Henry County 9-12 Project

More than 2,000 supporters of school choice attended Georgia's third annual School Choice Celebration and Rally on January 25th, doubling attendance from last year.

This week the Georgia General Assembly will convene for Day 20 of the 40-day legislative session. Much of the education debate has revolved around the proposed charter school constitutional amendment, House Resolution 1162.

The resolution would allow the state to create an alternative charter school authorizer if it so chooses, and protect the longstanding practice that public education is a shared effort by state and local entities.

Last Wednesday the House narrowly failed to pass HR 1162 in a 110-62 vote (constitutional amendments require 120 votes, 2/3 of the chamber). The following day the House passed a motion to reconsider, allowing the chamber to have another vote on the resolution. The new vote is likely to occur in the next two weeks. School choice supporters are encouraged to call your state legislators and ask them to vote "Yes" on HR 1162.

To learn more about the proposed constitutional amendment and to find your state legislators, visit www.brightergeorgia.org.

CEG recently released a new report highlighting recommendations from a meeting that engaged business leaders in strategizing how to improve K-12 education in Georgia.

The event, "ROI: Education is Your Business," featured remarks by former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, an introduction by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, and a brainstorming session with prominent business leaders discussing education reform.

Following the keynote address by Dr. Paige, Jerri Nims Rooker, Director of the Center for an Educated Georgia, facilitated the discussion. Among the proposals generated was more significant corporate involvement in advocating for substantive and major education reforms and options.

The key findings from this interactive strategy session are summarized in a recently released report available at www.educatedgeorgia.org/business.

Marvin Sapp, eight-time Grammy nominated gospel singer, spoke about his strong support for education reform and school choice on December 7th at "Educating Our Future: The Fight for Georgia's Children." The informational forum about education drew nearly 1,000 people to Destiny World Church in Austell.

Sapp sang two songs at the event and talked about the need for families to have a choice in education. "It's mind blowing that we can choose what restaurant we want to go to on Sunday after church, we can even choose which church we want to go to," said Sapp. "But we're forced to keep all our kids in schools in our communities that are not really teaching them."

Sapp participated in a panel discussion with Dr. Howard Fuller, co-founder of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, State Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan, and Pastor Wilbur Purvis of Destiny World Church. David Morgan with the American Federation for Children moderated the panel.

For more information visit www.educationisourfuture.com.

Last year Georgia's Tax Credit Scholarship program reached its annual donation cap of $50 million for the first time in the program's four year history. Thanks to the increase in donations, thousands more students will now have access to private school scholarships and schools they otherwise could not attend.

With the start of 2012, individuals and corporations can again donate to the state's Student Scholarship Organizations (SSOs). Due to legislation passed in 2011, the annual cap increased by the Consumer Price Index. The 2012 cap is now $51.5 million.

The Georgia Department of Revenue also introduced a new online tool that simplifies the donation process. For more information on donating to the scholarship program, contact one of Georgia's 37 SSOs.

"Making the Grade in Georgia: Educational Freedom & Justice for All" is a newly released mini-documentary (30 minutes) that explains the current status of overall school and student performance in Georgia. The movie describes all of the educational options available today, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, virtual learning, private schools, hybrid schools, and home schools. It includes interviews with education experts, students, parents, teachers, principals, and legislators to show many angles of the school choice issue.

To have a free copy delivered to your house visit www.makingthegrademovie.com and click on Request DVD.