email : Webview : Thirty-Ninth legislative day

The House adjourned at 9:56 pm and the Senate adjourned at 11:30 pm. We expect both to stay until midnight tomorrow to finish as many outstanding bills as possible.

Bills are moving back and forth between the two chambers due to amendments and new language being added to previously approved bills.

House:

SB 431 by Sen Kay Kirkpatrick requires school systems to enroll students in foster care within 2 days. The bill goes back to the Senate to agree/disagree to the House changes.

SB 515 by Sen. Billy Hickman extends the teacher tax credit that expires at the end of 2026. The tax credit is available to educators who graduated from a Georgia college or university and accept a new position in one of the 100 schools listed by the Department of Education as "underperforming". The tax credit for 2026 is $3000 and limited to 1000 teachers. In 2027, the credit will be $2500 for 1200 teachers. The program now expires at the end of 2031. The bill goes back to the Senate to agree/disagree to the House changes.

SB 552, True Patriotism and Universal Student Access (TPUSA) Act by Senator Ben Watson relates to clubs and organizations by providing equal access to public schools for students engaging in political or philosophical expression, authorizing the organization of partisan and nonpartisan student groups and gatherings, providing for school disclaimers of sponsorship, prohibiting discrimination based on the content of student speech within a limited open forum, and providing for the maintenance of order and discipline. The Senate has agreed to the House changes and this bill goes to the governor.

The House amended HB 328 by Rep. Casey Carpenter, reducing the Senate's increase to the tax credits for private school donations to $150 million. The original House version was $120 million and the Senate version was $225 million. The House also added language from HB 1220 and HB 1259 to their latest version. The bill goes back to the Senate to agree/disagree to the House changes.

Senate:

HB 1193, Speaker Jon Burns priority literacy legislation was passed by the Senate. The bill now provides a Literacy Coach for every elementary school in the state, paid for through a grant rather than through QBE. The bill requires schools to offer full-day Kindergarten and students must attend Kindergarten or pass a readiness screener before entering first grade. The Georgia Council on Literacy is ended and a Literacy Task Force will be created to evaluate instructional materials. The House agreed to the Senate changes and the bill goes to the governor. This bill is effective immediately upon the Governor's signature.

HB 116 by Rep. Shaw Blackmon eliminates ad valorem taxes and institutes more sales tax. This bill goes back to the House to agree to the changes.GAE will continue to monitor developments closely and keep members informed. These final days of session are critical, and we encourage members to remain engaged and prepared to take action on issues impacting Georgia’s public schools.

Stay Engaged

EARLY VOTING BEGAN THIS WEEK
IN APRIL 7 SPECIAL ELECTION RUNOFFS

Special election runoffs are scheduled for April 7 including in the following districts. Early, in-person voting began this week, but only for four days:

SENATE DISTRICT 53 (Chattooga, Dade, Walker, and portions of Catoosa and Floyd counties). Republican Lanny Thomas and Democrat Jack Zibluk are the candidates. Thomas is a former teacher and head basketball coach at Trion High School in Chattooga County and mayor of Trion. Zibluk is a college professor.

HOUSE DISTRICT 94 (DeKalb and Gwinnett counties). GAE has endorsed Venola Mason, a former educator.

HOUSE DISTRICT 130 (Richmond County). Democrat former State Rep. Sheila Nelson and Republican Thomas McAdams are the two candidates in the runoff special election runoff.

U.S. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 14: (Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker and Whitfield counties as well as portions of Cobb County). Clay Fuller, a lawyer who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, and former Brigadier General and former public school educator Shawn Harris are the two candidates in the special election runoff. GAE has endorsed Gen. Harris. Volunteer opportunities are abundant.

>>> In addition, Gov. Brian Kemp has set May 19 for the special election to fill the Senate seat formerly held by Nabilah Islam Parkes (Senate District 7 - Gwinnett) and May 12 for the special election to fill the House seat formerly held by Rep. Dexter Sharper (House District 177 - Lowndes). Both legislators recently resigned their seats. <<<

EARLY VOTING BEGAN THIS WEEKIN APRIL 7 SPECIAL ELECTION RUNOFFS

EARLY VOTING BEGAN THIS WEEK
IN APRIL 7 SPECIAL ELECTION RUNOFFS