Historic education laws passed in Ga.
By STATE SEN. CHIP PEARSON

Chip Pearson

After a dramatic debate on the last night of the 2007 session, the Georgia House gave its approval to Senate Bill 10, giving Georgia its first educational voucher program. The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act will allow parents of children with physical, emotional or developmental disabilities in public schools to apply for scholarships for their child's special education, and use it for any other par- ticipating public school or private school that offers a better environment for their child. The amount of the scholarship would be based on the state's share of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) developed for their child's unique needs.

The Special Needs Scholarship is estimated to average about $9,000 in Georgia, and the funds would come from the state and not the local systems. In short, the GSN Scholarship allows parents to use some of the government funding for their child's special education to send their children to another public or a private school of their choice. Once it is fully operational, about 15,000 children could take advantage of the scholarships.

Public schools do a great job with most special needs students. Teachers and administrators are professional and dedicated. Yet all children are different and this new law will give parents more options for placing their child. Their neighborhood public school may be very good, but it may not be what the parent believes their special child needs. A choice to leave should not be seen as an attack on public schools, but simply recognition that all children are individuals and a different school might more closely meet the needs of the student and the parents.

No new regulations or interference follows the child to a private school. They will maintain their independence and can choose to participate in the scholarship program or not. They can designate how many and what type of special needs children they can accept. Even religious schools can continue to operate just as they do today. In addition, if a child opts to enroll in a public school outside the system in which they reside, that school is not required to accept the student. In this case, the system may accept a special needs child if there is adequate space and the school offers a program with services similar to those in the student's IEP. Basically, instead of asking what happens to the system if the child is allowed to leave, we asked what happens to the child if he or she was forced to stay. The legislature came down on the side of parents and children.

Another innovative piece of education policy that passed is SB 39, the Charter Systems Act. Lt. Gov. Cagle made improving Georgia's schools a cornerstone of his campaign, and the Senate and House agreed that Georgia students deserve the best our state can offer. SB 39 looks to use charter schools as an avenue for reducing government regulation, and allowing teachers the flexibility to do what is necessary to educate our children. In exchange for this freedom, charter schools must meet certain performance goals as laid out in their charter or contract. These schools previously have existed as traditional public schools (conversion charter schools) or can be new schools created by their charter (start up charter schools).

With the passage of the Charter School Act, we will help to continue and accelerate the success of Georgia's charter schools. Charter schools are leaders in educational innovation because they have the ability to govern themselves more locally without the burdens of certain regulations. Recent statistics show that charter schools are working and are outperforming traditional public schools in several areas, and by allowing them more flexibility, we are expanding on the charter school philosophy to experience even greater results.

We have offered charter schools some of the same flexibility that we've offered the parents of special needs children, and by doing so, we are ensuring that Georgia parents have every option available in pursuing the best possible education for their children.

Please contact me in my office and let me know the issues that are affecting you and your community.