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Those of us who noted that the early days of the 2013 session of the Georgia General Assembly were notably short are now beginning to wish we had some of them back! The days are long, indeed, as members of both chambers hustle to try to get their bills on the docket for consideration. While that hustle is going on, the most important work of any session plods along, and that is the work on the state's budget for the next fiscal year. Regular readers of this site know that the House of Representatives approved their version of FY2014 Budget recently, and the Senate Appropriations Committee has now approved what will surely be the final Senate version. Included in the Senate's recommendations were: - Agreement with the Governor to eliminate funds ($45K) for the GSSA Superintendent Professional Development Program;
- A $1.9 million cut to the line for charter facility grants (since the charters benefit from facilities funds through the funding mechanism approved in HB797 last year);
- An agreement with the House to cut $1 million for development of courses (in the area of curriculum development), instead shifting those funds to FY2015;
- An agreement with the House to restore the sparsity grants ($2.6 million);
- The restoration of $1.3 million to the school nutrition program;
- Fewer dollars added to the school nurse program than had been recommended by the House;
- The restoration of some $1.27 million in ETC dollars, said dollars going to RESA's;
- An agreement with the House to budget a much, much lower increase in the dollars dedicated to special education vouchers ($52K vs. the Governor's recommendation of $778K);
- A major cut to the line dealing with the extra dollars for math/science teachers, said cut related to health care costs ($2M);
- A major addition to the funds that will go to charter systems ($7M); and,
- A huge, huge recommended shift (over $1.1 billion) to DCH to cover (and, actually, to highlight) the dollars budgeted by the state to cover employers' contributions to SHBP for certified employees (covered by the state as part of QBE for "earned" positions).
As is always the case, the budget differences between the House and Senate will be worked out in conference committee (after the Senate formally approves this budget on Friday) and will ultimately be agreed upon by both bodies nearer to the end of the session. Neither the House nor the Senate tackled an education bill as part of their calendars on this day. However, education bills continue to make their way through the committee process, clearing the way for some of them to be acted upon during the last days of the session. The Senate Education and Youth Committee gave its blessing to the following bills on this day (after a subcommittee had approved them earlier in the day): - HB 70, the bill seeking to allow students with disabilities who have serious medical problems but who have never attended a public school to be eligible for the special education voucher if the State Board of Education grants a waiver and permits it.
- HB 244, the teacher evaluation bill, which continues to be the focus of a love-fest as its proponents tout its virtues (and, its critics, if there are any, remain silent in the face of the tidal wave); and,
- HB 283, the "Title 20 cleanup bill of 2013," which has now become something of the proverbial "Christmas tree" bill upon which various legislators are hanging their own ornaments (e.g., now added a Sumter County BOE bill, an Atlanta bill dealing with the proximity of a middle and high school, etc.).
All three of these bills now head to the Senate Rules Committee for consideration to be placed on a Senate calendar during the last few days. In the meantime, HB 123, the "Parent Trigger bill," was held in the Senate Education and Youth Committee at the request of the bill's sponsor, and observers are wondering about the future of this bill during the 2014 session. Over on the House side, the House Education Committee met and gave its approval to: - SB 68, the "Celebrate Freedom Week" bill which mandates the use of a certain number of school hours (social studies classes ) in September for activities specified in the bill as "freedom week activities." Observers have been somewhat amazed that this ALEC-sponsored bill has progressed this far, but the Georgia General Assembly never ceases to amaze.
- HR 552, urging the implementation of a comprehensive school counselor program designed by the Amercian School Counselor's Association; and,
- SB 100, which re-establishes the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council.
These bills now head to the House Rules Committee for consideration for placement on a House rules calendar in the next few days.
Day thirty-seven of the 2013 session is set for Friday, March 22.
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