PAGE 2016 Final Legislative Summary
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2016 Session Best in Recent Memory for Education
The 2016 legislative session was the best in recent history for public schools. Election-year politics, increasingly effective advocacy by public education supporters, and a strengthening economy contributed to bipartisan support for Georgia students and educators under the Gold Dome.
Below is a summary of education-related legislation which passed during the 2016 General Assembly. The legislation has been sent to Gov. Nathan Deal who has 40 days after legislators adjourn to sign or veto any legislation. On May 3, legislation which has not yet been signed or vetoed becomes law. The effective date of the following legislation is July 1, 2016, unless otherwise specified within the bills.
PAGE has included links to supporting documents and legislative voting records for some bills. Please take the time to see how your House and Senate members voted and to learn more about the legislative issues affecting Georgia schools.
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PAGE Letter to Gov. Deal
In the wake of congressional passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, state policymakers moved to approve critical student testing and educator evaluation reform, SB 364, sponsored by Senate Education and Youth Committee Chair Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta). The legislation reduces the number of student-mandated tests from 32 to 24 by eliminating Georgia Milestones testing in science and social studies in Grades 3, 4, 6 and 7. SB 364 requires local school districts to administer -- subject to state funding -- math and reading formative assessments in Grades 1 and 2, and it requires state-mandated assessments to be verified for reliability and validity by a nationally recognized, research-based, third-party evaluator. Current law requires that students be enrolled in their teacher's class for 65 percent of the term before their test scores count toward their teacher's evaluation. SB 364 increases this requirement substantially by mandating that students must attend an educator's class for 90 percent of the term before their test scores count toward their teacher's evaluation. SB 364 also strongly encourages schools to push the testing administration window to the end of the term.
SB 364 de-emphasizes the testing component of teacher and leader performance evaluation by reducing this component from 50 percent to 30 percent of teacher evaluation and from 70 percent to 40 percent of principal and assistant principal evaluation. Professional growth will comprise 20 percent of teacher evaluation, and that growth will be measured by progress toward or attainment of professional growth goals within the school year or across multiple school years. Teacher professional growth goals may include measurements based on multiple student growth indicators, evaluations and observations, standards of practice, and other measures. The remaining 50 percent of teacher evaluation will continue to be based on classroom observations and professional practice. In the case of school leader performance assessment, school climate will count toward 10 percent of the evaluation, and a combination of achievement gap closure, Beat the Odds, and College and Career Readiness Performance Index data will count toward 20 percent of the evaluation. Observation of principals and assistant principals will comprise the remaining 30 percent of their annual evaluation.
SB 364 makes clear that all educators will be evaluated on their own merits and that neither local school districts nor the state will enforce performance evaluation quotas. The legislation extends the five-day deadline by which the results of observations and evaluations must be made available to educators being evaluated to 10 days. SB 364 also allows school districts to develop tiered observation systems and to conduct observations of veteran, high-performing educators less frequently if the districts so choose.
PAGE Letter to Governor Deal Encouraging Signature of SB 36
Senate Vote on SB 364
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2017 Education Budget - Ongoing Austerity Gap
Substantially Reduced by $300 Million
The Fiscal Year 2017 state budget contains formulaic increases for both student enrollment and educator training and experience. It also contains $300 million intended to minimize the ongoing austerity reduction to Georgia's Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding formula. The FY 2017 partial austerity restoration leaves about $166 million in ongoing austerity cuts. Local school districts will receive their share of the $300 million based on student enrollment. Policymakers said during the legislative session that they intend for local districts to use the partial austerity restoration to end educator furloughs and increase educator pay by 3 percent. However, because the funding was not an enhancement to the state teacher salary schedule, individual districts will have the legal authority to use the funding flexibly based on local district priorities. Most districts will end employee furloughs and many will pass along some pay raise to educators, though not all districts can afford to end all remaining furlough days and initiate a 3 percent pay increase.
The FY 2017 budget also contains state-funded teacher liability insurance. The cost of this item is not included in the budget, and budgetary language indicates only that the state will "utilize existing funds for the Educators Professional Liability Insurance Program." The state provided state-funded teacher liability insurance in the past, but no claims were ever filed under the previous program and it was phased out. In large part no claim was filed because the legal issues most frequently encountered by educators relate to employment disputes with their local school districts and to certification problems with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
Review the FY 2017 Budget HERE. Department of Education starts on p. 51. Read the reference to state-funded teacher liability insurance on p. 16, line 502.
Read the reference to austerity restoration intended to give local districts the "flexibility to eliminate teacher furlough days, increase instructional days, and increase teacher salaries" on p. 57, line 1818.
Review the AFY 2016 Budget HERE. Department of Education starts on p. 67.
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Other Education-Related Bills
HB 65 by Rep. Michael Caldwell (R-Woodstock) requires local school districts and charter schools to hold two open meetings regarding their proposed budgets and to post their budgets electronically.
HB 100 by Rep. Tom Dickson (R-Cohutta) originally sought to change Georgia's kindergarten age requirement. The bill languished until late in the 2016 session, when its sponsor stripped it of all its original language and used it as a vehicle to require local districts which operate virtual schools in which students from outside the district are enrolled to use at least 90 percent of the state funds earned for those students on the virtual instruction program.
HB 614 by Rep. Valencia Stovall (D-Lake City), the "Landon Dunson Act," allows for the placement of video cameras to observe and monitor self-contained special education classrooms. School districts retain the authority to decide if they will participate in this program.
HB 659 by Rep. Dave Belton (R-Buckhead) requires local school districts to make publicly available, to the greatest extent feasible, school-level budgetary information including the cost of all materials, equipment, and other non-staff support; salary and benefit expenditures for all staff; professional development costs, including training, materials and tuition; facility maintenance costs; and new construction or major renovation costs reported on a cost-per-square-foot. Later in the session, portions of other bills were added to HB 659. The final legislation contains requirements related to competitive federal education grants of more than $20 million, intended to increase transparency regarding a grant's impact on Georgia education policy as well as long-term projections of unfunded costs. HB 659 also creates a pilot program for the flexible use of Title I funding for the 2016-2017 school year.
HB 739 by Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville) directs local school districts to establish a review and recommendation process for locally approved instructional materials. The publication and review mandate excludes supplementary or ancillary material such as articles, worksheets novels, biographies, speeches, videos, and music.
HB 777 by Rep. Mike Dudgeon (R-John's Creek) allows school bus drivers to use cell phones as two-way radios.
HB 879 by Rep. Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) allows high schools to award a seal of biliteracy on the diplomas of students who have demonstrated a high level of proficiency in one or more foreign languages.
HB 895 by Rep. Rahn Mayo (D-Decatur) requires additional financial training for charter school leaders.
HB 905 by Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton) adds child endangerment to mandated child abuse reporting requirements. Child endangerment is defined in several ways including child cruelty, driving under the influence with a child and manufacturing illegal drugs in the presence of a child.
HB 959 by Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) was this session's "Title 20 Cleanup" bill. In its final form, the legislation contains the following provisions: language clarifying the First Amendment rights of local school board members; exemptions from End of Course Tests for high school students who score above a 3 on Advanced Placement exams, above a 4 on International Baccalaureate exams, or who earn an A, B, or C in dual enrollment courses; clarification regarding dual credit diplomas; a provision enabling the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to create unique identifiers to track children of military families; an allowance for the Governor's Office of Student Achievement to receive and convert gifts of real property; and, language authorizing both charter systems and strategic waiver systems to operate career academies.
SB 275 by Sen. Michael Williams (R-Cumming) also pertains to the speech rights of local board of education members and prohibits local boards from adopting or following any code of ethics which prevents board members from discussing freely the policies and actions of the board outside of board meetings. The bill does not apply to matters discussed in executive session.
SB 309 by Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson) prohibits the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) from limiting student athletes' religious expression except as required for athlete safety. The legislation also allows GHSA and non-GHSA member schools to scrimmage in games which do not count toward region standing.
SB 329 and SB 348, both sponsored by Sen. Tippins, contain duplicative language to that in the Title 20 Cleanup Bill related to dual credit clarifications (SB 329) and career academies in charter systems and strategic waiver systems (SB 348).
SB 355 by Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) began its legislative journey as comprehensive reform to Georgia's student testing and educator evaluation program. As the bill moved through the Senate Education and Youth Committee, it was narrowed in scope. The final version of SB 355, entitled the "Student Protection Act," codifies much of GaDOE'S existing standardized testing opt-out guidance. It allows families to request tests to be administered in pencil-and-paper format, and it prohibits the use of sit-and-stare policies. Assessments will be optional for students with life-threatening or serious health conditions or students excused by a licensed physician's or therapist's order. The legislation contains provisions for rescheduling missed tests and for promotion of students who opt-out of standardized tests. SB 355 also protects educators and schools from being penalized for student refusal to participate in testing.
Non-binding resolutions passed during the 2016 session include SR 723 which encourages schools to guarantee student athlete safety, HR 1253 which encourages dugout safety instruction, HR 1342 which encourages schools to increase student recess and HR 1564 which encourages sudden cardiac arrest training in schools.
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What Did Not Pass During the 2016 Session?
Much of the important news from any legislative session includes details about what education proposals did not pass. Perhaps the most significant education initiatives in this category for 2016 include those from the Governor's Education Reform Commission (ERC), which recommended a
slate of proposals including a rewrite of QBE and controversial reforms to teacher compensation. Many expected the ERC package to move through the 2016 General Assembly. However, in his January State of the State address, Gov. Deal announced he intended to hold the reforms until 2017.
Two dangerous tax proposals which would have limited the state's ability to fund high-quality public education died in large part due to advocacy by concerned parents and educators. HB 238 and SR 756 also jeopardized Georgia's prized AAA bond rating. School choice expansion failed to pass, as well. HB 865, a proposed school voucher available to low-income students as part of a new tuition tax credit program was not successful due to concern about its cost and due to opposition from proponents of the current tuition tax program in which voucher recipients are not means-tested. In its original form, SR 388 would have opened the door for a full-scale education voucher program. PAGE worked with legislators on a narrowly-tailored amendment to ensure that SR 388 would not amend the Georgia Constitution to expand school vouchers. Ultimately, the resolution did not make it out of committee. Changes to Georgia's Teacher Retirement System (TRS) were minimal. Special legislative rules applicable to fiscal retirement legislation require that fiscal TRS bills be introduced in the first year of Georgia's legislative biennium and successfully advance to summer actuarial study. Look for more TRS-related legislation during the 2017 General Assembly as next year is the first year in Georgia's biennial cycle.
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