FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Date: March 29, 2013

From: Kate Saylor, Director of Marketing and Communications, Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. (“GOAL”)

Subject: Georgia Legislators Expand K-12 Scholarship Program

Georgia Legislators Expand K-12 Scholarship Program

In the final hours of this year’s session of the Georgia General Assembly, last night, legislators approved a bill to increase the amount of state income tax credits that are available to taxpayers for contributions made to student scholarship organizations. The student scholarship organizations, or SSOs, use the contributions to provide scholarships to students who are seeking to transfer from K-12 public schools to the private schools of their parents’ choice.

The cap increase from $52.375 million to $58 million was linked to important improvements in the transparency and accountability of the popular tuition tax credit program. These included:

• A requirement that scholarship applicants attend public schools for the six weeks immediately preceding the awarding of a scholarship

• A waiver of the six-week attendance requirement in cases where a student is assigned to a low performing public school, has been the subject of “bullying” at the public school, or has been enrolled in a home study program for at least one year prior to receiving a scholarship

• A requirement that SSOs consider the financial needs of students applying for the scholarships

• A reduction in the maximum administrative fees that SSOs may charge 

• A requirement that the SSOs file an independent audit with the Department of Revenue that verifies that the SSO is complying with the requirements of the law

• A provision permitting the DOR to place on “probation” any SSO who fails to verify that it is complying with the reporting requirements under the law

• A requirement that the DOR annually post on its website information about each SSO’s scholarship contribution and award activities

• A prohibition against SSOs awarding scholarships to any individual designated by a contributor

• A prohibition against SSOs promising to award a scholarship to the parent of a child in exchange for that parent contributing to the SSO.

Presently, individuals can contribute up to $2,500 each year and receive a corresponding Georgia income tax credit. Corporations can receive a tax credit for their contributions up to a maximum amount of 75% of the Georgia income tax liability. A new provision permits owners of interests in so-called “pass-through” entities, such as partnerships, “S” corporations, and limited liability companies, to receive a tax credit for up to $10,000 of their contributions.

In the opinion of Lisa Kelly, President of the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, the State’s largest SSO, “this important legislation is the best of both worlds in that it provides more transparency and accountability and, by raising the cap, more scholarships for deserving children.”

Kelly says GOAL has always considered financial needs of applicants for the scholarships. As a result, the average household income of GOAL scholarship recipient families has averaged about $26,000, adjusted for family size. The average GOAL scholarship award is $3,800.

According to Kelly, “as this program grows and Georgians witness its positive results, we suspect that the legislature will be motivated to increase the cap even more.”

For more information about the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, interested readers can visit www.goalscholarship.org.

Press inquiries can be directed to:

Lisa Kelly
President
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc.
lmkelly@goalscholarship.org
770-828-4625