The Heritage Foundation - Leadership for America

ATLANTA — Georgia state Rep. David Casas, speaking to conservative activists from across the country this morning at The Heritage Foundation’s Resource Bank, described how a broad coalition in Georgia helped bring school choice to special needs children and put a bill to give school choice tuition tax credits to all children on Gov. Sonny Perdue’s desk.

Casas, a Republican, stressed that grassroots organizing by conservative groups was essential to turning out supportive parents for town halls and committee meetings. The legislative push had to be bipartisan, however, as some conservative legislators didn’t want public money creeping into private schools and more liberal Republicans didn’t want to cross local school boards.

Casas said the key to success was finding the right message, which meant establishing that school choice “was not just some private-school parents that wanted to get some free public money, but was instead real market reform designed to help all students.”

Read more about school choice and Georgia’s success at Heritage’s Choices in Education site and at Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Friedman Foundation, Georgia Family Council  and Alliance for School Choice.