In 2018 Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 217 raising the $58 million cap on the Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship to $100 million. Because of this we saw our donations more than DOUBLE to $44,440 in 2019 from $20,900 in 2018. In 2020 we set our goal at $50,000 and almost met it, raising $48,330. […]
From Supporting Georgia’s Special Needs Scholarship Facebook Group, “SB47 would make improvements to the GA Special Needs Scholarship and has been assigned to the Georgia Senate education committee. Join us tomorrow night, Wednesday February 3 at 7pm, for a quick call on the bill to ask your questions and to find out how you can […]
Representative Wes Cantrell, R-Woodstock, a former public school teacher, has recently introduced legislation, the Georgia Educational Scholarship Act, that would create educational scholarship accounts for students in Georgia. According to the bill, state funding for each student would be allowed to be redirected to an approved private school. According to lines 69 – 92 of […]
“My son, like so many others that attend this school, was unable to thrive in public school. My son has ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, and Dyslexia. The IEP that was provided was not equipped to help my son’s needs. In fact out of the two public schools he attended in Paulding County neither even knew […]
In the 2019-2020 legislative session, advocates sought to improve the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (SB10 Waiver). We were of course thrilled that SB386 passed the senate, but with COVID and the legislative session getting cut short, the bill (like so many others) ultimately did not pass. We are hopeful for a different outcome this […]
Senate Bill 386 passed! Please take a moment to thank the senators who voted to support this legislation! Click HERE to find your senator. You can read the full bill HERE. Thanks to all of you who reached out to your senators! 🙂
From Steven Quinn, Special Education Advocate and Advocate for SB 386: What a day at the capitol! The senate could vote as early as tomorrow on the bill. Thank you to everyone that has advocated so far. We need calls and emails from all corners of the state. There is still time to do so. […]
SB 386 passed the Senate Education & Youth Committee 6-4 and now awaits scheduling for a vote by the full Senate. Ms. Noelle spoke before the committee last week and you can read her story HERE. Many of our families at Brookwood Christian rely on the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship to ensure their child receives […]
On Wednesday, February 26, the day after Dyslexia Day at the Capitol, Ms. Noelle spoke before the Senate Education & Youth Committee regarding Senate Bill 386 and its possible impact on the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (SB10). Her story, along with so many others, is so compelling that we wanted to share it. Below is […]
Yesterday, Ms. Kim & Ms. Tammy went to the capitol for Dyslexia Day 2020 and this year they took two students, Will & Krissy. Both students were able to see how the legislative process works, as well as interact with advocates and lobbyists for dyslexia and other special needs students. In addition to speaking with […]
Senate Bill 173 is up for reconsideration during this legislative session. The bill addresses Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and was introduced last session and defeated 28-25. The bill would allow parents to use funds earmarked for public education to pay for qualified education expenses, including private school tuition. This would not be dependent on an […]
Georgia House Bill 939 will keep the cap on Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program at $100 million. House Bill 217 (March 2018) made a cap increase from $58 million to $100 million. However, the bill has the cap returning to $58 million by 2029. We realize this is not an immediate concern, but we also […]
Senator Renee S. Unterman – R (45th District) has filed a bill that would improve SB10 (Georgia Special Needs Scholarship): making it easier for families to enter the program allowing students with 504 plans to be eligible, moving the one year requirement back to special needs pre-school, creating a waiver for students adopted from foster […]
In a recent opinion piece about Senate Bill 48 by the Atlanta Journal & Constitution: Mistake to Test all Georgia Kindergarteners for Dyslexia, a former Fayette County School Board Member, who was also a candidate for Georgia State School Superintendent in 2014, a 2016 candidate for the US Senate, and a 2018 candidate to the Georgia House […]
Senate Bill 48, a mandate that elementary schools screen for dyslexia, has just passed the House unanimously. It also passed the Senate unanimously in February. The mandate would be contingent upon state funding. The bill also seeks to train teachers. Thanks to advocates such as Decoding Dyslexia-Georgia and International Dyslexia Association-Georgia Chapter. We would like to thank Ed Setzler, the representative […]
Thursday, March 7, was the deadline to move bills from the Senate to the House and vice versa. However, legislation that failed to “cross over” may still pass by riding on other education-related bills before the session ends on April 2. Here is a wrap up of what may affect our families. Senate Bill 48, […]
Today at the Georgia Capitol, the Senate passed SB48, which will mandate screening for all Georgia students Pre-K – 2nd grade! Thanks to all the hard work by groups such as Decoding Dyslexia-Georgia and International Dyslexia Association-Georgia Chapter. This will help dyslexic students get identified sooner so that intervention can begin sooner, which will increase the chance of a child […]
Augusta, GA (February 16, 2019) – One of our parents, Jan Murphy, was featured as a guest columnist in the Augusta Chronicle with her column titled “This scholarship helped my family, and here’s how to improve it”. In her column, she outlines her struggle with finding a school that would educate her daughters, and how […]
Georgia HB 301 was introduced into legislation this week by floor leader Jodi Lott-R (District 122). This bill would allow parents to use state funds in a manner similar to “vouchers” in other states. Students are eligible if they were enrolled in a Georgia public school the year prior to enrolling in private school. This […]
Update from the Capitol yesterday: ♦ There seems to be a lot of bipartisan support for SB48, which will mandate screening for all Georgia students Pre-K – 2nd grade. This will help dyslexic students get identified sooner so that intervention can begin sooner, which will increase the chance of a child achieving full reading potential […]
Tomorrow, 2/13/2019, in a public meeting of the Senate Education and Youth Committee in Room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building at the Georgia State Capitol, SB 48 will be under consideration: To amend Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, so as to provide for identification of and […]
EDIT: It appears this information is from last spring, was shared yesterday, and when we saw it, didn’t pay attention to original date :-/ We are researching this to find out if it passed or what parts did, and will keep you updated when we find out. We apologize for any confusion. ======================================== Tomorrow is […]
We just received this email from APOGEE!! Please take a moment to thank your representatives as well as those listed below. More details on the scholarship can be found here. “We have VERY exciting news to share! Assuming Governor Deal signs the bill (which we fully expect), the Tax credit cap will be increased from […]
HB801 was filed yesterday by Representative Scott Hilton. This legislation would: give flexibility in how scholarship funds are spent, change the scholarship calculation from the October to the March FTE count, make special needs preschool count towards the one year, give an exemption from the one year for children adopted from foster care, ensure that if […]
