The major activity of interest to Capitol-watchers on this day was the final approval by the House of Representatives of much-needed and long-awaited changes to their rules of operation (No more Hawks!  No more Hawks!), a change which brought sighs of relief from legislators from both parties.  It is hoped by many that the promises of a "new day" and a new sense of openness will permeate that building as a result.  We shall see.

For those who focus on the world of education, the action was in two committees:  the House Education Committee and the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.  In the JNC committee, HB 927 was given its first hearing as it sought to strengthen the language the current statute on bullying.  On the previous day, this committee had been the focus of the marathon meeting on gun totin', and their meeting on this day morphed into another lengthy one as members and presenters delved into the details of how bullying should really be defined, how to recognize it, what the penalties should be, etc., etc., etc.  In the end, no final decision was made other than to set another meeting for a later date at which time a substitute bill would be debated.  [Editor's note:  One wonders why a bill dealing with school bullying would be assigned to a judiciary committee, as the other one that has been introduced has (appropriately) been assigned to the House Education Committee.  One cannot help but believe that the two bills will, at some point, be reconciled and move forward as one.]

Across the street in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB), Chairman Brooks Coleman convened his House Education Committee for what turned out to be a lengthy meeting, with the focus on two bills:  SB 84 and HB 908.  First up was SB 84, the bill known as the "school board governance bill" seeking to give the Governor power to remove locally-elected school board members from their positions when their behavior causes their system to run afoul of accreditation agencies.  The Governor's staff and floor leader presented a proposal for some minor changes which had little impact on the bill.  It quickly became apparent that the nepotism provisions that had originally appeared in this bill, but which had been enacted as part of HB251 on the last night of the 2009 session, were a major sticking point for many members of the committee.  After considerable discussion, Chairman Coleman announced that those details would be worked out and that the bill would be re-addressed and voted on at a later meeting of the committee.

More contentious was the discussion and debate over various revised versions of HB 908, the bill seeking to provide flexibility to local systems in a variety of areas.  While committee members seemed willing to offer "flexibility" to local systems during this fiscal crisis in the areas of expenditure controls, those same members seemed either unwilling or unable to "connect the dots" between allowing more flexibility in class sizes and the billions of dollars that the state is passing along in the form of austerity (and other) cuts.  In this author's humble opinion, it appears highly unlikely that the House Education Committee will ever approve any relief in this critical area (They really, really want Superintendent Cox and the State Board of Education to take the heat.), and local systems may be left once again having to apply to the SBOE for relief (or, add numerous furlough days as an alternative).  This thorny issue appears to be unresolvable in the current political climate at the state house.

The General Assembly is not in session on Friday, January 29, and will reconvene for their ninth day of the 2010 session on Monday, February 1.