by David Bass | Aug 8, 2019
Some food for thought as kids head back to school
Many Georgia students return to the classroom this month. For most, the last days before school begins are an exciting time to squeeze in that last bit of summer fun and get stocked up on school supplies.
But for students in poverty, a new school year often brings levels of anxiety that most folks are unaware of.
For some perspective, here are some barriers to success that far too many Georgia students face:
- Vocabulary
Kids in poverty hear fewer spoken words than their affluent peers—setting in motion huge differences in vocabulary attainment and academic achievement that follow them the rest of their lives.
- Hunger
Kids in poverty often come to school hungry. In Georgia, more than 500,000 children experience hunger and are more likely to have lower math scores, be held back a grade, and lag behind language, motor skills, and behavior.
- Lack of enrichment
Kids in poverty are more likely to lack enriching opportunities in music, art, and theater than affluent kids. In fact, 70% of Georgia school district leaders say poverty is the most significant issue limiting student learning.
- Language barriers
Kids in poverty are more likely to come from homes where English is not spoken. In Atlanta, 7% of students do not speak English at home—creating another obstacle to overcome at school.
Knowing each child experiences education differently is a mandate for our education system to be malleable. Children of all backgrounds and experiences must have equal access to quality public education as well as individualized education options.
by David Bass | Jun 3, 2019
As the dust settles on another Georgia legislative session, we are pleased to report that the overall results for bills that GCO worked on to achieve passage were positive and encouraging.
Education Opportunities Expand Once Again
For starters, in the education arena we collaborated with key legislators to put into action House Bill 787, which had been approved by the legislature in the previous session. This new law creates equitable facilities funding for charter schools—allowing them to receive funds for their facilities on par with those given to traditional public schools.
Job Licensing Reform
On the employment front, our team successfully worked to pass a key piece of occupational licensing reform legislation. Now, people who get behind on their student loan payments won’t risk losing their occupational licensing—helping to ensure that more Georgians will be able to get a good job and keep it after completing their education.
Removing The Welfare Cliff of Healthcare
On welfare reform, we worked with Governor Brian Kemp’s administration to move forward healthcare waivers for Georgia. This crucial step toward full welfare reform would remove built-in benefit cliffs while adding work requirements for public assistance. Ultimately, this helps our fellow Georgians break free from governmental dependency and lead renewed lives of dignity and purpose.
We Are Just Getting Started
While we are proud of these successes, there’s still much work to be done in the next legislative session, particularly in the educational arena. Unfortunately, lawmakers fell short of passing Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) this year. However, the good news is that we came closer than ever to success—and we’re optimistic that ESAs will become a reality next year. In fact, the high level of co-sponsor support from Governor Kemp’s floor leaders signals that this important issue will likely return for consideration in the next legislative session.
When it comes to ESAs, the stakes are high for thousands of Georgia students and their families. Not only would ESAs help parents like Katie Gonzalez—a mother of seven adopted children, including six with special needs—they would offer much-needed flexibility and assistance to students from low-income families, those adopted from foster care, children of active duty military stationed in Georgia, students with an Individualized Education Program, and those with a documented history of being bullied.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead to 2020, GCO will continue to work toward implementing common-sense reforms on not just ESAs, but also in welfare and occupational licensing to ensure that every Georgian has the opportunity to flourish through a great education, steady employment, and healthy family life. The bottom line is that we are optimistic that the legislative successes coming out of the 2019 session will translate into passage of more key legislation next year.
by Jonathan Butcher | Feb 21, 2019
By Contributing Scholar: Jonathan Butcher
As a teacher, Julie Young knew her grandson was going to need help outside of the classroom. He had been diagnosed with dyslexia, and he struggled to “retain anything he saw on paper,” Julie said.
Julie and her family live in Arizona, where students with special needs are among the children eligible for education savings accounts. Julie applied for an account and saw results almost immediately.
She used the account to enroll him in occupational therapy, and “within a matter of weeks, I noticed a huge improvement,” Julie says. “His OT helped him memorize his multiplication tables by using silly songs. Every day he made gains in areas that never seemed to stick before,” she says.
With an education savings account, the state deposits a portion of a child’s funds from the state education formula into a private account that parents use to buy education products and services for their children. Lawmakers in six states have enacted such laws, including Georgia’s neighbors: Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi (Nevada and North Carolina legislators have also passed legislation).
The accounts are distinct from private school scholarships because parents and students can select multiple learning options simultaneously. It’s not unusual for account holders to find a personal tutor for their child, enroll their student in education therapy services, and pay for instructional materials to be used at home. Research from Arizona finds that approximately one-third of account holders use education savings accounts for a set of learning options. More than 40 percent of Florida account holders do so.
Parents want to be able to challenge their students and are prepared to customize their child’s learning experience. One Arizona mom explained that doctors had diagnosed her son as being on the autism spectrum, and despite special services in a district school, he had not learned to talk. After using an account to select a speech therapist of their choosing, “Nathan has learned to talk and he loves learning to spell and even reading books… He’s using complete sentences and even asking and answering questions on a regular basis.”
In Florida, a mom of three adopted children and two biological children uses an account (called Gardiner Scholarships) for her adopted daughter, Elizabeth, to buy instructional materials for use in the home. In an interview, the mom said, “I could reinforce what was and wasn’t happening in the classroom.” Today, Elizabeth has returned to a district school, and her mom says she “wouldn’t be where we are without the intense therapies that I was able to do because of the Gardiner scholarship.”
Now Georgia lawmakers are considering a proposal that would make accounts available to children with special needs, students from low income families, adopted children, students in active duty military families, and children who have been bullied in school.
Experiences from other states demonstrate that students from all walks of life can benefit from the accounts. Arizona lawmakers enacted the nation’s first law in 2011 for children with special needs but have expanded student eligibility since. By the 2015-2016 school year, approximately 40 percent of account holders were children that met other eligibility criteria: 15 percent of account holders were students previously assigned to failing schools; 11 percent were children from military families; 8 percent were adopted students; and 6 percent were Native American students living on tribal lands.
As for Julie, an education savings account has allowed her to set new goals for her grandson. “My grandson understands his limitations,” she says. “He has a long road to go before all of his basic skills are mastered, but I feel confident that so long as we can… [meet] his individual needs, he will succeed in anything he chooses to do.”
Every Georgia parent or loved one wants to have the same vision for success for their child. The education savings account proposal puts these aspirations within reach for thousands of students across the state. Every family wants to have an opportunity like this.
by David Bass | Feb 5, 2019
The Georgia legislature is back in session, and school choice is likely to be a front and center issue. As we look to build off past school-choice successes in Georgia, a key priority will be to see Educational Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) become a reality.
Along these lines, a new national poll from EdChoice has some great news: Americans pick ESAs as their preferred K-12 educational choice option. This news comes at a great time for parents across Georgia who desperately need more options for their children.
ESAs are an innovative way for parents to pay for non-public educational options for their children (kids like Seth). ESAs allow parents to direct the money the state would have spent on their child to things like tuition, tutors, adaptive technology, therapy, and curriculum to truly customize an education that best meets each child’s needs.
These new survey results show that ESAs have the highest support among K-12 educational choice options (including majority support among public school teachers). Support for ESAs has risen from 64 percent in 2013 to 74 percent in 2018. In addition, the survey reveals across-the-board growing support for other school-choice options. Here are some of the highlights:
- Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents support school vouchers, compared to one out of three (30 percent) who oppose them.
- Two out of three Americans (66 percent) express support for tax-credit scholarships, compared to about one in four (24 percent) who oppose them.
- Six out of 10 Americans (61 percent) say they support public charter schools, while 29 percent say they oppose charters.
- Compared to two years ago, nearly twice as many parents say they have taken on another job or changed jobs in order to support their children’s K-12 education.
The entire team at Georgia Center for Opportunity will be hard at work in 2019 to see ESAs pass in the state legislature. The time is ripe for Georgia to become the seventh state nationally to make ESAs available!
by Kimberly Sawatka | Jan 24, 2019
This week marks National School Choice Week, a program that began in 2011 and has rapidly grown across the country highlighting the benefits and need for more school choice options. Lt. Gov. Duncan is leading the state’s celebration at Atlanta Youth Acadamy in Southeast Atlanta by talking with students and parents yesterday about the importance of education, and how remaining focused on expanding school choice opportunities to students statewide is one of his top priorities.
“One of the most important things I can do every day as Lt. Gov. is remember one of the best gifts we can give a child in this state is a quality k-12 education,” stated Lt. Gov. Duncan as he spoke with a classroom of fifth graders and parents. “I want parents to know that and want them to see when we make laws, or adjust things in the laws, and create new policies we realize it is centered around the kids.”
The school is located near the federal prison, and the students’ median household income is about $23,000 a year. Fighting to overcome the neighborhood statistics, 62 percent of the students participate in Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program, and 100 percent of the students have graduated and gone on to postsecondary education.
The tax credit scholarship program has been wildly successful reaching the program’s cap within a matter of days for consecutive years. Lawmakers expanded the program last year by doubling the cap to $100 million starting in 2019.
A quality education is key. It provides a primary path for breaking cycles of poverty. GCO has played a crucial role in bringing real educational choice to upwards of 250,000 students and counting through Tax-Credit Scholarships, Special Needs Scholarships, and charter schools. As we move forward in the legislative session, we will continue to fight to expand Georgia’s current programs and to create education opportunity by pushing for the adoption of Education Scholarship Accounts.
Our work isn’t done until all of Georgia’s children can access the educational options that allow them to achieve the American Dream.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Oct 15, 2018
The mandate from Georgia voters is clear—by an overwhelming margin, they want lawmakers in the General Assembly to pass legislation expanding school choice in 2019. That’s the finding of a new poll released by the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO).
The survey found that nearly seven-in-ten (67 percent) voters say it’s important for the state legislature to enact policies that expand school choice in the next legislative session, and that support extends across party, racial, and geographic lines. Of all school choice measures available in Georgia, the Tax Credit Scholarship Program garnered the most support.
Underscoring the bipartisan nature of school choice, the survey found strong support for school choice regardless of political affiliation—75 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Independents, and 62 percent of Democrats. Support is strong across racial and geographic lines as well: 70 percent of African-American voters and 66 percent of white voters support school choice, while voters in Augusta (76 percent), Atlanta (68 percent), and Savannah (65 percent) are also supportive.
These new survey results come on the heels of the General Assembly’s move this year to expand the Tax Credit Scholarship Program to serve tens of thousands of additional students in need of options. In 2019, lawmakers could take up legislation to make Georgia the seventh state to enact Education Savings Accounts, an innovative way for parents to pay for the education their children need.
With the 2019 session of the General Assembly a few months away, elected officials would be wise to pay attention to the voices of more than two-thirds of Georgia’s likely voters—and voice their support for school choice, too!
