2020 Capitol Report

February 20, 2020

Legislative Session

Day 15

Report Snapshot

Houses Passes TRS USG Bill

Charter School Allotment Bill Passes Subcommittee

House Education Committee Passes Bill Renaming Voucher Program

Upcoming Schedule

Friday, Feb. 21 – Legislative Day 16

Monday, Feb. 24 - Legislative Day 17

Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee, 8 a.m., 450 CAP

Senate Education & Youth Committee, 2 p.m., 307 CLOB

Tuesday, Feb. 25 - Legislative Day 18

Wednesday, Feb. 26 - Legislative Day 19

Houses Passes TRS USG Bill

HB 292 , sponsored by Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson), passed the House today with one dissenting vote. The legislation would end any payment obligation for the University System of Georgia (USG) to the Teachers Retirement System (TRS). A 2019 audit indicated USG owed TRS over $600 million. The bill now moves to the Senate. AJC coverage is available here , and PAGE's testimony on the bill during the committee process is available here .

Charter School Allotment Bill Passes House Academic Support Subcommittee

HB 755 by Rep. Dave Belton (R-Buckhead) requires local boards of education that authorize local charter schools to provide those schools with annual allotment sheets itemizing state, local, and federal allocations for the upcoming school year. School districts must provide t he allotments sheets to the charter schools no later than July 1 of each year. Belton reported that his legislation increases fiscal transparency and does not cost anything. Before passing the bill unanimously, subcommittee members asked Belton what problem his bill attempts to solve. Belton indicated that some local charter schools do not receive the funding they think they should. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock), chair of the subcommittee, mentioned that he believes the practice required in HB 755 will cu r b false allegations and protect all parties.

The executive director of the State Charter Schools Commission testified in support of the bill and reported that the commission has observed more interest from local charter schools in moving to the state commission for authorization. Stephen Owens from the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) also testified in support, referencing GBPI’s longtime support of financial transparency.

At the conclusion of the meeting, House Education Committee Chair Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) expressed concern about the July 1 deadline and asked whether school districts will have time to generate allotment sheets. He requested that Belton provide that information before HB 755 is heard by the full committee .

House Education Committee Passes Bill Renaming Voucher Program

The full House Education Committee convened after the subcommittee concluded. HB 855, which seeks to address special education services for foster children, was pulled from the agenda. The committee considered only one bill, HB 1 by Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah), which would rename Georgia’s special education voucher program the “Senator Eric Johnson Scholarship” in honor of former state senator Johnson, who represented the Savannah area. When presenting the bill to the committee, Petrea mentioned that he often works with children with developmental disabilities and said of the voucher program, “I think everyone agrees that this has been a tremendous benefit to those children.” Petrea reported that Johnson was a fan of school choice before it was “cool.”

Under Georgia’s special education voucher program, students accepting the voucher have no guarantee of receiving special education services at the private schools which they attend, and the schools are not required to follow special education laws. For more, read the PAGE special report on the voucher program, Pushing Public Dollars to Private Schools . HB 1 passed unanimously and now moves to House Rules, which is expected to schedule it for a floor vote.

Committee members also conducted several housekeeping items. HR 791 by Rep. Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) was assigned to the Academic Support Subcommittee. The non-binding resolution encourages the Georgia High School Association to perform a thorough assessment of its operations and practices.

Several representatives from residential treatment centers addressed the committee before it adjourned. Their compelling presentation was similar to one delivered to the Senate Education and Youth Committee and is described in PAGE’S budget hearing and committee report.

-Full report by Margaret Ciccarelli

Claire Suggs

Senior Education Policy Analyst

csuggs@pageinc.org

Josh Stephens

Legislative Affairs Specialist

jstephens@pageinc.org

Margaret Ciccarelli

Director of Legislative Services

mciccarelli@pageinc.org