Friday, the thirteenth day of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly, was another of those "I'm in a hurry to get outta here and go home" days for our elected officials.  Both chambers started at nine o'clock in the morning, and both were finished with their limited calendars in short order.  The Senate passed three bills (none related to K-12 education), and the House passed one (HB 910, removing the requirement for an annual gender equity report from local systems to the state).  The bills passed by each chamber on this morning now move across the hall to be considered by the other.

Of more interest to educators on this day, though, was the formal introduction of SB 352, Senator Tommie Williams' (R-Lyons) bill seeking to force a new method of "grading" schools in Georgia (Representative David Casas has introduced an identical bill in the House.).  The bill is clearly a carbon copy of much of the Florida plan for school grading, and it contains some interesting proposals.  For instance:

• Once the proposed A, B, C, D, and F grading system is implemented, the percentage of schools that could make an A or B would be artificially limited in such a way that, regardless of the criteria, some schools would be doomed to "F" status (even in the face of what would otherwise be acceptable progress).
• A "growth model" of achievement is mandated in short order, ignoring the fact that the state's current testing system does not lend itself to that, and also ignoring the fact that test development is hugely expensive and time-consuming.  It even seeks to mandate that the "growth model" for an individual high school student compare a student's EOCT score from a high school course to that same student's 8th grade CRCT score to determine "growth."
• It would vest considerable power in the Governor's Office of Student Achievement.
• Monetary rewards would be given to "A" and "B" schools, with the school council deciding how the money would be spent.
• And, finally, the method for calculating the school grades sought by this legislation is so complex that it defies either description or explanation.  Bonus points for anyone who can explain it so that a lay person can understand it (or, a college graduate, for that matter!).

Also a topic of discussion on this day is SB 361, a new voucher bill by Senator Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) patterned after and expanding upon former senator Eric Johnson's "Special Needs Voucher" legislation of two years ago.  Senator Rogers' bill seeks to offer that same voucher to foster children, children of military families, and to children who operate with what educators have come to know as "504 plans."  Without question, this is an attempt to continue the expansion of vouchers in the Peach State and will be vigorously opposed by those who see it as continued erosion of support for public education that has escalated in recent years.  Proponents, of course, will trot out the "choice" argument in the debate.  Ah, our current Georgia General Assembly.....

A number of other bills of interest have been introduced recently (Click on the bill number to read GSSA's summary/analysis of the bills).  Among them are:

SB 358 -- just to show that vouchers can pop up anywhere, this bill attempts to provide them for students at GMC

HB 1028 -- would allow even more land to be placed under "covenant protection" and thus reduced in value for the purpose of ad valorem taxation

HB 1031 -- addressing an issue that apparently continues to surface in Dekalb County, this bill would require parents to enroll their children in school in a timely manner

HB 1051 -- proposes a one-cent sales tax dedicated to public education and used to replace homestead exemptions

HB 1064 -- another "raise the mandatory school attendance age to 17" bill  [Editor's note:  This bill and others like it seem to confirm the notion that, when there is no money to argue over, other issues targeting education will surface in high volume!]

HB 1079 -- would permit certification fees charged by the PSC to be paid by debit or credit card

HB 1086 -- would shield from public disclosure more information about teachers

The General Assembly will gather on Monday, February 8, for their fourteenth day of the 2010 session.