Contact: Gregg Hunter, Georgia Family Council, 770-242-0001, gregg@georgiafamily.org.

NORCROSS, Georgia, April 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Georgia Family Council today announced the results of a study on Georgia citizen's thoughts about school choice. The study, commissioned by the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation of Indianapolis, shows that likely voters in Georgia are strongly in support of greater choice for parents regarding where their children attend school, particularly special-needs children. According to the results of this poll – the first of its kind conducted in the state – Georgians across all socio-economic and racial groups support a system whereby parents could receive credits or vouchers to send their children to a school – public or private – that better meets their children's educational needs.

Georgia Family Council supports the type of system the citizens are looking for.

"At Georgia Family Council, we see education as an issue of justice," said GFC President Randy Hicks. "We know that education is key to a child's future success, and when some children are cut off from educational opportunity – especially those who have special needs – they are potentially cut off from economic opportunity and face an uphill battle to achieve success as adults."

Jamie Self, vice president of Public Policy for Georgia Family Council, added, "While many public schools are doing an outstanding job of meeting the needs of special needs children, others are not. It would seem shortsighted and irresponsible to ignore a sensible solution to this problem. Legislation that has passed the state Senate, and is currently being considered by the House, would provide special needs students state money to choose their school. The House should act quickly to approve this bill. We shouldn't sacrifice this group of kids – and further burden their families – simply to accommodate a rigid ideology that, in these cases, harms real children with real needs."

For poll results: http://www.georgiafamily.org/upload/georgia_study.pdf

Georgia Family Council spokespersons are available for follow-up interviews. To request an interview, please call Gregg Hunter at 770-242-0001, or email at gregg@georgiafamily.org.

Georgia Family Council is a non-profit organization that works to strengthen and defend the family in Georgia by equipping marriage advocates, shaping laws, preparing the next generation and influencing culture. For more information, go to www.georgiafamily.org, (770) 242-0001, gregg@gafam.org.