Report from the Capitol -- Day 6
15076 on 1/21/2014

The House and Senate Education Committees met for the first time in 2014 this afternoon. The Senate committee got down to business and passed several bills, and House Ed outlined priorities for the upcoming session.  

Religious Observance in Schools

 

 

SB 283, Dugan (R-Carrollton), allows school districts to educate students about "the history of traditional winter celebrations" and allows students and staff to express holiday greetings such as "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hanukah," and "Happy Holidays." The legislation also allows districts to display symbols associated with those holidays. Senator Dugan, the bill's sponsor, told committee members today that the legislation does not actually create new law, but that it provides clarity regarding what schools can already do under existing law. The bill passed and now moves to Senate Rules for placement on the Senate voting calendar.   

 

SB 289, McKoon (R-Columbus), another bill which purports to provide guidance regarding the expression of religion in schools, allows school boards to adopt policies enabling students to deliver religious or inspirational messages at student assemblies. Committee members expressed concern this afternoon that there was no oversight of the student speech in the instance that inflammatory or offensive speech was used. Senator McKoon seemed unwilling to amend the bill to provide clarification of the terminology that several speakers and committee members felt is vague and explained that his legislation lacks provision for adult oversight in order to avoid legal challenge. SB 289 was referred to the Senate Ed subcommittee on School Choice and Policy.
GHSA'S Financial Reporting

 

SB 288, Bethel (R-Dalton), requires Georgia's public high schools who belong to the Georgia High School Association to continue membership only if GHSA alters its financial reporting methods. In his comments to the committee, Bethel indicated his intention is not to portray GHSA in a negative light. He said the non-profit's budget contains publicly-subsidized revenue, and funds should be more transparent. GHSA Director Ralph Swearngin testified before the committee, reporting that the organization's budget is available online, that GHSA is subject to the Open Meetings and Records Act, and that the organization is governed by a representative board. Senator Bethel responded, saying GHSA's current financial report is not comprehensive considering GHSA's $3.7 million annual operating budget and $3 million in reserves. The bill passed and now moves to  Senate Rules. 
 
Listening Session Takeaways

 

House Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman summarized what he and his colleagues felt were the themes of last fall's statewide legislative listening sessions, including: the restoration of rolling school funding cuts, health insurance for non-certified school employees, concern about sparcity and equalization grants in rural school districts, support for RESA'S, Common Core, concern about lack of resources for TKES and LKES implementation, the Return to Work program, and ESPLOST use for maintenance and operation. 

2014 House Ed Priorities: Waivers, Title 20, Common Core

 

In today's meeting, committee leadership described priorities which the committee plans to address this session, including:

  • Flexibility regarding class sizes, expenditure controls, educator salaries, and teacher certification: HB 327 requiring all school districts to choose charter system status, IE2 status, or status quo by 2015 sits in the Senate and must move.
  • Title 20: school superintendents have provided items in law and policy tying their hands that they feel need to be eliminated or amended.
  • Common Core: there will be ample opportunity for discussion, and policy change will likely result.
House Bills Go To Subcommittee

 

The House Ed committee also assigned bills to subcommittee this afternoon, including:

  • HB 405 - Mayo - Academic Innovations
  • HB 519 & HR550 - Jasperse - Academic Achievement
  • HB 669 - Oliver - Academic Achievement
  • HB 717 - Holt - Academic Innovation
  • HB 766 - Lumsden - Academic Achievement
  • HR 486 - Taylor - Academic Support
  • HR 689 - Drenner - Academic Support