The seventeenth day of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly was a relatively light one again as there was only one education bill addressed in either chamber.  But, that bill was a very important one: the FY2010 Amended Budget as presented by the House Appropriations Committee, and it passed the House.  The bill now moves to the Senate with anticipated action late next week.  [Editor's note:  Changes to the education portion of the FY2010 Amended Budget were relatively minor in nature and will not greatly affect the magnitude of cuts described in earlier reports.  Should major changes be made by the Senate (unlikely), GSSA will report on those changes right away.]

In an early morning meeting of the Senate Youth and Education Committee, SB 386 (the Governor's merit pay bill) generated much discussion and, if passed, will mandate major changes in certification, salary schedules, performance-based salary schedules, and evaluations.  Senator Don Balfour presented the bill and, in opening remarks, cited 38 studies he had compiled showing that there is no correlation between advanced degrees and improved student achievement. Surprising many educators in the room, a statement was made that there has never been a statewide teacher and leader evaluation system.  Apparently, only a few are old enough to remember the TPAI, GTEP, and GLEI.   Nevertheless, this bill will mandate a state-wide common evaluation instrument that takes student achievement into account when evaluating teachers, assistant principals, and principals.  And, even though there was no change to the current language concerning the evaluation of superintendent, a debate ensued on who is qualified to evaluate local superintendents( certainly not local board members who are elected by the people and who appoint the superintendent!).  The State Board of Education will be required to develop a performance-based salary schedule based on a bachelor’s degree only.  Stay informed on this bill as it moves forward.

In other action, the Committee gave a “do pass” to the committee substitute for SB 132, the Dropout Deterrent Act, (This bill was merged with SB 60, another attendance age bill.). Under the provisions of this newly-written legislation, the mandatory attendance age will be 17 unless a parent signs a waiver to allow the child to opt out of the traditional public school between age 16 and 17 to enroll in a community college or technical school.  Also receiving a "do pass" recommendation was a substitute version of SB 298 which will require first aid instruction as part of the health curriculum.

In an afternoon meeting of the House Education Committee, SB 84, the local school board governance bill, passed with an amendment submitted by Representatives Tommy Benton and Ann Purcell that would allow a waiver of the nepotism clause if requested by the local board of education. After a few minutes of sorting out substitute language, the committee voted unanimously to recommend a “do pass” for this legislation to be moved forward to the House Rules Committee to be placed on a House Debate Calendar in the very near future.

In other actions the committee gave a “do pass” recommendation on the following legislation:

• HB 925 -Modifies the attendance law from 2005 requirement to utilize certified mail to notify parents of their student’s excessive unexcused absences to allow the use of first class mail for such a purpose.

• HB 936- Allows local systems to use bus replacement funds to refurbish school buses as cost saving measure

• HB 977- Provides that, in any year that teacher furloughs are in place, a public hearing must be held before administrators can be given pay raises.  The bill was amended to negate the need for hearings when administrator salary increases are tied to step increases on the teacher salary schedule.

These bills now move to the House Rules Committee.  

As the House Education  meeting was coming to a close, Representative Kathy Ashe informed the committee that she had attended the State Board of Education meeting yesterday and was present for the report on the test scoring irregularities presented by the executive director of  the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, Kathleen Mathers. Ms .Ashe asked that the committee invite Ms. Mathers to present her findings to the committee and that the Department of Education assessment personnel attend the presentation to answer questions and help clarify this issue.  Chairman Brooks Coleman agreed to extend the invitation.  With that the House Education Committee adjourned to end this legislative day.