by gaopp | Feb 3, 2014
Should you have any questions or comments about the content of this update, please email Eric Cochling.
Weather Dominates Week
As the General Assembly meets today for day 14 of the session, the subject dominating the headlines is the two days of utter chaos on Georgia’s roads this week. With so many children stranded at school and commuters stranded in their cars, the official response to the snow quickly took on political dimensions.
Our 5th Annual School Choice Celebration and Rally was cut short by the weather, but not before many of our participants were able to voice their support of school choice with their legislators. Thanks to all of our partner organizations, volunteers, and participating schools for braving the weather to show their support for more school choice options in Georgia. We’d like to especially thank the Georgia Charter Schools Association, Agudath Israel of America, Americans for Prosperity, Grace Scholars, Students First, and Hennessy Transportation for their partnership in hosting the event.
Legislation, Study Committees, and Rumors to Watch
– Education –
Given the high demand for Tax Credit Scholarships, Rep. Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs), introduced House Bill 759 that would raise the cap on the program from $58 million annually to $100 million, nearly doubling the size of the program.
In other education news, supporters of Parent Trigger legislation (House Bill 123) are hoping to see it resurrected this year after gaining some traction last session but ultimately failing to make it out of the General Assembly.
Finally, whatever your thoughts about the DeKalb School Board, it does seem strange that the private organization accrediting our school districts (SACS) is, itself, not subject to transparency, especially in regard to how it makes its accreditation decisions. Those decisions impact the public interest in a major way and should be open to public scrutiny. The Attorney General is right to be pressing the case.
– Adoption and Child Welfare –
Rep. Buzz Brockway (R-Lawrenceville) introduced House Bill 524 last session with the goal of making it easier for adopted individuals to access their original birth certificates and the information about birth parents they contain. The legislation, which is being reconsidered this session, was met with opposition by those concerned that disclosing information about birth parents could discourage adoption.
House Bill 771, sponsored by Rep. Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine), would effectively lift the statute of limitations related to civil claims for damages brought by victims of childhood sexual abuse. Currently, the law requires these claims to be brought by a victim within five years of turning 18 years old. Should this bill become law, suit could be brought against a defendant at any time.
– Constitutional Convention? –
Citing a crushing federal debt burden, continued overspending, out of control federal mandates, and overreaching constitutional interpretations, Senate Resolution 736, sponsored by Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon), calls for a constitutional convention of the states to amend the US Constitution. Presumably, the convention would allow for the states to address the problems cited by the resolution. Of course, any convention would also open the Constitution up to mischief, so caution is in order.
– Expansion of Medical Marijuana –
Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) introduced House Bill 885, referred to as Haleigh’s Hope Act (warning: link is to a heartbreaking video) on Tuesday which would expand the permissible medical uses for marijuana to include the treatment of seizure disorders. Under current Georgia law, extracts made from marijuana may be used to treat cancer and glaucoma patients only. Unlike other states that have recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana, House Bill 885 specifically states that it is not intended to encourage recreational use and requires the delivery of the drug to be accomplished in the ways virtually all other drugs are delivered (i.e. via pill, liquid extract, etc.) and forbids smoking as a form of delivery.
Upcoming Events
Our friends at the American Federation for Children are hosting a nonpartisan candidate training school in Atlanta on February 22nd. The training is free but requires registration to attend. For more information, please see this flyer for the event or email Brian Pleva to register.
Thanks to Jamie Lord, our director of government affairs, and Jacob Stubbs, our legislative intern and John Jay Fellowship alumnus for their able contributions to this update.
by Eric Cochling | Jan 27, 2014
Just this past week, Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program reached its cap of allowable donation commitments (currently, $58 million) in well under a month. That’s the earliest the cap has been reached in the program’s history, three and a half months earlier than last year, when the cap was reached on May 9th.
Add to the early cap the fact that Student Scholarship Organizations (SSO’s), those groups tasked with distributing tax credit scholarships, nearly universally report long waiting lists of students seeking a scholarship and it becomes clear that the program is in high demand.
Of course, it comes as no surprise that a school choice program in Georgia is overrun with interest.
Charter schools have long experienced high demand, with lotteries becoming necessary to decide which children are selected among the many who want to attend. Of course, parents are expressing their desire for additional choices in other ways, including sacrificing to send their children to private schools and, in an ever growing trend, teaching their children at home.
Given Georgia’s record on educational achievement, it’s really no wonder parents and their kids are looking for something better. That said, the desire for choice often has as much to do about wanting to escape an unsuitable school environment as with academic achievement.
That’s exactly why we’re hosting a rally at the Capitol tomorrow to celebrate National School Choice Week. While we are happy about the progress Georgia has made in increasing education options in recent years, less than 1 percent of Georgia’s more than 1.6 million students has been able to access Georgia’s school choice options.
Our tax credit program cap of $58 million annually may seem like a lot but compared to other states, it’s just a beginning of what’s needed to meet the demand. Florida’s program, for example, is currently capped at $286 million annually and grows each year automatically while Louisiana’s program has no cap at all.
Not only are Georgia’s current school choice programs limited, but for the 57% of Georgia students who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, options are limited yet again because – unlike wealthier families – they are often unable to move to a district with better public schools.
The net result is that if the local public school isn’t suitable for them, they have nowhere else to turn.
With many billions of dollars spent in Georgia each year on public education, there is no excuse for a child being trapped in any particular school. We should demand more for Georgia’s children.
by Eric Cochling | Dec 20, 2013
Our team at GCO had the privilege of hosting Dr. Rick Hess this week. On Tuesday, Dr. Hess, who is an education scholar (and prolific writer) with the American Enterprise Institute, spoke at an early morning breakfast attended by a group of about 45 people that included politicians, lobbyists, academics, parents, and policy wonks.
While the crowd was diverse, each person shared a common concern about the depressing condition of public education in the state of Georgia and wanted to hear Dr. Hess’ thoughts on the subject. He didn’t disappoint.
Using his book Cage-Busting Leadership as the springboard, Dr. Hess challenged the group to consider how much innovation and real reform could be achieved within the current education system if administrators, teachers, and concerned parents stopped taking “no” for an answer.
He shared example after example of people who were able to break through the “cage bars” erected by overly risk-averse school system lawyers or years of outdated rules that still clogged school procedures and hamstrung teachers from addressing student needs.
The bottom line: With a little questioning and a lot of grit, it is possible to change the system so that children receive better educations.
Although Dr. Hess focused on ways to improve the system from within, he didn’t shy away from endorsing school choice as an important tool for giving children more and better options – and incentivizing the public system to improve. Wisely, though, he warned the audience that just changing laws – even something as significant as vouchers – will not be sufficient in itself to really change education if everyone at the school level simply continues to accept business as usual.
In addition to legal reforms that allow parental choice and school flexibility, we must have pioneering and system-challenging educators and parents willing to question the status quo every time any engrained practice misses the mark of promoting our children’s best interests.
Those were all great points by Dr. Hess and a wonderful reminder that we have more power to change things than we may realize just by asking the question “Why not?”
Join us in asking that question and pushing for reforms that free parents and children to have more educational options and free excellent teachers to change lives.
by Kimberly Sawatka | Oct 9, 2013
As Breakthrough fellows at the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), experiences in the community provide unique insights and personal touches to the research they lead. Recently Michael, Yenipher and Aundrea had the opportunity to visit Ivy Preparatory Academy, an all- girl charter school in our backyard here in Norcross, GA.
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- Students at Ivy Prep practice their “ones” and “twos”. Courtesy: Ivyprepacademy.org
Michael:
From the moment we arrived I could tell Ivy Prep is devoted to one powerful mission – developing college-ready scholars. And not just for any college – this school strives to prepare its students to be scholars at our nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities.
Touring the campus, friendly student ambassadors directed us from classroom to classroom where we noticed that each time a teacher asked a question, instead of raising their hand or avoiding eye contact with the teacher, students would raise one or two fingers indicating that they either knew the answer (“ones”) or were unsure of it (“twos”). This method of student participation was just one unique aspect of the Ivy Prep culture we became familiar with during our tour.
Culture is a critical component in creating the unique setting at Ivy Prep. A week prior to starting sixth grade students learn to raise one or two fingers when responding to a question, what to wear and what not to wear, how they are to behave transitioning between classes, and so forth. This week of training, known as “Culture Week”, sets the tempo for the remainder of their educational experience at Ivy Prep. Additionally, the culture prepares students to thrive in alternative classroom settings. For high schoolers at Ivy Prep, an integrated technological approach– or blended learning model– allows students to complete all of their courses online with the exception of math and language arts providing more freedom to work at their own pace.
Yenipher:
While Touring Ivy Prep, there were posters of different colleges and universities, motivational quotes and pictures of role models everywhere. Interacting with a group of girls waiting outside a classroom, they spoke well of their school experience, were well disciplined, educated and motivated to go to college.
The visit solidified the importance of educational attainment. Parents sometimes underestimate the large percentage of time children spend in school, the importance of the quality of their education and the environment that shapes their development. It can take extra steps to find the right school for your child, but it can make a difference of a lifetime.
Through the example of Ivy Prep, it seemed many more students in Georgia can benefit from opportunities such as these. Many parents are just not aware of Ivy Prep or similar schools and how it can transform a child for the better. Parents need to value educational attainment in order for their child to do so. One values educational attainment by making sure that the school their child attends produces quality results and instills principles the parent believes in.
Aundrea:
Within the beautiful facilities of Ivy Preparatory Academy, it touched me as a woman of color to see such a diverse group of young ladies being directed to “Believe. Achieve. Succeed”–the school’s foundational motto. Likewise, the evident culture of college at Ivy Prep, attentive participation within the classrooms, and stylishly uniformed students bustling about all served as a great introduction to charter schools for me.
More than 2.3 million students now attend charter schools across the U.S., and these innovative models are quickly becoming staple education options in communities all around Georgia. For parents exploring alternatives to a traditional public schools, theses charter school settings can be positive learning environments for kids. Additional time in the classroom, blended learning models, and the single gender setting–which was adopted to give girls a chance to just be themselves–are some of the ways Ivy Prep aids their students in becoming successful scholars. And all without steep tuition costs!
Still, it is important to remember charter schools face obstacles similar to traditional public schools–such as constricted funding and surpassing state academic standards. If you are considering alternatives to traditional school settings it is important to be thorough in your search for finding the right learning environment for your child. There are many charter schools in the Metro Atlanta Area, so look for schools that fit your child’s interest or offer special programs. Take a tour of a school you are interested in to see the learning model in action. Investigate what success the school has had by checking out testing scores and college placement results. Or ask others in your community about their experience with charter schools. These were all important lessons from our day with the Ivies.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 26, 2013
The Supreme Court has established that well-designed school choice programs are constitutional at the federal level. However, this has not stopped school choice opponents in Alabama from asking a federal court to block the state’s new law that gives tax breaks to families who transfer from a failing public school to a non-failing public or private school to help offset tuition and transportation costs.
The challenge is based on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The plaintiffs argue that poor and rural students are unable to benefit from the law and are thus trapped in failing schools.
The claim that it will be difficult for poor and rural students to benefit from the program has merit. Many rural families live too far from a good public or private school, and the $3,500 tax credit may not be enough to help some poor families afford private school tuition.
However, this is not a valid reason to strike down the law. With so many challenges to ensuring that all students are attending a quality school, it is impossible for one solution to help all students. That should not mean that students who can benefit from this law should remain stuck in failing schools.
What it does mean is that policy makers need to find additional ways to help poor and rural students who may not be able to benefit from the current law. To help poor students, school choice programs should ensure that scholarship amounts are high enough to help the poorest students afford school options, such as including a sliding scale to provide the greatest help to those with the greatest need.
One way to help rural students is to provide high quality virtual learning. This would help students access classes they otherwise might not have access to, such as physics or foreign languages. Policy makers could also create charter schools that serve multiple counties. Pataula Charter Academy in southwest Georgia is a great example of this type of school.
Students and schools face different challenges that require a variety of solutions. While Alabama’s new school choice program might not help all students escape failing schools, it’s a good start.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Aug 22, 2013
Last week the parents, teachers, and administrators of the Druid Hills High School cluster overwhelmingly voted to become a charter school cluster. The 92 percent vote for approval was well above the 60 percent threshold required by the untested state law.
Supporters expressed dissatisfaction with bloated administrative budgets, the DeKalb school board’s troubled history, and threats to accreditation.
If the petition is approved by the DeKalb school board and the state, the cluster of seven schools serving 5,000 diverse students would have its own governing board with authority over staffing, pay, and curriculum.
Neighborhoods around the state are watching to see how the process plays out. If the Druid Hills High cluster successfully implements the changes, expect to see other neighborhoods – especially those with troubled school boards – pursue this new tool to expand parental power and school autonomy.
