Legislation that would allow the state to pay for private school scholarships resurfaced Wednesday after an earlier defeat.
In an outcome that surprised many public school advocates earlier this month, the Georgia Senate sided with them and narrowly rejected Senate Bill 173.
It sought to establish "scholarship" accounts through which parents could direct the $5,500 on average in state money now going to their child's public school. The money could have gone to a private school instead, or to other educational costs, including textbooks, tutoring or even therapy. Critics labeled it a "voucher" bill.
It prioritized certain groups of vulnerable students, but any current public school student would have been eligible. It was expected to eventually cost as much as half a billion dollars a year.
Despite the defeat, the language from SB 173 resurfaced Wednesday when it was attached to another education bill that already passed the House of Representatives, House Bill 68, which was added Wednesday afternoon to the agenda for the day's meeting of the Senate Education and Youth Committee.
The new version limits access to vulnerable students, which excludes the general population, said Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, the author. He said it also cuts the ultimate total participation in half compared with the defeated version, to 2.5 percent of statewide enrollment. It's unclear how much it will cost, and there was debate in the committee hearing about whether the actual language accomplished what Dolezal said it did.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is following the hearing. Return for a report on the outcome.
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