'Twas the day before Day Forty, and all through the House (and Senate),

Political speeches were made, but nobody meant it.

Amendments were offered to bills that were passing,

But what was actually in those bills, few were asking!

Organized chaos was the order of the day

As presiding officers ruled on issues that arose during the fray.

As the day grew long, and as tempers grew high,

Both chambers adjourned, preparing for sine die (on Thursday!).

To the regular readers of this site, I apologize for the cornball humor, but on days like this, it keeps Capitol-watchers going!  On this long day, the Senate tackled a 51 bill calendar, and the House addressed two calendars totalling 43 bills (plus numerous "agrees" and "disagrees" with Senate action on bills).

Frankly, even though the Senate addressed more bills of interest to the education community, it was in the House where the best "political theatre" occurred.  Heading the list was the fact that SB 521, the bill originally seeking to reimburse systems at a higher level for dual enrollment students but amended at the last minute to include some "pre-merit pay" teacher evaluation language, was recommitted to the House Rules Committee.  This was a clear signal that the votes simply were not present for any hope that this bill would pass, and behind-the-scenes offers of various compromises with teacher organizations went on throughout the rest of the day.  While it still does not appear that the votes have changed on this now-controversial piece of legislation, veteran Capitol-watchers know from experience the tricks that can be used on the last day of the session.  Educators who have an interest in this bill need to stay on guard as that last day approaches.

Also in the House was a vote on a piece of legislation left over from 2009, SR 153.  This proposed constitutional amendment seeks to authorize "education improvement districts" in which a group of citizens, with the approval of their legislative delegation, can call for a referendum in which that group of citizens (and their fellow property owners) could agree to tax themselves to raise money for school facility improvements in that improvement district.  Much skepticism was expressed about the tenets of this bill (which is the reason it was tabled on the last night of the 2009 session), and in the end, it suffered one of the most resounding defeats seen in years by most observers of the House of Representatives.  The bill needed 120 "yes" votes to pass the House and go onto the November ballot, and it was defeated by a vote of 22-144.

The only other education bills approved by the House were:

• SB 518, requiring "study" of the pledge of allegiance to the Georgia and U. S. flags;
• SB 387, providing that the Georgia Student Finance Commission offer web-based career and academic counseling to students in grades 6-12; and,
• SB 239, seeking to strengthen Georgia's truancy statutes by requiring mandatory enrollment of students within a reasonable period of time.  All three of these bills now go to the Governor for his consideration and likely signature.

Predictably, things were a bit more calm over in the Senate, where seven education bills gained passage.  They were:

• HB 400, representing a culmination of four years of trying by Representative Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) to get his pet piece of legislation passed.  It was amended heavily in such a way as to remove major parts of the original bill (particularly those that were believed to be costly) and now must return to the House for their agreement or disagreement with the changes.
• HB 936, seeking to allow local systems to use their state bus replacement funds to "refurbish" older buses.  [Editor's note:  A proposed amendment to this bill, which sought to prevent state dollars from being used for this purpose (and, thus gutting the bill), provoked the most passionate debate of the day.  The author of the amendment represents a section of the state where the BlueBird bus company is located, and his amendment sought to protect that employer.  The amendment, though argued passionately, failed.]
• HB 977, the "beat up on administrators" bill, which prohibits the use of state funds to give raises to administrators in years when teachers are furloughed.  [Editor's note:  Local funds could still be used for this purpose but public beatings hearings would have to precede such action.]
• HB 1013, which will require local boards of education to report their SPLOST expenditures in a manner identical to that required of cities and counties.
• HB 1079, which authorizes different methods of payment (e.g., credit or debit cards) as payment for required fees associated with certification.
• HB 1103, creating "clearance certificates" for teachers after they have completed and passed the required criminal background check before beginning to teach Georgia's public school children.
• HB 1200, authorizing local boards of education to solicit and accept donations for field trips, etc. (though no one could cite any law prohibiting their doing so already).
• HB 1307, suspending for five years the professional learning requirements related to recertification for educators.

The Senate finished its work shortly after the supper hour, and the House trudged on into the evening and wrapped up shortly after 10:00 p.m.  Day Forty will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 29.