Every student has the right to a quality education that is fully funded and equitably resourced.

The Georgia Constitution provides that “(t)he 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.”

To meet this constitutional requirement, Georgia funds public education through the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE), a funding formula created in 1985. Although this formula provides only a minimum funding structure, the state has failed to fully fund it in 18 of the last 20 years, for a cumulative budget shortfall of $10 billion.

Georgia needs to revise the QBE funding formula to do more than provide a “basic” education; instead it needs to determine the cost to truly finance public education for 21st century learners, and then fully fund this obligation every single year. This revision needs to account for the disproportionate challenges faced by students living in poverty. (Georgia is one of only six states that does not take income inequity into account in funding.)