Dozens of student athletes in Georgia girls’ sports joined state Rep. Phillip Singleton (center) to support his bill banning transgender participation on Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Legislation blocking boys from playing in girls’ sports in Georgia and giving athletes cause to sue in court over violating that ban is up for debate in the General Assembly, sparking outrage from transgender rights advocates.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Phillip Singleton, R-Sharpsburg, would prevent “biological males” from playing in school sports with “biological females,” halting children of different sexes or gender identities from playing in the same leagues.
It would also allow students who are deprived of athletic opportunities or face “direct or indirect harm” due to teams violating the proposed boy-girl split in Georgia sports to seek damages in civil court.
“Allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports spells the end of girls’ sports,” Singleton said at a news conference Thursday at the state Capitol. “If we ignore biological reality and we ignore the science, our daughters will get hurt.”
Critics argue the bill discriminates against transgender athletes, marking the latest move by some conservative state lawmakers and religious groups to trample on LGBTQ rights. Transgender advocates condemned a nearly identical bill Singleton sponsored last year that sought the same gender divisions in Georgia sports but stalled.
Advocacy groups Georgia Equality and the nonprofit Athlete Ally also argued the bill would run afoul of transgender athlete inclusion rules for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that could jeopardize Georgia’s changes for hosting future college sports events – as well as the state’s bid to land the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.
“This is a shameful attack on Georgia’s transgender youth and young adults,” said Georgia Quality spokeswoman Shannon Clawson. “The proposed legislation does nothing to protect or support girls’ sports, rather it serves only to spread hateful stereotypes and endangers children and their ability to fully participate in important extracurricular activities.”
Singleton dismissed accusations his bill targets transgender student athletes, tying that criticism to “identity politics.” He framed the issue as a question of competitive advantage, noting two Connecticut transgender runners sparked controversy in 2018 by winning top prizes in girls’ track.
The Georgia High School Association, which sets rules for the state’s school sports teams, already does not permit boys to play on girls’ teams. It does let girls to play on boys’ sports teams “when there is no girls’ team offered in that sport by the school,” according to the association’s bylaws.
Gov. Brian Kemp appeared briefly in the Capitol Thursday to take photos with Singleton and about three dozen young Georgia women currently participating in girls’ sports. Kemp declined to comment on whether he supports Singleton’s bill, citing his office’s policy not to endorse pending legislation.
The bill has several Republican co-sponsors including Rep. Jodi Lott, R-Evans, who is one of Kemp’s floor leaders in the Georgia House of Representatives, and state Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, who chairs the House Appropriations Education subcommittee. Georgia Senate Education and Youth Chairman Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, also appeared at the news conference supporting the bill.
Gov. Brian Kemp (left) takes a selfie with student athletes after a news conference to support legislation banning transgender participation in Georgia girls’ sports on Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Proposals to raise the age Georgia children can drop out of school from 16 to 17 and to nix discipline reporting from a required school performance rating were the focus of debate between Georgia Senate lawmakers on Wednesday.
Students in Georgia public, private and home-school programs may drop out when they turn 16 under current state law. A bill sponsored by state Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah, would raise the mandatory attendance age to 17.
Separately, state law also requires Georgia schools and school districts to publish ratings based on a five-star scale showing a school’s climate including student health, safety, attendance and discipline rates. A bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, would remove discipline from that evaluation criteria.
Both bills’ fates look up in the air after state lawmakers on the Senate Education and Youth Committee flashed signs of support and opposition at hearings Wednesday. No votes were taken to send the bills to the Senate floor or kill them in committee.
Backers of Jackson’s bill raising the dropout age argued it would keep kids who abandon school from landing in jail and costing the state millions of dollars annually to incarcerate them. Jackson estimated it would cost the state magnitudes less to keep more 16-year-olds in school than to house them in jail.
“I’m not saying this is a cure-all,” Jackson said. “But it is one more step in the process for giving kids more opportunities for improvement.”
Other lawmakers from both parties questioned whether older students who drop out to work jobs to support their families or are simply not cutting it performance-wise should be forced into classes. Truancy officers tasked with tracking down kids who cut classes could also see their caseloads shoot up.
“I really don’t believe the people dropping out of high school are on a college or university track,” said Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta. “If we can give them career training, give them a truncated high school experience … we’ll actually get a much greater return on the investment.”
Supporters of the second bill Wednesday said removing discipline reporting from school-climate ratings would encourage teachers to actually punish bad-acting students rather than shirking that responsibility. Many schools skip disciplining students to avoid facing poor scores that could hurt future enrollment, Mullis said.
“We believe more discipline actions will be taken to help the teachers, to help untie their hands and allow the administrators to actually discipline students that are in problematic arenas,” Mullis said during a hearing earlier this week.
Several lawmakers were skeptical about clouding over discipline data from school climate ratings, even though an amendment to the bill Wednesday would still make that data publicly available on its own. Doing so could also prevent holding schools accountable for frequent behavioral issues among students.
“The fact is that school discipline is related to school climate,” said state Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta. “If you divorce these two things, then it’s like throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
Senate Education and Youth Committee Chairman Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, did not say Wednesday when he might schedule the two bills for committee votes.
Coronavirus has sickened hundreds of thousands people and killed thousands more in Georgia. (Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
More cases of a highly contagious COVID-19 variant originating from Europe have been identified in Georgia, leading public-health officials to reason the strain is likely spreading fast.
Twenty-three cases of the COVID-19 variant have been reported as of Wednesday, up from 19 cases confirmed earlier this week, according to Georgia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.
The quick-moving variant is “probably widespread” throughout Georgia since test results lag behind by a week, Toomey said at a news conference Wednesday.
She and Gov. Brian Kemp urged Georgians to double down on wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing despite positive case rates and hospitalizations from COVID-19 trending down after winter outbreaks.
“The vaccine is here,” Kemp said. “We are getting more shots in arms every day. But we also are still in a deadly race against a highly contagious virus.”
About one million Georgians have received COVID-19 vaccines so far, including more than 500,000 people ages 65 and older who have received their first of two doses, Kemp said. He called those numbers “encouraging milestones” amid the state’s slow vaccine rollout.
Demand for vaccines is still far outstripping supply with only 154,000 doses coming each week from the federal government and more than two million Georgians currently eligible for shots, Kemp said. He added the Biden administration is not expected to increase vaccine shipments for at least a few more weeks.
Teachers and other groups not yet eligible for the vaccine will have to wait until more weekly doses are delivered even as state public-health officials start opening regional vaccine drive-thru sites able to serve thousands of people per day once supplies match demand, Toomey said.
“We want everyone vaccinated,” Toomey said. “I think the problem is always going to be adequacy of vaccine and ensuring a risk-based approach.”
Kemp and Toomey spoke at a vaccine drive-thru site at Jim Miller Park in Cobb County where cars pulled up to tents for drivers to receive their shots. The governor said several sites like the one in Cobb will be ready for a stream of cars once vaccine shipments increase.
“We want nothing more than to expand the criteria” for who is eligible, Kemp said. “Our current supply does not make that feasible at this time, but it is high on our radar.”
Public-health officials are close to launching an online booking portal for scheduling vaccine appointments, Toomey said. It should roll out in mid-February.
More than 755,000 people had tested positive for COVID-19 in Georgia as of Tuesday afternoon, with about 160,000 more reported positive antigen tests indicating likely positive results. The virus has killed 12,772 Georgians.
Gov. Brian Kemp (at podium) rolls out his “Teacher Pipeline” bills package at the State Capitol on Feb. 2, 2021. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled a legislative package Tuesday aimed at recruiting more teachers from the ranks of retired educators and military veterans to boost the quality of Georgia schools.
Tops among the governor-backed bills is a measure allowing retired teachers to return to work at full pay while they continue drawing retirement benefits. Returning teachers would be slotted into vacant positions in “high-needs areas” picked by regional education officials, according to Kemp’s office.
“These hard-working men and women have a wealth of experience and knowledge with decades spent raising up the next generation of leaders,” Kemp said at a news conference. “This initiative will help our retirees, retirement systems and education as a whole.”
Other bills would give military veterans with certain degree and testing requirements better access to teacher certificates; boost training, resources and mentorships for new teachers; and require the state Professional Standards Commission to work with historically Black colleges and universities to increase the number of minority teachers in Georgia schools.
The bills – dubbed the “Teacher Pipeline Package” – will be carried by state Rep. Dominic LaRiccia, R-Douglas, and state Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Homerville, both of whom are floor leaders for Kemp in their respective chambers during the 2021 legislative session.
Teacher-focused bills follow moves by Kemp to avoid more budget cuts to K-12 public schools through June 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, add liability protections for schools from lawsuits brought by virus-infected persons and give educators a one-time $1,000 check.
Many schools across Georgia have struggled after shuttering in-person classes last spring due to the pandemic and battling bouts of COVID-19 outbreaks among students and teachers this past fall. Some school districts are still holding online-only classes or “hybrid” models involving a mix of in-person and virtual instructions.
More than $2 billion in federal aid has been allocated for Georgia schools through two separate relief packages dating to March of last year. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said Tuesday the new bills package for teachers aims to help struggling schools keep rebounding from the pandemic.
“We have to continue to prioritize education here in Georgia,” Duncan said.
Georgia Senate members take the oath of office on the first day of the 2021 legislative session on Jan. 11, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – Republican state senators have rolled out a legislative package aimed at overhauling Georgia’s election laws by limiting who can vote by mail, outlining how to prove identification and outlawing absentee-ballot drop boxes.
The eight bills, filed late Monday by top Senate Republican leaders, mark the most sweeping attempt to change local voting laws after the 2020 election cycle stirred mistrust among many conservative Georgians over the state’s election integrity.
The bills especially target absentee voting in Georgia after all three major elections in the 2020 cycle saw more than 1 million mail-in ballots cast amid the COVID-19 pandemic, helping Democrats carry Georgia in the 2020 presidential election and flip both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.
Democratic lawmakers quickly cried foul, slamming the move by Republicans as attempts at voter suppression seeking to halt Democrats’ momentum in statewide elections that are likely to be close for the next several years.
Republican lawmakers including Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have called many of the proposed changes necessary to restore voter confidence in the state’s election system and rein in mail-in voting after local elections officials complained they were overwhelmed during the 2020 cycle.
No-excuse absentee voting was installed by Republican lawmakers under then-Gov. Sonny Perdue and touted by Raffensperger as proof against claims of voter suppression, particularly after Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams’ loss to Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
However, Raffensperger called for ending the practice after record-breaking absentee ballots hindered election officials’ ability to quickly process results in the 2020 elections. Former President Donald Trump, who lost the Nov. 3 election by 11,779 votes, lobbed claims of voter fraud in Georgia based on absentee voting.
Other top Republicans including Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, have opposed ending no-excuse absentee voting, preferring instead to boost ID rules for mail-in ballots.
One of the bills filed Monday would require registered voters to provide their date of birth, driver’s license number or other ID card number to request an absentee ballot. The bill would also require voters to submit photocopies of their ID similar to a separate bill proposed by state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, last week.
The proposals address many claims Trump and his allies made following the 2020 elections of widespread voter fraud that state officials and federal courts rejected as baseless. Some state lawmakers who held hearings on the fraud claims are co-sponsors of the bills.
The bills also echo pledges to change state election laws made shortly after the Nov. 3 election by Georgia Senate Republican Caucus members, many of whom are co-sponsors.
Lawmakers in the Georgia Senate Ethics Committee will likely review the bills in the coming days.
