Georgia
Georgia moves forward in creating voucher program for private and home schools
ATLANTA (AP) — A new Georgia program that will give up to $6,500 a year to some families to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses will begin accepting applications in early 2025, but lawmakers must still determine how many vouchers the state will pay for.
The Georgia Education Savings Authority voted Monday to approve rules setting up the program, called the Georgia Promise Scholarship.
The education savings account program will begin for the 2025-2026 school year. After a long struggle, Republicans pushed the law through earlier this year, part of a nationwide GOP wave favoring education savings accounts. Supporters say parents should take the lead in deciding how children learn. Opponents argue the voucher program will subtract resources from public schools, even as other students remain behind.
The law provides $6,500 education savings accounts to students zoned for any public school in Georgia’s bottom 25% for academic achievement. That money could be spent on private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, home-schooling supplies, therapy, tutoring or even early college courses for high school students.
Students who qualify must either have attended a public school for two consecutive semesters or must be a kindergartner about to enroll. Parents must have been Georgia residents for at least a year, unless they are on active military duty.
Lawmakers must decide next year how much to appropriate, but the law creating the program limits spending to 1% of the $14.1 billion that Georgia spends on its K-12 school funding formula, or $141 million. That could provide more than 21,000 scholarships.
The authority announced the launch of the mygeorgiapromise.org website and the hiring of a company to run that site. Parents will be able to use the website to pay tuition or buy goods and services.
The state will begin accepting applications from private schools that want to take the vouchers beginning Wednesday. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement is supposed to announce the list of the bottom 25% of schools on Dec. 1. The authority says it will accept applications from parents in early 2025.
If more people apply than there are vouchers available, students from households with incomes of less than four times the federal poverty level would be prioritized. Four times the federal poverty level is about $100,000 for a family of three. If there are still too many applications for the available money, recipients will be determined in a random drawing.
Georgia already gives vouchers for special education students in private schools and $120 million a year in income tax credits for donors to private school scholarship funds. Students can’t combine the new Georgia Promise program with those programs.
Private schools must be located in Georgia and must be accredited or seeking accreditation from an approved organization. Private schools will have to administer an approved standardized test and report students’ test results.
SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (WMTV) – Starting on Wednesday, nine local and national artists are transforming Sun Prairie’s downtown area into a collection of giant murals to commemorate the city’s artistic heritage.
Sun Prairie hosts Mural Fest every year to celebrate local artists.
In conjunction with Mural Fest, the beloved Georgia “Cow” Keeffee got a makeover for the first time in 18 years.
In addition to the festival celebrating local art, it also supports businesses and brings the community together.
“Public art humanizes a built environment and invigorates public spaces,” said Barbara Behling, who is tourism director for the City of Sun Prairie. “It provides an intersection.”
The grand reveal of the artwork will be during Mural Fest from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, June 26.
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Copyright 2025 WMTV. All rights reserved.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – We’ll see another round of afternoon and evening storms in north Georgia with highs in the upper 80s.
Wednesday’s summary
High – 88°
Normal high – 87°
Chance of rain – 40%
FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY for scattered storms
Like Tuesday, we’ll see showers and storms re-develop in north Georgia today.
Isolated showers will be possible south of Atlanta around lunch with the coverage of storms peaking as you drive home from work this evening.
Like the last several days, rain and lightning will be the primary threats, although the strongest storms will be capable of producing gusty winds.
More storms Thursday; Drier weekend
We’ll see another round of storms Thursday afternoon — which is also a First Alert Weather Day — prior to drier weather arriving for the first weekend of Summer!
Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.
ATLANTA — The baby of a woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead and has been on life support since February was delivered early Friday morning, her mother said.
April Newkirk told WXIA-TV that 31-year-old Adriana Smith’s baby was born prematurely by an emergency cesarean section early Friday, the Atlanta station reported Monday night. She was about six months into her pregnancy. The baby, named Chance, weighs about 1 pound and 13 ounces and is in the neonatal intensive care unit.
“He’s expected to be okay,” Newkirk told the TV station. “He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him.”
Newkirk said her daughter had intense headaches more than four months ago and went to Atlanta’s Northside Hospital, where she received medication and was released. The next morning, her boyfriend woke to her gasping for air and called 911. Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was declared brain-dead. She was eight weeks pregnant, according to WXIA.
Newkirk said Smith would be taken off of life support Tuesday.
The Associated Press called and emailed Emory Tuesday for comment. It is unclear why Emory decided to deliver the baby. The Associated Press has also tried to contact Newkirk.
Smith’s family said Emory doctors told them they were not allowed to remove the devices keeping her breathing because state law bans abortion after cardiac activity can be detected — generally around six weeks into pregnancy.
Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr later issued a statement saying the law did not require medical professionals to keep a woman declared brain dead on life support.
“Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,’” Carr said.
Newkirk said Smith loved being a nurse at Emory. She also has a 7-year-old son. Her family celebrated her 31st birthday Sunday with several advocacy groups. Newkirk did not speak at the event.
“I’m her mother,” Newkirk told WXIA. “I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”
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