--- title: SR 178. Duncan, Catherine; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr178 cite_as: SR 178, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr178 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr178.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr178/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70273 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/sr177.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr179.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr178.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 178 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/SR178/2025 upstream_id: 1968185 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - education - teacher recognition - Gwinnett County schools - legislative commendation --- # SR 178. Duncan, Catherine; commend ## Text Senate Resolution 178 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 Catherine Duncan, Lanier Middle School's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Catherine Duncan has been teaching eighth grade math to Sugar Hill students at Lanier Middle School in Gwinnett County for seven years and has 10 years of teaching experience; and WHEREAS, she is a highly respected eighth grade teacher within the school community and among her peers and has been recognized as Lanier Middle 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 Catherine Duncan, Lanier Middle 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 Catherine Duncan. ## 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 formally commends Catherine Duncan, a Lanier Middle School math teacher in Gwinnett County, for being named the school's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia Senate honors Catherine Duncan, an eighth grade math teacher at Lanier Middle School in Gwinnett County, for being selected as the school's Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025. The text describes her seven years teaching at Lanier Middle School and ten years of overall teaching experience, and praises her work engaging students with innovative, real-life lessons. The resolution does not change any Georgia law. It is a ceremonial statement in which the Senate commends Duncan and wishes her continued success, and directs the Secretary of the Senate to send her an official copy of the resolution as a keepsake. ### What it does - Formally commends Catherine Duncan for being named Lanier Middle School's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year. - States the Senate's sincere best wishes for her continued success in teaching. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute an official copy of the resolution to Catherine Duncan. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names and honors Catherine Duncan, an eighth grade math teacher at Lanier Middle School in Gwinnett County. It also references Gwinnett County Public Schools and the broader school community that recognized her achievement. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or funding consequences; it is a symbolic honor. Its practical effect is limited to a formal Senate acknowledgment and an official printed copy given to Duncan recognizing her teaching achievements. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses describe Duncan's teaching background, including seven years at Lanier Middle School and ten years of total experience. - The resolved clause has the Senate commend Duncan and express best wishes for her continued success. - A further resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy available for distribution to Duncan. ## 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/70273 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr178.md?full=1