FY 2017 Budget with Substantial Austerity Restoration Moves to Governor's Desk
The Conference Committee Report on the FY 2017 Budget (Education starts on p. 52) was approved by the House and Senate on the penultimate day of the 2016 Session and now awaits the Governor's signature.
As we reported earlier in the session, the FY 2017 budget contains formula-driven increases in funding for educator training and experience and student enrollment growth. It also contains a $300 million partial restoration of ongoing education austerity cuts, intended for use by local school districts to end remaining furloughs and raise educator pay by 3 percent. In FY 2017, the remaining austerity cut will be about $166 million. Many thanks to policymakers who have approved a budget which prioritizes narrowing the austerity gap and who have recognized the need to end furloughs and recruit, retain, and compensate high-quality educators. Though not all local school districts can afford to increase teacher pay by 3 percent, many educators will see a resulting pay raise.
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Senate Passes Education Bills
HB 659 sponsored by Rep. Dave Belton (R-Buckhead) and carried in the Senate by Sen. VanNess (R-Conyers) requires local boards of education and state charter schools to provide a detailed breakdown of the budget and expenditure information for each school in the district.
The bill, which passed the Senate yesterday, includes three amendments and the elimination of one failed amendment. The first amendment clarified language in the original bill while the second amendment contained language from SB 357 by Sen. Michael Williams (R-Cumming) which clarifies provisions for serving as a local school board member. SB 310, the Transparency in Education Act, by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) was added to the bill by the third amendment. The fourth amendment was a failed attempt by Sen. Ligon to add language from SB 355, the "opt-out" bill. The bill goes back to the House for an agree/disagree vote. HB 959, this year's Title 20 Re-write Bill, sponsored by Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) in the House and carried in the Senate by Education and Youth Chairman Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta), clarifies speech rights for local school board members. The bill also allows students scoring above a certain level on AP, IB and in dual enrollment courses to skip corresponding End of Course Tests. The bill also creates a unique identifier for children of military families. SB 348 by Sen. Tippins, which also passed the House, was also added to this bill (description below). Finally, the bill allows the Governor's Office of Student Achievement's foundation to receive a gift of real estate and convert the property.
HB 879 by Rep. Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) would allow high school graduates who have achieved a high level of proficiency in a language other than English to be awarded a seal of biliteracy. The bill was amended to include the language of SB 355, a testing opt-out bill that prohibits punitive "sit and stare" policies and codifies the Georgia Department of Education's opt-out guidance.
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House Passes Education Bills
HB 65 by Rep. Michael Caldwell (R-Woodstock) requires local districts and certain charter schools to hold at least two public meetings on the proposed annual operating budget. The bill also requires that an annual summary of the operating budget be posted online and that the detailed annual operating budget be made available upon request.
HB 100 by Rep. Tom Dickson (R-Cohutta), a bill that originally changed the kindergarten start date for students, was stripped of its original language and replaced with language that requires school systems to use 90 percent of funds received for students enrolled only in virtual school programs in a local system but residing in another system ON virtual school instruction and nothing else. The bill also states that this provision will not be eligible to be waived by Charter or Strategic Waivers systems.
HB 801 by Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton) adds computer science to the list of HOPE-eligible advanced science courses. The bill also weights STEM courses by half a point in HOPE grade point average calculations.
SB 329 by Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta) expands the offering of dual enrollment courses and requires these courses to meet the rigor requirements for HOPE eligibility.
SB 348 by Sen. Tippins allows Charter and Strategic Waiver School Systems to create Career Academies.
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