2006 PAGE Final Legislative Report
By Margaret Price
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Increased state budget revenues and election year politics blended to create an interesting environment for education in the Georgia Legislature during the 2006 session. The following bills passed the 2006 General Assembly and have been sent to the Governor for his signature. Governor Perdue has forty days after adjournment to sign or veto any bills or joint resolutions. At the end of this forty-day period, bills which are not yet signed or vetoed become law. The effective dates of these bills will be July 1, 2006, unless otherwise specified within the bill.
Governor痴 Legislation
SB 390, Governor Perdue痴 65% spending initiative, has already been signed into law. The final version of this controversial legislation mandates that 65% of all education dollars be spent on direct classroom expenditures but contains several changes allowing local systems to apply for one-year renewable hardship waivers if the systems are unable to meet the 65% classroom spending requirement due to Acts of God, unexpected fuel costs, or other emergencies. Costs to comply with any state mandate effective after January 1, 2006 will not be calculated as part of the 65% formula. In both House and Senate Committees, PAGE testified with concerns regarding this bill, pointing to diminishing local control and asking for the inclusion of additional personnel such as counselors, media specialists, and others, within the legislation's definition of "classroom." Ultimately, the definition includes salaries and benefits for teachers and paraprofessionals, and costs associated with materials and supplies, field trips, physical education, music and art. The definition does not include costs for administration, plant operation and maintenance, food service, transportation, instructional support including media centers, teacher training, and student support such as nurses and guidance counselors. This law will become effective on July 1, 2006.
HB 1358, Governor Perdue痴 Truth in Class Size Act, is PAGE-supported legislation that does away with system averaging and provides maximum class sizes as follows:
- Kindergarten program (without paraprofessional): 18
- Kindergarten program (with paraprofessional): 20
- Grades 1-3: 21
- Grades 4-5: 28
- Grades 6-8: 28
SB 468 is the Governor痴 grant program which allows needs improvement schools to employ High Performance Principals. The State Board of Education will establish this program to attract proven high performing principals to secondary schools that have not made adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years. Such principals will be eligible for a one-year salary supplement of up to $15,000, and this supplement may be renewed for up to two additional school years.
Other Education Legislation
HB 972 states that, should the Professional Standards Commission include a requirement to demonstrate computer skill competency, educators can elect to fulfill that requirement by completing a course in computer skill competency, including but not limited to the InTech program, or educators may receive satisfactory results on a test in basic computer skill competency which the local school system must make available for the educator to take at the educator痴 school site.
HB 543 allows a local board of education to establish a spousal sick leave bank so that an employee of the local board may donate up to ten sick leave days to his or her spouse if such spouse is also an employee of the local board for purposes of maternity leave, illness, illness of a family member, or death of a family member.
SB 618 requires that local systems enroll and educate students who are under the supervision of the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Juvenile Justice and are housed in residential facilities located within the boundaries of such local systems.
SB 79 allows school systems to offer elective courses in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. The stated purpose of the course is to familiarize students with the contents of the Old and New Testaments and the impact of the testaments upon law, history, government, literature, art, music, customs, morals, values, and culture. The State Board of Education will develop a curriculum for these courses no later than February 1, 2007.
SB 515 is a PAGE-supported bill which expands remedial education to include middle grades. The final version of the bill also made some minor technical changes to equalization grants.
SB 442 requires reporting by a mandated child abuse reporter with reasonable cause to suspect abuse no later than 24 hours after that suspicion arose. Additionally, persons in charge of hospitals, schools, and other agencies to whom abuse has been reported must not exercise any control, restraint, modification, or make other changes to the information provided in the original report when relaying this information to the Division of Family and Children Services or other agencies. Such intermediary reporters may provide additional relevant information, when necessary. PAGE has worked closely with the Office of the Child Advocate and other groups on this legislation for several years.
HB 1219 provides for a sales tax holiday August 3, 2006-August 6, 2006. Items included under the temporary sales tax repeal include certain school supplies, clothing, footwear, computers, and computer related accessories.
HB 1483 requires local systems to hold two public hearings before lowering the local salary supplement in a year in which educators receive a state salary increase. Currently, only one such hearing is required. PAGE lobbyists testified in strong support of this legislation, citing numerous complaints by PAGE members regarding the lowering of their salary supplements. The bill includes a PAGE-suggested provision which would require local systems to notify educators of the public hearings individually at least seven days prior to the meeting. Notification is also required in the local legal organ. This bill痴 effective date will be July 1, 2006.
SB 610 allows for the creation of virtual charter schools.
HB 1227 creates an Agricultural Education Advisory Commission with members appointed by the House, Senate, Governor, and State School Superintendent. The commission will periodically review the conditions, needs, issues, and problems related to the agriculture education program and issue an annual report on such to the General Assembly. This provision sunsets on December 31, 2012.
HB 1228 creates the Career and Technical Education Advisory Commission with members appointed by the House, Senate, Governor, and State School Superintendent. The commission will periodically review the needs, issues, and problems related to the career and technical education program and issue an annual report on the commission痴 findings to the General Assembly. This provision sunsets on December 31, 2012.
HB 1241 provides that no high school shall participate in, sponsor, or provide coaching staff for interscholastic sports events which are conducted under the authority of, conducted under the rules of, or scheduled by any athletic association unless the charter, bylaws, or other governing documents of such athletic association provide that a student will not lose eligibility to participate as a team member on an interscholastic sports team solely because such student participates during the school year in a national competitive event, such as an all-star or showcase event, that is not sanctioned by such athletic association.
HB 1316 creates a twelve-member High School Athletics Overview Committee.
HB 984 applies to students with parents or legal guardians in the military. When the parents or guardians are on leave or are close to military deployment, students should be granted up to five excused absences in order to visit such parents or guardians.
SB 413 is a PTA sponsored and PAGE-supported bill which seeks to prevent high school drop outs by requiring parental permission before a student can withdraw from school. If a student does wish to withdraw, SB 413 requires that a conference convene within two days at which a school designee will make a reasonable attempt to share information with the student regarding lifetime earnings and employment possibilities for persons lacking a high school diploma. The final language of the bill requires each local board of education to adopt policies and procedures for notifying parents regarding school clubs and an opportunity for parents to withhold permission for a child to join a club. Another small amendment allowing school systems to stop publishing school bus routes was also added to the final bill.
HR 410 creates the House Study Committee on Reporting Requirements for Local School Systems to determine whether such reports are necessary to the goals of public education or whether such reports are obsolete. This resolution needs no signature from the Governor before becoming law.
HR 1048 creates the House Study Committee on Market-Demand Skills Education in High Schools. The committee will study ways in which students can obtain skills in automotive technology, computer technology, construction trades, health care technology, and hospitality to combat youth unemployment and improve Georgia痴 economic development. A report from the committee will be made before December 31, 2006, at which point the committee shall stand abolished. This resolution needs no signature from the Governor before becoming law.
HB 1055 mandates that public schools adopt an Internet Safety Policy no later than January 1, 2007. The policy shall contain provisions which are designed to prevent students and employees of the school system from using computer equipment to send or receive obscenity, child pornography, or material that is harmful to minors. The policy must establish appropriate measures to be taken against students and school employees who willfully violate such policy and provide for an expedited review process to resolve claims that the policy is denying students or employees access to non-prohibited material.
Retirement
HB 400 allows for a post-retirement increase for TRS members who retired before June 30, 1987. TRS members who retired before July 1, 1974 would receive a 10% retirement benefit increase while those who retired after that date but before June 30, 1982 would receive a 6% increase. TRS members who retired after June 30, 1982 and before June 30, 1987 would receive a 2% increase in their retirement benefit. This act will become effective on July 1, 2006.
2007 Budget Highlights
Provide for a 4% increase in the base salary for all school system certified personnel, bus drivers, food service workers, kindergarten paraprofessionals, RESA employees, and DOE employees $226,235,147
Reduce class size in grades K-8. $163,164,787
Increase the employer share of state health insurance for certified employees. $138,410,487
Reduction in funding for state teacher liability insurance ($200,000)
Redirect monies from central office contacts to fund an evaluation of the Reading and Math Program $150,000
Eliminate funding for the Global Achievers Contract ($35,000)
Reduce personal services, regular operating expenses, and computer charges. Reduce funding for the Educational Technology Training Centers and RESA担 ($698,493)
Redirect funds from Education Go Get It to Communities in Schools to provide for high school completion counselor training and funding for three new Performance Learning Centers in Ben Hill County, Troup County, and Cobb County, and Dublin, GA. $982,500
Provide grant funds for school districts to recruit high performance principals for target schools. $2,250,000
Provide funds for Fund Accounting. $2,000,000
Provide Funds for Academic Coaches in Needs Improvement Schools $2,467,578
Provide for an increase in Equalization Grants $46,575,439
Remove one-time funds in Migrant Education for the Bulloch County poultry plant. ($250,000)
Provide funds for $100 purchase cards for teachers. $10,000,000
Provide grants to schools for summer remedial education in grades 6-8. $1,400,000
Provide funds to restore half of the FY 2003 reductions to the QBE Formula funding for media materials increasing the rate from $9.77 to 14.65 per FTE. $5,106,071
Expand the web-based classroom accountability model. $800,000
Provide funds to align the Georgia Alternate Assessment with the new Georgia Performance Standards. $250,000
Provide funding for an assessment for English Language Learners to measure English proficiency. $500,000
Improve Graduation rates by providing grants to school systems to fund one high school completion counselor for every high school. $15,429,069
Provide funds to increase the benefit accrual rate for members of the Public School Employees� Retirement System by $0.50 per month for each year of service, increasing the rate from $13.50 to $14.00. $2,850,000
Expand the virtual charter school by 2,000 seats. $800,000
Add funds for student transportation costs to assist with rising fuel costs. $5,000,000
Finance the purchase of new school buses. $45,000,000
Failed Legislation
SB 427 would have allowed investment of several large retirement systems, excluding the Teachers Retirement System, in risky venture capital investments. Because educators who are part of ERS and PSERS may have had portions of their retirement invested in these risky ventures, PAGE testified in committee with concerns that legislators were trading the possibility of large growth with the acceptance of a very large risk to fiscally sound retirement systems. Though SB 427 passed the Senate, it was stopped in the House and failed to pass due to PAGE担 efforts.
HR 1345 proposed a constitutional amendment which potentially would have allowed for school vouchers. PAGE lobbyists testified in support of similar legislation in the past, citing PAGE'S support of faith-based organizations, while strongly advocating the need for language to be included in any amendment that specifically excludes vouchers. Representatives from Governor Perdue's office and some lawmakers insisted that HR 1345 was not intended to allow vouchers. Sponsors of the bill then rejected several requests to amend the bill to specifically exclude vouchers. Ultimately, many lawmakers seemed to agree with PAGE'S concerns, as the sponsors could muster only 95 votes in favor of the legislation - far from the necessary 120-vote majority needed to pass such a constitutional amendment.
During the 2006 session, PAGE put forth a package of bills which sought to enhance the policy making procedures regarding the State Health Benefit Plan. Unfortunately, all such pieces of legislation, including HB 975, SB 407, SB 410, SB 411, and SB 412, did not pass. PAGE hopes that these failed proposals, which included adding an educator to the board of the Department of Community Health, may be considered in the future.
In addition, PAGE also had Representative Jamieson introduce a number of retirement bills including a 25 year retirement bill and a bill to increase the retirement multiplier. Unfortunately, none of these bills were acted upon due to the substantial costs to the state.