Atlanta - People who want to use state money to send students to private schools were at the Capitol on Monday, throwing their weight behind a bill to give that right to disabled students and rolling out a poll they say shows Georgians agree with them.

The event, sponsored by a national pro-school voucher group, came as the bill, sponsored by Senate president pro-tem Eric Johnson, sits ready for action in the state House with only five days left in the Legislature's session.

"Georgians support school choice," said Robert Enlow, director of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. "They support school choice particularly for children with special needs."

The poll, conducted last month using questions written by the foundation and other voucher supporters, suggests a majority of likely voters in Georgia favor allowing parents to use state tax money to send their children to a private or public school of their choice.

Critics call the poll misleading, saying at least some of its questions appear designed to get a positive response.

"If they are fairly questioned, most Georgians are not in support of public dollars going to private and religious schools," said Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. "You can spin things ... and you can rally your supporters, but at the end of the day there are serious constitutional issues here."

Critics of Johnson's plan say it would allow the parents of students with minor disabilities to send their children to private schools while leaving public schools to educate those with the most severe handicaps.

They also say Johnson's bill appears to be a first step toward allowing parents of all students, not just those with disabilities, to use state money to pay for private school tuition.

The plan passed the Republican-controlled Senate last month on a mostly party-line 31-23 vote after three hours of spirited debate.

Johnson said he's spoken to leaders in the House who support the plan. But it must work its way through the chamber with only five legislative days left in the Legislature's 40-day session.

"Day 35 no reason to be nervous," a smiling Johnson said Monday.

The effort comes as the House and Senate are deadlocked in a tense fight over the state budget. Historically, leaders in one chamber will hold bills sponsored by leaders of the other as a tool in budget negotiations.

Those differences often are worked out although this year's budget fight is one of the harshest in years.

Those eligible under Johnson's plan would range from blind and deaf and students with traumatic brain injuries to those with emotional and behavioral disorders.

The maximum amount parents would receive would be equal to the cost of educating their children in public school.

Private schools are not compelled by law to accept those students. But Johnson said he's been surprised to learn how many private schools already exist in the state designed for students with serious disabilities.

Wilton D. Gregory, archbishop of the Catholic church's Atlanta archdiocese, while not taking a specific stance on Johnson's bill, attended the Monday event to endorse the findings of the foundation's survey.

"It is a matter of educational justice for the parents of lower economic means," Gregory said of school vouchers.