Georgia
Top GOP Georgia lawmakers flex muscle in latest school voucher push • Georgia Recorder
An expansion to Georgia’s school voucher program is getting another shot this year after passing the House Education Committee on party lines Wednesday.
The latest form of the bill would allow parents to accept $6,500 to pull their children out of a public school with low performance metrics and enroll them in private school or teach them at home. Expanding vouchers has been a dream of conservatives in Georgia for a while now, who say a free market approach benefits students who are not well served by their local public school district.
That conservative priority came close to becoming reality last year when a voucher plan passed the state Senate, but it failed when a handful of House Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in voting against it. Opponents say vouchers transfer money from school districts in need of more funding and send it to private enterprises that are not accountable to public scrutiny, and that $6,500 does not cover tuition at reputable private schools, so the vouchers will only act as a discount to families that can already afford it.
“This does not empower parents at all to choose where their children go to school,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators. “It empowers private schools to make those choices. Private schools are not required in any sense to accept a student who has one of these vouchers. The private school still can discriminate on the basis of disability. The private school can still discriminate on any number of characteristics of the student. The parents are not empowered here. The private schools have a choice, and that’s what we need everyone to understand.”
The bill’s chances of becoming law appear higher this year with the support of the House’s highest-ranked member, Speaker Jon Burns, who made an appearance at Wednesday’s committee meeting to boost the bill.
Burns said Wednesday’s meeting was his first time at an Education Committee, and he made it clear he wants the bill to move forward.
“I would like for our House to send a clear signal that we will not let our children continue to be trapped in a failing school, that we’re taking a stand, give the parents of Georgia better options, and we are unlocking doors to the future for the children across this state,” he said.
“I hope when y ‘all’s discussion finishes, this committee will make a decision to move this bill forward,” he added.
Gov. Brian Kemp has also shown strong support for vouchers. Kemp told reporters Tuesday that he has been “patiently awaiting the House’s work” on the bill. The governor pressed lawmakers to pass a school voucher bill earlier this session in his State of the State address, saying then that “I believe we have run out of ‘next years’” to get it done.
“It’s my hope that we’ll get that done this year, and yes, we will be aggressively pushing for that once we know what the House’s posture’s going to be,” Kemp said Tuesday.
Another top Republican, Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, presented the bill to the committee with many changes over last year’s.
The bill would make teacher pay raises approved over the past few years permanent. It would allow public schools to use state capital construction dollars to build or renovate Pre-K facilities.
It creates a new body called the Georgia Education Savings Authority to administer school voucher programs, and, similar to a bill that passed the Senate last month, it creates rules for students to transfer between public school districts.
It still applies to students zoned into the lowest-performing 25% of schools, but Jones said she added a provision giving priority to students whose parents earn less than 400% of the federal poverty line, or $120,000 a year for a family of four in 2024.
Jones also added a cap to the program of 1% of the cost of the Quality Basic Education formula used to determine the state’s school funding share, equaling more than $100 million. Education accounts for about a third of the state’s $30 billion-plus
annual budget.
Speaking to the Recorder after the vote, Jones said she’s quite confident the House will pass the bill.
Why?
“20 years of vote counting,” she said with a laugh.
Republicans on the committee were effusive in their praise of the bill, including Atlanta Rep. Mesha Mainor, who switched parties last year after she faced heavy criticism for backing vouchers.
“I loved the bill last year, I love it now,” she said. “It meets the needs of so many different families.”
Democrats were more circumspect. Powder Springs Rep. David Wilkerson said they had little time to review the 39-page document.
“While the majority party, as the speaker alluded to, may have had 350 days actually to review this bill, we’ve had probably 35 minutes,” he said.
Democrats proposed two amendments, one to require private schools that receive state money to accept all candidates and one to require that all teachers in participating schools be professionally certified. The committee voted against the amendments on a party line basis.
Voucher supporters say the plan would not harm public school budgets. That’s because schools get money both from the state and local taxes. Supporters say the $6,500 would cancel out the state share of funds, but schools would still collect local taxes for students who take advantage of the program.
Opponents say that doesn’t add up because schools would be out $6,500 for each student, but they can’t lower the salary of a teacher whose class size decreases, and fewer students doesn’t translate to less cost to heat or cool a building or transport children to and from the school.
A poll commissioned by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs Survey Research Center suggests Georgia voters and parents aren’t wild about vouchers.
Pollsters asked registered Georgia voters how the state should support students in underperforming schools, giving them the options to give parents $6,500 to pay for private school tuition, provide schools with more state support or increase choice options like dual enrollment or charter schools.
A plurality of voters, 43.7% said schools should get more state support, 29.4% said more school choice options and 14.8% preferred the $6,500 vouchers.
Voucher support increased somewhat when pollsters asked respondents with school-aged children which policy would be best for their family. Among parents, 22.6% said $6,500 vouchers would be best for them, 39.8% said they want more state support, and 31% favor increased choice options.
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Troy’s season-long improvement continued on Saturday, resulting in a 28-20 victory at Georgia Southern.
Matthew Caldwell passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more for the Trojans, who won their second straight game. Troy (3-7, 2-4 Sun Belt Conference) outscored the homestanding Eagles 21-10 in the second half, knocking them out of first place in the Sun Belt East Division.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” first-year Troy coach Gerad Parker said in his post-game interview on ESPN+. “I hold back tears and everybody called me soft, but this is an emotional game.
“We’ve been at the depths of hell (at) the start of this year. When you visit a place like that, there’s only one choice. You got to get your team out of it and have belief from these guys. … These guys have been unbelievable. Our staff and our players, how they’ve been resilient at all tells you something that’s good about college football.”
Caldwell’s 2-yard touchdown run gave Troy the lead for good at 21-17 with 13:34 left in the game. After the Eagles (6-4, 4-2) pulled within 21-20 on Gavin Stewart’s 45-yard field goal with 10:34 to play, the Trojans killed most of the clock with a 16-play, 75-yard drive ending in Caldwell’s 1-yard run and an eight-point lead with 2:32 remaining.
Caldwell ended the game 26-for-32 for 288 yards and two touchdowns, a 6-yarder to Brody Dalton in the second quarter and a 4-yarder to Devonte Ross in the third. The Trojans outgained the Eagles 441 yards to 246, with ill-timed penalties contributing to the first three Georgia Southern scores.
Georgia Southern went up 7-0 late in the first, with Josh Dallas scoring on a 4-yard run. That drive was kept alive by five Troy penalties, including a pass interference call in the red zone.
Stewart’s 21-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead at the half. After Troy went up 14-10 on Caldwell’s second TD pass, Georgia Southern took back the lead at 21-17 on Jalen White’s 1-yard run with 2:34 left in the third.
Georgia Southern never came close to tying the game in the final minutes, as Justin Powe’s diving interception gave Troy the ball back at the Eagles’ 48 with 1:56 left. Caldwell connected with Dalton on a 23-yard pass to convert third-and-7 and help run out the clock.
Ross caught 10 passes for 95 yards, while Damien Taylor ran for 92 yards on 18 carries. Gerald Green added a 33-yard run to help set up a touchdown, with tight ends Dalton and Ethan Conner combined for six receptions for 87 yards.
Troy went 11-for-14 on the third down in the game and ran 73 plays to just 48 for Georgia Southern. Linebacker Jordan Stringer led the Troy defensive effort with seven tackles and a sack, while freshman linebacker Jabril McNeil had two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
Troy began the season 1-7, but beat Coastal Carolina 38-24 on Nov. 2 before its bye week. Since halftime of a 34-31 loss to Arkansas State on Oct. 26, the Trojans have outscored their opponents 82-55.
“They played team football and played for Troy and each other,” Parker said. “They’re starting to really feel that together and it feels great to sleep, but I’m just so happy for our guys.”
Troy is back in action at Louisiana next Saturday. That game kicks off at 4 p.m. and will be streamed live via ESPN+.
The No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs have a huge game against the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers and Carson Beck’s sister Kylie Beck is certainly hyped for it.
The 19-year-old sophomore UGA cheerleader and sister of the team’s star quarterback has been crushing it all season in and out of her uniform.
While Kylie has upstaged Carson’s girlfriend Hanna Cavinder in her cheerleader uni and showed off the full splits in her “Dance Dawgs basketball fit, she’s also slayed in a cowgirl look in Texas, and flaunted her flawless legs in Florida. On Friday, Kylie was even bold enough to show her makeup-free mirror selfie for the world to see.
Viral Alabama cheerleader Lily Garofalo stuns in uniform mirror selfie
For Saturday’s big game, Kylie posted another cheerleader shot and captioned it, “ We are 🔙 Sanford #noplacelikehome #gameday.”
Gracie Hunt’s sister Ava posts cheerleader selfie to hype SMU football game
She’s definitely game ready with those flawless abs and sparkly fit.
Georgia is coming off a crushing loss vs Ole Miss and is in an almost must-win game if it hopes to make the college football playoffs. Whether or not the team loses on the field, Kylie already secured a win Saturday with her cheerleader uniform selife.
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Georgia
What channel is Tennessee football vs Georgia on today? Time, TV schedule to watch Week 12 game
Tennessee football has a crucial game and a chance to take a step toward the SEC Championship Game when it plays Georgia on Saturday in Athens.
The Vols (8-1, 5-1 SEC) can ensure they finish ahead of the Bulldogs in the SEC with a win while also pushing their rivals on the brink of elimination from playoff contention. UT will secure a SEC title game berth by winning at Georgia and Vanderbilt. QB Nico Iamaleava is questionable to play on Saturday after suffering a concussion last week.
Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC) is coming off of a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss last week, slipping outside of the top 10 in the latest CFP rankings.
Here’s how to watch the Tennessee football vs. Georgia game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:
Watch Georgia vs. Tennessee live on Fubo (free trial)
Tennessee vs. Georgia will broadcast nationally on ABC in Week 12 of the 2024 college football season. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game from the booth at Sanford Stadium, with Holly Rowe reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 16
- Start time: 7:30 p.m.
The Tennessee football vs. Georgia game starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday from Sanford Stadium in Athens.
Knox News reporter Mike Wilson’s prediction: Georgia 24, Tennessee 20
Tennessee’s offense is looking better lately, but the Vols haven’t played a road game since Arkansas in early October. Georgia was a house of horrors in 2022 for Tennessee and its CFP hopes. It will be that again.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Nov. 15
- Odds: Georgia -9.5
- O/U: 47.5 points
- Money line: Georgia -375, Tennessee +300
- Aug. 31: Chattanooga, W 69-3
- Sept. 7: vs. NC State in Charlotte, W 51-10
- Sept. 14: Kent State, W 71-0
- Sept. 21: at Oklahoma, W 25-15
- Sept. 28: OPEN DATE
- Oct. 5: at Arkansas, L 19-14
- Oct. 12: Florida, W 23-17 OT
- Oct. 19: Alabama, W 24-17
- Oct. 26: OPEN DATE
- Nov. 2: Kentucky, W 28-18
- Nov. 9: Mississippi State, W 33-14
- Nov. 16: at Georgia, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
- Nov. 23: UTEP, 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and SEC Network+
- Nov. 30: at Vanderbilt, TBD
- Dec. 7: SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, 4 p.m. on ABC
Record: 8-1 (5-1 SEC)
- Aug. 31: vs. Clemson in Atlanta, W 34-3
- Sept. 7: Tennessee Tech, W 48-3
- Sept. 14: at Kentucky, W 13-12
- Sept. 21: OPEN DATE
- Sept. 28: at Alabama, L 41-34
- Oct. 5: Auburn, W 31-13
- Oct. 12: Mississippi State, W 41-31
- Oct. 19: at Texas, W 30-15
- Oct. 26: OPEN DATE
- Nov. 2: vs. Florida in Jacksonville, W 34-20
- Nov. 9: at Ole Miss, L 28-10
- Nov. 16: Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+
- Nov. 23: UMass, 12:45 p.m. on SEC Network
- Nov. 29: Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+
- Dec. 7: SEC Championship Game, 4 p.m. on ABC
Record: 7-2 (5-2 SEC)
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