Lawmakers to consider new private school tuition subsidies

Georgia lawmakers are proposing to add a second private school tuition tax credit program after the runaway popularity of the first one.

The state’s existing student scholarship program is capped at $58 million a year, and participation has maxed out on the first day of availability each January. It allows taxpayers to steer public money to private schools with a “donation” they recoup in a credit on state taxes owed.

State Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, is co-sponsoring House Bill 865 with four Republicans and a Democrat. Unlike the current program, the one they propose would be limited to students from low-income households.