Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp is questioning State Superintendent Richard Woods’ decision not to approve AP African American History for the 2024-2025 school year. In an open letter dated today, Kemp acknowledges that his office doesn’t have a role in the decision. However, he says his office has fielded calls from stakeholders seeking information about […]
Category: Georgia Politics
Posted inGeorgia News
Metro Atlanta school board races result in runoffs and newcomers
The May 21 Primary Election was ripe for school boards across the metro area, with newcomers clinching seats, several runoffs in different races, and several incumbents who ran unopposed. Cobb County Schools (Partisan) Candidates running for school board seats in Cobb County are running under new, highly contested maps passed by the Georgia legislature. Since […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
New dashboard highlights reading readiness across the state
Starting today, it will be easier for educators, communities, and stakeholders to access literacy data at the state, district, and school levels. Through the Reading Readiness Dashboard, Georgians can access information on the percentage of students reading below, on, and above grade level for every school, district, and Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) region in […]
Posted inGeorgia House
State Senate passes ‘culture wars’ education measure
by Dave Williams | Mar 28, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – The Georgia Senate passed legislation Tuesday crammed with multiple “culture wars” provisions affecting Georgia schools. House Bill 1104, which the Senate’s Republican majority passed 33-21 along party lines, originated in the House as a measure addressing mental-health risks for student athletes. But Senate Republicans added a […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
Private-school vouchers win final passage from General Assembly
by Dave Williams | Mar 20, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – The state Senate gave final passage Wednesday to controversial legislation offering private-school vouchers to Georgia students attending low-performing public schools. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 33-21 along party lines to adopt a version of the vouchers bill the state House’s GOP majority narrowly passed last week. The […]
Posted inGeorgia House
Private school vouchers narrowly clear Georgia House
by Dave Williams | Mar 14, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – A controversial private-school vouchers bill squeaked through the Georgia House of Representatives Thursday. The bill, which would provide vouchers worth up to $6,500 to help students in low-performing public schools transfer to a private school, passed the Republican-controlled House 91-82, the minimum number of votes needed […]
Posted inGeorgia News
Pay raises for teachers, state workers sail through Georgia House
by Dave Williams | Mar 10, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – The Georgia House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a $36.1 billion fiscal 2025 state budget Thursday with generous raises for teachers and state employees made possible by a huge surplus. “This is an awesome budget that addresses the needs of every Georgian from all walks of life,” […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
State Senate passes bill aimed at American Library Association
by Dave Williams |March 3, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – The Republican-controlled Georgia Senate has passed legislation that would prohibit city, county, and regional libraries from using either tax dollars or private funds on any materials offered by the American Library Association (ALA). Senate Bill 390 cleared the upper chamber in the General Assembly 33-20 along […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
Georgia House Subcommittee discusses education initiatives and budget adjustments in recent meeting
The Georgia House Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee held a meeting late last week for the 2025 Budget Hearing. The Subcommittee made several agency adjustments to the budget, including health insurance, retirement systems, DLs, and insurance. The most notable change is a formula growth of $2.256 million in USG’s teaching program. Georgia MATCH Lynne Riley, President […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
Georgia Senate Committee on Education & Youth passes bills during meeting
The Georgia Senate Committee held its Education & Youth Committee Meeting at 2:30 p.m. yesterday. During the brief meeting, the committee passed two bills. The first was SB 208, which aims to provide education fees. The bill’s First Reader Summary reads, “To amend Chapter 71 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
Georgia schools getting electric buses through federal grant
by Dave Williams | Jan 23, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – Seven Georgia school districts will receive nearly $60 million in federal funding for new electric and low-emission buses. The Georgia grant is part of $1 billion going to school systems across the country to pay for clean buses. The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure spending […]
Posted inGeorgia Department of Education
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Mentions Education In State of The State Address
Today, Gov. Brian Kemp delivered his State of the State Address at the Georgia Capitol Museum. At the beginning of the address, Kemp promised to “put hard work and Georgians first,” fund priorities like education, public safety, and healthcare, and keep the government “efficient, responsible, and accountable.” During the address, Kemp mentioned the Georgia Match […]
Posted inAtlanta Public Schools
State Superintendent: Baffled by Atlanta Public Schools keeping state retention bonuses
This holiday season, many public school teachers in Georgia are celebrating Gov. Brian Kemp giving all state employees a $1,000 retention bonus, including teachers. However, Education in Atlanta has learned that there is confusion on whether teachers in Atlanta Public Schools will receive the additional compensation. On Monday, Governor Kemp announced educators would be given […]
Posted inGeorgia Department of Education
Gov. Kemp announces $1000 bonus for all state employees
Gov. Kemp announces bonuses for every state employee, including public school teachers; each k-12 educator will receive a $1000 bonus that will appear on a paycheck this month. During a news conference, Gov. Brian Kemp announced this morning where Speaker Burns, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Matt Hatchett, and Senator Bo Hatchett joined him. “We are […]
Posted inGwinnett County Schools
Georgia Gwinnett College School of Education receives national award for excellence
Lawrenceville, Georgia – The Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) School of Education (SOE) has received the 2023 Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Dr. Pamela Smith, GGC’s coordinator of assessment and accreditation and assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, expressed her enthusiasm for the achievement, […]
Posted inAtlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Board of Education begins search for new superintendent
The Atlanta Board of Education has officially announced plans to begin the search for a new superintendent. This comes after the announcement this past June to replace the current Superintendent, Dr. Lisa Herring, after announcing they would not be extending her contract beyond June 2024. The high-level timeline starts in July 2023 with the Board […]
Posted inGeorgia House
Lawsuit looking to block ban on gender-affirming care for Georgia transgender youth
by Dave Williams | Jun 30, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – A group of parents has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Georgia legislation limiting medical care for transgender children two days before the law is due to take effect. Senate Bill 140, which prevents Georgians under 18 from obtaining gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy or surgery, is scheduled […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
Professional Standards Commission dumping ‘diversity’ from teacher preparation rules
by Dave Williams | May 11, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – The Georgia Professional Standards Commission voted unanimously Thursday to remove the word “diversity” from the state’s educator preparation rules despite an outpouring of opposition. The request to delete diversity and several other words came from the University System of Georgia, which was seeking to clarify expectations […]
Posted inGeorgia Department of Education
The science of reading undergirds Georgia’s new literacy-education laws
by Rebecca Grapevine | Apr 21, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – Georgia is gearing up to implement a new approach to teaching reading in the early grades. Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed into law two literacy bills passed during this year’s legislative session. About 36% of Georgia third graders read below grade level, according to the state’s 2022 Milestones test results, […]
Posted inGeorgia House
School voucher measure narrowly fails in state House
by Rebecca Grapevine | Mar 29, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – Legislation to offer private-school vouchers to Georgia students attending low-performing public schools failed Wednesday night in the state House of Representatives. The bill would have created $6,500 vouchers for Georgia students to use for private-school or home-schooling expenses if they were assigned to attend a public school […]
Posted inGeorgia House
Public asked to weigh in on new English and language arts standards for Georgia
by Rebecca Grapevine | Apr 3, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – The state Board of Education has posted a new set of English and language arts (ELA) standards and asked the public to weigh in by May 1. The public comment period is the next step in a lengthy process of revising the state’s standards for ELA […]
Posted inGeorgia State
Teacher planning period bill passes
by Rebecca Grapevine | Mar 30, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service Rep. John Corbett, R-Lake Park, sponsored a successful bill guaranteeing teachers a daily planning period. ATLANTA – The General Assembly has approved a bill guaranteeing Georgia public school teachers a daily planning period to use for lesson planning, grading and other tasks. The new measure will apply to […]
Posted inGeorgia Politics
News Brief: Amendments and substitutions added to SB 233 Georgia Promise Scholarship Act
With the passing of SB 233, it is noteworthy to highlight the additions to the substitutions and three amendments added before the bill was passed. The SB 233 includes several substitutes, including- the amount per student per year was changed from $6,000 to $6,500, dual enrollment was clarified, and funds can only be used for core courses, […]
Posted inGeorgia Department of Education
Georgia House Education Policy Subcommittee passes $6,000+ voucher bill
The Georgia House of Representatives Education Policy Subcommittee voted to pass SB 233, also known as “The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act,” in an Education Policy Subcommittee Meeting. According to Senator and author of the bill Greg Dolezal, this bill will give students and parents more options regarding where they receive their education. “What this bill […]