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GAE Legislative Update - Thursday, February 13, 2025 - Day 17
Archive of past GAE Legislative Alerts this year
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Legislature next meets Tuesday, Feb. 18
The Georgia General Assembly finished up its work for the week this afternoon, and will re-convene on Tuesday, February 18. Lawmakers will be in session Tuesday through Friday.
The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Education is scheduled for a meeting Tuesday, February 18 at 11 a.m. in Room 506 of the Coverdell Building.
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House Ed subcommittee, Sen Ed. pass school safety bills
The House Education Committee's Subcommittee on Education Policy met today and voted to recommend HB 268 to the full committee. The "school safety" legislation would provide for reimbursement grants to local school systems that hire qualified "mental health coordinators" and to provide for suicide awareness and prevention programs. By July 1, 2025, the State Board of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, shall establish the essential duties and minimum qualifications for qualified mental health coordinators hired by local school systems.
The bill also requires that records of transferring students with a felony conviction be shared with enrolling local school districts. Such records could be from the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Human Services, and the Division of Family and Children Services. Records pertaining to short-term suspensions, a long-term suspensions, or an expulsion from another school shall also be shared with the enrolling school district.
The House passed today, without a dissenting vote, HB 105, which would double the permanent disability and death benefits to a school employee injured or killed on the job from $75,000 to $150,000.
The Senate Education and Youth Committee met this afternoon and passed SB 17 to require schools to implement mobile panic alert systems for use in a moment of compromised school safety. The Committee also passed SB 123 concerning school absenteeism. Among other things, the bill 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 effort to expand the state's Special Needs voucher program mentioned yesterday now has a bill number, SB 152. Meanwhile, House Democrats joined Senate Democrats in proposing a law to repeal last year's voucher bill, which passed by one vote last year and which is to be fully implemented this year. The House bill is HB 436; the Senate bill is SB 134.
The chair of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, has filed legislation, SB 150, to allow retired educators with 25 years of experience to qualify for a state program that allows classroom teachers, after one year in retirement, to return to the classroom in subject areas for which there is a high demand. Current law requires these retired teacher have 30 years experience.
The state Senate today passed SB 21, which could expose school districts to lawsuits if they fail to cooperate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials or the police. The measure now goes to the state House for further consideration.
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TRS Talks: An Update on Social Security
Join the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) for an important event on Social Security on February 24, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. on YouTube. Cindy Lundquist, a Social Security expert, will be discussing the impact of the new Social Security Fairness Act (repeal of WEP/GPO), other Social Security topics, and more. Cindy is a retired Social Security administrator and has spent over 27 years with the SSA and over 19 years assisting private and public companies educate their employees and clients about Social Security and Medicare benefits.
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| Next Legislative Update: Tuesday, February 18
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