The lack of education bills on the House and Senate floors today belied the extent to which legislators focused on lawmaking regarding schools. House and Senate committees passed bills on topics ranging from literacy to local charter school approvals, to strengthening the educator workforce.
As the General Assembly inches closer to the Sine Die, (Legislative Day 40) many of these education bills will make their way to the floor.
Senate Ed Passes Teacher Workforce Resolution
The Senate Education & Youth Committee passed three bills, all of which had committee substitutes.
HB 307 by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), explicitly states that three-cueing reading instruction does not constitute the primary means of literacy instruction for literacy and is not considered high-quality instructional materials. Aspects of three cueing may still be used in supplemental materials. Three cueing is defined as any model for teaching students to read based on “meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues.” The legislation repeals a provision regarding Reading Recovery, revises dyslexia definitions, and sets up a three-year cycle to review state-approved literacy screeners. HB 307 directs the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to annually publish a dyslexia informational handbook and develop training programs for teachers on the science of reading. The Senate committee substitute of the bill also extends the sunset date for the Literacy Council.
HB 371 by Rep. John Corbett (R-Lake Park) stipulates that starting in 2027, the maximum amount of funds allowed to be distributed to the capital outlay program will increase from $300 million to $375 million. The Committee added language similar to that found in HB 200 to ensure elementary school playgrounds built in the future meet specific ADA requirements.
SR 237 by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) calls upon the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC), in collaboration with several other state agencies, to provide Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly a list of recommendations to strengthen the K-12 educator workforce by the end of the year. These recommendations are to focus on various subjects such exploring ways to compensate student teachers, examining teacher and leader retention strategies such as mentorship and professional development, and encouraging innovative programs to help people enter the K-12 and early education professions. The committee substitute adds educator associations, such as PAGE, to the groups that will be asked to collaborate with the GaPSC on these efforts.
PAGE Director of Legislative Services, Margaret Ciccarelli spoke in support of SR 237, referencing PAGE survey data on the pressures facing educators and PAGE enthusiasm to work with GaPSC to address educator workforce challenges.
All three bills now await consideration by the Senate Rules Committee.
House Ed Approves Bills Addressing Chronic Student Absenteeism and Incentivizing Local Charter School Approval
SB 236, by Sen. Kenya Wicks (D-Fayette), 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.
The bill was amended in committee to clarify that student enrollment will be provisional for 90 days until military families provide proof they are making a good faith effort to find housing in the attendance zone.
SB 63, by Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett), would require school districts that 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. Schools districts could not charge homeschooled students any fee to take the exams beyond what is currently charged to enrolled students.
The bill was amended to include the ASVAB test to the list of exams to be offered.
SB 82, also by Dixon, seeks to promote local approval of charter schools by creating an incentive grant program overseen by the State Charter Schools Commission. School districts would receive grant funds when they approve charter schools. Conversely, if districts deny local charter petitions, they must provide the petitioner with a written explanation of denial. If districts deny multiple petitions that are subsequently approved by the state, districts would not be able to renew their strategic waivers for three years or until the State Board of Education (SBOE) determines local boards have demonstrated "commitment to increasing student performance and encouraging innovation through high-quality local charter petition authorizations.” This provision would not apply to districts with fewer than 10,000 student and would sunset for all districts on July 1, 2035.
The bill was amended in committee to require the written notice to be submitted in 20
business days instead of the original 10 calendar days.
SB 123, introduced by Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon), mandates that school districts re-establish school climate committees to address chronic absenteeism. The chief superior court judge will head the committee, which is required to convene twice a year. By June 1, 2026, the committees must revise attendance protocols for each district. Each district must also submit an annual absenteeism report to the legislature and make it accessible to the public. If a school system has an absenteeism rate of 10 percent or higher, it must form an attendance review team to investigate the cause of the attendance problem. Additionally, if a school within the district has a 15 percent or higher absenteeism rate, it must establish its own attendance review team. SB 123 also prohibits students from being expelled from public schools solely due to their absences.
SB 93 by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta), originally sought to prevent use of three cueing in literacy instruction and word decoding. As these provisions are already moving forward in HB 307 by Rep. Ballard, SB 93 was revised to task the GaPSC with devising criteria for educator preparation programs that are exclusively aligned with the science of reading and other evidence-based standards.
All bills now await consideration by the House Rules Committee
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, March 22 - Legislative Day 34