WASHINGTON — Today, Heritage Action, a conservative organization with two million grassroots activists nationwide, including thousands of Georgians, released a statement from Executive Director Jessica Anderson thanking Governor Brian Kemp for signing three historic education bills – The Protect Students First Act (HB 1084), The Parents’ Bill of Rights (HB 1178), and an expansion of Georgia’s private school tax credit scholarship program (HB 517).
Parents deserve transparency, oversight, and options when it comes to their children’s education. Thanks to the General Assembly and Governor Kemp, Georgia is on the front lines of the fight for parental rights.
The Protect Students First Act, the Parents’ Bill of Rights, and the expansion of private school tax credit scholarships will all be important tools to prevent the Left from using education as indoctrination or forcing a one-size-fits-all approach on our children. We look forward to working with lawmakers and activists to expand these measures and protect our children from woke ideology.
Background:
HB 1084, The Protect Students First Act, incorporates policy to protect public school students and teachers from racial discrimination, compelled belief that any race is inherently superior or inferior, and any curricula, classroom instruction, or mandatory training programs that advocate for the divisive worldview of critical race theory.
HB 1178, The Parents’ Bill of Rights, acknowledges the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children, protecting parents’ ability to review all instructional materials intended for use in their child’s classroom.
HB 517, an expansion of Georgia’s private school tax credit scholarship program, allows individuals and businesses in Georgia to receive state tax credits for making charitable contributions to non-profit organizations that award K-12 private school scholarships to eligible students. Currently, nearly 16,200 students in Georgia use these scholarships, but the cap on contributions and scholarship disbursements is hit every year, leaving a large demand unmet. HB 517 expands the cap by twenty percent and expands the credit, giving more parents expanded options for their children’s education.
A June 2021 Heritage Action/OnMessage poll of likely Georgia voters shows Georgians oppose the application of CRT in their schools. 81% agree children should be taught about the American Dream available to them and not that their destiny and inherent value is dependent on skin color – a position that crosses racial, gender, geographical, and party lines with overwhelming majorities.
In August 2021, Heritage Action announced the launch of Save Our Schools, an initiative to support parents’ rights to fight for the values of their children and weed out Critical Race Theory and its divisive teachings.
These bills advance solutions to the problems Heritage Action found in their list of egregious examples of CRT ideology in Georgia schools.