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Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Vouchers: The Next Frontier
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers waited until literally the last minute to pass some of this legislative session’s major education bills. Undeniably, the biggest: The creation of a voucher program so that special education students currently enrolled in K-12 public schools may attend other public or private campuses.
The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act, which was hotly debated throughout the session, barely passed on the final day. But that was cold comfort for those who think private school tuition shouldn’t be paid for with public tax dollars.
Unless the governor vetoes the bill, the State Board of Education will be scrambling in coming weeks to create rules for the program, which will go into effect next school year.
The question now: What kind of requirements will the board place on private schools that accept the scholarship — say, mandating state tests for voucher students — and will private campuses find those rules too onerous to participate?
