ROSWELL – First responders, law enforcement officers, and teachers looking to buy a home for the first time would get help from the federal government under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
The HELPER (Homes for Every Local Protect, Educator, and Responder) Act would establish a one-time home-loan program under the Federal Housing Administration that would help eligible first-time home buyers overcome front-end financial hurdles that otherwise would make purchasing a home unaffordable, including eliminating down payments. It is modeled after a home-loan program aimed at veterans.
“This is all about ensuring that public servants … can live in the communities they serve,” Ossoff said Monday during a news conference outside Roswell Fire Station No. 24. “The challenges of home affordability make it difficult.”
“As home prices have increased, those who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe and those who educate our children … have struggled to keep up with rising housing costs,” Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson added. “It’s time we recognize their service by providing them a way to become homeowners.”
Ossoff introduced the bipartisan bill last week along with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
U.S. Reps. John Rutherford, R-Fla., and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., have introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
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 for the system’s educator preparation programs, commission Chairman Brian Sirmans said. The commission will consider deleting the words “equity” and “inclusion” at a meeting next month.
“We were told these words were leading to difficulty in determining program standards,” Sirmans said.
But a coalition of Georgia students, educators, and parents held a news conference after Thursday’s vote to criticize the decision as a politically motivated step that will hurt teacher preparation and worsen the state’s teacher shortage.t
“This feels very similar to the divisive concept law,” said Tracey Nance, a former elementary school teacher who was Georgia Teacher of the Year for two years running, referring to legislation the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed last year restricting how racism can be taught in Georgia schools. “It’s going to have a very chilling effect.”
“Diversity is a core element of what it means to be a good teacher,” added Yacine Kout, an assistant professor of education at the University of North Georgia. “Removing that aspect of teacher education does not serve our future teachers.”
Kout went on to predict that Thursday’s vote will contribute to Georgia’s shortage of teachers because it will discourage college students from pursuing education as a major.
Several board members acknowledged receiving a deluge of emails opposing the proposal to amend the educator preparation rules by deleting the words.
Penney McRoy, director of the commission’s educator preparation division, said the words are being deleted because they have taken on “unintentional meanings in our culture.”
McRoy said opponents to the rules changes appear to be misinformed.
“My guess is there is a misperception that changing the wording is changing the intent. That is not the case,” she told commission members. “Our intent continues to be that we are well equipped to meet the needs of each and every child.”
Middle school social studies teacher Ogechi Oparah disagreed.
“Words matter,” she said during Thursday’s Georgia Coalition for Education Justice news conference. “They’re a reflection of intent.”
Sirmans said the amended rule deleting diversity will take effect June 15.
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 those who teach kindergarten to 12th grade and is aimed at addressing teacher burnout.
“For teachers, our number one job is providing appropriate instruction for our students and, in order to provide that instruction, planning time is of utmost importance,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators.
Morgan said teachers need time not only to develop lesson plans but to analyze assessment data to determine where students need additional support.
“That type of planning takes time,” she said. “The fact that it’s now going to be in state law that planning time is guaranteed — that’s very important.”
A state Department of Education report published last year recommended guaranteed planning periods as one measure that could help address teacher burnout.
“The teachers I know don’t want to walk away … but too many teachers I know are running on empty,” Cherie Bonder Goldman, the 2022 Georgia teacher of the year, wrote at the start of the report.
The bill was sponsored by state Rep. John Corbett, R-Lake Park, and carried in the Senate by Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas.
The measure picked up several additional amendments during the legislative process. One would set a sunset date at the end of 2026 for a tax credit for donations for the purpose of providing grants to public schools.
Another amendment specifies that local school board members cannot discuss any individual personnel matter with the district superintendent or other school personnel unless authorized by law.
A third amendment outlines the rights of appeal for a public school or school system wishing to dispute the findings of an accrediting agency.
The bill received final passage in the Senate Wednesday on a 48-4 vote. It now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
State Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, chairs the state House’s education committee, which could consider a controversial voucher proposal.
ATLANTA – Education bills are getting a mixed reception in the General Assembly this year.
Measures to protect teacher’s time and amp up the state’s literacy rates have received nearly unanimous approval, while private-school vouchers have drawn fierce opposition.
“The teachers I know don’t want to walk away … but too many teachers I know are running on empty,” Cherie Bonder Goldman, the 2022 Georgia teacher of the year, wrote at the start of a state Department of Education report published last year. The report recommended increasing the amount of time teachers have to deal with class planning and grading.
Lawmakers appear to have taken that advice to heart, with the state House of Representatives unanimously approving a measure last Monday that would guarantee sixth- through 12th-grade teachers a daily “duty-free” period.
The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Education and Youth Committee.
The legislature also appears eager to improve Georgia’s literacy rates.
The House has unanimously passed the Georgia Early Literacy Act (House Bill 538), sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard, R-Warner Robins, a former teacher who chairs the House’s Education-Curriculum Subcommittee. The bill aims to improve the quality of early reading instruction.
“It develops a framework and it begins to really seriously take a look at literacy,” said Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, who chairs the House Education Committee. “Statewide, there’s a structure out there heavily involving our state [Department of Education] and getting them involved in working with the school systems.”
Erwin said school districts and students could begin to feel the effects of the bill as soon as next school year.
The legislation would require schools to screen students from kindergarten to third grade on their reading proficiency three times a year. Students who are identified as falling behind in reading would receive an “individual reading improvement plan” within 30 days of being identified and would also receive “intensive reading intervention.”
The bill would also require the state Board of Education to develop a list of high-quality, evidence-backed reading instructional and screening tools districts can use and boost literacy training for teachers.
The measure now must receive approval from the Senate Education and Youth Committee and then the full Senate.
For its part, the Senate has unanimously passed separate legislation to form a Georgia Council on Literacy. The 24-member council would include education experts, state legislators, a teacher and a local school board member. The council would review literacy research and make recommendations about best practices.
The literacy efforts take inspiration from Mississippi’s example, where a years-long concerted effort has taken the state from 49th in reading in the country to meeting and exceeding national averages.
Far more controversial is a Senate measure that would create $6,000 private-school vouchers for Georgia students to use at private schools or for homeschooling expenses.
The original bill would have applied to most students in Georgia but during last Monday’s Crossover Day bargaining, the Senate added an amendment limiting the scholarship to just those residing in the attendance zones of the lowest-performing 25% of schools in the state.
“The parent never has access to the money directly – it’s all administered by a third party,” said Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming. The $6,000 would not be considered taxable income and the funds would be limited to eligible educational expenses.
The bill passed 33-23 along party lines.
“It’s a hard ‘No’, ” said John Zauner, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association and a former school superintendent, about his group’s position on the proposal.
“It appears to me that they’re beginning the process of funding two different school systems … with differing accountability systems for the same public money,” Zauner said, noting that the bill includes no mechanism to track what happens to the funds or to ensure that private schools eligible for the vouchers are providing high-quality education.
The bill also drew criticism from Senate Democrats for diverting funds from the public school system and because it lacked a fiscal note, the analysis that is typically required for bills that would impact state finances.
“Private school vouchers undermine public schools by diverting desperately needed resources away from the public school system, which serves all students, to fund the education of a few,” said Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Dawson. “There is no fiscal note on this bill, something that should be required of any bill of this magnitude.”
The fiscal 2024 state budget the House adopted last Thursday would provide a $2,000 raise for state employees, including teachers, which would take effect in September and follows a $2,000 raise this year.
Georgia is also again fully funding its education commitments under its education-funding formula.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Education has selected 12 counties to pilot a new teacher evaluation program beginning next school year.
The list includes urban, rural and charter school districts. The state will fund a supplement to teachers and team leaders participating in the pilot.
The current teacher evaluation system, called the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES), evaluates teachers based on a combination of student growth, the teacher’s ability to meet certain performance standards and progress toward professional development goals.
Georgia teachers are required to undergo at least two, and in some cases up to six, classroom observations of their teaching each year.
“Our aim is to create a teacher evaluation system that values and elevates educators, instead of devaluing them – recognizing their central and irreplaceable role in student success,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I wish to thank these districts for coming alongside us to pilot a new system that is designed for teacher growth, from beginning teacher to teacher leader – to the benefit of students.”
The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) supports the pilot program.
“We look forward to working with the Georgia Department of Education and the districts to move Georgia toward a teacher evaluation system that promotes educators as the professionals they are and provides a mechanism for educators to increase their skills and proficiencies in the classroom,” GAE President Lisa Morgan said.
School districts selected for the new pilot program, called the Georgia Leadership and Educator Acceleration and Development System, include Atlanta Public Schools; the school districts of Brooks, Clay, Dooly, Dougherty, Gordon, Jefferson, Lowndes, and Muscogee counties, the Griffin-Spalding and Savannah-Chatham school systems; and Liberty Tech Charter School.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
