Expanding special needs scholarship program under consideration in Georgia Legislature
(The Center Square) – Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand the state’s special needs scholarship program.
The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program offers scholarships to students with individualized education plans to attend a private school or a public school of their choice. Senate Bill 47 would expand the program to students with 504 plans.
Individualized education plans provide special education learning environments for children with certain disabilities, while 504 plans require schools to make accommodations for students while they learn alongside their peers. A 504 plan could provide students with extra time for assessments, breakout instruction or modified assignments, among other things.
About 5,000 Georgia public school students with individualized education plans are enrolled in the scholarship program, said Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, one of the bill’s sponsors. The program costs the state about $33 million based on current enrollment levels. The measure would make the 58,000 public school students with 504 pans eligible to apply for the program.
SB 47 also would allow preschoolers with either plan to qualify for the program and extends the program to children without a plan who have been diagnosed with a range of conditions. Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, said that provision could open the door for parents to abuse the system.
“Some of them are behavioral/emotional, where it is going to be a little easier to gain the system,” Parent said. “ADHD, autism, bipolar, or alcohol abuse, emotional, behavioral disorder.”
Gooch said most parents are not that eager to transfer their children from their neighborhood school to another district, especially when it may come with additional costs such as transportation, tuition or other private school fees.
Critics of the scholarship program argue it redirects state money from public schools to private schools.
“The message is: if the school is not serving your child well, the state would rather subsidize private schools than support the system serving all children,” said Stephen Owens, senior policy analyst at Georgia Budget Policy Institute.
About 249 private schools are enrolled in the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program. The average scholarship is $6,672, Gooch said. The average private school tuition in Georgia is about $10,411 per year, according to privateschoolreview.com.
The Senate Education and Youth Committee approved the measure Tuesday. The full Senate and House must approve SB 47 before it can be sent to Gov. Brian Kemp for final approval.
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