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Day on Capitol Hill Registration Deadline Approaches - Watch our Advocacy How-To Video Now
Registration for PAGE Day on Capitol Hill closes at 5 PM on Wednesday, February 14, 2018.
Register now for this free event, and invite your House and Senate member to lunch on Feb 20. In preparation for your visit to the Capitol,
please check out our short video on what to expect and how to effectively advocate under the Gold Dome.
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Senate Passes SHBP Advisory Committee & House Passes Surprise Billing Legislation & Rainey Act
Today the House and Senate both passed bills aimed at improving consumer protection for educators and other public employees covered by the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP).
The Senate unanimously passed PAGE-supported legislation requiring greater oversight of the SHBP by those participating in the insurance plan.
SB 31 by Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), which is now on its way to the House, requires that at least two members of the board overseeing the SHBP must be active participants in the plan-one must be an Employees Retirement System member and one must be a Teachers Retirement System member. The bill also creates a SHBP advisory council with ERS and TRS members.
The House passed
HB 678, by Rep. Richard Smith (R-Columbus), which seeks to limit surprise medical billing by requiring disclosure when health care providers are out of network and mandating other transparency requirements.
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Ways & Means Subcommittee Passes Expensive Voucher Bill
HB 482, the Georgia Educational Scholarship Act, by Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock) seeks to create an education savings account used for private school tuition; higher education costs; tutoring by a certified educator; occupational, behavioral, physical, or speech-language therapies; school transportation; or education technology. The amount of public funding allocated to the savings accounts would be equivalent to the state funding which would have been appropriated had students attended public schools.
In a previous hearing, PAGE testified against the legislation, citing concerns about the bill's allowance for uncertified teachers and the ballooning expense of the private school voucher proposal. Since that time, the Department of Audits has published a
fiscal note confirming fears regarding the costs HB 482.
In today's hearing, Rep. Cantrell addressed several concerns he had discussed with education groups including PAGE's concern with uncertified teachers stating that requiring teachers at private schools to be certified would place a burden on private schools that not all would be able to handle. Instead, he added a provision in the bill requiring private schools to provide parents with a list of certified teachers at the school.
The subcommittee passed the bill to the full Ways and Means Committee.
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Senate Education & Youth Committee Passes Recess Bill
HB 273, by Rep. Demetrius Douglas (D-Stockbridge) seeks to provide for a daily recess for students in K-5. The bill passed unanimously. PAGE was prepared to speak in support of the bill; however, as the same bill passed last session, no public comment was heard.
SB 97, by Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta), seeks to expand childcare subsidies from one to two years for parents in job training or educational programs. The bill received a hearing only.
SB 235, by Sen. Donzella James (D-Atlanta), the Deantre Gregory Turman Act, strongly encourages that youth athletes participating in gridiron football be equipped with and wear a helmet which has at least a four-star rating.
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Education Subcommittee of House Appropriations Hears FY 19 Education Budget
The Education Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee heard testimony from the heads of several state agencies regarding the FY 2019 budget.
CLICK HERE to view Gov. Nathan Deal's FY 19 budget report. The Department of Education begins on page 142.
Professional Standards Commission (PSC)
Kelly Henson, director of the PSC described for the committee the work of the PSC. Of particular interest, Mr. Henson noted that last year the PSC opened 1801 ethics investigations, with the PSC receiving somewhere between 125 - 150 complaints of ethics violations per month.
Mr. Henson was asked about the state's current teacher shortage. In his response, he noted that Georgia still faces a shortage in special education, math, science, and Spanish, but that shortages vary district by district. He also noted that Georgia is an importer of teachers and that the PSC has tried to make Georgia as friendly as a state as possible for teachers from other states.
Teachers Retirement System (TRS)
In his remarks to the committee, executive director of TRS, Buster Evans, reported that TRS currently has over 400,000 members. These are active members, retirees, and inactive members. TRS has recently seen the number of active contributing members increase while the number of retirees has slightly decreased. Mr. Evans also reported to the committee that as of January 1, 2018, TRS had assets of $71.6 billion.
Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE)
Presenting for the GaDOE was Mr. Ted Beck, the agency's chief financial officer. Mr. Beck observed that this year's budget is "fairly quiet" with it showing similarities to previous years' budgets. Of note, the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS), a program for students with severe behavioral or psychiatric disorders, sees a decrease in this year's budget; this is due to enrollment as GNETS has about 200 fewer students this year. Other areas of note included the math and science teacher supplement. Mr. Beck noted to the committee that fewer math and science teachers are applying for the step increase supplement. The state commissioned charter schools also see a budget increase this year; this is due to growth in the number of state commissioned charter schools. Funding for school nursing programs will see a decrease in this year's budget. When asked for specifics by Rep. Joyce Chandler (R-Grayson), Mr. Beck explained that this is due to a formula in the QBE based on enrollment.
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House Education Subcommittee Hears Voucher Expansion Bill
The House Education Subcommittee on Academic Achievement heard testimony today on HB 801, the Individualized Education Account Act. Introduced by Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners), HB 801 seeks to revise the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program. If passed, the bill will expand Georgia's existing special needs private school voucher by creating the individualized education account scholarship. Access to the scholarship funds would be limited to students with certain disabilities which are specifically listed in the statute. If granted the scholarship, students would be limited to using the funds for items allowed by the law. Enforcement of the law would fall to the Georgia Department of the Treasury.
Rep. Hilton introduced the bill to the committee. Committee members seemed concerned about financial oversight and accountability, with Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson) noting that public schools must account for every penny they spend. Rep. Benton also questioned Rep. Hilton about how assuring that the money is spent for only what the law allows.
Several parents spoke in favor of the legislation, noting that it would provide them with options when all options in both public and private schools are exhausted. No vote was taken today by the committee on this legislation.
The committee also passed HR 1017 by Rep. John Corbett (R-Lake Park), a bill that encourages all schools, districts and state agencies to recognize that dyslexia has a profound educational impact that must be addressed.
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| Tuesday, February 13 |
Legislative Day 20
2pm Senate Retirement, Capitol Mezz 1
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| Wednesday, February 14 |
Legislative Day 21
1pm House Education Subcommittee, 415 CLOB
3pm Senate Education & Youth, 450 Capitol
Registration Closes for Day on the Hill
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| Thursday, February 15 |
Legislative Day 22
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| Tuesday, February 20 |
Legislative Day 23/PAGE Day on Capitol Hill
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Margaret Ciccarelli
Director of Legislative Affairs
[email protected]
Josh Stephens
Legislative Policy Analyst
[email protected]
Matthew Pence
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PAGE's core business is to provide professional learning for educators that will enhance professional competence and confidence, build leadership qualities and lead to higher academic achievement for students, while providing the best in membership, legislative and legal services and support |
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