The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would limit a much-criticized private school tax-credit program and restrict who can benefit from it.
Some Democrats lobbed a few verbal shots at the program, but Senate Bill 243 passed 54-0.
Gov. Nathan Deal supports SB 243, which was introduced in the Senate by two of his floor leaders and Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody. For the bill to become law, a version of it must also pass in the House of Representatives.
The tax-credit program was started in 2008 through legislation authored by state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs.
Student scholarship organizations use the lure of tax credits to solicit donations that help public school students afford the switch to private school.
Last year, $51.5 million in tax credits were set aside for the program. Ehrhart introduced legislation this year to increase that pool to $80 million, but SB 243 keeps the cap at $50 million, with adjustments for inflation.
It would also require scholarship recipients to attend a public school for at least six weeks before they can transfer to a private school and be eligible for a scholarship through the tax-credit program. Critics of the program say it’s been abused, with some students receiving scholarship aid who never attended a public school.
An amendment to the bill carved out some exceptions to that six-week requirement.
A student would not have to first attend a public school if his local school is one the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement deems to be low-performing. Students with documented cases of physical or verbal abuse would not have to go to a public school first, nor would students whose parents tell the public school in writing that they don’t want their child to participate in classroom instruction or exercises that conflict with their religious beliefs.
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