HR 1754: House Study Committee on Georgia Teacher Planning and Duty-Free Lunch; create

House Resolution 1754

By: Representatives Lupton of the 83rd, Ali of the 106th, and Lim of the 98th

A RESOLUTION

Creating the House Study Committee on Georgia Teacher Planning and Duty-Free Lunch; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, supporting Georgia teachers is a key priority for the state, the General Assembly, and the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, teachers require sufficient planning time to properly develop lesson plans, create classroom materials, and accomplish other professional requirements; and

WHEREAS, planning time is often lost due to the need for teachers to cover classes for absent colleagues when substitute teachers cannot be secured; and

WHEREAS, substitute teachers play an integral role in ensuring teachers have sufficient planning time and allowing teachers to complete necessary professional learning; and

WHEREAS, state funding for substitute teachers has not increased since the Quality Basic Education Act was passed in 1985; and

WHEREAS, duty-free lunch provides teachers time needed for physical and mental renewal and helps support high-quality work for the remainder of the school day; and

WHEREAS, current duty-free lunch and planning time requirements are waived by many school districts for a variety of reasons, including staff shortages, required professional learning, and lack of substitute teachers; and

WHEREAS, in December 2025, the Georgia Roundtable for Strategic Educator Recruitment and Retention recommended increasing substitute funding and protecting planning time as part of its "Strategic Plan for Educator Recruitment and Retention"; and

WHEREAS, further study on this issue is needed to develop policy and funding solutions to better address the need for teacher duty-free lunch and planning time.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee on Teacher Planning and Duty-Free Lunch.

(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of six members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.

(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.

(4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.

(5) Allowances and funding.

(A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

(B) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives.

(6) Report.

(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.

(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.

(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.