the fact that every kid is unique and more education options mean parents, educators, and communities can...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Opinion: Governor’s signature on school choice bill is good first step
Education is one of the most powerful ways that kids connect with positive role models, ideas and skills that enable them to imagine and pursue meaningful, prosperous futures. At the same time, these futures are evolving — and fast. Modern technology, new industries...
Georgia governor signs bill to launch ‘Promise Scholarships’
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a measure to allow families to spend taxpayer money on private school tuition, which school choice proponents lauded, though critics worry it will cut resources from strapped school systems. Senate Bill 233, the “Georgia Promise...
GCO applauds signing of Promise Scholarships bill, says more work needs to be done
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA—Today, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) applauded Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia legislature for ushering into law the Promise Scholarships bill that will bring much-needed relief to the over half-a-million low- and middle-income kids...
U.S. House passes a bill that’s a step toward ‘One Door’ social safety-net reforms
PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA—Yesterday, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House passed H.R. 6655, a Stronger Workforce for America Act, which establishes a crucial demonstration waiver for a handful of states to implement safety-net reforms similar to Utah’s “One Door”...
Lou Penrose Show with Special Guest Josh Crawford
Josh Crawford, an expert in criminal justice reform from the Georgia Center for Opportunity, appeared as a guest on the Lou Penrose Show. He discussed the need for comprehensive changes to the justice system to reduce recidivism rates and provide better support for...
Policy and election-year politics mixed into new Georgia laws
Flush with cash and facing an election year, Georgia lawmakers prioritized bills that cut taxes, stoke political emotions and touch voters’ lives in some way. Legislators left the Capitol early Friday morning after making their mark on the state over the past three...
Shackled by Freedom: How Workplace Licensing Holds Back Ex-Convicts
After years of drug abuse and crime, Rudolph H. Carey III began to get his life back on track in 2007 when he checked himself into rehab and eventually drew on his experience to become a substance abuse counselor in Virginia. Then it was all taken away from him. After...
Is the tide turning on Larry Krasner?
Hate to say I told you so, but real is real. Back in 2018, three months into Larry Krasner’s revolution in ultra-lenient prosecution, I wrote these prophetic words: I’ve written before that many of Krasner’s reforms — as with those of many of the other Soros DAs — are...
