HR1754: HR1754 House Study Committee on Georgia Teacher Planning and Duty-Free Lunch; create

26 LC 64 0100 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;1 and for other purposes.2 WHEREAS, supporting Georgia teachers is a key priority for the state, the General3 Assembly, and the House of Representatives; and4 WHEREAS, teachers require sufficient planning time to properly develop lesson plans,5 create classroom materials, and accomplish other professional requirements; and6 WHEREAS, planning time is often lost due to the need for teache rs to cover classes for7 absent colleagues when substitute teachers cannot be secured; and8 WHEREAS, substitute teachers play an integral role in ensuring teachers have sufficient9 planning time and allowing teachers to complete necessary professional learning; and10 WHEREAS, state funding for substitute teachers has not increased since the Quality Basic11 Education Act was passed in 1985; and12 H. R. 1754 - 1 - 26 LC 64 0100 WHEREAS, duty-free lunch provides teachers time needed for physical and mental renewal13 and helps support high-quality work for the remainder of the school day; and14 WHEREAS, current duty-free lunch and planning time requirements are waived by many15 school districts for a variety of reasons, including staff shor tages, required professional16 learning, and lack of substitute teachers; and17 WHEREAS, in December 2025, the Georgia Roundtable for Strategic Educator Recruitment18 and Retention recommended increasing substitute funding and protecting planning time as19 part of its "Strategic Plan for Educator Recruitment and Retention"; and20 WHEREAS, further study on this issue is needed to develop policy and funding solutions to21 better address the need for teacher duty-free lunch and planning time.22 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:23 (1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee24 on Teacher Planning and Duty-Free Lunch.25 (2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of six members of the26 House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of27 Representatives. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson28 of the committee.29 (3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,30 issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or31 legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.32 (4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee33 may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or34 H. R. 1754 - 2 - 26 LC 64 0100 convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and35 accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.36 (5) Allowances and funding.37 (A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided38 for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.39 (B) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member40 of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds41 necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds42 appropriated to the House of Representatives.43 (6) Report.44 (A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that45 include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the46 same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolut ion, subject to47 subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.48 (B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not i nclude suggestions for49 proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)50 of this paragraph.51 (C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of52 abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.53 A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with54 the Clerk of the House of Representatives.55 (D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the56 House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu57 thereof.58 (7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.59 H. R. 1754 - 3 -