Only U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders) should be considered for state benefits on “educational freedom” and “putting the parents in charge…”
- Georgia Republicans who call themselves conservatives should reconsider the goal of using tax dollars to provide private school tuition money to illegal alien students and families. Rewarding and encouraging illegal immigration into Georgia is not a conservative ideal.
- A 1982 SCOTUS decision (Plyler v Doe) only mandates that states must provide public K-12 school education to all student regardless of immigration status.
- We don’t allow illegal aliens to access the Hope Scholarship or the Zell Miller Scholarship or instate tuition in our taxpayer-funded public colleges. Why do some Republicans want to welcome illegal alien families with discretionary taxpayer-funded K-12 private school benefits?
- Georgia already has the seventh largest population of illegal aliens in the nation. We are home to more illegal aliens than Arizona. Legislators and lobbyists who are pushing unrestricted “school choice” seem determined to make our state even more attractive to illegal immigration and the additional crime it creates.
- Using basic eligibility requirements and adjusting language already in state law, it is easy to create a measure that only allows verified U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents to even apply for any state school choice benefits. Nobody needs to ask applicants about immigration status.
- Although unworkable, there were various versions of poorly written language purporting to exclude illegal aliens from the proposed “school choice” legislation offered in three separate bills in 2021-2022 General Assembly. So we know members of the legislature are aware of this concern. –>As requested, we have draft language to remedy the problem with “school choice” legislation that grows illegal immigration in Georgia.
- Related (example): OCGA 20-3-519.1 “2 (b): A student is ineligible for any scholarship or grant described in this part if the student: (1) Is not a United States citizen or a permanent resident alien who meets the definition of an eligible noncitizen…”
