To Chairman Hufstetler and Honorable Members of the Senate Finance Committee,
Good afternoon, Chairman and Members of the Committee. My name is Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed. I am the IDRA Georgia Advocacy Director, an independent, non-partisan education research and policy organization. I am here to speak in opposition to Senate Bill 446.
Voucher programs, including the federal tax credit program in this bill, divert scarce public resources to private schools that are not held to the same standards of transparency, accountability or nondiscrimination laws. This weakens the public education systems which the majority of Georgian’s rely on.
We are particularly concerned with the declaration in lines 24 through 26 and 134 through 139 that would automatically renew Georgia’s participation in the federal voucher program, which has no national financial cap and limited state control.
Over the past decade, evaluations estimate that Georgia has directed more than $1 billion to voucher programs, including the Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit. The proposed federal program operates on a much larger scale. Because there are no caps on the tax credit program, some research conservatively estimates that the federal voucher could cost between $21 billion and $51 billion, and some estimate as much as $100 billion (Davis, C., 2025).
That is federal revenue that will no longer be available to support public programs, including programs which support Georgia families and vulnerable students. That is an extraordinary redirection of public resources to institutions without a meaningful cost containment mechanism.
If Georgia is going to make an annual election into a program of this fiscal magnitude, it should require meaningful public input, legislative review, and rigorous evaluation of fiscal impact and student outcomes before opting in each year. SB 446 instead institutionalizes participation and places the ongoing participation decision within an administrative process, minimizing public accountability.
This approach stands in tension with Georgia’s constitutional commitment to wisdom, moderation and justice and with this committee’s recent efforts to strengthen accountability and transparency in our existing, identical tax credit voucher. Under this federal structure, scholarship-granting organizations could retain up to 10% of their income for administrative costs.
Georgia currently caps that threshold at 5%, and recent amendments in both chambers have sought to reduce it to 3%. SB 446 would therefore expand administrative allowances while limiting the state’s ability to impose stricter standards, as rulemaking must remain consistent with federal statute.
Finally, the fiscal impact will not be evenly distributed. Rural school districts rely most heavily on state and federal revenue to sustain operations, yet private schools are overwhelmingly concentrated in metro areas. Under Georgia’s disability voucher program, we have already seen funds flow out of rural communities into urban private schools. School districts lose revenue, while many rural families lack realistic access to private options.
For these reasons, we are opposed to voucher programs but, where they exist, we urge as much transparency and accountability in their administration. I respectfully urge you to vote no on SB 446.
IDRA is available for any questions or further resources that we can provide. Thank you for your consideration. For more information, please contact Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., IDRA Georgia Advocacy Director at [mikayla.arciaga@idra.org].
Citation
Davis, C. (May 15, 2025). House Tax Bill Enlists the Wealthy to Spread Private School Vouchers. Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
IDRA is an independent, non-profit organization led by Celina Moreno, J.D. Our mission is to achieve equal educational opportunity for every child through strong public schools that prepare all students to access and succeed in college.
Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., IDRA Georgia Advocacy Director (mikayla.arciaga@idra.org)
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