HB 328 Vote Explainer: Expanding Tax Credits for Private School Scholarships

Quick Take

HB 328 significantly expands Georgia’s private school scholarship tax credit program by increasing the amount of tax revenue that can be redirected to private education. While supporters see this as expanding educational choice, I believe it further diverts public resources away from our public schools and allows wealthy taxpayers to decide where tax dollars go instead of funding the public education system that serves every child.

Why It Matters

Public education is one of the state’s most important responsibilities. Every Georgia child deserves access to a strong public school, regardless of where they live or their family’s income.

Georgia’s student scholarship tax credit program allows taxpayers to contribute money to Student Scholarship Organizations (SSOs) and receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit. This means tax dollars that would otherwise support the state’s general budget are instead directed to private school scholarship organizations.

HB 328 expands that program by increasing the statewide tax credit cap from $120 million to $150 million per year, allowing even more state revenue to be diverted into private education. The bill also expands eligibility for scholarships to additional groups of students and makes several other changes to the program.

Key Facts

HB 328:

• Increases the annual cap on private school scholarship tax credits from $120 million to $150 million.
• Expands eligibility for scholarship recipients, including additional students with disabilities and students assigned to low-performing schools.
• Adds ethics provisions preventing legislators and their spouses from receiving income from scholarship organizations that benefit from these tax credits.
• Includes unrelated provisions affecting virtual public schools and Transit SPLOST elections.

My Perspective

I strongly support public education because it is the one educational system that is open to every child in Georgia.

Supporters describe this program as charitable giving, but I see it differently. When taxpayers receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, they are not simply making a donation, they are deciding where their state tax dollars will go. That means individuals, particularly those with significant tax liability, can redirect money that would otherwise support Georgia’s public schools and other essential state services.

I believe that is fundamentally different from making a charitable contribution with your own money.

Public schools educate the overwhelming majority of Georgia’s children. They accept every student, regardless of disability, family income, or background. Rather than expanding programs that divert tax revenue away from those schools, I believe we should focus on strengthening the public education system that serves every community in our state.

For those reasons, I voted NO on HB 328.