SUMMARY:

            This bill would amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the O.C.G.A. to provide vouchers for parents to enroll their students in another public school within the system, a public school in a neighboring system, or in a private school with the money to follow the child.

REQUIREMENTS:

• A parent could request that his/her student attend another public school within the resident school system.  The public school council would have an annual policy to establish rules for admission of such students.
• Parents would have to provide transportation.
• Parents would have to sign a contract that the student would abide by all rules and procedures upon penalty of expulsion from the school.
• Once accepted, the student could not otherwise be removed until his education is completed.
• Requests to send students to a public school outside the resident system would be the decision of the receiving school board with input from the school council of the desired school.  All requirements listed above would apply if the request should be granted.
• Funding would follow the child to the new system:
  • QBE formula earnings to include
    • Salary potion of direct instruction;
    • T&E adjustment;
    • Non-salary portion of indirect costs;
    • Earnings for psychologists, social workers, school administration, M&O, media centers, additional instruction days and staff development;
  • QBE grants;
  • Federal grants earned by the school based on enrollment;
  • A proportional share of state categorical grants, non-QBE state grants, state equalization grants and all other state and federal grants
  • An amount determined by the DOE equal to a proportional share of local revenue from the school system in which the student resides, said amount to be deducted from the home system's QBE earnings.
• The (state only) funding listed above could also follow the student to a private school as a scholarship.  Eligibility for such scholarships would include:
  • Parents have been Georgia residents for at least one year;
  • The student has been enrolled in a Georgia public school the prior year;
  • The student has been admitted to a private school;
  • The parent submits an application by the deadline established by the DOE. 

• Parents must be notified annually of this option.
• Parents of scholarship children assume full financial responsibility for the funds mentioned above plus transportation.
• Parents would be able to request that the student take state tests, and those students' results would not be applied to system averages of the public school system.
• DOJJ students are not eligible.
• The scholarship would be continued until the student leaves the private school or graduates.
• To be eligible to receive scholarship students, a participating school would have to:
  • Be located in Georgia and have direct contact between students and teachers;
  • Be determined financially sound and insured;
  • Comply with antidiscrimination provisions of federal law;
  • Comply with all laws, including health and safety laws, that apply to private schools;
  • Report regularly to DOE and the parents academic progress, including pre- and post-tests given in accordance with DOE guidelines;
  • Employ or contract with teachers holding a bachelor’s degree or higher or have 3 years of experience in education and provide credentials to parents annually.
• Home schools are not eligible to enroll scholarship students.
• Residential treatment facilities are not eligible to enroll scholarship students.
• The state could not impose any other requirements on private schools as a result of this bill.
• Private schools intending to enroll scholarship students must apply in the preceding year to accept those students.
• SBOE must make lists of participating schools available to school systems and parents.
• Private schools who misrepresent information or fail to refund to the state any scholarship overpayments could be barred from participation
• Private schools accepting scholarships could expect to receive the lesser of:
  • State funds that would have gone to the public school system in which the student resides;
  • The amount of the private school’s tuition and fees, including any assessment fees required by the private school.
• Scholarship students would be counted in their residential school system but not included in state or federal accountability requirements.
• Funds for the scholarship would be subtracted from the resident school system’s allotments annually.  However, each local system would have to submit quarterly reports regarding the number of scholarship students in their systems, and the funds would be transferred from the system’s allotment into a scholarship account the amount of funds for the scholarships.
• Quarterly payments would then go to the schools of choice.
• Parents could receive “warrants” (euphemism for “voucher”) that could be signed over to private schools without using a power of attorney.
• Pre-payments required by private schools could be paid by the DOE with that amount subtracted from subsequent quarterly payments up to a maximum of $1,000.00.
• SBOE would adopt rules governing the procedures and requirements for participation.
• OSA would provide annual reports on the scholarship program to the General Assembly each year by December 1 and post it on their web site.

NOTES:

• The administrative time it would take to keep up with the record-keeping, notifications, transfer of money and filing of reports would distract mightily from instructional focus of public schools in the state.
• Local boards of education are left out of the decision regarding acceptance of students from one system school to another, though the boards are responsible for the operations of the schools chosen and the schools left.
• No requirements or expectations for the public reporting of student performance at the private schools are listed, nor do they appear anywhere else in the law.
• Even though the private schools are accepting taxpayer's money, there is no requirement that they report publicly how those taxpayer's funds are being spent.