Georgia Governor Brian Kemp had proposed going back to the original HOPE scholarship, where all high school students with a B average or better would get the full HOPE funding. Democrats in the Georgia House agreed with the governor, but a majority of Republicans voted for a two-tier system.
Rep Stacey Evans, an Atlanta Democrat, said the lottery has enough money to pay full freight for all qualifiers.
“All HOPE scholars all across the state are worthy of our investment in them at 100% if we can afford it, not just those with a 1,200 SAT,” Evans said, referring to the standardized test requirement for Zell Miller scholars.
But Republicans argued that Georgia should give bigger rewards to the highest-performing students.
The House voted to pay full tuition for only Zell Miller scholars, which requires students to earn higher grades and a minimum standardized test score. Other HOPE recipients would get 95% of tuition, up from 90% now.
Comments