---
title: HR 1348. School superintendent; qualifications, duties, and salary shall be established by the board of education and elected by voters; provide - CA
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr1348
cite_as: HR 1348, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1348
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1348.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1348/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73202
date: 2026-02-24
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1348.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 1348
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-02-12
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Alan Powell
- David Wilkerson
- Trey Kelley
- Lydia Glaize
- Carolyn Hugley
- Rick Jasperse
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1348/2025
upstream_id: 2116188
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school superintendents
- education governance
- constitutional amendment
- local referendums
- school boards
---
# HR 1348. School superintendent; qualifications, duties, and salary shall be established by the board of education and elected by voters; provide - CA
## Text
House Resolution 1348
By: Representatives Powell of the 33rd, Wilkerson of the 38th, Kelley of the 16th, Glaize of
the 67th, Hugley of the 141st, and others
A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide that the qualifications, duties,
and salary of the school superintendent shall be established by the board of education as
provided by general law and to authorize the General Assembly to provide by law that local
school superintendents shall be elected by voters as an alternative to being appointed by local
boards of education, if approved by local referendum; to provide for the submission of this
amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article VIII, Section V of the Constitution is amended by revising Paragraph III as follows:
"Paragraph III. School superintendents. There shall be a school superintendent of each
system appointed by the board of education who shall be the executive officer of the board
of education and shall have such qualifications, powers, and duties as provided by general
law. Any elected school superintendent in office on January 1, 1993, shall continue to
serve out the remainder of his or her respective term of office and shall be replaced by an
appointee of the board of education at the expiration of such term. The qualifications,
duties, and salary of the school superintendent shall be established by the board of
education as provided by general law. The school superintendent of each system shall be
appointed by the board of education; provided, however, that the General Assembly may
provide by local law, subject to approval by a majority of the qualified electors of the local
school system voting in a referendum thereon, for the election of the school superintendent
of any school system by the voters residing in the territory embraced by the school system
and for the qualifications of superintendents in such cases."
SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the
above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the
( ) NO qualifications, duties, and salary of the school superintendent shall be
established by the board of education as provided by general law and to
authorize the General Assembly to provide by law that local school
superintendents shall be elected by voters as an alternative to being
appointed by local boards of education, if approved by a local referendum?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."
All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If
such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall
become a part of the Constitution of this state.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House resolution would ask voters to change the state Constitution so local school boards keep setting superintendents' qualifications, duties and pay, while letting local voters choose by referendum to elect their superintendent instead of having the board appoint one.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's Constitution currently says each local school system has a superintendent appointed by the local board of education, who serves as the board's executive officer. This resolution proposes a constitutional amendment clarifying that the school board sets the superintendent's qualifications, duties, and salary under state law, and keeps appointment by the board as the default method.
The amendment also lets the General Assembly pass a local law allowing a school system's superintendent to instead be elected directly by voters in that district, but only if a majority of that district's voters approve the switch in a referendum. The proposal would remove an outdated provision about school superintendents who were still elected before 1993. If the General Assembly approves this resolution, the amendment goes to Georgia voters statewide for ratification or rejection.
### What it does
- Amends the Georgia Constitution to state that a school board sets the superintendent's qualifications, duties, and salary under general law.
- Keeps board appointment as the default way local school superintendents get their jobs.
- Authorizes the General Assembly to pass local laws letting a school system's voters elect their superintendent instead, if approved in a local referendum.
- Removes the outdated constitutional clause about elected superintendents serving out pre-1993 terms.
- Sends the proposed amendment to Georgia voters statewide for a yes-or-no ratification vote.
### Who it affects
Local school superintendents, local boards of education, the General Assembly, and voters in each Georgia school district, who could gain the option to vote directly for their superintendent instead of having the school board appoint one.
### Why it matters
If ratified, this would open the door for individual Georgia communities to switch from board-appointed to voter-elected school superintendents through a local vote, changing who controls who runs the school system's day-to-day administration and how accountable that person is to the public.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises Article VIII, Section V, Paragraph III of the Constitution to state the board of education sets qualifications, duties, and salary of the superintendent as provided by general law.
- Section 1 keeps board appointment as the standard method but allows the General Assembly to pass local law permitting election by voters if a majority approve in a local referendum.
- Section 1 removes obsolete language about superintendents elected before January 1, 1993 finishing their terms.
- Section 2 sets the exact ballot language voters will see and directs that the amendment be submitted for statewide ratification under Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-12)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-02-24)
- Sponsors: Alan Powell, David Wilkerson, Trey Kelley, Lydia Glaize, Carolyn Hugley, Rick Jasperse
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73202
> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1348.md?full=1