On this eighth day of the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly, dubbed "School Choice Day" at the Capitol pursuant to a Senate resolution, neither the Senate nor the House "chose" to stay in session very long.  Neither tackled much of a calendar (certainly no education legislation), and both chambers were in and out of session in short order.

The school choice rallies that occurred were held on the north steps of the Capitol, and the participants could have been easily identified well before the proceedings.  The "usual" speakers took the microphone, and afterward, many of the rally participants flooded the Capitol to speak with legislators (most of whom were long gone since their chamber business had been completed).

The activities of the day, though, did serve to focus attention on HR 1162, the constitutional amendment proposed by House Speaker Pro-tem Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta) and others (now summarized by GSSA).  In a nutshell, the proposed amendment seeks to (1) allow some undefined state-level entity or entities to establish schools in local systems regardless of the opinions of the locally-elected board of education; (2) set up an as-yet-undefined method of determining the funding for such schools, which could clearly include local funds; and (3) allow the General Assembly to redefine the word "special" as it relates to schools so that the state could broaden that definition for the purpose of establishing state-approved "special" schools in local school systems.  This legislation is clearly on a fast track through the legislative process, as it will be heard by the full House Education Committee on Thursday, January 26, at 1:00 p.m.  [Editor's note:  Most bills that are assigned to the House Education Committee are first assigned to a subcommittee, given a hearing in subcommittee where public comment can be heard, and then referred back to the full House Education Committee before advancing.  This bill apprently will receive "special treatment" in order to advance it more rapidly.  Imagine that.]

Another "hot" bill of interest to educators, particularly to those in school districts continuing to face building projects, is HB 760.  This bill comes from the Education Finance Study Commission and is the result of recommendations from DOE and other parties interested in revising and improving Georgia's capital outlay programs.  The bill is long and complicated and will be a challenge for its sponsor, Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) to explain to the laypersons in the General Assembly.  GSSA is supportive of the tenets of this bill and will do all it can to support his efforts.

The General Assembly will convene for their ninth day of the session on Thursday, January 26 (probably a pretty short day), and then will "head for the hills" (or, for other places) for a long weekend.  Their tenth day will come on Monday, January 30.