Day six of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly was another one that could only be described as "slow."  Neither chamber considered legislation of interest to the education community, and both were in and out of session in short order.  In a move that likely contains more political than fiscal significance, both the Senate and the House announced plans for lawmakers to subject themselves to six furlough days.  Only the cynical among us would suggest that those six days be taken during the legislative session.....

As reported yesterday, Senator Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody) convened his Senate Education and Youth Committee for their first meeting of the year on this afternoon, and to Senator Weber's credit, he gave the four bills before his committee a lengthy and thorough hearing (no votes taken on this day; hearing only):

    Senator Valencia Seay's bill (SB 298) calling for a mandatory first aid course for Georgia's public school students was the subject of intense discussion.  The most contentious part of that discussion was her proposal that all students have a certificate of completion in first aid instruction in order to graduate.  It is not likely that this part of her legislation will remain, but the basic premise of the bill may move along in the legislative process.

    Senator Judson Hill's "Teacher Bill of Rights" (SB 307) was also part of a vigorous debate, with representatives from teacher groups, GSSA, GSBA, and others entering the discussion.  It is likely that this bill will be debated quite a bit more before moving further.

    Finally, two bills dealing with raising the mandatory school attendance age (SB 60 and SB 132) were debated, and while most present supported the concept of raising that number, it was acknowledged that the objective could not be achieved without additional costs to the state and to local systems.  More discussion and debate is sure to follow.

Budget issues continue to be discussed (mostly behind closed doors!), and both the House and the Senate will hold hearings on this hot topic later this week.  In short, there are no easy answers for the questions raised by a budget recommendation that contains the kinds of cuts not seen by Capitol observers in decades.

The General Assembly will convene for Day Seven on Wednesday, January 27.