This fourth day of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly (and, the last one for awhile) was another on which both the House and the Senate held only brief sessions.  Neither chamber took up legislation or conducted business key to the education community.

Action of interest to educators occurred in an afternoon meeting of the House Education Committee, where Chairman Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) convened his group for the second time this week.  This time, the committee move quickly and unanimously to approve four bills and move them to the House Rules Committee for potential placement on a House calendar in the very near future.  The four bills were:

HB 906 -- extended until May 15 the deadline date for local systems to offer contracts (or, issue letters of nonrenewal) to certificated employees.  If passed as is, the provisions of this bill would be in effect for three years.

HB 907 -- relaxed restrictions on eligibility for the middle school grant, specifically changing the requirement that a school must have grades 6, 7, and 8 on the same campus.

HB 905 -- extended until 2015 the sunset dates on the state's low wealth, exceptional growth, and advance funding categories of capital outlay programs.

HB 923 -- extends until July 1, 2013, the deadline date by which persons may complete a leadership degree and still be eligible to paid on the basis of that degree whether in a leadership position or not.

Even though this was the last day of the legislative week, at least two events expected to occur on Friday have Capitol-watchers anxious for news.  First, Governor Perdue is set to release his budget(s) on this date, and it is at that time that local school systems will finally know just how bad the fiscal news will be.  Secondly, newly-elected House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) is expected to release the names of committee chairmen in the House, a list that will reveal which legislators have the "inside edge" when it comes to exerting influence on the legislative process.  Stay tuned.....

Finally, as readers of this site know quite well, education legislation abounds throughout the legislative session, and it is particularly prolific during the session's early days.  For today, two more recently-introduced bills are summarized:

HB 924 -- attempts to repeal the nepotism language that was enacted as an amendment to HB 251 late on the last night of the 2009 session

HB 925 -- seeks to change the requirement that schools notify parents of their student's attendance problems via certified mail, changing the delivery method instead to U. S. Mail.

When the Governor releases his budget documents, GSSA will provide a summary and explanation within 3-5 days.  The next regular Report from the Capitol will come after the fifth legislative day, Monday, January 25.