A bill that would grant vouchers to children who are in schools that consistently underperform or lose their accreditation —- which could happen to Clayton County schools this year —- narrowly passed the Senate on Wednesday after hours of debate.

The bill, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), allows students in chronically failing schools to transfer to public or private schools. In a system like Clayton, parents would receive vouchers for $4,100, the state's portion of education funding per child, if they chose a private school.

Johnson said the bill gives parents a "life line" to get out.

"If we're on the Titanic, let's put the children in the lifeboats and worry about who hit the iceberg later," he said.

The bill passed 32-21.

The 53,000 students in Clayton County Public Schools have been under a threat of a loss of accreditation, which would mean graduates would not be eligible for HOPE scholarships and would have trouble getting into colleges or transferring to other schools.

Joshua Penny, head of the Clayton Student Coalition, said the legislation helps ease student worries.

"That give us another option and it puts private school in reach for us," said Joshua, a 16-year-old Jonesboro High School student. "I'm really happy for it, but I hope we don't have to use it."

The bill also allows transfers for students in schools that have been on the state's "Needs Improvement" list for seven consecutive years. The voucher option would end if the school moved off the list.

Critics have opposed the voucher option, worrying that putting money in private schools will hurt public schools.

Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) said he would rather "scrape the gold from the Capitol Dome" than cut money from the public education system.

Tim Callahan, a spokesman for the 72,000-member Professional Association of Georgia Educators, accused Johnson of using legislation to try to break up Georgia's public school system and send taxpayer dollars to private schools.

"We don't support it and we're not pleased it's moving forward," Callahan said. "The Legislature seems to be a bunch of folks not particularly in support of public schools. This seems to be another sign of the times."

Supporters say it could force school boards and systems to do a better job.

Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland) scolded his own school district for building a $30 million administration building while some of their schools remain on the "needs improvement" list.

"This bill does one thing; it tells school boards to get your priorities straight."

Staff writer S.A. Reid contributed to this article.