 |
          
|
|
May 14, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS (May 13, 2008) – Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue today signed legislation enacting a new school choice program that imposes no demographic restrictions on which students may participate.
Under the program, all K-12 students in Georgia public schools are eligible to receive private school scholarships. The new program sets a limit of $50 million; in other states with similar programs, such limits have consistently been raised over time.
Georgia's new school choice law continues a national trend toward school choice programs without student eligibility restrictions. Earlier this year, Louisiana enacted a new school choice program with eligibility extended to all Louisiana students. These programs join existing programs in Arizona, Vermont, Ohio, Maine, Illinois, and Iowa that impose no demographic restrictions for eligibility. Additionally, school choice programs for disabled or foster-care students in Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Utah and Arizona impose no other demographic restrictions.
"The old idea of limiting school choice based on family income is coming to an end," said Robert Enlow, executive director of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. "States are increasingly adopting Milton Friedman's vision of school choice for all, not just for some. The argument that freedom is only good for some students just doesn't make it anymore."
"He has made the most prolific change for the state of Georgia in this Century," said Lydia Glaize, a Fairburn parent who supported HB 1133. "Children who will receive these scholarships will translate into less kids into juvenile detention, more who will graduate and more who will wind up in the labor force. That's a better standard of living for the entire Georgia community."
With the new Georgia program, there are now 23 school choice programs in 14 states plus the District of Columbia. Two-thirds of these programs (15) have no family income restrictions for eligibility – nine have no demographic restrictions at all, and six are restricted only in that they serve disabled or foster-care students.
Enlow said that Georgia's new school choice program was a collaborative affair among many local groups and individuals. He praised the efforts of state representative David Casas, senator Eric Johnson, Jamie Self, and the Georgia Family Council, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Southeastern Legal Foundation, Archdiocese of Atlanta, and Americans for Prosperity as well as other national groups.
Dubbed "the nation's leading voucher advocates" by the Wall Street Journal, the Friedman Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1996. The origins of the foundation lie in the Friedmans' long-standing concern about the serious deficiencies in America's elementary and secondary public schools. The best way to improve the quality of education, they believe, is to enable all parents to have a truly free choice of the schools that their children attend. The Friedman Foundation works to build upon this vision clarify its meaning to the general public and amplify the national call for true education reform through school choice.
|
|
