Georgia
State Government
Governor
Brian Kemp (R)
State Senate
23
Democrats,
33
Republicans
State House
78
Democrats,
102
Republicans
Economic well-being - Georgia
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.1
Minimum wage
7.3
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.3
Poverty rate
12.6%
Unemployment rate
3.4
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
12.0
Poverty by demographic - Georgia
Child poverty rate
0.2
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
29000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
415000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
225000
Senior poverty rate
12.1 %
Women in poverty
5,640,440
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 17, 2012: Poor schools still get the short end
"Legislators this year thought they had fixed a $436 million grant program intended to raise up the state's poorest school districts, but you can't convince folks in rural Calhoun County that they succeeded."
The New York Times, May 22, 2012: Public Money Finds Back Door to Private School
"When the Georgia legislature passed a private school scholarship program in 2008, lawmakers promoted it as a way to give poor children the same education choices as the wealthy [...] That was the idea, at least. But parents meeting at Gwinnett Christian Academy got a completely different story last year."
Chattanooga Times Free Press, May 12, 2012: Barriers to higher ed
"'At a time when postsecondary education is more important than ever, Georgia's higher education policies and priorities are putting up barriers to make it harder for black, Hispanic and poor Georgians to get a college education,' concluded a report from the University of Pennsylvania, Institute for Research on Higher Education and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 29, 2012: Atlanta's frayed Blue Ribbons
"In just three years, Highland had gone from the verge of a state takeover to reporting that virtually every student passed standardized reading exams. This would be impressive anywhere. Highland did it with huge proportions of students who lived in poverty and, perhaps more important, who came from homes where no one spoke English."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 26, 2012: Colleges, charter schools new allies
"Two Atlanta colleges have pledged to reserve spots for qualified graduates from one of the nation's largest chain of charter schools in an effort to increase the number of low-income students earning bachelor's degrees."
The Macon Telegraph, April 4, 2012: Audit shows issues with Bibb schools' Title I spending
"Along with Title I funds, state officials who work with other federal programs, such as those serving homeless students or migrant students, may also take the opportunity to monitor local school systems. Once the state completes its audit, it sends the report to local school systems electronically."