EDUCATION Elementary and Secondary School Education: Amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Elementary and Secondary Education, so as to Enact the "Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act;" Provide a Short Title; Define Certain Terms; Provide for Scholarships for Public School Students with Disabilities to Attend Other Public or Private Schools; Provide for Qualifications and Criteria for the Scholarship Program; Establish Certain Requirements for Schools that Participate in the Scholarship Program: Provide for the Amount of Scholarship and Method of Payments; Authorize the State Board of Education to Promulgate Certain Rules; Provide for an Annual Report on the Program; Provide for Related Matters; Provide for an Effective Date and Applicability; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes

Authors

Georgia State University Law Review

Document Type

Peach Sheet

Abstract

The Act creates a scholarship for students with disabilities who are dissatisfied with the services received in their resident public school. The amount of each scholarship depends on the special needs matrix, which currently dictates funding for public schools. Scholarships are transferrable and may be used at another public school within the resident system, a public school outside the resident system, a state school for the deaf or blind, or a private sectarian or non-sectarian school. To qualify for a scholarship, a student's parents must currently reside in Georgia and have been Georgia residents for at least one year. Furthermore, the student must have one or more of the listed disabilities. The student must also have attended a Georgia public school that implements the child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP), for one school year. Moreover, accepting a scholarship requires waiving rights available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Recommended Citation

Georgia State University Law Review, EDUCATION Elementary and Secondary School Education: Amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Elementary and Secondary Education, so as to Enact the "Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act;" Provide a Short Title; Define Certain Terms; Provide for Scholarships for Public School Students with Disabilities to Attend Other Public or Private Schools; Provide for Qualifications and Criteria for the Scholarship Program; Establish Certain Requirements for Schools that Participate in the Scholarship Program: Provide for the Amount of Scholarship and Method of Payments; Authorize the State Board of Education to Promulgate Certain Rules; Provide for an Annual Report on the Program; Provide for Related Matters; Provide for an Effective Date and Applicability; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes, 24 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. (2012).
Available at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol24/iss1/6