According to a new fiscal impact study, the Georgia Education Expense Credit Program has saved Georgia taxpayers as much as $952 million in years 2011 through 2020. The study updated a previous fiscal impact analysis by Martin F. Lueken, Ph.D., Director of the Fiscal Research and Education Center for EdChoice Foundation, upon which Georgia lawmakers relied when expanding the cap in 2018 to $100 million.

Leuken updated his study to assist lawmakers in considering a proposed increase in the annual cap on the popular tax credit scholarship program to $200 million, as taxpayer demand for credits in 2023 well exceeded the present $120 million cap on the very first business day of the year.

Leuken’s study determined that, even under the most conservative assumptions, from 2011 through 2020, the Program saved state and local governments $334 million. “As the Georgia program has been operational for more than one decade, the program’s fiscal effects on taxpayers is likely closer to the $952 million estimate,” said Lueken.
 
According to Lisa Kelly, President of Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc., the state’s largest student scholarship program operating under the Program, the significant positive fiscal impact and long-term economic benefits are secondary to the improved pre-K-12 educational opportunities. “We appreciate Mr. Lueken’s updated study and lawmakers’ having proof of the substantial fiscal savings associated with the Program; however, the ultimate value of the Program is the life-changing difference it is making for the children of Georgia,” Kelly said.
 
“Hopefully, after considering the recent passage of universal school choice Education Savings Account legislation in Arizona and Iowa, Georgia lawmakers will decide to expand the annual cap on our more modest school choice program to $200 million, while also saving the state money,” Kelly added.