The Alabama legislature has passed a bill that phases in universal Education Savings Accounts over time. It now goes to the desk of Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. The ESA will be worth up to $7,000 for each student to be used for approved educational expenses.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Georgia is now on the cusp of being surrounded by states with universal school choice, or near universal school choice,” said Buzz Brockway, GCO’s vice president of public policy. “That means our state is now an outlier in the southeast when it comes to educational options. We shouldn’t be satisfied to maintain a status quo on this issue that leaves thousands of schoolchildren behind each year. It’s time for Georgia lawmakers to lead and pass legislation like the Promise Scholarships bill that expand educational opportunities across the state to students and families trapped in a system that doesn’t work for them.”
For more on the ways ESAs would help kids in Georgia, check out these resources:
On March 29, 2023, Georgia Promise Scholarships (Senate Bill 233) failed by only a few votes in the House of Representatives. These leaders had another chance to vote on the bill in 2024.
SB 233 creates a much-needed education option for students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% of Georgia publis schools. Of the 16 Republicans who voted against Promise Scholarships in 2023, 13 have schools in the bottom 25%.
More research is showing that more education choice helps public schools and translates to better academic achievement, especially for low-income students.
On March 29, 2023, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (Senate Bill 233) failed by a vote of 85-89 in the House of Representatives, despite passing the Georgia Senate on March 6, 2023.
At the time, that was the furthest that an education savings account bill had advanced in the Georgia Legislature. Despite having support from Governor Brian Kemp, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, and Speaker Jon Burns, the bill still came up six votes short of passage in the House.
Georgia needs Promise Scholarships to build its future workforce and prosperity
In late 2023, Governor Brian Kemp announced a new program called Georgia Match. Georgia Match seeks to connect every high school senior with a post-secondary education path that meets each student’s needs. The program brings unprecedented cooperation between the Georgia Department of Education, The Technical College System of Georgia, and the University System of Georgia. It’s not an exaggeration to say this program can potentially transform Georgia’s educational system and workforce.
SB 233 would allow students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% for two consecutive years, according to Georgia’s College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI), to use a Promise Scholarship.
Promise Scholarships would allow these families to access education options that they might not otherwise be able to afford or use. The scholarship could be applied to private school tuition, homeschooling materials, or other educational expenses defined in the bill.
The state would put the scholarship amount ($6,500) in a parent-directed account controlled by the state of Georgia for these purposes.
Based on CCRPI scores, which were last calculated in 2018-2019, 298 schools currently fall into the bottom 25% criteria. These schools are located all across Georgia, but mostly in areas of high poverty.
It’s important to note that limiting the Promise Scholarship to only the bottom 25% of schools doesn’t cover all the schools in Georgia that receive D or F grades in CCRPI.
To see Georgia Match fulfill its potential, K-12 students must be prepared to succeed in the post-secondary education path they choose—especially those students eligible for a Promise Scholarship and those who deserve better economic and social opportunities to escape poverty.
“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.” — Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address
“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.” — Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address
[16 Republican legislators opposed Promise Scholarships in 2023. Here’s why they should have changed their vote.
Over the past 10 years, Republican governors and legislators have passed and tried to implement reforms meant to improve Georgia’s lowest-performing public schools. From the failed Opportunity School District constitutional amendment to the all-but-gutted Chief Turnaround Officer legislation, efforts for transformational reform within the traditional public school system have been stifled.
Many of the schools in question also receive intensive assistance from the Department of Education (DOE) via the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) programs. These programs require schools to develop improvement plans in close collaboration with DOE officials.
While these programs have helped, there’s an important detail that voters and parents should know about. Several of these schools in the bottom 25% of CCRPI performance today were schools that qualified for the Opportunity School District program back in 2015.
In other words, these schools are still among our state’s lowest-performing schools after eight years of intensive assistance. Should we continue to tell parents to wait for another program? If your children or grandchildren were zoned for these schools, would you tell them to wait?
For several legislators, including 16 Republican Representatives, the answer has been “yes.”
Of the 16 Republican legislators who voted against SB 233 in 2023, 13 have public schools in their districts that are in the bottom 25%. Yet all 16 of these districts have private schools ready to accept more students. In addition, Georgia has a robust homeschooling community in all corners of the state, as well as a burgeoning microschool movement. Promise Scholarship recipients can access these options no matter where they live.
Georgia’s Promise Scholarship Explained Find out what the program is, how it works, and which students will be eligible.
To meet Georgia’s diverse student needs, the answer is to expand parental options.
If we truly want Governor Kemp’s Georgia Match program to succeed, parents need more options. If we truly want all of Georgia’s students to obtain a quality education and pursue post-secondary education that prepares them for a meaningful career and a stable life, parents need more options. If we want Georgia’s economy to continue to thrive and attract new industries to our state, parents need more options.
Expanding parental options will lift our entire educational system. To see this in action, all we need to do is look south. A November 2023 study of Florida’s educational landscape found that as school choice programs matured, the positive effects were felt across the board, including within the public schools:
“We find that as public schools are more exposed to private school choice, their students experience increasing benefits as the program matures. In particular, higher levels of private school choice exposure are associated with lower rates of suspensions and absences, and with higher standardized test scores in reading and math.”
The students showing the most gains? Students with low–socioeconomic status (SES).
Far from harming public schools, school choice actually improves public schools. Georgia’s students deserve to have this opportunity as well.
With SB 233, Georgia legislators had an incredible chance to set Georgia students on a path toward academic success and a bright future. Thankfully, SB 233 and Georgia’s kids received the support needed from lawmakers, and the Georgia Promise Scholarship passed in April 2024. The progam will become available for Georgia parents and students in Fall 2025.
Public school transfers are an education option that allows parents to move their child to a public school they’re not zoned for (as long as the school has space).
Georgia currently allows public school transfers within a student’s district but not outside of it.
Parents must apply for a public school transfer. Scroll down to find out how to check with your local school district for availability and application deadlines.
Public school transfers explained
Public school transfers, also referred to as open enrollment for public schools, allow parents to move their student to a different public school than the one they’re zoned for.
This is a great option for states to provide because it increases flexibility within the public school system—something parents increasingly want. The majority of Georgia students (84%) attend public school, so transfers empower more parents to choose the public school environment that’s right for their child.
Public school transfers available in Georgia
Allowed: Transfers within assigned school districts. Georgia offers restricted public school transfers. Families can send their child to any school within their assigned local district as long as that school has space and has been operating for at least four years. This option is known as an “intra-district transfer.”
Not yet allowed: Transfers outside of assigned school districts. Another type of public school transfer, called an “inter-district transfer,” permits students to switch to a public school outside of the district they’re zoned for. This option isn’t allowed in Georgia yet. Georgia lawmakers would need to pass a bill to make it available to families.
How Georgia’s public school transfers work
Parents must contact their local school system to see which schools will accept transfers and for which grades. The Georgia Department of Education provides a database of public school contact information.
Each school system is required to notify parents by July 1 about which schools have space, and many systems post this information on their websites before that date. Most districts only allow transfers at the beginning of the school year, but all can choose to accept students throughout the year.
Parents must then apply for a transfer through their district’s website, at the district office, or at the local school. If more students apply than space is available, some school systems will make decisions on a first-come, first-served basis. Others will hold a random lottery.
Eligibility requirements
A student must be enrolled in a public school in Georgia.
School options
Transfers open up access to other public schools within a student’s school district.
Transfers don’t apply to public schools outside a student’s assigned district. They also don’t apply to non-public schools.
A student who transfers to another public school may continue to attend that school until they’ve completed all grades at the school.
Cost to families
School systems can’t charge tuition for students transferring within their district.
Transportation is the parents’ or guardians’ responsibility.
Five application guidelines to follow:
1. Contact your local school system to see which schools accept transfers and in which grades.
2. Check your school system’s website by July 1. Each system is required to notify parents annually about which schools have space available. State law requires school systems to post this information by July 1, but it’s often available earlier, so consider checking the website as early as April or May.
3. Access the transfer application on your district’s website, at the district office, or at your local school and complete the application (note: some school systems require parents to do this in person at the district office).
4. Application periods can be as short as one to two weeks. For many districts, this application window opens in June or July. In other areas, it can open as early as January. Get in touch with your district or check its website early and often so you don’t miss any deadlines.
5. The school system will notify parents about whether their transfer request was accepted or denied. If more students apply than space is available, school systems will make decisions on a first-come, first-served basis or through a random lottery.
How Georgia can expand public school options
Georgia lawmakers could expand opportunities in the public school system by removing all restrictions on open enrollment and allowing both inter-district and intra-district transfers.
Parents with children in schools across the country are widely in favor of reforms like this. Polling from June 2025 by EdChoice-Morning Consult showed that 78% of parents nationwide—regardless of their political affiliation—support open enrollment.
To set up a successful transfer program, Georgia could look to many other states’ examples. In 2025, the Reason Foundation reported that policymakers in 24 states introduced at least 54 bills that focused on open enrollment, providing more evidence of the strong interest in these policies.
Of Georgia’s neighbors, Florida offers the broadest transfer opportunities to students and their families. The state passed a law in 2016 allowing state-wide open enrollment and required all districts to participate. Through the program, students can transfer from the school they’re zoned for to any public school that has space in their grade level. These transfers allow Florida students to attend the school that’s the best fit for them. They also enable parents to send their children to schools near their jobs, which helps lift barriers to rewarding work.
South Carolina followed suit in 2025 when it passed a bill requiring school districts to implement an inter-district transfer policy once the state’s Department of Education issues guidelines. Intra-district transfers have already been allowed there for some time.
The open enrollment policies in other nearby states vary:
Tennessee: The state currently allows intra-district transfers.
Alabama: Open enrollment is limited and voluntary for school districts.
North Carolina: There is no statewide policy on open enrollment.
To better position Georgia as a leader in education choice, state lawmakers are paying attention to advances in open enrollment like those in Florida and South Carolina.
In Georgia’s 2026 legislative session, the House of Representatives is considering a bill (HB 917) that would significantly expand current intra-district transfer options and also provide inter-district transfer options for Georgia students.
If the bill becomes law, the state will be able to provide families with more educational opportunities and, ultimately, an educational system that better serves every child’s unique situation and needs.
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 options, including Georgia Promise Scholarships (SB 233), expansion of the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, and public school transfers.
Other bills to know include job licensing reforms to expand work opportunities for people with criminal records (SB 157) and a reform to better connect welfare and work support in Georgia (HB 738)
Georgia lawmakers are back in Atlanta for what could prove to be the most impactful legislative session in years. Georgia’s legislature is considering multiple bills that could break down barriers facing poor and disadvantaged communities.
The timetable is short. The session will end by March 28, so time is of the essence if our elected officials are going to improve the quality of life for the people they serve. Below is a list of a few bills our team is watching and working on to lift up vulnerable and low-income communities across Georgia.
Our hope for the 2024 session: Give more Georgians better pathways out of poverty and into opportunity
“During the 2024 session, we hope to see tremendous progress on expanding school choice through passage of Senate Bill 233, the Promise Scholarship bill,” said GCO’s vice president of public policy, Buzz Brockway. “In addition, we hope to see an increase in the cap on Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program, which would also expand private school options parents have.”
“We also will be working on seeing SB 157 passed into law,” Brockway added. “This bill will create a pathway for people with a criminal record many years in the past to obtain an occupational license, opening up opportunities for many people to earn a living and support their family. Finally, we hope to make progress on reforming how Georgia delivers workforce and safety-net programs, placing people on a pathway toward self-sufficiency.”
Education: Expanding schooling options to help families find the best fit for their kids
SB 147, public school district transfers: Would allow students to transfer to a different public school within their district or a different district. This would provide much needed support for the majority of families who chose to continue sending their students to public schools in Georgia. Status: The Senate tabled this bill in 2023 but it is eligible for consideration this year.
HB 54 and HB 101, Tax Credit Scholarship cap increase: Would raise the cap on the Tax Credit Scholarship from $120 million to $130 million. Through this program, businesses and individuals can donate toward private school scholarships for K-12 students enrolled in public schools. In return, they receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit. In 2022, lawmakers raised the cap from $100 million to $120 million, but demand continues to increase, making another jump necessary. Status: The measures weren’t considered in 2023 but they are eligible for reconsideration this year.
HB 318, improve charter school laws: This measure would reestablish the Office of Charter School Compliance under the State Charter Schools Commission. Currently, two entities oversee charter schools in Georgia: The State Charter School Commission oversees state authorized charter schools, while the Georgia Department of Education oversees charters authorized by local boards of education. This creates confusion and differences in application of laws and rules governing charter school laws. HB 318 would bring oversight of all charters under one roof, providing more resources and uniformed application of laws and rules regarding charters. Status: Both chambers passed this bill in 2023 but the Senate amended it and the House did not reconsider the changes. The bill is eligible to be considered this year.
Safety-net reform: Connecting our welfare system to work support
One Door task force bill in Georgia, HB 738: Our nation’s welfare system is a fragmented hodgepodge of programs. The dozens of programs that make up the system have different and, at times, competing goals, inconsistent rules, and overlapping groups of recipients. At the same time, there is often a disconnect between safety-net programs and welfare-to-work initiatives. The end result is that people stay mired in generational poverty rather than receiving a helping hand to live a better life. In this environment, the GCO team is on the vanguard of educating about safety-net reform. A key way we are doing so in Georgia is by pushing forward this legislation to create a One Door task force in the state. The task force would study how to integrate the safety net with workforce development, in line with the successful One Door approach in Utah. Other states, including West Virginia and Louisiana, are weighing similar proposals. So why not here in Georgia? Status: The bill was introduced in the House in 2023 and is now moving through committee this year.
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Occupational licensing and public safety: Increasing personal safety and job opportunities in local communities
Senate Bill 157, appeals process for justice involved individuals: Would create a preclearance process in licensing of individuals with criminal records who make an application to or are investigated by certain licensing boards and commissions. Often, returning citizens from the criminal justice system face huge barriers in finding work, and we know that attachment to work is a significant determinant of an individual not ending up back behind prison walls. Status: This measure was added to the House Rules calendar last year but didn’t receive any attention.
House Bill 212, Niche-Beauty Services Opportunity Act: Would offer barbers and cosmetologists the opportunity to provide services like blow-dry styling, braiding, threading, and the application of cosmetics without requiring licensure by the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers. Occupational licensing is needed in some industries and job categories due to public health and safety concerns, but the laws on the books today in many cases are an unnecessary roadblock to employment for workers. Status: The House tabled the bill last session but it is eligible for consideration this year.
House Bill 334: Expungement: Would revise Georgia’s requirement that criminal history records be disclosed in certain situations. Known as expungement, this is an important step for individuals who have served their time and need to reintegrate into the workforce. Status: The bill was amended onto Senate Bill 157 but never came to a vote.
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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 improve education and life outcomes for all students.
A new proclamation from Governor Brian Kemp has designated January 21-27, 2024, as School Choice Week in Georgia. Georgia is one of several states holding this event as part of National School Choice Week.
National School Choice Week is an annual, multi-state initiative that engages parents, schools, community organizations, and elected officials in promoting the benefits of school choice and the education options available within each state.
Georgia Governor Bill Kemp’s proclamation highlights the commitment to fostering diverse educational options so that the state is investing in one of our state’s most valuable resources: our students and their futures.
Georgia Governor Bill Kemp proudly celebrates National School Choice Week with a proclamation, adorned with official seals and signatures. The proclamation highlights the commitment to fostering diverse educational options for students throughout the state.
School Choice Week focuses on giving parents and educators the tools to improve education outcomes for all students
First and foremost, School Choice Week celebrates the fact that every kid is unique. While public schools will continue to be a great option for many students, states are realizing that families need more education choices and flexibility overall. There’s no one-size-fits-all learning environment that can accommodate the diversity of learning needs that exist within our communities.
Parents know this well—so much so that the desire to give kids a quality, customized education motivated one in five parents to switch schools between March 2020 and May 2022. In 2023, polling found that 75% of parents, including two-thirds of Hispanic parents, supported more choices within the K-12 education system. Teachers share this support, as well: A majority think that Education Savings Accounts are a good idea.
Why all the positive support for school choice? More choice in education is a win for everyone. It expands opportunities for all families, not just those who can afford to make a choice or live in a certain area. States with robust choice programs tend to achieve better academic outcomes for all students, including those in the public school system.
These education outcomes are directly linked to students’ long-term success. Students who complete high school tend to have higher lifetime earnings, better health, more involvement in their communities, decreased mortality rates, fewer criminal records, and lower teen pregnancy rates.
With so much at stake, a child’s zip code should not limit their access to a quality education.
Georgia has opportunities to expand education options in 2024
Georgia’s School Choice Week coincides with the early weeks of the 2024 legislative session, making it a good time to consider the opportunities our elected officials have to shape a more modern, equitable education system in Georgia.
Here are few ways Georgia lawmakers could expand access to quality education for families this year:
Pass Promise Scholarships (SB 233): The Georgia Promise Scholarship is a proposed education choice program that would allow parents to access the best schooling option for their child. These state-funded scholarships would give parents $6,500 per student for each school year and expand opportunity for kids in the bottom 25% of public schools. The bill needs to be passed by the House in 2024 and receive the governor’s signature in order to be enacted.
Increase the Tax Credit Scholarship Cap: Costs often put private school options out of reach for lower and middle-income households. Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program alleviates some of this inequity by making private school scholarships available to K-12 public school students in need. Raising the scholarship cap would allow the program to serve even more kids. In 2024, the House of Representatives is considering a bill that would raise the cap from $120 million to $130 million.
Allow Public School Transfers: We often think of school choice as alternatives to public schools, but there are ways to build flexibility into the public school system itself. This is a worthwhile goal because strong public schools will continue to be beneficial to communities. A proposed senate bill would allow students to transfer to a different public school within their district or a different district, making it easier for families to access the public school best suited to their child’s needs. Georgia Senators have a chance to pass that bill in the current session.
Behind all of these potential reforms, there’s a significant question about the future of education in Georgia: Will we keep pace with other states expanding education opportunity, or will Georgia continue to fall further behind?
Ways to participate in Georgia’s School Choice Week
For communities, school choice is a powerful tool. When options exist—both public schools and alternatives—parents, educators, and communities have tools to focus on what matters most: Nurturing the development, success, and happiness of Georgia’s kids.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp used a significant portion of his State of the State address today to urge lawmakers to expand educational opportunity in the new session. Kemp said:
Many members in both chambers have worked hard on this important issue and I want to thank and applaud them for their efforts. Some prefer the term school choice or educational freedom, some call them vouchers.
In my opinion, what each of those terms or slogans fail to mention is the child. At the end of the day, our first and foremost consideration should be the future of that student.
Our job is not to decide for each family, but to support them in making the best choice for their child.
This week, as we begin the second year of another biennial of the General Assembly, I believe we have run out of “next years.”
I firmly believe we can take an all-of-the-above approach to education… whether it’s public, private, homeschooling, charter, or otherwise.
It is time for all parties to get around a table and agree on the best path forward to provide our kids the best educational opportunities we can – because that’s what we were elected to do.
To that end, my office and I look forward to working with the members and leadership of both chambers to get a bill passed and signed into law this session.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Gov. Kemp is exactly right — the time for educational opportunity is now, and Promise Scholarships are the best step forward to accomplish it,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of public policy for GCO. “With the governor, we applaud the courageous lawmakers who have championed Promise Scholarships in the House and Senate, and we encourage those who are still holding out on their support to consider what’s best for children, not what’s best for a system. We look forward to working with the governor and legislative leaders to make Promise Scholarships a reality this session.”
Key Points
Building off our success in 2023, the new year presents unique opportunities to build better lives for our neighbors through the power of work, education, family, and safer communities.
Our goal is for 2024 to be the year that safety-net reform takes hold in states across the country, while educational freedom becomes a reality at home here in Georgia as Promise Scholarships finally become a reality.
We hope this year will also bring safer communities in big and small cities alike through key public safety reforms.
One word that often comes to mind at the beginning of a new year is “hope.” As 2024 dawns, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is working hard to help everyone — especially the poor and disadvantaged — experience the wonder of hope by envisioning a better future for themselves and their loved ones. They can live better. They can become better.
Time and time again, government has proven that it can’t help people escape systemic, generational poverty. While the safety net is important, viewing it as a way of life saps people of their humanity and unfairly limits their potential. The poor deserve to know that poverty is escapable, not just survivable. And they deserve a helping hand to escape.
These solutions come from homes, neighborhoods, and local communities. This is where aspirations and dreams are born. No handout can substitute for this.
With this vision in mind, we will be dedicating 2024 to making positive changes in a few key areas that greatly affect the quality and trajectory of life for those who are most vulnerable. We built significant momentum last year on a range of issues, and that’s setting the stage for even bigger impact this year.
Here’s some of what’s on tap for us in the new year.
Safety-net reform will yield new opportunities
We’re taking on the safety-net system by advancing reforms in Congress, Georgia, and states across the country to create a more humane system that rewards work and creates a bridge to self-sufficiency.
We should look to Utah as an example of a state in the nation that is leading the way on safety-net reforms. The Beehive State’s One Door policy has integrated human services with workforce services and provides citizens with a single program to work through. Welfare becomes work support, and people have a clear path to get the help they need while receiving education, training, and other support to find employment. This year, working with our Alliance for Opportunity partnership as a platform, we are advancing federal legislation to allow all states to adopt the One Door model—something that federal law currently prohibits. In Georgia, we are working with state policymakers to create a One Door task force so that our state is prepared to implement more holistic safety-net policies, especially when federal law is no longer a barrier.
On a similar front, we are working to educate lawmakers and the public on the problem of benefits cliffs. Put simply, benefits cliffs are when an individual, family, or household loses more in net income and benefits from governmental assistance programs than it gains from additional earnings. This net loss is a perverse incentive that undermines the natural desire to earn more income. Thanks to GCO’s original research, we are crafting program-specific solutions to reduce benefits cliffs in food stamps/SNAP and childcare assistance.
These solutions will build off the momentum created in states like Missouri, which became the first last year to address public assistance provisions, breaking ground in reforming safety-net benefits.
Safety-net programs have a role in helping the most vulnerable in our society. Ultimately, reforms are not about making government more efficient. They are about ensuring safety-net progams serve as a bridge, not a barrier, to better opportunities and futures.
Expanding educational opportunity will benefit all students
Could 2024 be the year that—finally—education opportunity is extended to all of Georgia’s students, not just a privileged few?
Our hope is the answer is yes. We’re fighting to give every child in Georgia access to a quality education as the Georgia Promise Scholarship bill comes back for a final vote in the recently convened 2024 legislative session. Promise Scholarships would give parents $6,500 per student per year to find the right education option for their kids. The bill cleared the state Senate in 2023 but stalled in the House.
Promise Scholarships are the cornerstone of our education agenda in 2024, but they are not the only priority. We are also encouraging lawmakers to expand the ceiling on the tax-credit scholarship, to free up families to transfer students between public schools within districts and in separate districts entirely, and make key improvements to charter school laws.
It’s well past time Georgia caught up with the rapidly growing list of other forward-thinking states that are expanding educational opportunity to all.
Support for parents will strengthen families
This year is an exciting phase for our Raising Highly Capable Kids (RHCK) program, which we launched in 2023 to give communities a better resource for nurturing family stability and well-being.
RHCK is a 13-week evidence-based parenting program designed to build stronger families by empowering parents with the confidence, tools, and skills they need to raise healthy, caring, and responsible children.
A driving factor of long-term poverty is a lack of connection and supportive relationships, especially at home. That’s why we are prioritizing RHCK. At its heart is a curriculum that teaches the building blocks of healthy child development. In 2024, we’re working with partners and schools to expand RHCK. We believe the program will be a powerful way to give parents, caregivers, and educators tools and support to improve kids’ academic achievement, relationships, and overall success in life.
In 2024, the Georgia Center for Opportunity spearheads transformative initiatives, ranging from safety-net reforms and educational advancements to family support and community safety, all geared towards breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering a brighter, more empowered future for individuals and families.
In 2024, the Georgia Center for Opportunity spearheads transformative initiatives, ranging from safety-net reforms and educational advancements to family support and community safety, all geared towards breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering a brighter, more empowered future for individuals and families.
Key reforms will lead to safer communities
Community violence is another barrier to economic opportunity and healthy communities. Individuals and families can only truly thrive when neighborhoods and streets are safe.
Through community collaborations with law enforcement, policymakers, and community leaders, we’ll help Georgia cities like Atlanta and Columbus reverse the tide of rising violence that has been damaging the family bonds, work opportunities, and educational pathways needed to break the cycle of poverty.
Our team is also active in moving forward policy in other states, including California, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington State, and Kentucky. In Louisville, for example, our work has helped shape an omnibus crime solution bill, which is expected to pass their state House this year. Louisville is important as a national example because it’s one of the most challenging public safety environments in the country, and solutions that work in this city have a good probability of working elsewhere—including Georgia.
Breaking down employment barriers will transform generations
For those who struggle in poverty, an upwardly mobile job is often the first and best step toward self-sufficiency. That’s why we will continue to work through our BETTER WORK initiative in Gwinnett County and Columbus to build our local support systems to empower men and women to find work. We’ll also cultivate an environment of community safety where business and job opportunities abound.
In Columbus, a new focus for 2024 will be on partnering with local leaders and law enforcement to keep crime from driving away businesses and job opportunities. Meanwhile in Gwinnett, we’re laser focused on building out our network of employer partners, nonprofits, schools, and other community organizations to provide a bridge to a better life for the disadvantaged. And overall, we will continue our partnership with Jobs for Life as well as our mentor program.
Key Points
Research has shown that safe communities, stable relationships, and meaningful education and work are essential to making poverty escapable.
In 2023, we focused on helping communities develop solutions and tools to improve public safety, jobs, education and student achievement, and family formation.
Through these accomplishments in 2023, more communities are being empowered to help people imagine and pursue better futures for themselves.
It seems like everywhere you go these days, people are struggling. You can see it on street corners, in grocery stores, in news headlines, and—most heartbreaking of all—in the eyes of the people who have lost hope.
What they need is opportunity. And that’s exactly what the mission of the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is built to deliver. As the year draws to a close, let’s take a moment to celebrate the good that has been done to alleviate poverty by removing barriers to opportunity and creating conditions that empower people to flourish and achieve their full potential.
The good news is that research consistently shows that people who experience personal safety, get a good education, find meaningful work, and have healthy, committed relationships only have a 2% chance of falling into poverty. And for those currently living in poverty, these opportunities are the way out to experience freedom and flourishing.
In 2023, GCO celebrated big wins in several key areas that foster community transformation: public safety, jobs, education, and family formation. Here are a few examples of how we’ve helped our neighbors live better and build thriving communities.
Public safety
Thanks to our public safety research, we convened state policymakers and city leaders inAtlanta andColumbus to look at the causes of increasing violence, and provided a proven set of practical solutions for reducing crime—especially in low-income communities. At the national level, our public safety recommendations were well received in Dallas andLouisville, and anopinion piece we co-authored reached 28.7 million people through Newsweek. Soon thereafter, MSN and other media outlets amplified its reach to another 167.1 million Americans.
And given how important it is for people to live in safe communities where they feel comfortable walking around and living their lives, we also createda resource page on our website so that elected officials, law enforcement, and community leaders can easily find the best practices for addressing crime.
Workforce
On the jobs front, ourBETTER WORK program continues to help communities build local employment support systems that bring employers, nonprofits, and community partners together to help more Georgians find local jobs. We’ve alsojoined forces with Lyft to help people get to work and focused on solutions to the benefits cliff challenges that keep many mired in government dependency.
Safety-net reform
This year, GCO remained on the vanguard of educating lawmakers and the public about the need for reforming the safety net. Broadly, we worked to reveal the challenges posed by benefits cliffs, which discourage people from looking for meaningful work and gaining independence. Specifically, we expanded our impact to Utah, Arkansas, and Missouri, in addition to launching aredesigned benefits cliffs website and calculator that adds Utah and West Virginia to the models.
As we educate states and businesses about the benefits cliff problem within the welfare system, we are also developing solutions that equip them to do something about it. This year, we released our first report focused on benefits cliffs solutions, which focused on fixes for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Education
Our efforts to expand educational opportunity have given nearly 84,000 Georgia kids access to the schooling option that best fits their needs. And we led efforts to advance a groundbreakingschool choice bill through the state senate. This means there’s strong momentum going into 2024 to expand education options for 500,000 more students stuck in Georgia’s failing schools. We also updated ourEducation Guide for parents and received the Lilburn Middle School Business Partner Recognition Award for partnering to deliver free relationship education classes for parents and students.
See How The Georgia Center For Opportunity Is Expanding Hope In 2024!
See How The Georgia Center For Opportunity Is Expanding Hope In 2024!
Family
For families, parents continued to graduate from ourStrengthening Families Program. And GCO kicked off ourRaising Highly Capable Kids (RHCK) program with a vision-casting meeting attended by more than 20 community organizations. By reaching into homes, schools, and faith-based groups, RHCK teaches parents how to raise responsible, caring kids—and turns local communities into nurturing places where healthy families help people escape poverty. An example of how RHCK brings key stakeholders together to foster thriving families is the Lilly Endowment grant that introduced theParents First Initiative to Lawrenceville.
National and state impact
Finally, GCO had a number of important wins with far-reaching, favorable media coverage on topics we care deeply about. This means that our voice was out there advancing importance conversations about human flourishing. For example,The Wall Street Journal ran our opinion piece calling out pre- and post-COVID crime comparisons for what they really are—an excuse not to blame bad public safety policies. And RealClearPolicy ran anarticle on our ideas to make safety nets more successful at turning welfare into work support.
Beyond these, GCO’s views were featured in important conversations about Georgia’s position among the leading states foreconomic freedom and why people remaintrapped in poverty when there are so many public assistance programs. And for those concerned about rising crime across the nation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution carried ourmust-read piece on public safety.
Wrapping up
Of course, these are just a handful of GCO’s successes in 2023. Yet each win adds to the legacy we are building to help our neighbors enjoy meaningful and productive lives in safe, vibrant communities that value work, education, and family. We’re proud of our successes this year, and we look forward to continuing to advance common-sense policy solutions in 2024 that bring greater peace, dignity, and freedom to individuals and families across Georgia and beyond.
Key Points
The Georgia Promise Scholarship is a state-supported form of financial aid for students who need an alternative to traditional public school education.
The Tax Credit Scholarship Program could continue to serve students who are not eligible for a Promise Scholarship. Students would not be able to receive both scholarships.
Promise Scholarships and Tax Credit Scholarships are complementary programs. Together, they diversify the sources and types of aid available to families and can broaden the potential applicant pool for private schools without creating additional fundraising burdens.
The Georgia Promise Scholarship is a state-supported form of financial aid for students leaving public school in search of a better educational setting. Under the proposed legislation, Senate Bill 233, eligible students would have $6,500—funds that the state would have spent on their public school education—set aside in an account. Parents then could direct that money to pay for educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, uniforms, and even transportation.
Georgia already has two scholarship-based programs:
The Special Needs Scholarship Program, which allows students with special education needs to choose the public or private school best suited for their situation. In the event that families choose a private school, the state provides a scholarship equal to the amount the student would have received for state-based education services.
The Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which expands access to private schools for families who otherwise could not afford that option.
Adding another scholarship program to Georgia’s menu of education options naturally raises questions about what Promise Scholarships would do and who would be affected. For Georgia’s private schools, these questions are top-of-mind as they seek to understand how Promise Scholarships would impact the Tax Credit Scholarship Program and potentially put other requirements on private schools.
Join the movement to give every child in Georgia the education they deserve! Visit Everykid.info to learn how you can make a difference and learn valuable information for parents on how you can help provide quality education for all Georgia kids. Don’t wait – visit Everykid.info now!
Join the movement to give every child in Georgia the education they deserve! Visit Everykid.info to learn how you can make a difference and learn valuable information for parents on how you can help provide quality education for all Georgia kids. Don’t wait – visit Everykid.info now!
Promise Scholarship (SB 233) FAQs for Georgia’s Private Schools
Which students would be eligible for a Promise Scholarship?
Students currently attending public schools that are ranked in the bottom 25% of all public schools in academic performance. In 2024, the House of Representatives introduced changes to SB 233 that further narrow eligibility:
The bill now gives first priority to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after the lower-income students are served.
A funding cap was also put on the program. Funding for Promise Scholarships cannot exceed 1% of public school funding. Even if parent demand maxes out the program, this amount would only cover an estimated 22,000 kids.
Are Promise Scholarship dollars limited solely to tuition and expenses related to private school education?
No. Unlike existing school choice programs in the state such as the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship and the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship Program, the resources students receive from the Promise Scholarship are more flexible. In addition to private school tuition, allowable expenses could include tutoring and therapies—even offered outside of the private school setting—as well as curriculum and materials for homeschooling.
What is required by the state of Georgia for a private school to accept students using Promise Scholarship dollars?
The requirements for private schools under the Promise Scholarship program substantially mirror the requirements for private schools already participating in either the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program or the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship Program. If you already participate in either or both programs, there will be very few (if any) new requirements.
In order to serve students with a Promise Scholarship, private schools must:
Have been in operation for one school year.
Submit aggregate data of Promise Scholarship Students’ attendance rates and course completion rates.*
Report on-time graduation rates of Promise Scholarship Students.*
Comply with the anti-discrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d.
Comply with state laws applicable to private schools.
Be physically located in Georgia.
Administer to Promise Scholarship Students at least one norm-referenced test that measures academic progress in math and language arts per year.*
*Requirement is unique to the Promise Scholarship program and not currently required by the Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
Would the creation of the Promise Scholarship program negatively impact existing school choice programs, such as the Tax Credit Scholarship Program?
No. The programs should be viewed as complementary to one another, allowing for a greater pool of financial aid for prospective private school families.
Students would be prohibited from receiving both a Promise Scholarship and a scholarship from an SSO under the Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship Program. However, the Promise Scholarship program gives each participating student $6,500 directly from the state—a higher value than the average scholarships awarded by SSOs under the tax credit program.
The Tax Credit Scholarship Program could continue to serve students who are not eligible for a Promise Scholarship.
Are there any protections for private schools, particularly faith-based schools, against state regulation as a result of accepting Promise Scholarship students and dollars?
Yes. Modeled after similar provisions in other states, there is explicit language in the bill prohibiting the state from requiring a private school or other participating provider to alter the creed, practices, admissions and employment policies, or curricula.
What’s the key takeaway for Georgia’s private schools?
The Promise Scholarship Program and the Tax Credit Scholarship Program would be complementary to one another. Together, these two programs diversify the sources and types of aid available to families and can broaden the potential applicant pool for private schools without creating additional fundraising burdens.
A new Cygnal poll of likely general election voters in Georgia shows a 68% favorability margin for the concept of “school choice,” with 76% of parents in favor. Support levels for education savings accounts sit at 60%, support for refundable education tax credits at 55%, and support for traditional public schools at 65%.
Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Families want Georgia to be the best place to educate their child, and they want to have say in how that’s done,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of policy for GCO. “Generally speaking, the poll shows that while a majority of people in the state are satisfied with their child’s education, there is glowing support — at or above 70% — for more education options for families. And there is nearly 90% support for every child to have access to good school options, not just failing schools. Support for education is pretty similar whether it is private, public, or even homeschooling. As we invest in educating the public we must open up to a new generation of education. Georgia can and should lead on how to deliver a forward-thinking education that is responsive to family’s and kid’s needs.”
