by David Bass | Jan 18, 2022
Georgia’s K-12 students fell months behind during remote learning. We need solutions now.
Georgia’s K-12 students fell months behind during remote learning. We need solutions now.
Why it Matters:
We can move forward. Let your voice be heard.
Between three and six months behind.
That’s how severe learning losses have been for Georgia’s K-12 students during the pandemic, according to a new official report from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts Performance Audit Division. The learning loss was prompted due to school closures and forced online learning, which didn’t work well for many students.
Not surprisingly, the impacts were hardest on kids from low-income, minority families, and those where English is a second language. In other words, the families who could least afford or navigate the disruptions were impacted the most.
For example, the report found students in majority white schools were four months behind in math and three months behind in reading. Contrast that with majority black schools, where students were behind by six months in both reading and math, on average.
For a solution, the report strongly recommended federal COVID-19 relief funds be used to combat learning losses and put the best interventions in place.
We agree, but that’s only a starting place. Every parent across Georgia must have the ability to choose the right school for their child, now more than ever. Especially during a pandemic when students are falling further and further behind, we can’t afford to make the issue of educational opportunity a political talking point. Kids’ lives and futures hang in the balance.
Now more than ever, your voice as a parent is crucial. We want to amplify your voice and make sure our education leaders across Georgia hear it loud and clear. Sign our petition and tell leaders that it’s time to get our kids back on track!
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Feb 6, 2018
Georgia lawmakers are poised to consider several bills that would make education savings accounts (ESAs) a reality for students in our state. ESAs empower families with the option of leaving their local public school and choosing an educational option that better fits the needs of their child—such as private school, tutoring, or online learning programs.
In a recent piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, columnist Kyle Wingfield makes the strong point that at least one of these bills—House Bill 482—is “probably the most bulletproof piece of school-choice legislation Georgia has ever seen.”
Specifically, the current version of HB 482 has several provisions and accountability measures that directly address common objections raised by opponents of school choice. The bill:
- Reaches students who need help the most: It prioritizes students who have special needs, have been bullied, are from low-income households, are adopted or in the foster-care system, or live with an active-duty military parent stationed in Georgia. This hyper-targeted segment accounts for less than 0.25 percent of the entire public-school student population.
- Implements financial controls and requires standardized testing: The bill also creates strong financial accountability mechanisms for both public and private schools involved with ESAs. Another accountable measure requires students participating in the ESA program to take nationally norm-referenced tests measuring academic achievement in math and language arts.
As Wingfield summarizes, the bill “addresses every objection school-choice opponents have ever raised. Well, except for their objection to the very existence of school choice at all.”
Think about the opportunities opened up by ESAs for students who face a dim future in a school that doesn’t meet their needs:
- A low-income student in a low-performing school district can receive an education that gives him or her the best chance of flourishing in the future.
- A bullied student can escape a toxic, dangerous environment and flourish at a safer school of choice.
- A special-needs student—maybe a child with autism, a traumatic brain injury, or an orthopedic impairment—can receive the individualized attention needed to thrive.
Without ESAs and other school-choice measures, these students are likely to remain stuck in local school districts that fall short in adequately addressing their unique needs.
If lawmakers approved an ESA bill this year, Georgia would become the sixth state nationally to create one of these programs.
by Eric Cochling | Feb 4, 2015
We are very pleased to report that Rep. Mark Hamilton introduced a bill today to create Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Georgia (Read HB 243: “Education Savings Account Act”). ESAs are a terrific way to give parents and their students a choice when it comes to education. They’re flexible, allow for parents to tailor their child’s education, and they allow the money to follow the child. It’s everything you want in a great school choice program.
For more info, read our press release on the legislation.
*UPDATE: February 9, 2015
Senator Hunter Hill introduced a bill to create ESAs in Georgia: Read SB 92
