By COLlive reporter
The Georgia General Assembly voted on Thursday to pass SB 233, a major expansion of school choice in the state.
Under the proposal titled The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, the state would provide Education Savings Accounts (ESA) of $6,500 per year to all eligible students who opt out of their assigned public school.
The funds can be used by parents on a wide range of education expenses including private school tuition.
Students who are attending public schools ranked in the bottom 25 percent of the state, or are entering kindergarten for the first time and would otherwise be assigned to one of those schools are eligible for an ESA.
The new ESA program is in addition to Georgia’s Special Needs Scholarship and Private School Tax Credit Program. Two years ago, the state expanded the tax credit program, a longtime priority of Agudath Israel, by 20% to $120 million, a cap which was immediately met due to its popularity.
“Agudath Israel commends the Georgia General Assembly for taking an important first step toward true parental empowerment,” said Rabbi Ari Weisenfeld, associate director of Agudath Israel of America’s Office of State Relations. “We look forward to working with elected officials and coalition partners to extend the “Georgia Promise” to every child next session.”
Rabbi Isser New, Associate Director of Chabad of Georgia and Executive Director of the Chaya Mushka Children’s House (CMCH), a Primary and Elementary Jewish school in Sandy Springs, was positive about the development.
He told COLlive.com that while his school won’t immediately benefit from the bill, “We are hopeful that this will lead to an expansion of this program and address the needs of most, if not all, kids in Georgia.”
The bill now heads to Governor Brian Kemp who is expected to sign it into law.
