As the
AJC recently reported, PAGE and other groups have given preliminary commentary on HB 338, though advocacy groups and stakeholders will also provide testimony on the bill at Thursday's hearing.
HB 338 would create the position of Chief Turnaround Officer (CTO) within the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) who would report directly to the State Board of Education (SBOE). The SBOE is appointed by the Governor. The following CTO qualifications are required under the bill: a minimum of 15 years of experience in K-12 education, an advanced degree in K-12 education, experience in the position of principal or higher in a public school system for a minimum of three years and extensive experience in turning around failing schools.
The CTO is responsible for managing and overseeing a system of supports and assistance for low-performing schools. He or she would prioritize these low-performing schools based on the number of years the school has received an unacceptable rating. In order to accomplish this, the CTO would work with the local board of education of a low-performing school to amend the charter system or strategic waiver school system (SWSS) flexibility contracts. (All but two Georgia school districts have these contracts.) Should a board not agree to amend its contract, the SBOE would have 60 days to implement one or more interventions already in state law or risk losing its flexibility contract. For the two systems not under a flexibility contract, the district would enter into an intervention contract with the SBOE for each school needing assistance.
The CTO has 90 days from the date of entering the contract with a district to complete a comprehensive on-site evaluation with the assistance of the local regional education service agency (RESA) to determine the cause of the school's low performance or lack of progress. The bill allows the CTO to enlist a third party to assist in this evaluation as long as the third party is selected from an annually established and approved list. Should a district use a party not on the list, the district would be responsible for any expenses.
The following interventions are spelled out in the bill:
- Reallocation of resources and technical assistance
- Changes in school procedures or operations
- Professional learning focused on student achievement for instructional and administrative staff
- Intervention for individual administrators or teachers
- Instructional strategies based on scientifically based research
- Waivers from state statutes or rules
- Adoption of policies and practices to ensure all groups of students meet the state's proficiency level
- Extended instruction time for low-performing students
- Other actions approved by the SBOE
Based on the evaluation and recommendations of the CTO, turnaround coach (or coaches), and the local RESA, the school will then develop its intensive school improvement plan that addresses the academic inefficiencies identified by the school's rating on the CCRPI. If after two years the school is not improving, the CTO shall require one or more of the following:
- Continued implementation of the intensive school improvement plan
- Appointment of a school master or management team to oversee and direct the duties of the principal of the school until the school makes acceptable improvements
- Removal of school personnel, which may include the principal and personnel whose performance has been determined to be insufficient to produce student achievement gains
- Implementation of a state charter school
- Complete reconstitution of the school, removing all personnel, appointing a new principal, and hiring all new staff. Existing staff may reapply for employment at the newly constituted school but shall not be rehired if their performance regarding student achievement has been negative for the past four years
- Mandatory parental option to relocate the student to another public school in the local school system that does not have an unacceptable rating to be chosen by the parents from a list provided by the district. The local system will be required to transport students choosing to relocate from Title I schools. For those students relocating from non-Title I schools, the district will decide whether to provide transportation or place the responsibility for transportation on the individual students
- Complete restructuring of the school's governance arrangement and internal organization of the school
- Operation of the school by another successful school system
- Operation of the school by a private nonprofit entity
- Any other interventions set forth by the CTO and SBOE
If one-half or more of the schools in a single district receive an unacceptable rating for five or more years, the SBOE will hold a hearing to discuss removal of the local board members in the district. The SBOE will then provide a recommendation for removal by the Governor if it deems this step is necessary.
Before any interventions are put into place, the local BOE may request a hearing before the SBOE to show cause why an intervention or interventions would not be appropriate. The final decision remains with the SBOE.
Also included in HB 338 is the creation of an Education Turnaround Advisory Council that will advise the SBOE in the search and hiring of the CTO including the submittal of names to be considered for the position. This council would be made up of the executive directors of PAGE, the Georgia School Boards Association, the Georgia School Superintendents Association, the Georgia Association of Educators, and the president of the Georgia PTA, or their designee.
The bill would also set up the Joint Study Committee on the Establishment of a State Accreditation Process to determine if a state accreditation process to supplement AdvancED accreditation is necessary.
Finally, the SBOE will be required to provide an annual report detailing each school receiving an unacceptable rating for one or more consecutive years and the interventions used in each case to be disseminated to members of the General Assembly.
