In addition to giving state education officials the right to create charter schools, the amendment would also allow them to transfer money from local school districts to charter schools, according to the AP. It would also give state lawmakers the formal right to create education policy.
The amendment is a response to a state Supreme Court ruling in May 2011 that concluded the Georgia Charter School Commission, created by the state legislature in 2008, was unconstitutional, according to the AP. The court ruled that local school boards, not a state commission, are the only entities with the right to open public schools.
More than one thousand charter school students and supporters rallied at the Georgia state capitol Tuesday to support the amendment, according to a press release from state Sen. Chip Rogers's office. "More choices, more options, more opportunity -- this is what we need to offer," Rogers said in a statement. "Parents, not government, should be entrusted with determining what’s best for children."
The bill would need to pass with two-thirds of the state House and Senate before being sent to the voters for final approval, according to AP.
