Committee Workday: Bill Protecting Teacher Planning Time & Duty-Free Lunch Passes Committee
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Committees from both chambers met to advance education legislation to the finish line, ahead of the last day of the session, planned for next Thursday.
Senate Ed & Youth Passes Bill Preventing the Waiver of Planning Time & Duty-Free Lunch
The Senate Education & Youth Committee passed multiple bills, several with significant committee substitutes.
HB 1259Â by Rep. Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville), which would prohibit local school systems that fail to maintain an average College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) score of at least 70 for the last two school years from providing virtual instruction to out-of-district students. The bill also requires school systems to compile a list of out-of-district students enrolled as of Oct. 1 and March 1 of each year. HB 1259 also excludes out-of-district virtual students from equalization funding calculations.
After significant debate, the bill was amended by the committee to lower the CCRPI threshold to an average of 65. The effective date was also pushed back to July 1, 2027.
HB 629, by Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), which removes the requirement that schools include licensed physicians on teams that oversee automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). The bill also requires that schools store bleeding control kits with AEDs and includes various requirements regarding maintenance and notification of the kits, as well as training for relevant staff. Schools must also address severe bleeding emergencies in their mandated emergency action plan practice drills. HB 629 was presented in committee by Rep. John Corbett (R-Lake Park).
A committee substitute of the bill also adds language removing the ability of school systems to waive planning time and duty-free lunch requirements. PAGE signed up to speak in support of the planning time and duty-free lunch provisions of HB 629, but no public testimony was taken.
Senate Ed also passed a committee substitute version of HB 419, also by Rep. Hawkins. The newest version of the bill was presented today by Senate Ed member Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia). It makes several changes to Georgia's Special Needs private school voucher program, including disclosure of:
Data disaggregated by student date by age, grade level, gender, race, ethnicity, and eligibility for free or reduced price meals
Number of participating schools
Medical or behavioral conditions that participating schools currently accommodate or is able to accommodate
HB 419 contains provisions regarding proof that any unaccredited participating schools are in the process of becoming accredited. Participating private schools must also demonstrate financial soundness.
The legislation also makes several changes to Georgia's newest private school voucher program, the Promise Scholarship, clarifying that students are ineligible if the school they attend includes:
Public school with a state-wide attendance zone
State charter schools
Local charter schools
Completion special schools
State-operated special schools, including the Georgia School for the Deaf, the 416 Georgia Academy for the Blind, the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf
Any school that is part of the Department of Juvenile Justice school system
Any school that exclusively provides virtual instruction
Any public school that exclusively enrolls students in grades before the third grade
The committee also passed the following resolutions to establish study committees:
SR 545 by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta) to create a study committee on paid student teaching. PAGE signed up to testify in support of the resolution, but no public testimony was taken.
SR 952, by Sen. Gail Davenport (D-Jonesboro), to create a study committee on Rosenwald Schools.
SR 553, by Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta), to create a study committee on funding for charter school capital improvements.
All bills and resolutions now await consideration by the Senate Rules Committee.
Committee Approves Bill to Include Advanced Fine Arts Courses in Scholarship Determination
The House Higher Education Committee unanimously approved SB 556 by Sen. Chuck Payne (R-Dalton), which provides for the inclusion of advanced fine arts courses, including advanced placement, Cambridge, and International Baccalaureate courses, in the calculation of student grade point averages for HOPE eligibility or other scholarship determination.
The bill moves to the House Rules Committee for further consideration.
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, March 27 - Legislative Day 38
Tuesday, March 31 - Legislative Day 39
Thursday, April 2 - Legislative Day 40/Sine Die