Constitutional Basis for Public Education in Georgia
Public education is mandated by the Constitution of the State of Georgia, in Article VIII, Section I, Paragraph I, which says the following:
The provision of an adequate public education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia. Public education for the citizens prior to the college or postsecondary level shall be free and shall be provided for by taxation. The expense of other public education shall be provided for in such manner and in such amount as may be provided by law.
Article VIII, Section VII, Paragraph I, goes on to expressly give the General Assembly the power to use public funds for educational assistance programs by stating, in part, that
(a) Pursuant to laws now or hereafter enacted by the General Assembly, public funds may be expended for any of the following purposes:
(1) To provide grants, scholarships, loans, or other assistance to students and to parents of students for educational purposes.
(2) To provide for a program of guaranteed loans to students and to parents of students for educational purposes and to pay interest, interest subsidies, and fees to lenders on such loans. The General Assembly is authorized to provide such tax exemptions to lenders as shall be deemed advisable in connection with such program.
(3) To match funds now or hereafter available for student assistance pursuant to any federal law.
(4) To provide grants, scholarships, loans, or other assistance to public employees for educational purposes.
(5) To provide for the purchase of loans made to students for educational purposes who have completed a program of study in a field in which critical shortages exist and for cancellation of repayment of such loans, interest, and charges thereon.
The Georgia Constitution also contains a “Blaine Amendment” in Article I, Section II, Paragraph VII, that says that “[n]o money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, cult, or religious denomination or of any sectarian institution.” Unlike the federal understanding of the U.S. Constitution’s “separation of church and state”, which allows for funding to sectarian institutions so long as they comport with the “Lemon Test” related to the purpose and result of such funding,[1] state Blaine Amendments have been interpreted to erect a much more rigid wall of separation between government and sectarian institutions.
Many legal experts believe that, under Georgia law, as long as parents direct where taxpayer-funded scholarships are ultimately spent and there are secular (as well as religious) alternatives to choose from, such scholarships would pass constitutional muster. However, it is likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately rule on this issue.
[1] Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971) (setting up a three prong test for determining if a program meets the requirements of the Establishment Clause).