by Dave Williams | Jul 30, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The board chairman of the Georgia Department of Corrections was among those killed in a plane crash in Wyoming late last week.
Larry Haynie, his wife Melissa, and three members of an Atlanta family gospel group died when a single-engine turboprop piloted by Haynie crashed near Recluse, a town in northeastern Wyoming.
The plane experienced an “autopilot issue,” according to initial findings reported by a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board.
In a statement, Gov. Brian Kemp praised Haynie for a career of “valued service” in public safety.
“Larry’s impact on our state will not be forgotten,” Kemp wrote. “We will continue to hold his memory and that enduring commitment to his fellow Georgians in our hearts and memories.”
Three members of the family gospel group The Nelons also died in the crash. Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband, Jason Clark, and their daughter Amber Nelon Kistler were headed to the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska at the time of the crash.
Amber’s husband, Nathan Kistler, and Melodi Hodges, an assistant, were also killed.
Kelly and Jason’s other daughter, Autumn Nelon Streetman, who was also a member of the group, was not on the plane.
The 19-member Georgia Board of Corrections postponed its schedule Aug. 1 meeting until Aug. 8.
by Dave Williams | Jul 29, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has launched a new web portal to allow voters to cancel their registration online.
The site – cancelmyregistration.sos.ga.gov – lets voters who are moving or opting out of voter registration to notify their county registrar that they want their registration canceled.
“This is a convenient tool for any voter who wants to secure their voter registration by canceling their old one when they move out of state,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday. “It will also help keep Georgia’s voter registration database up to date without having to rely on postcards being sent and returned by an increasingly inefficient postal system.”
Once voters who wish to cancel their registration access the site, they will be asked to provide identifying information such as a drivers license or Social Security number. County voter registration officials will receive a notification through the GARViS system to remove the voter from the rolls.
Raffensperger said he will provide a secure link to closing attorneys and realtors in Georgia so that canceling an out-of-date voter registration will be part of the moving process.
“We do voter list maintenance in Georgia every day,” he said. “This is one more method that’s convenient for voters and efficient for election officials.”
by Dave Williams | Jul 26, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Students showed continued improvement in the latest Georgia Milestones tests that cratered during the pandemic, the state Department of Education (DOE) reported Friday.
The 2023-24 results showed scores increased or held steady in 10 of 13 assessments in English/language arts (ELA), science, and social studies. Because math assessments were updated to align with the new K-12 mathematics standards first implemented during the school year just ended, Milestones math scores won’t be released until this fall.
“I am proud of Georgia’s students and educators for their continued hard work, which has led to consistent improvements in student performance over the last several years,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “There is certainly still work to be done, but I am confident we are on the right path.”
The strongest gains came among fifth graders, who gained six points in proficiency in English/language arts compared to the previous school year and gained two points in proficiency in science. Sixth and eighth graders each gained three points on the ELA assessment.
On the down side, English/language arts proficiency declined by one point among Georgia third graders.
Allison Timberlake, the DOE’s deputy superintendent for assessment and accountability, attributed the decline to lingering effects of the pandemic, when many schools were closed and students were forced to rely on online instruction.
“Those third graders were in kindergarten during the 2020-21 school year,” Timberlake said. “That probably had a role to play in initially developing those early-learning skills.”
This year’s decline in reading scores among third graders is part of a larger trend. According to 2022 assessment data presented to the Georgia Council on Literacy last fall, 56% of third-grade students were not prepared to move to the next grade.
The General Assembly responded last year by passing the Georgia Early Literacy Act, which required the state Board of Education to provide reading screeners and training in literacy instruction to teachers in kindergarten through third grade.
The DOE is placing full-time literacy coaches in elementary schools throughout the state, focusing on the lowest-performing 5% of schools.
State Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, a leading advocate for improving literacy in Georgia, said the state has invested $6 million to hire literacy coaches for school districts that can’t afford the cost on their own. The new program – Let’s READ, Georgia! – was launched on Thursday during a ceremony in Warner Robins.
“The bigger school districts are doing a good job,” Hickman said. “(But) rural systems don’t have the people or the financial resources to implement this. This is going to be a great thing.”
Teachers are currently training to implement new ELA standards aligned to the science of reading and structured literacy, which emphasize the necessity of systematic instruction on phonics as well as comprehension and vocabulary. The new standards will take effect during the 2025-26 school year.
Dana Rickman, president of the nonprofit Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, said she’s encouraged by this year’s Milestones test results.
“The upward trend, particularly on the Grades 5 and 6 ELA assessments, is promising,” Rickman said. “At the same time, as we dig deeper into the results by district and schools, we see opportunities for growth and improvement. We know that schools still are struggling with the unique challenges that emerged during the pandemic.”
Statewide results as well as district and individual school results are available on the Department of Education website.
by Dave Williams | Jul 26, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – President Joe Biden has signed legislation introduced by two members of Georgia’s congressional delegation establishing independent oversight of the federal prison system.
The measure requires the Justice Department’s Inspector General to conduct comprehensive inspections of the federal Bureau of Prisons’ 122 correctional facilities and provide recommendations to fix any problems it uncovers. The bureau will have 60 days to respond to all inspection reports with a corrective action plan.
The new law also establishes an independent ombudsman to investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff. The ombudsman’s office will create a secure hotline and online form for family members, friends, and representatives of incarcerated people to submit complaints.
“The human rights crisis behind bars in the United States is a stain on America’s conscience,” Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said Thursday after the president signed the Federal Prison Oversight Act. “The United States Congress will no longer tolerate the ongoing and widespread abuse of those who are in the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ custody.”
Ossoff introduced the bill into the Senate two years ago after leading multiple bipartisan investigations into corruption, abuse, and misconduct within the federal prison system that uncovered a lack of oversight.
“Those incarcerated and the staff who work in our prisons every day deserve an environment free from unnecessary dangers,” said Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, who led the effort to pass the bill on the House side. “With the signing of our bill … greater accountability to protect staff and incarcerated individuals is now in place for our federal prison system.”
The legislation drew sponsors from both sides of the aisle, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.
by Dave Williams | Jul 25, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A newly created state commission looking for ways to improve health-care access and quality for low-income uninsured Georgians held its kickoff meeting Thursday.
The nine-member Georgia Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission was authorized in legislation the General Assembly passed this year overhauling Georgia’s “certificate-of-need” (CON) law governing hospital construction and new medical services.
The panel includes a broad range of health-care executives, academics, and advocates from across the state.
“There’s no silver bullet that will solve all of our issues,” Caylee Noggle, president and CEO of the Georgia Hospital Association and the commission’s chair, told members of the panel. “But there are numerous options to consider.”
The commission received a briefing on the current status of Georgia Medicaid, a joint state and federal program that serves low-income families, pregnant women, children, newborns and aged, blind, and disabled adults.
About 2.3 million Georgians are enrolled in either Medicaid or PeachCare for Kids. Enrollment peaked at 3.1 million during the COVID pandemic but has declined since the COVID-related public health emergency ended in May of last year.
The federal government prohibited disenrolling any Medicaid recipients for three years after COVID-19 struck the nation four years ago. When the public health emergency ended, states went through a “redetermination” process to reassess eligibility for those on Medicaid.
“Medicaid is really the safety-net program for those who have no other options,” Noggle said.
Legislative Democrats have pushed for years for Georgia to expand Medicaid coverage through the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) to people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level. Republican legislative leaders assured Democrats during this year’s debate on the CON bill that Medicaid expansion would at least get consideration.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has opposed “full-blown” Medicaid expansion under the ACA, citing the cost. Instead, he pushed a limited version of expansion through the General Assembly – Georgia Pathways – capping eligibility at 100% of the poverty level and including a work requirement. However, enrollment in the program since it took effect a year ago has been disappointing.
State Insurance Commissioner John King said his agency is aggressively marketing another alternative championed by Kemp called Georgia Access, a state-based health-insurance portal created in 2022 to direct people seeking health coverage to private insurers and brokers.
“We are not relying on one method of engagement,” King said. “We’re spending a lot of time on the education piece.”
The law that created the commission gave it two years to make recommendations.
Noggle said she would like the panel to meet every four to six weeks. Its first interim report is due Dec. 1.
