Committee Workday: Subcommittee Considers Linking Teacher Pay to Inflation During Marathon Committee Workday
- Legislative Team
- Mar 19
- 6 min read
The House and Senate were not in session today, but both bodies held multiple education-related committee meetings, starting with a three-hour hearing on school zone speed cameras that convened at 6 a.m. and culminating in a hearing related to transgender student athletes than began at 5 p.m.
House Education Chair Chris Erwin (R-Homer) gifted PAGE with a resolution honoring 2025 PAGE Day on Capitol Hill and the 50th anniversary of PAGE's founding. PAGE is grateful for Erwin's recognition and leadership as a Georgia educator and state policymaker.
House Education Policy Subcommittee Discusses Teacher Compensation
The House Education Policy Subcommittee heard HB 333 by Rep. Tangie Herring (R-Macon), which seeks to require the state to adjust the state teacher salary schedule annually based on the Consumer Price Index. Herring's goal is to ensure that Georgia teacher salaries keep pace with inflation. PAGE Director of Legislative Services Margaret Ciccarelli shared testimony on the bill, highlighting the teacher compensation dashboard in Georgia’s new Teach in the Peach website and encouraging the committee to consider HB 333 as part of the broader conversation about total teacher compensation, adding steps to the state salary schedule, and the affordability of teacher preparation.
HB 505 by Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) the "Career Readiness and Economic
Development Act" seeks to enhance career readiness and economic development by mandating the creation of personalized career development plans for students in grades six through 12. These plans align students' academic pursuits with their career interests and goals, incorporating rigorous academic courses, career-oriented learning experiences, and opportunities for postsecondary studies. The legislation also mandates the development of an electronic platform by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to facilitate the plans. This platform will provide comprehensive information on career opportunities, industry credentials, and work-ready skills in demand by Georgia employers. A representative from Year13, an Australian vendor, testified in support of the bill. The subcommittee did not take a vote on the bill.
The committee passed SB 236, by Sen. Kenya Wicks (D-Fayette), which allows students of active-duty military families to enroll in the public school of the attendance zone where they intend to reside, even if they haven't yet secured housing in that zone contingent upon presenting official military orders to the local school system. If the student does not eventually reside in the intended zone, the parent or guardian must enroll the student in the school of the zone where they reside and provide proof of residency by the end of the school year. Additionally, high school juniors and seniors can remain in their current school until graduation, even if their physical residence changes. SB 236 moves on to the full House Education Committee for consideration.
Senate Three-Cueing Prohibition Advances
The House Curriculum Subcommittee passed SB 93 by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta), which prevents use of three-cueing in literacy instruction and word decoding. The bill would still allow the use of three-cueing to provide students with background knowledge. The current version of the bill allows an exception for nonverbal students if visual cues are part of their IEP and if a parent consents to their inclusion, though subcommittee members mentioned the possibility of removing this language before the bill is heard in full committee. SB 93 also requires that teacher preparation programs not train teacher candidates on three-cueing as a primary reading instruction method.
SB 93’s three-cueing prohibition is very similar to a provision in HB 307 by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), which presents the possibility that the bills may be combined or amended in conjunction with one another during the remaining days of the legislative session.
The committee also passed SB 63, which would require school districts to offer PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, PreACT, ACT, or Advanced Placement (AP) exams to students enrolled in the district to offer the same testing to homeschool students residing in the district. Districts could not charge homeschooled students a fee to take the exams.
The full House Education Committee will next consider SB 93 and SB 63.
House Committee Considers Bill to Remove Protections from Librarians
The House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee heard SB 74 by Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvester), which would subject librarians to criminal prosecution for distributing harmful materials to minors. The bill provides an affirmative defense to librarians who make a good-faith effort to identify all physical and electronic materials deemed harmful to minors and remove them from their access.
School librarians testified against the bill, citing existing processes for parents and the community to review materials in school libraries. Some committee members also expressed concern that librarians would be required to review all digital resources available in the library as part of the good-faith effort required by the bill. PAGE signed up to testify in opposition to the bill, but time ran out before all speakers were called. Committee Chair Tyler Paul Smith (R-Bremen) ensured that PAGE and the remaining speakers would have a chance to speak on the bill at a later committee hearing.
All You Care to Know About School Zone Speed Cameras
As debate around school zone speed cameras continues to heat up at the Capitol, the First Responders Subcommittee of the Senate Public Safety Committee, chaired by Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula), met early this morning to discuss two bills that offer drastically different solutions.
HB 651 by Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell) would limit camera operation to one hour before and after the start and end of a school day. Citations could only be issued for violations 10 mph over the posted limit, and the current $25 processing fee would no longer be allowed. HB 651 requires that half of funds raised by the cameras be allocated equally to all schools in the district for school safety. Local governments must quarterly report how much speed camera funding is provided to each school. Senate Public Safety Committee Chair John Albers (R-Roswell) stated he would prefer that, instead of school safety, the money be allocated to the Police Officer Annuity Benefit fund, the state police officer retirement fund. He said the state already dedicates significant funding to school safety in the annual budget.
HB 225 by Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon) would repeal all laws allowing speed cameras in school zones.
The subcommittee did not vote on either bill. Instead, the meeting served as a fact-gathering exercise, with representatives from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the Department of Public Safety (DPS), local law enforcement agencies, two camera vendors, Blueline Solutions and RedSpeed, providing extensive technical information, statistics, and anecdotal stories related to the cameras. Most discussion from committee members and House members presenting their bills centered on “predatory policing practices” and how existing speed camera laws allow camera vendors to collect a significant percentage of the fines. Other committee members were concerned with allowing private vendors to issue citations for civil penalties.
Robertson indicated that it is likely that a compromise version of HB 651 and SB 75, the Senate’s bill to regulate school zone speed cameras, will emerge as the session nears its end. Below is a recording of the meeting for those who want to watch the most extensive discussion on school zone speed cameras this session.
'Riley Gaines Act' Hearing in Senate
A special subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee met to consider HB 267, sponsored by Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville). HB 267 mandates that schools provide separate restrooms and changing areas for males and females and stipulates that sleeping arrangements on school trips be made according to sex, with exceptions for immediate family members. Authorized coaches or trainers can also enter locker rooms for purposes directly related to an athletic event. The bill requires that athletic activities be designated for males, females, or as co-educational, and prohibits males from participating in female-designated sports. Sex is defined as an individual's biological sex, observable or clinically verified at or before birth, and it replaces the term "gender" with "sex" throughout the Code.
The subcommittee did not vote on the bill.
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, March 21 - Legislative Day 33
8 a.m. Senate Ed, 307 CLOB
1 p.m. Senate Ed, 450 CAP
1 p.m. House Ed, 506 CLOB
4 p.m. Senate Higher Ed, 307 CLOB
Friday, March 22 - Legislative Day 34
