--- title: SR 176. Wood, Laura; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr176 cite_as: SR 176, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr176 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr176.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr176/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70266 date: 2025-02-13 status: passed 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr175.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr177.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr176.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 176 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-13 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Shawn Still - Clint Dixon - Sheikh Rahman - Nikki Merritt - Randal Mangham - Bill Cowsert text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR176/2025 upstream_id: 1968110 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - teacher recognition - Gwinnett County schools - education awards - Georgia Senate resolution --- # SR 176. Wood, Laura; commend ## Text Senate Resolution 176 By: Senators Still of the 48th, Dixon of the 45th, Rahman of the 5th, Merritt of the 9th, Mangham of the 55th and others A RESOLUTION Commending Laura Wood, Lanier High School's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Laura Wood has been teaching ninth through twelfth grade orchestra to Sugar Hill students at Lanier High School in Gwinnett County for four years and has 21 years of teaching experience; and WHEREAS, she is a highly respected ninth through twelfth grade teacher within the school community and among her peers and has been recognized as Lanier High School's Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025; and WHEREAS, she has spent endless hours both inside and outside the classroom teaching students and empowering them to think freely, helping them develop skills such as questioning, provoking, and challenging all the things presented to them; and WHEREAS, she has engaged her students by producing innovative lessons that have real-life applications and has thus promoted learning to her students as a lifelong endeavor; and WHEREAS, the purpose of the Teacher of the Year award is to honor educators who have made an exceptional difference in the lives of their students and provided inspiration to their peers, recognizing and promoting excellence in education within Gwinnett County Public Schools and helping to promote an educated and vibrant community; and WHEREAS, in recognition of such remarkable contributions to the education and welfare of Georgia's students, it is abundantly fitting and proper for this body to honor the extraordinary accomplishments and academic achievements of this outstanding educator. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body commend Laura Wood, Lanier High School's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year, and express their most sincere best wishes for continued success. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Laura Wood. ## 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 Senate resolution commends Laura Wood, an orchestra teacher at Lanier High School in Gwinnett County, for being named the school's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia Senate rather than a bill that changes state law. It honors Laura Wood, who has taught ninth through twelfth grade orchestra at Lanier High School in Gwinnett County for four years and has 21 years of teaching experience overall. The resolution describes her work engaging students with innovative, real-life lessons and helping them develop critical thinking skills. The resolution formally states that the Senate commends Wood for being named Lanier High School's Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025 and wishes her continued success. It also directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to Wood as a keepsake recognizing the honor. ### What it does - Formally commends Laura Wood for being named Lanier High School's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year. - States the Senate's recognition of her 21 years of teaching experience and four years teaching orchestra at Lanier High School. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to Laura Wood. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names and honors Laura Wood, a teacher at Lanier High School in Gwinnett County. It also involves the Georgia Senate and its Secretary, who is tasked with distributing a copy of the resolution to her. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or funding effect; it does not change any Georgia law, create programs, or allocate money. Its practical effect is a formal, public statement of recognition from the state Senate for one educator's work and achievement. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe Laura Wood's teaching background, including 21 years of experience and four years at Lanier High School. - The resolved clause formally commends Wood and expresses the Senate's best wishes for her continued success. - A further resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy available for distribution to Wood. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-13) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-02-13) - Sponsors: Shawn Still, Clint Dixon, Sheikh Rahman, Nikki Merritt, Randal Mangham, Bill Cowsert - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70266 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr176.md?full=1