A number of education-related bills passed through the General Assembly this year, but one of the most controversial bills impacting education stalled — school vouchers.
Opponents of school vouchers who thought the issue was dead for this legislative session were surprised in the final days of the session when the education “scholarship” bill was back on the table as part of HB 63. After that try failed, rumors started flying that the voucher bill would be added SB 68 — legislation regarding audit exceptions in school systems, sponsored by Sen. Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson).
That bill met the Crossover Day deadline and moved over to the House, where two pieces of legislation were added — one created a right of review of performance evaluations of veteran teachers and the second other realigned the Chief Turnaround Office. But despite the rumors, the voucher amendment was never added. It is expected to come up again next year, and many expect a bill impacting the Chief Turnaround Office to re-surface, as well.
Legislators did, however, pass a lot of bills regarding education.
Among them was SB 83, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), which expands the Old and New Testament courses currently allowed to be taught in Georgia public schools. But attached to the bill was a piece of legislation by Rep. Robert Dickey (R-Musella) — HB 562 — which codifies the Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen (REACH) Scholarship. The REACH scholarship, established in 2012 by former Gov. Nathan Deal, is a needs-based mentorship and college scholarship program for low-income students.
Lawmakers also passed SB 15, a school safety bill by Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell). The “Keeping Georgia Schools Safe Act” includes recommendations made by the Senate Study Committee on School Safety and will require site threat assessment to be conducted every five years of school campuses across the state. SB 15 requires schools to develop safety plan drills and calls on each school to identify a school safety coordinator “to connect the dots” and create a school safety coach program. Schools will also be required to provide reports on safety initiatives and other information to the Georgia Department of Education.
The bill also requires the establishment of a school safety threat task force by the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
HB 59, by Rep. Dave Belton (R-Buckhead), allows students with parents in the military to enroll in a school district early when their parents receive orders. Belton reported that the bill had the support of the Pentagon and the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE).
House Bill 83 will require that elementary schools across Georgia schedule daily recess — with some exceptions. It encourages a half an hour a day, and it requires school boards to write policies ensuring that recess “is scheduled so that it provides a break” and isn’t withheld “for disciplinary or academic reasons.”
What Did Not Pass:
HB 444, the dual enrollment bill, remained tabled in the Senate
SB 161, weighting of grades, was postponed in the House and never came up for a vote.