HB1030: HB1030 Math Matters Act; enact

26 HB 1030/AP House Bill 1030 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Donatucci of the 105th, Erwin of the 32nd, Jones of the 47th, Dubnik of the 29th, Hilton of the 48th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 2 Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Ann otated, relating to1 elementary and secondary education, so as to enact the "Math Ma tters Act"; to require the2 State Board of Education to adopt content standards for middle and high school advanced3 math courses; to require the Department of Education to provide guidance and technical4 assistance to local education agencies; to require local educat ion agencies to establish5 advanced math courses; to provide for enrollment of students in to and withdrawal from6 advanced math courses; to require minimum core math instruction time for students in grades7 four and five; to require that parents or guardians are provide d information regarding8 advanced math courses; to require annual reports; to prohibit w aivers; to require the9 Professional Standards Commission to revise standards for acquiring and maintaining teacher10 certification in elementary education to include requirements r egarding developmentally11 appropriate evidence based math instruction; to require the Pro fessional Standards12 Commission to ensure students completing teacher certification programs have the13 knowledge and skills to teach math including the four strands of mathematical proficiency;14 to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to15 repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:17 H. B. 1030 - 1 - 26 HB 1030/AP SECTION 1.18 Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and19 secondary education, is amended in Part 3 of Article 6, relatin g to educational programs20 under the "Quality Basic Education Act," by adding a new Code section to read as follows:21 "20-2-153.2.22 (a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Math Matters Act.'23 (b) As used in this Code section, the term:24 (1) 'Advanced math course' means a math course more rigorous t han a course with25 grade-level content.26 (2) 'Evidence based math instruction' means teaching practices that are supported by27 research grounded in quantitative or qualitative empirical evid ence and are shown to28 positively impact student math learning, to support students in achieving grade-level math29 learning goals, and to improve student outcomes.30 (3) 'Four strands of mathematical proficiency' means a combination of the following:31 (A) Real world problem solving skills, which connects math to students' lives;32 (B) Procedural fluency, which is the ability to perform math p rocedures with speed,33 accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility;34 (C) Conceptual understanding, which is knowing how and why math works; and35 (D) Productive dispositions, which is seeing math as sensible, useful, and worthwhile.36 (4) 'Intervention' means a specific program, activity, or set of steps used to help students37 improve in an area of need that may include additional time, ev idence based tutoring,38 small group instruction, multitiered system of supports, or the like.39 (5) 'Local education agency' shall have the same meaning as se t forth in Code40 Section 20-2-167.1.41 (c) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, each local education agency shall require42 at least 60 minutes daily or 300 minutes weekly of core math instructional time for students43 in grades four and five.44 H. B. 1030 - 2 - 26 HB 1030/AP (d) The Department of Education shall provide guidance and technical assistance to local45 education agencies in developing and implementing advanced math courses in grades six46 and seven.47 (e) By January 1, 2027, the State Board of Education shall ado pt content standards for48 advanced math courses for grades eight through ten to be designated as such for purposes49 of this Code section. Such advanced math courses shall, at a minimum, include Enhanced50 Algebra: Concepts and Connections.51 (f)(1) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, each local ed ucation agency with52 students enrolled in grades six through ten shall:53 (A) Automatically enroll in an advanced math course each stude nt who receives a54 score of distinguished learner on the state-wide end-of-grade o r end-of-course math55 assessment at the end of the prior school year or demonstrates proficiency using a local56 measure that considers the student's math coursework or the stu dent's grade point57 average in math;58 (B) Establish a procedure for a parent or guardian to withdraw his or her child from59 such automatic enrollment; and60 (C) Permit a parent or guardian of a student who scores proficient on the end-of-grade61 or end-of-course math assessment at the end of the prior school year to request that such62 student be enrolled in such advanced math course. The local ed ucation agency shall63 approve such request or require such parent or guardian to attend a placement meeting64 to review such student's achievement in math and overall readin ess for enrollment in65 such course prior to approving such request;66 (2) Each local education agency shall provide each student enrolled in an advanced math67 course:68 (A) Reasonable instructional support beyond core math instruction; and69 (B) A system of supports for students to achieve success in the advanced math course,70 which may include:71 H. B. 1030 - 3 - 26 HB 1030/AP (i) A specific high-quality instructional program; and72 (ii) A set of steps used to help students improve in math, including, but not limited73 to:74 (I) Additional instructional time;75 (II) High-dosage tutoring;76 (III) Small group instruction; and77 (IV) Technology enabled activities during the school day.78 (3) Each local education agency shall provide information to p arents or guardians of79 students who score proficient o r distinguished l earner on the e nd-of-grade or80 end-of-course assessment about:81 (A) The purpose and goals of guaranteed access to advanced math courses;82 (B) The available advanced math courses; and83 (C) How each advanced math course supports preparation for postsecondary college84 and career opportunities.85 (4)(A) By October 1, 2028, and October 1 of each year thereafter, the Department of86 Education shall provide a report to the chairpersons of the Hou se Committee on87 Education, the Senate Education and Youth Committee, the House Committee on88 Appropriations, and the Senate Appropriations Committee. Such report shall include,89 at a minimum:90 (i) The number of students enrolled in each local education agency who received a91 score of distinguished learner on the most recent state-wide en d-of-grade or92 end-of-course math assessment for grades five through ten;93 (ii) The number and percentage of students provided for in div ision (i) of this94 subparagraph who were:95 (I) Automatically enrolled in an advanced math course; and96 (II) Automatically enrolled in an advanced math course and withdrew from such97 enrollment;98 H. B. 1030 - 4 - 26 HB 1030/AP (iii) The number of students who did not receive a score of distinguished learner on99 the most recent state-wide end-of-grade or end-of-course math assessment but who100 enrolled in an advanced math course; and101 (iv) A list of advanced math courses offered by each local education agency.102 (B) The student data provided pursuant to division (i) of this subparagraph shall be103 disaggregated by ethnicity, race, sex, socioeconomic status, di sability, and language104 proficiency.105 (g) This Code section shall not be subject to waivers pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for106 a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-244 for a local board of education,107 Code Section 20-2-2063.2 for a charter system, or Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter108 system or schools within a charter system, or any completion special school."109 SECTION 2.110 Said chapter is further amended in Part 10 of Article 17, relating to professional standards,111 by revising subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 20-2-984, r elating to Professional112 Standards Commission — authority to create and implement standards and procedures for113 certifying educational personnel, recommending standards and procedures for certification,114 continuation of teaching certificates, and restrictions, as follows:115 "(a) The commission shall create and implement standards and procedures for certifying116 educational personnel as qualified for a certificate to practic e in the public schools of117 Georgia; provided, however, that such standards and procedures shall not require an118 individual to participate in or complete any training program in which divisive concepts,119 as such term is defined in Code Section 20-1-11, are advocated for; provided, further, that120 such standards shall include the following:121 (1) Procedures for limiting the number and types of certificat es to the fewest possible122 consistent with providing qualified teachers for Georgia's schools;123 H. B. 1030 - 5 - 26 HB 1030/AP (2) In-service training and related requirements needed to ren ew or maintain124 certification;125 (3) Multiple or alternative routes to professional teacher certification, including, but not126 limited to, the alternative and nontraditional teacher certification programs provided for127 in Code Section 20-2-206; provided, however, that the commissio n's standards and128 procedures consider for in-state certification nationally accre dited teacher certification129 programs outside of this state which are state sponsored and me et the academic130 accreditation and certification requirements of the commission; and131 (4)(A) Requirements, including appropriate examinations and as sessments, for132 acquiring and maintaining certification pursuant to Code Section 20-2-200.133 (B) Beginning July 1, 2025 2028 , the Georgia Assessments for Certification of134 Educators (GACE), or any other assessment required by the commi ssion for teacher135 certification, shall be aligned with developmentally appropriate evidence based literacy136 instruction and evidence based math instruction.137 (b) The commission shall recommend to the board of regents and private colleges and138 universities standards and procedures for preparing educational personnel to qualify for139 initial and renewable certification to practice in the public schools of Georgia, including140 the following:141 (1) Pre-service preparation;142 (2) Approval of teacher education programs, both graduate and undergraduate, which143 shall include, at a minimum, mandatory coursework in:144 (A) Differentiated instruction, including the development and implementation of145 explicit curricula to effectively support and deliver differentiated instruction to students. 146 As used in this subparagraph, the term 'differentiated instruction' means instruction that147 demonstrates a teacher's recognition of students as individuals in terms of their abilities,148 achievement, learning styles, and needs, including but not limited to at-risk students,149 English language learners, students with special needs, and gif ted students, and that150 H. B. 1030 - 6 - 26 HB 1030/AP gives greater emphasis to indivi dualization in teaching by maki ng adjustments to151 curricula, materials, learning activities, and assessment techn iques to ensure that all152 students in a mixed-ability classroom can have equal access to appropriate avenues for153 processing new information and developing skills; and154 (B) Instruction related to the development of fundamental read ing skills, including155 phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension;156 (3) Approval of programs of alternative certification;157 (4) The creation of innovative programs designed to increase t he number of minority158 teachers entering the professi on, including, but not limited to , programs designed to159 promote increased student enrollment in and completion of teacher education programs160 offered at historically black colleges and universities in this state; and161 (5) The creation of standards designed to ensure that postsecondary students completing162 teacher certification programs in this state graduate with the knowledge and skills163 necessary to teach reading; and164 (6) The creation of standards designed to ensure that postsecondary students completing165 elementary education teacher certification programs in this state graduate with training166 and instruction that:167 (A) Effectively teaches math knowledge and skills that develop the four strands of168 mathematical proficiency as such term is defined in Code Section 20-2-153.2;169 (B) Implements evidence based math instruction as such term is defined in Code170 Section 20-2-153.2;171 (C) Provides effective instruction and interventions for students who need intervention172 as such term is defined in Code Section 20-2-153.2; and173 (D) Understands and uses student data to make instructional decisions."174 SECTION 3.175 This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026.176 H. B. 1030 - 7 - 26 HB 1030/AP SECTION 4.177 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.178 H. B. 1030 - 8 -