Georgia

Georgia moves forward in creating voucher program for private and home schools

Published

1 year ago

November 18, 2024

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.

Source link

Georgia

Man accused of raping University of Georgia student, police say

Published

30 minutes ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Man accused of raping University of Georgia student, police say

ATHENS, Ga. – A 19-year-old is facing assault-related charges after police said he raped a University of Georgia student early Saturday morning while she was walking home.

What we know:

Tydarius Wingfield of Athens allegedly approached the student in the area of 400 North Thomas Street just before 1:40 a.m. and asked to walk her home.

Wingfield and the victim did not know each other.

Wingfield then forced the woman behind a building where he sexually assaulted her, police said.

Investigators used the Real Time Crime Center’s camera system to see where the assault happened and track the victim and Wingfield’s movements. Officers continued tracking Wingfield until his arrest and positively identified him using the RTCC technology.

He is charged with rape, kidnapping, aggravated sexual battery and battery.

An investigation is ongoing.

What we don’t know:

It is unclear whether the victim was taken to the hospital after being attacked.

What you can do:

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Burgamy at Charles.Burgamy@accgov.com or 762-400-7173.

The Source: Information in this report comes from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

Athens-Clarke CountyUniversity of GeorgiaNewsCrime and Public Safety

Source link

Georgia

Georgia’s Iranian community reacts to death of Ayatollah Khamenei

Published

13 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Georgia’s Iranian community reacts to death of Ayatollah Khamenei

ATLANTA – As conflict intensifies between the United States, Israel and Iran, reactions are pouring in across the Atlanta metro area after President Donald Trump confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader.

The president confirmed on Truth Social that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint strike led by the U.S. and Israel.

What they’re saying:

“I have been waiting to hear this news for the last 20 years,” said Dr. Sasan Tavassoli, an Atlanta-based pastor born in Iran.

“Ayatollah Khamenei has been responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of Iranians over the last three decades. He has been a very evil dictator and a very oppressive tyrant.”

Other local Iranians, like Shohreh Mir, expressed a long-standing desire for internal change rather than outside intervention.

“This was an imposed war,” Mir said. “We still very much would like for Iranian people to change the regime by themselves.”

What’s next:

Tavassoli said the Ayatollah’s death now creates a new issue.

“Ayatollah Khamenei never invested in raising a succession after himself,” he said, “so the crisis of the Iranian revolution and the Iranian regime is there is no legitimate successor.”

While the long-term duration of the conflict remains unknown, Iran has already begun launching retaliatory strikes following the attack.

“This is a huge development for day one, but the war is not over,” Tavassoli noted. “There are still many ways that things can become even more bloody and destructive in the coming days and weeks.”

The Source: Information in this article came from FOX 5’s Rey Llerena speaking with Iranian Americans across Georgia.

IranDonald J. TrumpNewsPolitics

Source link

Georgia

Body found near Georgia Power dam on Radium Springs Road in Albany

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Body found near Georgia Power dam on Radium Springs Road in Albany

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – A person was found dead in the 5200 block of Radium Springs Road on Saturday morning, according to Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.

Body recovered in early morning water rescue call(WALB NEWS 10)

Fowler said the call came in as a water rescue. The body was recovered early Saturday, Feb. 28.

The coroner confirmed the person found was male. His identity and age remain unknown.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Source link