"School choice" in Georgia: GOP Senate passed SB 233 with no requirement that "parents" have legal immigration status

Senate Education and Youth committee hearing on SB 233, Feb 28, 2023

A line-by-line look at the role of parents in the proposed new state “Promise Scholarship” grant

Creation of a new state grant to be known as a “Promise scholarship” for which parents must apply for student’s access to state funds.

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There is no requirement that “parents” be U.S. citizens or have legal immigration status.

Lines 32 & 33: “Parents” can also be a legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of a student.”

Lines 66 & 67: A student shall qualify for a promise scholarship account under this chapter if: The student’s parent or parents currently reside within Georgia;

Lines 78-81: It is the “parent” who begins the process of accessing the new “Promise scholarship” state grant for the student (and thereby the family) by submitting an application to the state – “The student’s parent submits an application for an account to the commission no later than the deadline established by the commission.”

Lines 101-104: “Parents” are the recipient of the state funds for the “Promise scholarship” and student account funds are a result of the choice of the parent.

“Any account funds directed to a participating school or service provider are so directed on behalf of the participating student’s parent, the recognized recipient of such participating student’s account funds, and wholly as a result of the genuine and independent private choice of the parent.”

Republican state Senator Greg Dolezal, lead sponsor SB 233.

The “parent” signs an “agreement” promising to do and not do certain things in relation to the student’s education.

Related: “School choice” and illegal immigration in Georgia: A pro-enforcement look at SB 233 (read the update on top).

Lines 105-108: The parent of each student participating in the program shall comply fully with the participating school or service provider’s rules and policies. Any parent who fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter and commission regulations relating to the program shall forfeit the account and all account funds therein. (If there is monitoring and then enforcement).

Lines 156 -159: “The commission shall develop a system for parents to direct account funds to participating schools and service providers by electronic funds transfer, automated clearing-house transfer, or another system that the commission finds to be commercially viable, cost-effective, and easy for parents of participating students to use.

The new state grant would set up a system of reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenditures for…parents.

Lines 160 – 163: (The) commission shall not adopt a system that relies solely on reimbursing parents for out-of-pocket expenses, but may determine certain qualified education expenses that must require reimbursement or preapproval for purchase (italics mine). The commission is authorized to qualify private financial management firms to manage the payment system.

“Parents” will be appointed by the state to serve on an oversight committee that makes decisions on eligible/qualified expenses.

Lines 186 – 192 “To assist in the determination of whether certain expenses meet the requirements to be considered a qualified education expense under this chapter, a parent review committee shall be established. The committee shall be composed of eight parents of eligible students. Four of the parents shall reside in local school systems with student enrollment greater than 10,000, and four of the parents shall reside in local school systems with student enrollment less than 10,000.”

There is no requirement that “parents” be U.S. citizens or have legal immigration status.

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We have a solution: Only U.S. citizens and green card holders should be allowed to apply for or benefit from “Promise scholarship” benefits.

—>UPDATE: The liberal AJC prints a lengthy correction after demand letter from the Dustin Inman Society. More news on this coming soon.

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Daily Signal News report (‘DEFAMATORY’: Conservative Demands Swing-State Newspaper Retract ‘Hate Group’ Smear’)
on the recent AJC attack here by the great Tyler O’Neil.

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I added educational hyperlinks to the below letter – dak.

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October 18, 2024

VIA U.S. REGULAR MAIL & E-MAIL

Leroy Chapman, Jr., Editor in Chief THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION 223 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE Atlanta, Georgia 30346

Re: Demand for Retraction and Apology

Dear Mr. Chapman, Jr.:

I write on behalf of my client, the Dustin Inman Society (DIS), to demand an immediate retraction and apology for the defamatory statements published in your October 7, 2024, article titled “Democrats in this Georgia district are backing a write-in candidate” by Tia Mitchell.

Through use of internet links, the AJC article wrongfully characterizes the Dustin Inman Society as a “Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group.” This characterization is false, defamatory, and published with actual malice. The Dustin Inman Society pushes for secure borders, is not “anti-immigration” and its proprietors do not hate anyone. Rather, DIS advocates for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and actively opposes unlawful immigration. This distinction is crucial and well-known to staff at your publication.

I paste the offending paragraph from the AJC story:

“A search of activity under her birth name, Karen Sacandy, which Stamper legally changed in 2019, showed that she previously was aligned with a Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group. The group’s website often linked to Sacandy’s activities, like a letter seeking information about the state’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board and a copy of a letter to the editor supporting legislation to prevent immigrants claiming asylum from obtaining driver’s licenses.”

HEMMER WESSELS MCMURTRY PLLC
250 Grandview Drive, Suite 500, Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017 ● Phone 859.344.1188 ● Fax 859.578.3869

October 18, 2024 Page 2

We note the AJC informs readers that the Dustin Inman Society “often” linked to Karen Sacandy/Kate Stamper activities — but produces only two occasions.

Your story, for which DIS founder and president D.A. King was not contacted, informs readers that Sacandy/Stamper “was aligned” with the Dustin Inman Society. We note that polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the federal offense of illegal immigration. Since the letter posted on the DIS site was a published missive to the editor at the Cherokee Tribune, we must ask: does this make that newspaper a “Cherokee County-based anti-immigration hate group”?

Your characterization demonstrates a reckless and vindictive disregard for the truth, rising to the level of actual malice as defined in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. Actual malice in defamation law refers to publication of a statement with knowledge that it is false or with reckless disregard of whether it is false or not. Your repeated mischaracterization of the Dustin Inman Society, despite having been corrected on numerous occasions, clearly meets this standard.

The Dustin Inman Society’s position on immigration is clear and public:

1. It supports sustainable levels of legal immigration through established channels.

2. It opposes unlawful immigration due to various societal concerns, including: – Strain on public resources and services
– Potential and real public safety issues
– Economic impacts on low-wage American workers and America’s poor

– Challenges to the rule of law

3. The Dustin Inman Society defends legal immigrants when media attempt to blur the difference between them and illegal aliens.

Moreover, the Dustin Inman Society’s board includes lawful immigrants who have navigated the proper channels for authorized immigration. This fact alone should dispel any notion that the organization is “anti-immigration.” As he has informed you multiple times over much of the last two decades, D.A. King’s sister is a real, legal immigrant.

While we acknowledge that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Dustin Inman Society as an “anti-immigrant hate group that denigrates all immigrants,” your article presents the “anti-immigration hate group” characterization as the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s independent assessment and statement of fact.

This smear is not only demonstrably false and ignores Mr. King’s many communications to you advising you of the truth, but also demonstrates an exceedingly unprofessional failure to fact-check and verify information before publication.

We demand that the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

October 18, 2024 Page 3

1. Immediately publicly retract the defaming statement in the October 7, 2024, article.

2. Publish a prominent apology, equal in visibility and placement to the original defamatory article.

3. Cease and desist from further defamatory characterizations of the Dustin Inman Society.

Failure to comply with these demands may result in further legal action. We expect your prompt attention to this matter and await your timely response.

Sincerely,

Todd V. McMurtry

cc: James Abely, Esq.