PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA EDUCATORS

The State Board of Education (SBOE) met Nov. 5 and 6. A meeting agenda is available through the button below.  School Governance Standards Updated to Address Safety The board revised the Standards for Effective Governance of Georgia School Systems to add a new domain focused on school safety to existing standards. John Jackson, immediate past president of the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), spoke in support of the new domain and thanked board members for their con

On July 1, most legislation passed during the 2025 Georgia General Assembly took effect. To learn about these new laws and other important information, please review the 2025 PAGE Legislative Summary . The  PAGE 2025 Legislative Session Summary  covers education-related legislation approved by the General Assembly, provides an overview of the state’s K-12 education budget, and identifies notable bills that did not pass. All legislation became law on July 1, 2025, unless anoth

The  PAGE 2025 Legislative Session Summary  covers education-related legislation approved by the General Assembly, provides an overview of the state’s K-12 education budget, and identifies notable bills that did not pass. All legislation will become law on July 1, 2025, unless another effective date is specified within the legislation. As 2025 is the first of Georgia’s two-year legislative biennium, bills that did not pass this session remain eligible for consideration and

The House took the expected step of disagreeing with the Senate’s version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget. The Senate insisted on its position. The budget will now be negotiated by a conference committee consisting of Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon), Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), and Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) and Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry), Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton), and Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin). The conference committee will decide which budget items t

Day 36 included action on education bills on the House and Senate floor and drama about education bills in Senate committees. The House passed SB 63 by Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett), which would require school districts that offer PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, PreACT, ACT, ASVAB, or Advanced Placement (AP) exams to students enrolled in the district to offer the same testing to homeschool students residing in the district. Schools districts could not charge homeschooled students any fee

The penultimate week of the 2025 Legislative Session began with both chambers in recess. The committee workday's main feature was a multi-hour hearing on HB 268, the House's marquee school safety bill. School Safety Bill Heard in Purpose-Made Subcommittee As a testament to the bill's complexity and importance, the Senate has formed a special Judiciary subcommittee to consider HB 268 , by Rep. Holt Persinger (R-Winder). This subcommittee met today for several hours and heard f

As the General Assembly completed three quarters of the legislative days remaining in the 2025 session, House and Senate floor calendars were lean, with the exception of the House's approval of the FY2026 budget, which contains welcome new funding for student services. Senate Education and House Education subcommittees are scheduled to meet tomorrow during a committee workday, so education legislation will soon continue through the legislative process. House Chamber Sena

As Day 27 was the last legislative day before Thursday’s Crossover deadline, today was certain to bring lengthy floor sessions. Below is more information on the education legislation that passed today, including the House’s school safety bill. All bills referenced below will move to the other chamber for consideration.  Though no K-12 education-related committees met today, both House and Senate education committees will meet tomorrow. The House Ed agenda contains HR 174 , w

The House and Senate agreed to the AFY 2025 budget, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk for signature. By a 32-23 vote, the Senate approved SB 74 by Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania), which would subject librarians to criminal prosecution for knowingly distributing harmful materials to minors. The bill provides an affirmative defense to librarians and everyone employed in a public library who make a good-faith effort to identify all physical and electronic materials deemed harm

Today the House built on its previous literacy efforts by unanimously passing HB 307 , which moves to the Senate. Sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), the bill explicitly states that the three-cueing model of reading instruction does not constitute the primary means of instruction for literacy and is not high-quality instructional material. The legislation repeals Reading Recovery provisions, revises characteristics of dyslexia, and outlines a three-year cycle

Please note that due to the volume of activity under the Gold Dome yesterday, the Day 18 report was in two parts. Today’s Day 19 report also contains the remainder of Day 18 action. House Floor Session Senate Floor Session Day 19: House Ed Subcommittee Approves 'Riley Gaines Act' This afternoon, the House Education Policy Subcommittee heard from several trans rights advocates who urged them not to approve HB 267 , the Riley Gaines Act, before amending and passing the measure

Week Five of the 2025 Legislative Session ended eventfully. Multiple education-related bills passed both chambers, including a PAGE-supported measure to establish an interstate compact for school psychologists and another to double the state payment awarded to educators who are killed while on the job. Important bills were also heard in committees, including the House's comprehensive school safety bill. House Floor Session Senate Floor Session House Ed Subcommittee Passes Com

The Capitol was crowded and bustling today, but Day 16 was lean on education activity with the exception of publication of a notice for tomorrow's hearing on HB 268 by Rep. Holt Persinger (R-Winder), which addresses school safety issues. House Floor Session Senate Floor Session House Education Subcommittee to Hear Comprehensive School Safety Legislation Tomorrow Tune in tomorrow at 1 p.m. for a hearing on House leadership's comprehensive school safety bill. The PAGE-supp

The fourth week of the legislative session featured two key school-focused events: House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) held a press conference on upcoming House school safety legislation, and a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees included presentations on school safety and literacy. House Floor Session Senate Floor Session Speaker Burns Announces School Safety Legislation Burns and other members of the House held a news conference to unveil a major

Gov. Brian Kemp delivered the State of the State Address this morning to a joint session of the House and Senate. Key themes included a review of the challenges Georgia has successfully faced during Kemp's administration, tort reform, hurricane recovery efforts with a nod of thanks to both President Joe Biden and President-Elect Donald Trump, and state support for mental health and anti-gang and anti-human-trafficking efforts. The governor's references to education were brief

The third day of the 2025 Legislative Session was relatively uneventful. Both chambers are in the process of assigning members to committees and other administrative tasks. It is unlikely that major legislative action will begin before joint appropriations hearings conclude next week. House Floor Session Video Senate Floor Session Video Senate Education & Youth Committee Members Named Committee Chair Sen. Billy Hickman As previously reported by PAGE, Se

As the morning sun shone off melting snow, the Georgia General Assembly officially convened for the 2025 Legislative Session. This year represents a reset since it is the first year of a two-year biennium. Several new legislators begin their first terms following November elections. And, all legislation that failed to pass in 2024 must be refiled anew and restart the legislative process. Both chambers' business was light and primarily administrative. Perhaps the most notable

What Does it Mean to “Christmas Tree” a Bill? During the final stretch of a legislative session, it is common to see some bills evolve...

Floor Action on Education Bills House The House approved two education bills, which both move back to the Senate to agree or disagree on...