Cumming Legislator Files Bill for Education Savings Accounts

A Representative from Cumming has proposed a bill which would shift some funding away from the state’s public schools in an effort to give parents greater choice regarding their child’s education.

Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming) submitted the “Parental Choice bill” on Wednesday, according to WSB-TV. The legislation, tentatively given the designation H.B. 243, would allow parents to choose if they wanted the funds the state pays for their child’s public education to be shifted to an education savings account which would then be used to pay tuition for a private school.

Under the proposed legislation, parents who chose to transfer funds to an education account would still be required to pay taxes to support their local public schools, WSB-TV said.

Arizona and Florida have enacted similar legislation, and Hamilton hopes Georgia will be following suit. A Democratic lawmaker interviewed by WSB-TV said he agreed with the plan in principle, but wanted to ensure the legislation would not damage the state’s public education system.

As the bill has yet to receive a first reading, the full text of the draft legislation has not yet been uploaded to the Georgia General Assembly’s website. Once this happens, Patch will provide a complete copy of the bill embedded in this or an updated article.