蘑菇视频

On March 29, 2023, the 蘑菇视频 Promise Scholarship Act (Senate Bill 233) failed by a vote of 85-89 in the House of Representatives, despite passing the 蘑菇视频 Senate on March 6, 2023. 

At the time, that was the furthest that an bill had advanced in the 蘑菇视频 Legislature. Despite having support from Governor Brian Kemp, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, and Speaker Jon Burns, the bill still came up six votes short of passage in the House.

蘑菇视频 needs Promise Scholarships to build its future workforce and prosperity

In late 2023, Governor Brian Kemp announced a new program called . 蘑菇视频 Match seeks to connect every high school senior with a post-secondary education path that meets each student鈥檚 needs. The program brings unprecedented cooperation between the 蘑菇视频 Department of Education, The Technical College System of 蘑菇视频, and the University System of 蘑菇视频. It鈥檚 not an exaggeration to say this program can potentially transform 蘑菇视频鈥檚 educational system and workforce.

SB 233 would allow students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% for two consecutive years, according to 蘑菇视频鈥檚 College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI), to use a Promise Scholarship. 

• Promise Scholarships would allow these families to access education options that they might not otherwise be able to afford or use. The scholarship could be applied to private school tuition, homeschooling materials, or other educational expenses defined in the bill.
  
  
• The state would put the scholarship amount ($6,500) in a parent-directed account controlled by the state of 蘑菇视频 for these purposes.

Based on CCRPI scores, which were last calculated in 2018-2019, 298 schools currently fall into the bottom 25% criteria. These schools are located all across 蘑菇视频, but mostly in areas of high poverty.

It鈥檚 important to note that limiting the Promise Scholarship to only the bottom 25% of schools doesn鈥檛 cover all the schools in 蘑菇视频 that receive D or F grades in CCRPI.

To see 蘑菇视频 Match fulfill its potential, K-12 students must be prepared to succeed in the post-secondary education path they choose鈥攅specially those students eligible for a Promise Scholarship and those who deserve better economic and social opportunities to escape poverty. 

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.”
鈥� Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

听[16 Republican legislators opposed Promise Scholarships in 2023. Here鈥檚 why they should have changed their vote.

Over the past 10 years, Republican governors and legislators have passed and tried to implement reforms meant to improve 蘑菇视频鈥檚 lowest-performing public schools. From the failed Opportunity School District constitutional amendment to the all-but-gutted Chief Turnaround Officer legislation, efforts for transformational reform within the traditional public school system have been stifled.

Many of the schools in question also receive intensive assistance from the Department of Education (DOE) via the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) programs. These programs require schools to develop improvement plans in close collaboration with DOE officials. 

While these programs have helped, there鈥檚 an important detail that voters and parents should know about. Several of these schools in the bottom 25% of CCRPI performance today were schools that qualified for the Opportunity School District program back in 2015. 

In other words, these schools are still among our state鈥檚 lowest-performing schools after eight years of intensive assistance. Should we continue to tell parents to wait for another program? If your children or grandchildren were zoned for these schools, would you tell them to wait?

For several legislators, including 16 Republican Representatives, the answer has been 鈥測es.鈥�

Of the 16 Republican legislators who voted against SB 233 in 2023, 13 have public schools in their districts that are in the bottom 25%. Yet all 16 of these districts have private schools ready to accept more students. In addition, 蘑菇视频 has a robust homeschooling community in all corners of the state, as well as a burgeoning microschool movement. Promise Scholarship recipients can access these options no matter where they live.

蘑菇视频’s Promise Scholarship Explained
Find out what the program is, how it works, and which students will be eligible. 

See the Promise Scholarship FAQs

To meet 蘑菇视频鈥檚 diverse student needs, the answer is to expand parental options.

If we truly want Governor Kemp鈥檚 蘑菇视频 Match program to succeed, parents need more options. If we truly want all of 蘑菇视频鈥檚 students to obtain a quality education and pursue post-secondary education that prepares them for a meaningful career and a stable life, parents need more options. If we want 蘑菇视频鈥檚 economy to continue to thrive and attract new industries to our state, parents need more options.

Expanding parental options will lift our entire educational system. To see this in action, all we need to do is look south. A November 2023 of Florida鈥檚 educational landscape found that as school choice programs matured, the positive effects were felt across the board, including within the public schools:

“We find that as public schools are more exposed to private school choice, their students experience increasing benefits as the program matures. In particular, higher levels of private school choice exposure are associated with lower rates of suspensions and absences, and with higher standardized test scores in reading and math.”

The students showing the most gains? Students with low鈥搒ocioeconomic status (SES).听

Far from harming public schools, school choice actually improves public schools. 蘑菇视频鈥檚 students deserve to have this opportunity as well.

With SB 233, 蘑菇视频 legislators had an incredible chance to set 蘑菇视频 students on a path toward academic success and a bright future. Thankfully, SB 233 and 蘑菇视频’s kids received the support needed from lawmakers, and the 蘑菇视频 Promise Scholarship passed in April 2024. The progam will become available for 蘑菇视频 parents and students in Fall 2025. 

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