ATLANTA (AP) — On the final day of Georgia’s 2023 legislative session, 16 Republican members of the House of Representatives, the majority of whom are local representatives He ignored pressure from Gov. Brian Kemp and conservative groups to vote down the education voucher plan.
Supporters have since lobbied to reverse six votes to reverse the bill’s 89-85 defeat, with all remaining “no” votes going to Democrats.
But the Georgia lawmaker’s return on Monday didn’t faze some Republican naysayers.
“We’re not going to abandon public education at this point,” said Rep. J. Collins, R-Villa Rica, adding, “Taking money away from public education is not the solution.”
Georgia’s push is Part of a national Republican wave A fight is brewing over what kids should learn in public schools in favor of education savings accounts after the pandemic. But not all Republican states have taken school choice for granted. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s yearlong push for vouchers has failed, also sunk by local Republican opposition.
Georgia’s proposed $6,500 could be used to pay for private school tuition, home study supplies, therapy, tutoring and even early college courses. Under last year’s proposal, school districts would maintain local property taxes. But opponents remain concerned about resource depletion, with state aid being cut for each student who drops out, making life even worse for remaining students.
“Once you start pulling students out, you’re cutting teachers, and when you cut teachers, you’re cutting services for other students,” said Rep. Gerald Green, a Republican from Cuthbert. .
Senate Bill 233 Kyle Wingfield, president and CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, which supports vouchers, said the bill is still pending in the House Education Committee and could be resurfaced as soon as a majority passes. He said there is.
“We believe there is enough movement given the changes in the bill to get us there,” Wingfield said.
One possible change would be to eliminate a framework that only qualifies students from schools that score in the bottom 25% of state academic assessments. Opponents say it amounts to punishing schools.
“Our schools are struggling to begin with, so everyone said, ‘Well, that’s why you vote for them.'” No, that’s not the case, Green said. “Let’s see what we can do to help these schools in Southwest Georgia.”
Wingfield disagreed, saying vouchers would “encourage” schools to compete and improve.
“It’s really about how we fit the needs of the individual child, whether they attend a traditional public school or not,” he said.
Kemp, a Republican, joined the fight during the 2023 session, but was unable to push through any measures that would sharpen his conservative credentials. Republican House Speaker John Burns of Newington also supports the plan, but he is not trying to force support from other Republicans.
State Rep. Danny Mattis of Cochrane and Republican state Rep. Bess of Concord both said their biggest concern is accountability for state funds.
“We know nothing about what private schools do, how they are set up, how teachers are hired, how testing is done. I can’t say,” Cochran said.
Camp said he wants people to audit their spending, whether it’s checking a homeschool parent’s receipts or an accountant looking at a private school’s books.
“If you’re going to give state funding to another organization, you need to make sure there’s some oversight,” Camp said, adding that he has had “positive conversations” with advocates about requesting an audit. .
Some Republican advocacy groups have warned that Republicans seeking re-election this year could face an anti-Republican backlash in the primary.
Late Speaker of the House David Ralston Discarded another voucher bill in 2022, after a group sent out a mailer suggesting that some Republicans would “give in to the radical left” if they didn’t support vouchers.
Cole Muzio, president of the Conservative Frontline Policy Council, said Republican primary voters want “real leadership” on this issue.
“The election could really change that discussion,” Muzio said. “I think there were some really good people who voted ‘no’ on school choice. I really hope they change their vote.”
But Republican opponents say they are not afraid of political rebuke.
“The truth is, public education is just fine in my district, but I know there are things that need improvement,” Mathis said.