Light day for education bills today at the Capitol

The Senate Committee on Children and Families recommends that HB 175 advance. The bill would require that “any current or potential director, employee, or other individual affiliated with any program that receives, either directly or indirectly, federal funds through the department for the care of children, including, but not limited to, early care and education programs and Head Start programs” undergo background checks.

The Senate Rules Committee today added HB 81 to Thursday's floor calendar. The legislation would allow Georgia to join the "The Interstate Compact for School Psychologists." The bill's sponsor says it would "facilitate the interstate practice of school psychology in educational or school settings ..." "The Compact is intended to establish a pathway to allow school psychologists to obtain equivalent licenses to provide school psychological services."

The House of Representatives passed their version of the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget on a 171-4 vote.

The Senate Committee on Education and Youth will meet tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. No agenda has been fixed.

The House Education Curriculum Subcommittee will meet at 1 p.m. tomorrow. On the agenda are three bills:

HB 674 would require the State Board of Education to adopt content standards for instruction in financial literacy and money management for grades four and five.

SB 82: "The Local Charter School Authorization and Support Act of 2025," seeks to grow the number of locally approved chartered schools by incentivizing local school boards to approve more charter school petitions. Schools systems that approve new charter schools are to receive "an incentive grant of $100,000." The bill also requires that local boards provide written notice and explanation when denying charter school petitions.

SB 123 would add to Georgia law the following sentence: "No student shall be expelled from a public school in this state due solely to such student's absences from school."

The House Education Policy Subcommittee will meet tomorrow beginning at 2 p.m. Three bills are on the agenda:

SB 17 would require the establishment of a mobile panic alert system for public schools in the event of an emergency.

SB 44 would revise the definition of the term "qualified local school system" by reducing the minimum required millage rate or effective millage rate from 14 mills to 10 mills to qualify for equalization grants.

SB 154 would add the words "or its successor," after references to "United States Department of Education" or "U.S. Department of Education" in Georgia law.

The Senate Finance Committee meets tomorrow at 3 p.m. HB 328, which proposes to raise the current tax breaks for donors to private schools from $120 million to $140 million a year and fund private school vouchers, is not on the agenda.

Light day for education bills today at the Capitol

Next Legislative Update: Thursday, March 13