This session, GOP education initiatives have focused on encouraging charter schools and allowing some families to use taxpayer funds to send students to private schools.
The House has passed a bill that would allow proposed charters schools to bypass local school boards to get approval from a special state panel. The Senate has given its approval to a measure that would create "scholarships," which critics call "vouchers," that would allow students in consistently underperforming schools to attend private schools.
The General Assembly also passed bills increasing voucher and charter school options last year.
The movement toward school choice is, Republican leaders say, an attempt to give students and parents a chance to educate their children in a way that could shake up the status quo that has produced subpar test scores for decades.
"I would argue that our ultimate intent is to strengthen public education," said Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, and sponsor of the voucher measure.
Johnson said that his measure would inject competition into education, giving schools an extra incentive to improve academic achievement in an effort to attract more students. Charter schools, which are public schools freed from some of the state's regulations, also give parents a public option when they might otherwise consider sending their children to private schools.
But critics disagree.
Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, a teachers' organization that has 72,000 members, said the movement toward vouchers was part of a grander scheme.
"Our larger concern is the dismantling and defunding of public education," he said, pointing to education cuts over the last several years that have totaled around $1.5 billion.
He noted that Johnson's bill to create vouchers for underperforming schools comes after a similar measure, approved last year, giving scholarships to students with disabilities.
"It's simply an increasing movement towards voucherizing schools in Georgia," Callahan said.
But Johnson said he had no intention of introducing this year's voucher bills until he got to Atlanta and heard that Clayton County could be stripped of its accreditation and the State Department of Education was making plans to create categories for schools that have failed to meet federal standards for a decade.
He said his current measure, Senate Bill 458, will likely be the last piece of voucher legislation for a while.
"I don't know where else you go from here," Johnson said. "We're not going to universal vouchers anytime soon, or certainly in what's left of my political career."
And the House last week passed a budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, restoring $90 million worth of the education cuts.
"We're putting more money into education," Johnson said. "Nobody's dismantling it."
Brandon Larrabee can be reached at brandon.larrabee@morris.com or 678-977-3709.
NEW SCHOOL OPTIONS
The Republican leadership in the House and Senate have moved aggressively over the last two years to create new schooling alternatives for parents and students. Here's a look at some of the proposals.
HOUSE BILL 831
What it does: Would allow for state matching funds to flow to charter school organizations when private groups or individuals donate money to buy land or make capital improvements.
Sponsor: Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth
Status: Passed the House of Representatives 137-21; sent to Senate Finance Committee.
HOUSE BILL 881
What it does: The measure creates a Charter School Commission that would be allowed to grant charters to schools in certain areas even if the local school board doesn't agree. Current law requires local approval to create a charter school. Supporters say it would allow parents and others to create a charter school even if a stubborn local board clamps down on efforts to do so. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators says the bill should include a clause requiring a vote of parents and teachers before the school forms.
Sponsor: Rep. Jan Jones, R-Alpharetta
Status: Passed the House of Representatives 119-48; approved by the Senate Education and Youth Committee.
HOUSE BILL 1209
What it does: The bill would create a contract system that would allow local school districts to get increasing flexibility with the funding they receive from the state in exchange for commitments to increase education achievement. A district that agrees to take on additional education standards would then be freed of some of the strings that come with state funding. School systems could continue to take money under the current system. They could also request to become "charter systems," which have an even greater degree of freedom. The idea was proposed by the Governor's Education Finance Task Force.
Sponsor: Rep. Brooks Coleman, R-Duluth
Status: Passed the House of Representatives 112-58; sent to Senate Education and Youth Committee
SENATE BILL 10
What it does: Allows students with disabilities to receive taxpayer money to provide for private education.
Sponsor: Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, R-Savannah
Status: Passed the House and Senate last year and was signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
SENATE BILL 39
What it does: Allows entire school systems to become "charter systems," which can avoid some state regulations in the same way charter schools do. The idea was a key piece of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's education agenda last year.
Sponsor: Sen. Dan Weber, R-Dunwoody
Status: Passed the House and Senate last year and was signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
SENATE BILL 458
What it does: The measure would create a new, taxpayer-funded voucher allowing students in consistently underperforming schools and school systems to go to private schools instead. A school system would have to lose its accreditation for students to be eligible for the vouchers. A school would have to lose its accreditation or fail to meet federal education standards for eight consecutive years.
Sponsor: Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, R-Savannah
Status: Passed the Senate 32-21; sent to House Science and Technology Committee
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