Bills to Watch in the Current Session The following education-related bills and proposed constitutional amendments gained momentum in 2013 and are sure to garner debate in the 2014 Georgia legislative session, which began in January. Parent Trigger
House Bill 123, sponsored by Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta), is commonly referred to as the “Parent Trigger Act,” although in early drafts it was officially titled the “Parent and Educator Empowerment Act.” In its original form, the legislation allowed parents and teachers to petition their local boards of education to convert traditional public schools to charter status. The current version of the legislation allows parents (but not teachers) to petition local boards to convert traditional public schools to charter status. The legislation moved quickly through the House but stalled in the Senate after the bill was renamed the “Parent Empowerment Act” and teachers were stripped of the power to petition for charter status.
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Flexibility from Education Laws
Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth), chair of the House Education Committee, sponsored House Bill 327, frequently called the “Flexibility & Accountability Bill.” The legislation seeks to give local school systems, in correlation with systems’ scores on Georgia’s College and Career Readiness Performance Index, the ability to waive many Georgia education laws. Some of the provisions up for waiver include spending mandates, class size caps, teacher certification requirements and the state salary scale. Due to a deadline in existing law, some version of HB 327 or similar legislation must pass in 2014 in order to meet the looming 2015 date by which all Georgia school districts must declare themselves as status quo, charter systems, or IE2 systems.
Freedom Week
Senate Bill 68, the “Celebrate Freedom Week Bill,” sponsored by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick), mandates that K–12 schools use the week of Sept. 17 to educate
students about the “sacrifices made for freedom in the founding of this country and the values, principles and philosophies on which this country was founded,” and provide approximately three hours of related instruction. This instruction must include an age-appropriate study of the intent, meaning and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights in their historical context and background on the Colonial era along with instruction about the Founding Fathers. SB 68 dictates that the religious references in the writings of the Founding Fathers shall not be censored and directs schools to suggest related reading for students in grades 3–12. Those students will be encouraged to recite from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights or the 14th or 19th Amendments. Firearms
Senate Bill 101 by Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville); House Bill 35 by Rep. continued on page 18
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Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming) introduced House Bill 228, which bars public employees, including educators, from using publicly owned computers, email accounts, printers or phones to oppose or promote the passage of legislation. One version of the legislation directs that educators or others found in violation of this rule be charged criminally. Another provision of the bill mandates that parent and student email addresses be used only for schoolrelated functions and not for the purposes of promoting or opposing legislation.
Think again.
Retiree Health Benefits
House Bill 263, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta), quickly generated a great deal of discussion and ixty ntial. S ia rg o communication among educators in 2013. e nd G s rd The bill would force retiring educators and require uts. udget c other state employees to pick up the entire pment. cost of their state health insurance. When ng the legislation was heard in committee, rg .gbpi.oclarified his intention that the legMartin | www ts 23 distric p e e d d n islation only apply to educators hired after a July 2013. Still, the concept was unaty it un opport er h tractive to House Retirement Committee ig ed in h wth, -gro ct high members, who declined to move the bill a forward last session. m o ction fr
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