Georgia Putting Kids First

During tough times, Georgia schools have had to adjust to such issues as digital learning, teacher shortages and budget cuts. And while the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted many school districts, the state emerged from it with economic strength and a renewed emphasis on boosting education. Reflecting this major commitment, Georgia will spend a record $11.9 billion on K-12 public schools in Fiscal Year 2024.

“In order to keep us the No. 1 state for business, we’re investing in our workforce pipeline, from the classroom to the boardroom,” Gov. Brian Kemp announced in a May 2023 press release. “That includes support for our hardworking educators and investments in our schools. Between the budget I will sign today and the [amended FY23] budget I signed earlier this year, we’re putting more money toward education than ever before in state history!”

The budget – $1.2 billion higher than the prior fiscal year – fully funds the state’s Quality Basic Education formula, provides teacher pay raises and meets other important needs. Kemp stressed the importance of students’ mental well-being on the day he signed the 2024 FY budget in May.

“This budget fully funds our schools and provides $26.9 million to increase the number of counselors who help our students overcome personal challenges and support their success,” Kemp said at the signing of the budget.

The budget allows schools to hire one school counselor for every 450 full-time equivalent students, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. The plan also provides $3.5 million for districts to screen for dyslexia.

HOPE Restored

Strategically Important: Hayley Corbitt, director of external affairs for the Georgia Student Finance Commission; photo Woodie Williams.

Parents and students may be most excited about another aspect of the education-oriented budget: It restores the HOPE Scholarship to full coverage of college tuition at the state’s public universities and technical colleges for the first time since 2011. This plan, which went into effect at the beginning of the fall semester, eliminates the two-tier system of HOPE Scholarships and returns to the original system of paying full tuition for all high school graduates who earn a B average.

A little history here: The merit-based HOPE scholarship program was implemented in 1993 and is funded by lottery-ticket revenues. As of 2022, the Georgia Student Finance Commission says HOPE exceeded $13 billion in award payments to more than 2 million students since it started.

The two-tiered system began 2011, when state lawmakers made cuts to the HOPE program and then-Gov. Nathan Deal created the Zell Miller scholarship (named after the former governor who created HOPE) for students who had at least a 3.7 grade point average and a minimum standardized test score of 1200 on the SAT or 26 on the ACT. Starting that year, only Zell Miller recipients got full tuition. HOPE scholars, who had at least 3.0 grade point average but less than a 3.7, got around 90% of their tuition paid, but the scholarship no longer covered books and other expenses, as before.

“The Hope Career Grant is available to… students who enroll in select majors specifically aligned with industries in which there are more jobs available in Georgia than there are skilled workers to fill them.” Hayley Corbitt, director of external affairs, Georgia Student Finance Commission

The most recent budget also increases the amount that HOPE Scholarship recipients attending Georgia’s private colleges can receive. The amount is now $2,496 for full-time semester enrollment and $1,664 for full-time quarter enrollment.

Admissions Initiative: GEORGIA MATCH collage of letters sent to students from schools telling them there is a spot saved for them; photo contributed.

Georgia’s HOPE Grant (a separate program from the HOPE Scholarship) is available to residents working towards a certificate or diploma at an eligible college or university in Georgia. This program excludes continuing education.

In addition, beginning in the summer term of 2023, the HOPE Career Grant award increased for the law enforcement and commercial truck driving certificate programs.

“The Hope Career Grant is available to HOPE Grant-qualified students who enroll in select majors specifically aligned with industries in which there are more jobs available in Georgia than there are skilled workers to fill them,” says Hayley Corbitt, director of external affairs for the Georgia Student Finance Commission. “These industries have been identified as strategically important to the state’s economic growth. The reward amount for truck driving may not exceed $1,100. The maximum HOPE Career Grant award for basic law enforcement is $3,750.”

To complement HOPE, in October Kemp announced the launch of GEORGIA MATCH, one of the biggest state-run direct admissions initiatives in the country.

Here’s how it works: High school seniors are matched with up to 23 University System of Georgia institutions and 22 Technical College System of Georgia institutions based on their grades and test scores. If a student has what it takes to get into a school, that school will send the student a letter in October explaining that there is a spot being saved for them.

This is not guaranteed admission; students still need to apply to get an official acceptance letter. But the participating institutions will waive application fees during November for students who apply through GEORGIA MATCH on the GAfutures website. Students can “claim their spot” at up to three institutions.

The program can give students peace of mind in the application process, and it will likely boost applications at certain schools that might otherwise be overlooked.

Raises, Security and Transportation

While the programs mentioned so far are student-oriented, the latest budget also helps those who work in the schools, including a $2,000 annual pay raise for teachers. Bus drivers, school nurses and cafeteria workers at K-12 public schools get a 5% salary boost.

“I think that as we look at the budget, the raises were very important,” says Georgia’s State School Superintendent Richard Woods. “We are definitely trying to support that investment in our people,” he says.

The raise for teachers may help the state address critical deficiencies, such as in special education and the need for more teachers of color, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

The budget also addresses safety and security through an emphasis on preventing cyber bullying. “We wanted to make sure that no unsavory characters are having access to our students [online],” says Woods.

Last year, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency launched the Georgia Center for School Safety website, which gives school staff and the public access to school safety training, resources and guidelines.

Woods points out that the budget was fully funded based on the Quality Basic Education (QBE) Formula. He says the state did not have to dip into reserves, but the QBE, written in 1985, needs updating. Among other concerns, it does not have a provision for modern-day technology.

Investing in People: Georgia’s State School Superintendent Richard Woods at General Ray Davis Middle School in Stockbridge; photo contributed.

“Students did not have computers back then,” he says. “It needs to be gradually updated. Also, we have so many more children. We have grown so much as a state.”

That growth means more students and therefore more buses, so it makes sense that the budget includes a $149 million grant to address student transportation. The budget does not include money for replacing school buses, but there is $188 million available from the 2022 budget, which had instructions that it’s to be used for the next three years, according to a report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

“School districts, which are required to provide school bus services to students by state law, must find additional funding in other areas. When the state does not adequately fund public transportation, the result is longer school routes, safety concerns due to older buses and less money for the classroom,” according to the Institute’s report.

Learning to Teach

Another key aspect of the budget is the $350,000 allotted for Teaching as Profession Pathway courses.

“The Teaching as a Profession Pathway is one of more than 100 Career Pathways available to Georgia students through the Career, Technical and Agricultural Education program. The [GaDOE] used federal funds to provide grants to 38 school districts to expand the program,” says Woods. “The funds will support professional learning for teachers in the pathway, and recruitment of high school students to participate in the pathway,” he says.

“In the last several years, there has been a decline in educator preparation programs in Georgia. We are committed to providing support programs cultivating the next generation of Georgia educators. Teaching is the only profession that impacts all other professions, and we want to ensure we provide the best educational opportunities for students who wish to become teachers,” says Woods.

Providing students with educational opportunities is a priority in Georgia. And knowing that should give all students, from kindergarteners to high school seniors, true hope for the future.

More Transportation Options?

One much-needed education proposal – regarding transportation for students – did not make it into law in 2024, but its prospects for next year look good.

House Bill 51, sponsored by Republicans, would allow local districts to transport students to and from school and school-related events in non-school bus vehicles. The bill passed the House and is being reviewed by the Senate. Rep. Clay Pirkle (R-Ashburn) who cosponsored the bill, breaks it down.

“I have had zero opposition to this bill,” he says. “It’s sitting on the Senate floor. We just ran out of time for the Senate to vote on it. This bill does not add any additional provision for transportation for school districts. It just makes government more efficient and gives the districts the option to transport students to non-school events if they choose to.”

He cites an example of a school in a rural area that sent two students and a teacher in a school bus to an event in Atlanta. This bill would allow them to be in a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle.

The non-school bus vehicles and drivers will be held to the same standard as the school buses, says Pirkle. “The vehicles will be inspected. The drivers will have same background check and medically cleared that they are able to do the job.”

The legislation would also require school boards to provide accident insurance for students traveling on both school buses and other vehicles for school-related events, he says.