How does that song go?  "Rainy days and Monday's always get me down?"  Well, it appears that Monday's aren't going to get the Georgia General Assembly down, as they have apparently decided to just meet long enough to count the day!  On this particular Monday, the Senate convened at noon and adjourned by one o'clock with no bills acted upon.  The House started and one and was through by 2:30, after having passed two bills.  On the other hand, maybe this isn't so bad.....

Action is about to heat up, though, as committees will soon be hearing testimony and debating some of the bills mentioned in previous days (a new school grading system, another round of vouchers, the Governor's merit pay plan).  And, it starts on Tuesday, Day Fifteen.

On that fifteenth day, the Senate Education and Youth Committee will meet for the first time in awhile, and they are set to hear and act upon the following:

• SB 298 -- would require first aid instruction in school health curriculum
• SB 60 -- one of several bills seeking to raise the mandatory school attendance age to 17
• SB 132 -- the "Dropout Deterrent Act"
• SB 352 -- Senate President Pro-tem Tommie Williams' (R-Lyons) attempt to change the entire school rating system so as to mirror the one used in Florida.  This bill attempts to use the current testing system while making it fit a "growth model" to assess student progress.  And, the A through F grading system contemplated in this legislation would keep some schools forever in a "state takeover" mode.  Debate on the merits and demerits of this bill is sure to be interesting.

Over on the House side, Representative Tom Dickson (R-Cohutta) will convene his Academic Support Subcommittee of the House Education Committee to hear testimony and take possible action on:

• HB 936 -- would permit bus replacement funds to be used for bus refurbishment
• HB 977 -- would require public hearings when raises are granted to administrators during years when teachers are furloughed
• HB 966 -- harkening back to the passage in 2009 of HB 251, Representative Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) wants to make sure that trailers are not counted as "permanent classroom space" when the transfer policies mandated in this bill are implemented
• HB 925 -- would change the method by which schools are required to notify parents of their students' excessive absences from certified mail to first class mail
• HB 937 -- in response to the nepotism language affecting school board members that passed late on the last night of the 2009 session, Representative O'Neal wants to "grandfather" in all current school board members for all future elections in which they might participate

Day fifteen is shaping up to be far more interesting than day fourteen.....