Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

During the 2020 legislative session, I voted against a budget that cut almost one billion dollars from education. Now more than ever, we are asking our schools to do more, with less. If you have school-aged children, as I do, you should have a new appreciation for what our schools and teachers do everyday. It is way past time to fully fund our public education system -- Georgia ranks 31st in K-12 education, and 44th in graduation rates. I have and will continue to fight hard to ensure our public schools receive adequate and equitable funding.

I support adequate and equitable school funding, improved early learning programs, and reduced reliance on standardized testing. In fact, in 2020, I voted for the successful passage of a bill that reduces statewide mandated testing.

I support fully funding the HOPE Scholarship and keeping it merit-based. I will work to ensure that the state explores funding a separate need-based scholarship for students from low-income families -- Georgia is one of only two states in the U.S. that does not offer such a scholarship for students from low-income homes. I support expanding Georgia's Pre-K programs so that all families who want access can get it.

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