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.
Veto Statement:
HB 659 at its core requires greater public transparency of financial information on both the local system and individual school levels. By doing so, parents, students, teachers, and members of the community will become more knowledgeable and engaged in the strategic planning process and daily operation of our state's schools. Because of this, I will include the fiscal transparency measures of House Bill 659 in my 2017 legislative agenda, in addition to the recommendations from the Education Reform Commission.
However, language in House Bill 659 also authorizes the Georgia Department of Education to conduct a pilot program wherein local school systems may spend and report federal, state, and local funds in a consolidated manner. I strongly believe that the majority of decisions should remain in the hands of those closest to our state's students, and I have made it a priority to promote this type of flexibility. But with increased flexibility, must come increased transparency. While I support the consolidated spending of funds, which is currently allowed by law, I cannot support legislation that would allow districts to not disclose how such funds are spent. For these reasons, I VETO HB 659.
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.
Veto Statement:
HB 959 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that, in its original form, sought to eliminate duplicative testing requirements for dually enrolled, AP, and IB students, encourage inter-agency cooperation, and clean-up other portions of Title 20, which I support. However, during the legislative process, language was added to the bill that mirrored the language found in Senate Bill 329, which I have vetoed for the reasons stated in my message for that bill. As research has demonstrated time and again, high school students with rigorous course loads are more likely to succeed in college, and considering the rich tradition of the HOPE Scholarship as a merit-based program, I VETO HB 959.
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.
Veto Statement:
Senate Bill 355 allows federal, state and locally-mandated assessments to be optional for certain students. At present, local school districts have the flexibility to determine opt-out procedures for its students who cannot take the assessments in addition to those who choose not to take such assessments. As there is no need for state-level intervention in addition to the regulations already set in place on a local level, I VETO SB 355.
SB 329, sponsored by Sen. Tippins, contains duplicative language to that in the Title 20 Cleanup Bill (HB 959) related to dual credit clarifications.
Veto Statement:
Senate Bill 329 adjusts the established coursework rigor requirements of the HOPE Scholarship, and allows the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia to identify strategic workforce needs for the purpose of updating technical college certificate program requirements.
Since its establishment in 1993, the HOPE Scholarship program has provided Georgia's highest achieving students the means to receive a postsecondary credential, regardless of their family's financial situation. Through HOPE, the state recognizes and rewards students based on individual merit, and merit alone. Shortly after taking office, I was given the choice between reform and the bankruptcy of the HOPE program. It was clear to me then, as it is still clear to me now, the direction our revered HOPE program should take. Not only did these reforms we put in place in 2011 place our Lottery, HOPE, and Pre-K programs back on a solid financial footing, but we also were able to reaffirm our commitment to our college completion, access and achievement goals. Research has demonstrated time and again that high school students with rigorous course loads are more likely to succeed in college. The academic rigor requirements put in place, which required our Georgia high school students to take advanced math, science, Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate/Dual Enrollment courses and foreign language courses, will be phased in with full implementation of four credits in each category in 2017.
What concerns me about Senate Bill 329, which would allow students who achieve their high school diploma by obtaining a technical college diploma or two technical college certificates to become eligible for the HOPE Scholarship, is that these students will likely not meet the rigor requirements put into place by our reform efforts. By not requiring such students to satisfy the same coursework rigor requirements as students on other pathways to high school graduation, we could unintentionally increase the likelihood that a group of students are unprepared for degree-level coursework, and are therefore more likely to lose the HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship in the future.
Under current law, students eligible for the HOPE or Zell Miller Grant, including those targeted by Senate Bill 329 who achieve a high school diploma by obtaining a technical college diploma or two technical college certificates, may become eligible for the HOPE Scholarship by completing 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours with a 3.0 GPA at their postsecondary institution. This means that we are not blocking any student from achieving their highest academic potential in current law, rather, we are ensuring that each student finds success in whichever pathway they choose to follow. For these reasons, I VETO SB 329.
|
