The Georgia Senate has voted down a proposal to create scholarship accounts in the amount of $6,000 for public school students in Georgia to transfer into private schools.
The so-called vouchers bill failed 20-29 after a heated debate Tuesday.
The scholarship accounts would have been awarded based on the school system without consideration of student circumstances, said Sen. Butch Miller, a Republican from Gainesville who sponsored the bill. This would have allowed the scholarships to apply to any student in the public school system of Georgia.
The bill lacked a means to address accountability and transparency in private schools, said Democrat Sen. Nan Orrock of Atlanta. She called the bill a false flag because 71% of Georgia private schools have tuition of $12,000 and families that cannot already afford private school tuition would not actually benefit from the scholarships.
The debate took place on Crossover day, which was the last opportunity for the bill to pass the Senate and move to the House of Representatives.
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