Senate Education and Youth Committee, March 3, 2026

Transcript

496 turns. Select a time to play that moment of the video.

1. 0:23:31

   Okay, good. Thank y'all. Um, if you would, let's see. Senator Bearden, you mind open us with a prayer, please? What number are you?

2. 0:23:43

   Sure. Three.

3. 0:23:45

   12? Okay. Lord, I ask for your blessings as we move into a very dangerous time of the legislative session. I ask for your wisdom, your guidance to make sure that we do what's best for the citizens of Georgia. And as always, we ask that you keep us safe and never forget that Christ died on the sin- on the cross for our sins. In Christ's name we pray, amen.

4. 0:24:06

   Amen.

5. 0:24:06

   Thank you, Senator. Let me turn this thing down a little bit.

6. 0:24:12

   Well, thank y'all. Thank y'all for being here today. And oh, we got some more people coming in. That's great. And I'd like to recognize my wife, Joanne, on the second row sitting next to former Senator Mullis for being here. And, um-

7. 0:24:28

   ... ju- just for your information, um, the alarm clock's on her side of the bed. She's the one that gets me out of bed every morning. So, so, so she, she's the one that's responsible for me being here. Um, Senator Brass, so good to have you here today this morning, sir. And, um-

8. 0:24:44

   Thank you, Mr. Chairman

9. 0:24:45

   ... yes, sir, and we'll let you go first.

10. 0:24:47

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

11. 0:24:48

    You probably got other things to do.

12. 0:24:53

    Only thing I gotta do, Mr. Chairman, is pass all your bills, so.

13. 0:24:59

    All right. Um, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for having me. And, uh, I'm bringing Senate Bill 589. And this bill, it was kind of a late arriving bill. I had, uh, met with a constituent and a, and one of my school board members, and she had a issue with, uh, registering her child for kindergarten and pre-K. And so really what the issue is, is if a child turns four before 9/1, before September 1st, they can attend pre-K.

14. 0:25:30

    If they turn five before 9/1, they have to go to kindergarten. So again, if they turn five before September 1st, they have to go to kindergarten. So if the child did not attend state-funded pre-K before they enter kindergarten, it is then up to the local school district as to whether they want to allow them to go to pre-K or not. And, um, and my county is one of those that does not allow that. And it is based on there are a limited number of slots.

15. 0:26:00

    And so I called my s- school superintendent and kind of talked through the problem with him, and he said, "You know, having that in the county's hands, um, isn't necessarily the best thing." He thinks that we should put it back in the hands of the parents, let them decide. And so that's what this bill does. It takes that pressure off of the counties. It takes that opt- opt-out language out, and, and it forces them to allow for the parent to make the decision as to whether, whether that five-year-old, uh, that did not attend pre-K, state-funded pre-K, if they should be able to go to, go do that.

16. 0:26:38

    So, um, now I did also, uh... So I also feel like a lot of our dates, um, as far as starting school, um, they're all centered around when we used to start school, after Labor Day.

17. 0:26:54

    Right.

18. 0:26:55

    And, um, we now, we start earlier now. Most school systems are starting, you know, early August. And so this bill does move that date up. However, I will say this, that would mean, it, it would, uh, I- I think we should take that language out, personally. Um, I think at some point we need to line all our dates up. Uh, but I think if we did it right now, especially with an effective date of this year, it would rule out, um, uh, some of these kids from being able to attend pre-K and also being able to attend, uh, kindergarten.

19. 0:27:31

    So I do think that language should come out, um, or at the very least change the, uh, the effective date to next year to give, give another year to prepare. But, um, but in my opinion, uh, I think we ought to just take that out. And I did have two versions of this, and we were, you know, kind of pressed for time, and so I just went ahead and dropped this one since it had the signatures on it, hoping we could fix the date changes, uh, at the appropriate time. So...

20. 0:28:00

    So, so your, your bill, will you give us the LC number on your bill?

21. 0:28:03

    Sure. I've got LC610427.

22. 0:28:06

    Okay.

23. 0:28:07

    And, um, you've got, your date changes are occurring essentially all of section one. Um, and then, well, section, beginning of section one and then the, and then section two, uh, on lines 43 through 50 on page three there, that is where we are taking the op- That's the opt-out language, uh, again, allowing the parents to make that decision in what they think is in the best interest of that child.

24. 0:28:40

    So you made some comments about your opinion going forward on this, but, but that's just your opinion. What you're concerned about right now is this bill.

25. 0:28:48

    Yes, sir. The main, the main thing I feel like we need to do is addressed in 43 through 50. I do think if we change the dates, as my presented bill does, if you're, those kids that are from August 1 to 9/1, if they're born in that range, it is gonna, it is gonna cause some issues for them. And that was not the original intent. I was just trying to line up dates. And then as I got to thinking about it, you're gonna have less kids ava- eligible for pre-K and less kids eligible for, um, for kindergarten.

26. 0:29:26

    So, um, but I will go back to, you know, there are a limited number of pre-K slots. Uh, this would make it a little bit more competitive. We're not talking about a large number of students. We're not increasing the number of slots. We're not doing anything with that- Um, I do think the, the impact would be minimal. Um, but I do think the, uh... Or at least the impact on the pre-K would be minimal. But, uh, I think the impact on these children that, that really, uh, might need to go to pre-K before they go to kindergarten, um, we've seen the success in pre-K.

27. 0:30:00

    It's a great program. Um, and, you know, our lottery's done a great job of, of, of growing that program, and I hope we can continue to grow that program. Um, but at this time, I think it's, it, it would be great if everyone, all kids were eligible for it.

28. 0:30:17

    We have one, uh, we have a question, but I don't know if... Do we have anybody signed up this week? We do not. Okay. Uh, number... Senator Bearden. Is that you? 12.

29. 0:30:28

    Yes. Thank you, Chairman Brass. Um, so just for clarification, you want to take all the dates back to September 1st and leave the effective date the way it is?

30. 0:30:35

    That would-

31. 0:30:36

    Or you want the effective date changed as well?

32. 0:30:36

    I, I think that would be, I think that would be the cleanest way to do this and-

33. 0:30:41

    Yeah

34. 0:30:41

    ... um, least controversial.

35. 0:30:43

    Just wanted to clarify to make sure we're on the same page.

36. 0:30:45

    Mm-hmm.

37. 0:30:45

    Appreciate it.

38. 0:30:46

    Thank you. Great question.

39. 0:30:48

    I think a lot of this goes back to years... And this probably has been September 1st forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.

40. 0:30:53

    Mm-hmm.

41. 0:30:53

    And I think a lot of it goes back to farming. You know, a lot of these kids were farmed during the summer with the parents and all and didn't start school till September 1st, and that's how it came. I know back in rural schools, I know that was the situation, so-

42. 0:31:04

    Yes, sir.

43. 0:31:05

    So I appreciate-

44. 0:31:05

    Just like the legislature.

45. 0:31:06

    Yeah. So-

46. 0:31:07

    We meet in the winter-

47. 0:31:08

    Yeah

48. 0:31:08

    ... 'cause of farming.

49. 0:31:09

    So I, I appreciate you bringing it, dropping it back to Sep- August 1st. Yeah. 'Cause my birth- my birthday's September 7th, so my, my, you know, I, I have problems with that.

50. 0:31:18

    My brother was September 1st-

51. 0:31:20

    Yeah

52. 0:31:20

    ... so he was the youngest in his class-

53. 0:31:22

    Yeah

54. 0:31:22

    ... throughout his whole career.

55. 0:31:23

    I was December 22nd.

56. 0:31:25

    Oh, Lord.

57. 0:31:25

    And I was the third youngest in my-

58. 0:31:26

    Yeah.

59. 0:31:27

    Senator Still.

60. 0:31:30

    Thank you, Chairman. Um, Chairman Brass, just for Leg Council, we're talking about the dates listed on rows 15, 19, 26, 44,

61. 0:31:47

    65, and 73. So that's gon- our amendment is gonna be to change those dates only and nothing else?

62. 0:31:57

    Yeah. Essentially you would str- I guess probably the cleanest thing for Leg Council is just strike through the new language and then unstrike the stricken language of September, and that would change all that back. Um, again, I think long-term at some point, I think we need to take a long, hard look at all our dates and change them, but we've gotta get p- give parents time to, to make those arrangements. Um, and so I, I don't think it would be a good idea to do it at this time.

63. 0:32:26

    Good. Thank you, sir.

64. 0:32:27

    So I think your amendment would be a friendly, good amendment.

65. 0:32:31

    Yes, sir.

66. 0:32:33

    So you offer an amendment?

67. 0:32:35

    I'm offering an amendment to amend the word August to September to, um, unstrike the, the, the dates where appropriate, um, strike August, and change no other language of the bill. It won't change the numbering, and it won't change, um, anything else about the function of the bill as the author described.

68. 0:32:56

    So te- tell us again what you, what you-

69. 0:32:59

    We are going to-

70. 0:33:03

    Im-

71. 0:33:03

    ... unstrike-

72. 0:33:03

    Senator Bearden, can you give it again?

73. 0:33:04

    ... on line 17-

74. 0:33:05

    I, I am, but Mr. Chairman, real quick.

75. 0:33:07

    Okay.

76. 0:33:07

    In order for an amendment, you need the, a motion do pass on the bill.

77. 0:33:11

    That's right.

78. 0:33:11

    Motion do pass.

79. 0:33:12

    Thank you.

80. 0:33:13

    Then, then we'll do the amendment.

81. 0:33:13

    So do I have a motion to pass from-

82. 0:33:15

    Not to tell you how to run your committee

83. 0:33:16

    ... So moved. Senator Bearden seconded. Okay, now offer the amendment.

84. 0:33:20

    Amendment. We are going to, on line 17, unstrike September, strike August.

85. 0:33:26

    Hold on one second now. Un- unstrike September, strike August. Okay.

86. 0:33:31

    Do the same on lines 19, 26, 65,

87. 0:33:41

    and 73.

88. 0:33:46

    And then on line 44, because this is all new language, strike August on line 44 and replace with September.

89. 0:33:59

    And I got one more suggestion, mister, for that amendment. You'll also need to fix the preamble where it says t- so as to revise the date by which a child must attain. That's on lines two and three. Um, you'll need to strike that in the preamble, um, to get that in line as well.

90. 0:34:20

    You okay?

91. 0:34:21

    Um, yes.

92. 0:34:21

    I didn't know we were revising the date.

93. 0:34:23

    Oh.

94. 0:34:24

    You know?

95. 0:34:24

    Correct.

96. 0:34:25

    Yes.

97. 0:34:25

    Leg- Leg Council.

98. 0:34:26

    If the goal is to just change in, um, lines 43 through 50 about the pre-K ages but change the August to September, the kind of cleanest thing would, to do would be just to delete all of the other portions if we're leaving the, leaving the month of September. Um...

99. 0:34:48

    Strike sections two, three, and four entirely?

100. 0:34:51

     Yeah, so, so the bill would just be lines 40 through, 3 through 50 as the substantive portion of the bill. If that's the goal.

101. 0:35:00

     So the preamble, and then section one would just be the remaining of 43 through 50.

102. 0:35:04

     Yes. And then, and make conforming changes in the directory language at the time.

103. 0:35:07

     And then 44, you'll need to change August 1-

104. 0:35:10

     To September

105. 0:35:11

     ... to September 1.

106. 0:35:15

     Okay. That's fine.

107. 0:35:16

     Good suggestion.

108. 0:35:18

     What she said. Amend what she said.

109. 0:35:21

     You, you understand, Chairman?

110. 0:35:22

     Yeah, just go back through clarity again as, as what we're gonna change.

111. 0:35:26

     What are we gonna-

112. 0:35:26

     Amend.

113. 0:35:27

     Yes. Again, so the substantive portions of the bill would just be, um, directory language modified to fit this, and then lines 43 through 50 but with August changed to September

114. 0:35:45

     Okay. I got you. Yeah.

115. 0:35:47

     The preamble-

116. 0:35:48

     I got you

117. 0:35:49

     And then the-

118. 0:35:49

     And then just the new language here, and that's all.

119. 0:35:53

     Okay.

120. 0:35:53

     Any questions concerning the amendment?

121. 0:35:57

     No.

122. 0:35:57

     So do I have a motion on the amendment?

123. 0:36:00

     That's my amendment, so.

124. 0:36:02

     Yeah. Okay. It's your amendment.

125. 0:36:03

     I'll second.

126. 0:36:03

     Second. Okay. Yeah, you're right. Okay. So all in favor of the amendment, raise your hand. Yeah, very good. Okay, now we vote on the bill with the amendment. Okay, so all in favor of the bill, raise your hand.

127. 0:36:18

     Right hand.

128. 0:36:19

     Yeah. Yeah. Okay, good. Thank you, sir.

129. 0:36:24

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

130. 0:36:25

     Senator-

131. 0:36:25

     I got a cousin coming up, so y'all be nice to her.

132. 0:36:28

     Simple bill.

133. 0:36:29

     Or don't.

134. 0:36:38

     Senator Dolezal.

135. 0:36:43

     We didn't need anybody speaking on this one?

136. 0:36:50

     Okay.

137. 0:36:53

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. We've got a committee sub here for Senate Bill 445. This is LC 492699S. And I'm gonna let Chris Green present this bill, um, 'cause every change in this bill came from, uh, either George St- Georgia Student Finance Commission, for which Chris works, or one of the other entities that have been involved in the implementation of the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act. So just a brief recap. Um, Governor Kemp signed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act into law in 2024.

138. 0:37:28

     Last year was the first year of implementation, so the current school s- school year that we are in is the first year that any families or students have had access to the Georgia Promise Scholarship. Uh, the Georgia Promise Scholarship allows parents whose children are in the attendance zone of a school system in the bottom 25% to it, to take $6,500 of state funding to attend an educational opportunity of their choice. And, uh, when we passed this bill, it went through a significant number of machinations through the House and the Senate, and then th- through the first year of implementation, for those of y'all that remember, um, former Senator Mitch Seabaugh, uh, Mitch was Chris's predecessor, and they oversaw the implementation of this and had 20,000-plus families apply.

139. 0:38:16

     And then ultimately, around 7,700-

140. 0:38:18

     Yes, sir

141. 0:38:19

     ... uh, families ultimately enroll and take advantage of the scholarship. Through the implementation of this program, they have s- they have basically come up with a number of tweaks to the existing code that they would like to see, um, either things that codify and code agency decisions that were made in the process or just friction points that they saw through the first year of implementation that they would like to tweak. We are currently in an enrollment period, so the entire m- month of March is an enrollment period for the upcoming school year. Um, and with that, we'd be happy to turn it over, Chris, to you and let you walk the committee through the bill.

142. 0:38:51

     Uh, thank you, Senator, uh, Chairman Hickman, members of the committee. Good morning. Uh, my name is Chris Green, here on behalf of the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Uh, over the last 10 years I've been fortunate to work with all of you on our administration of our college financial aid programs, and so appreciate the invitation to be here on behalf of Promise Scholarship. Uh, as Chairman Dolezal mentioned, uh, in our, our first year of making awards, and so excited about the opportunity to provide an update to the committee as well as bring some of these, uh, administrative changes for your consideration.

143. 0:39:22

     Now, uh, in this substitute, we are not trying to drastically change eligibility. We are not making any changes to the 1% limit on the QBE funding. Uh, but we have learned some things during the first year of implementation we wanna share with you. Uh, would like your support in clarifying some eligibility rules, uh, strengthening some guardrails and ultimately, uh, improving transparency. And so Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I'll just walk through the bill quickly.

144. 0:39:48

     Please.

145. 0:39:48

     Uh, beginning on line two, uh, section one really deals with streng- strengthening, uh, the accreditation process for our eligible high schools. So in the authorizing legislation you all included this language about in the process of becoming accredited. We used our regulatory authority to set a deadline of two years. We also have asked the schools that are in this posture that they must present evidence to us that they're making, uh, good progress on earning that accreditation. Uh, after doing research, uh, we felt like two years was a, a reasonable, uh, period of time.

146. 0:40:20

     And so that new line... Uh, excuse me. The new lines there from 29 to 34 are just asking for your support that, uh, if they're in the process of becoming accredited, uh, we'd like to make sure that they will provide us any documentation that we need to make sure they're making timely, uh, and good faith progress towards that accreditation. Line 39, uh, there's another section in the bill I'll speak to, but you all were very clear that to be an eligible private school you had to be located in Georgia. The agency interpretation of that is to be physically located in Georgia, and so the change here is regarding a qualified education expense.

147. 0:40:58

     And what we're really trying to do is make sure that a, uh, a virtual private school, if you will, with no ties to Georgia is trying to present themselves as an eligible high school. And so we really feel like this change on line 39 will bring us into line with what we require of the eligible private schools. Line 51, uh, removing this reference to the state-

148. 0:41:20

     Chris, just a second. Physical, actual physical location means they need to have an office in Georgia?

149. 0:41:25

     Yes, sir. And we do have virtual instruction, but w- we would just like to make sure that certainly they meet all of the accreditation standards you all have in code, uh, you know, they're financially stable, but they have some kind of physical presence here. We wanna know who is participating in Promise. And I should add, of the 400-plus high schools that are eligible to receive Promise funds today, the vast majority of them have full accreditation. There's just a small handful that are in this posture and, uh, would like the General Assembly's muscle to back us up to say, you know, there's a-

150. 0:41:55

     Okay

151. 0:41:55

     ... two years.

152. 0:41:55

     Thank you.

153. 0:41:56

     Yes, sir. Uh, line fifty-one, removing this reference to the State Board of Education. Uh, I'm proud to say that we have had no requests from a parent so far asking to escalate an issue outside of the Student Finance Commission. Uh, currently, I'm very proud to report we are setting up a parent review committee, so if at any point a parent disagrees with a determination we've made on the appropriateness of something in the marketplace, uh, there is an avenue for recourse for parents. And so just, uh, would ask for your support that, uh, the agency's demonstrated we're doing a good job managing the program, and would just ask to remove this extra, um, uh, duplicative request, uh, that could take this...

154. 0:42:35

     Uh, just makes the review process simpler. Uh, at the bottom of this page, uh, really speaks to a timing issue. Uh, again, students must be, uh, enrolled in a public school. They also have to reside in a qualifying attendance zone. We're not changing that, but we are asking rather than checking the students at the two enrollment counts in, in, uh, October and March, let us check once. And so again, students still have to be enrolled in a public school, uh, they have to reside in a qualifying attendance zone, but, uh, because we have four application periods for this program, which is very unusual, it's unlike any other program that we administer, uh, we have parents waiting essentially until we can verify this data with DOE.

155. 0:43:16

     And it's, it's no one's fault, it's just the mechanics of when this data is collected at the local level, when it gets to the State Department of Education, and then when we can have a secure data verification with our office to make sure the students, uh, were present. Uh, page four. Uh, so, uh, again, if, uh, currently if a student is a rising kindergartner, they are exempt from that prior public school attendance. Uh, I know you all have had many conversations, and Chairman Brass mentioned, uh, this morning about the, uh, when students begin school.

156. 0:43:48

     This would extend that so that, uh, first graders, uh, so if you're a rising, uh, second grader, or excuse me, first grader, uh, you would not have had to meet that prior public school attendance. And then understanding we need some parameters on that, we also copied this language about, uh, student must have reached the age of seven on or before September one. The next section here, lines eighty-two, uh, to the bottom. Uh, first of all, uh, absolutely, I think everyone's in agreement that we will prioritize students from families below four hundred percent of the federal poverty level, both for admission to participate in the program, as well as someday if we were to be in a position of changing award amounts.

157. 0:44:33

     What we're doing here, though, although I was not present at the agency when the authorizing legislation was passed, my understanding was that this bottom section here was an honest, uh, a drafting error, if you will. It says that we cannot accept applications from parents above that four hundred percent if they're applying in one of the two windows after July one. And so what we're asking is, can we strike that so we accept an application from anybody throughout the year? But again, we still prioritize those students who come from family households below, uh, four hundred percent of the FPL.

158. 0:45:09

     Uh, on that note, page five, lines one hundred through 108. Uh, I was in close communication with your budget office throughout the year. Uh, certainly a lot of interest in this new program. Wanna make sure that, uh, our citizens know, uh, the uptake. And so, uh, I think Chairman Dolezal here is suggesting that why don't we publish this on the website forty-five days, uh, before every application period closes. And so we're certainly happy to do that. Um, down lines one eleven through one thirteen, uh, this is a new section.

159. 0:45:41

     Uh, so again, priority still goes to families coming, uh, below four hundred percent of the federal poverty level. But within that, uh, income determination, we would also have a new priority for families that have a, a demonstrated history, uh, of student bullying. And you can see there, uh, the litmus test for what we felt like was appropriate. Um, again, we already have the infrastructure for these priorities, so this is just a matter of, as a policy, is this a, a new category that we can add within the existing prioritization?

160. 0:46:14

     Lines one twenty-three through one twenty-eight. Uh, again, this is current practice, but it moved, and so I just wanna draw your attention to it. Again, if we were to have a student who participated in the program left someday and decide to come back, uh, and then ultimately someday when the program is fully subscribed and, uh, we aren't able to serve every student, this just instructs us that we would essentially have a lottery. Uh, my understanding is that this is what most states do, and the goal here is to prevent, uh, you know, a parent from opening an application on day one but never finishing the application to hold their place in line.

161. 0:46:48

     And so we would, uh, if we ever got into this position someday, we would have a, a random selection process. Uh, committee members, lines, uh, one fifty-two through one fifty-three there. Uh, to clarify, we will still have the four application periods for families, uh, but the bill speaks to these four enrollment periods. And after, uh, administering the program for a year, building these relationships with our private, uh, high school partners, four enrollment periods has just not proven to be practical.

162. 0:47:19

     Students really start, uh, in the fall or spring, and so we just ask for your support that we'll continue to have these four application periods, but allow us a little more flexibility, uh, in doing away with these quarterly enrollment periods. Uh, that's also would allow us to be more flexible in when we offer, uh, these application periods throughout the year. Uh, the bottom section here in section three, uh, committee members, uh, the original authorizing legislation described a financial information report. Uh, the agency interpreted this, uh, to mean, um, we ask the schools to provide an independent auditor's report, an IAR.

163. 0:47:56

     We felt like this was a, a fair and defensible, uh, litmus test. We're just asking for your support here to clarify in code that pre-- uh, this would be prepared by a CPA, would include a balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow statement. Uh, and so again, that's something we used our regulatory authority to clarify, and just asking for your support on that one. Uh, lines 181 here, uh, my understanding is the legislative intent was that after we had a full four-year cohort, you all wanted reporting on the graduation rates.

164. 0:48:30

     And so again, you all passed authorizing legislation in 2024. Uh, you gave us a year for implementation, which we're very grateful for. And so we just started making awards for the first time this school year. And so this is just clarifying that beginning August 1 of 2030, that would be the first time when we have a full cohort of four-year data, uh, to present to you all about those graduation rates. Uh, de-identified report, you'll see several references in here. Uh, you all have supported us so many times when we've tried to protect student information from, uh, anything that could be sensitive, uh, to a student or family.

165. 0:49:05

     So just clarifying that these are de-identified reports. Uh, again, line 192, this is clarifying what I shared earlier about these eligible private schools. Our interpretation of be located in Georgia was meaning they are physically located in our state, and just asking for your support that you agree with us on that item. Uh, lines 193 through 199, um, this section here, again, just clarifying, we're, we're putting a two-year clock on our, our, our friends that are seeking accreditation.

166. 0:49:35

     Uh, would just feel like, um, that is a, a reasonable timeframe. Uh, committee members, lines, uh, 210 through 213 has to do with, uh, award amounts. So, uh, you know, the, the bill's very clear that first year award amount was to be $6,500, uh, but haven't really had a discussion about what happens in fut- future years. Uh, and so trying to clarify for, uh, families that, um, how that c- calculation will work for future award years.

167. 0:50:10

     Page 10, uh, lines, uh, 227 through 232, uh, again, first priority when we are accepting new students to participate in Promise is to families who come from, uh, below 400% of that federal poverty level. But someday, should we be in a position where we have to modify awards, cut awards, uh, this is telling us that for those students that come from below 400%, we are not to cut their awards more than 50% of how much we cut the awards from families that come above the 400% FPL.

168. 0:50:47

     Um, that is current practice, but we had to move it, uh, based on those changes we made about when we could accept applications. Um, the next sections here you'll see, uh, where we're talking about allocating funds and quarterly payments, uh, quarterly basis. So, uh, in our relationship with the Office of Planning and Budget, all of our finances are essentially allotted to the agency, uh, four times throughout the year. Uh, our families and our private schools know that this is how this works. And so, uh, no concerns from the agency perspective, but just clarifying that, uh, rather than these quarterly payments, you know, when we get these allotments, uh, we will distribute these funds four times, uh, throughout the year.

169. 0:51:30

     Uh, committee members, page 11, lines 258 through 265. Uh, originally, my understanding is that this language was in the event a, a, a private school required some type of seat deposit for a student to participate. In reality, uh, because we're, uh, getting these funds for a fiscal year that hasn't occurred yet, uh, this really presented some administrative challenges. I'm also proud to say that none of the 400 eligible private schools requested this. Uh, they've been great partners, want to work with us, and so would just ask that we remove this, uh, idea of advancing a seat deposit, uh, before the fiscal year starts.

170. 0:52:08

     Uh, again, the changes on the rest of this page, uh, just clarifying, uh, you know, funds allocated, uh, allocated, and then two consecutive school years, uh, just clarifying, much like we do in our, our college programs, that that would be for eight consecutive quarters. And, uh, committee members, section five really, uh, enhances the oversight and reporting here. So you all know we produce a number of reports for you all based on our college financial aid programs in December of every year. Uh, this is saying that, um, uh, just like we do those college financial aid programs where we take a sample of the invoices, make sure that, uh, our post-secondary partners are making these awards correctly, it just tells us that annually, uh, we will conduct fraud detection and prevention audits on at least 5% of these Promise scholarship accounts.

171. 0:52:58

     And then, uh, section 293 through 300 here, uh, wanted to provide some additional, um, context. The original legislation talks about, uh, how we will pay for the administration of Promise, and we, uh, mentions that, you know, conducting a, a amount from accounts to cover the cost of overseeing and administering this program. Working closely with the governor's office, the Office of Planning Budget, uh, the House Budget Office, and the Senate Budget Office. Because, uh, there was capacity in the budget in the first year, we decided to make sure that every family received the $6,500 that's spoken to in the Promise legislation.

172. 0:53:35

     And, uh, all of our budget partners will allow us to take the administrative costs from this program from the general appropriation. This is saying that someday, should the program become fully subscribed, the legislative intent here is that you would like for us to deduct up to 5% from individual student accounts sh- should it come to that someday. This is, uh, how school choice programs are administered elsewhere in the country. The only thing I would ask is that if we get in this posture someday, um, let's all use the same number externally and then internally for budget purposes if we're subtracting an administrative fee, uh, to pay for the program.

173. 0:54:13

     We just wanna make sure that students and families know, you know, what is the dollar amount that they can expect to see. And so thank you for your support, uh, for fully funding in our first inaugural year. Uh, lines 305 through 309, again, just reinforcing that, uh, by December 1 of every year, uh, we will produce a report to you all, um, regarding, uh, program participation over the previous fiscal year. Uh, some of the information we know that you all want to see is not only the numbers, uh, but the grade levels of these students participating in Promise.

174. 0:54:44

     Um, and, uh, on that last note there, Mr. Chairman, we certainly will p- uh, present to you all, uh, the percentage of account funds used, if any, to cover the cost of administering this program. Uh, page 14, lines 331 through 338. Uh, you know, thank you to our external partners. While Promise is administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission and the Education Savings Authority, uh, we rely on our partners at the Department of Education, the Department of Revenue, the Office of Student Achievement, and the State Charter Schools Commission.

175. 0:55:19

     And so, um, just asking here in code that we clarify that these partners will continue to provide the data that we need to produce these reports to you all. Um, and the next, the last two changes, Mr. Chairman, uh, I apologize, I know this is, uh, several changes this morning. These, uh, come from the Office of Student Achievement, and I will provide a brief highlight but then respectfully defer any questions to the Office of Student Achievement. The way it works is their agency is responsible for determining, uh, the list of, uh, lower 25 performing schools and the qualifying attendance zones.

176. 0:55:57

     They then ha- hand that list to us and we, uh, go about our work. And so this is clarifying current practice, the schools that are not intended to be included in that Promise public schools list that's produced by the Office of Student Achievement every year. And lastly, uh, line 383. Um, because of when all this data collection occurs, it was a very advanced timeline for the Office of Student Achievement to, uh, produce this list by December 1 of every year. They ask, and we're fully okay with this, they've asked could they have until January 15th.

177. 0:56:31

     That, uh, FPL data that we use for income determinations is not available from the federal government until the end of January, and so we can't do any action on our side anyway, and so we're fully supportive of their requested change there. And so, uh, Mr. Chairman, I hope that these changes reflect, uh, our responsible stewardship of this program. I think we've had a great first year. Uh, and again, these are some of the administrative, uh, tweaks that we've discovered and, uh, appreciate your consideration and be happy to answer any questions.

178. 0:57:01

     Yes, sir. I- I've got a couple questions or comments. Um, first of all, the $6,500, uh, you mentioned the 5%. So does the school get $6,500 less 5%, or does the 5% come out of the rest of the fund?

179. 0:57:15

     Uh, s- so theoretically, someday that scenario you described could be the posture. Right now, because, uh, the budget supports the number of students participating in the program, every family in, in private school would see the $6,500. So they don't even realize, or we have not had to have this conversation about will the administrative fee be taken out of a student award.

180. 0:57:37

     Mm-hmm.

181. 0:57:37

     And then just for clarification, that's $6,500 divided over those four allotments throughout the school year. And I think parents and our eligible high schools, or excuse me, private schools have understood, and we've had no problems with that, so.

182. 0:57:51

     I would encourage the committee to obtain the list that you sent me last week where it compared the l- the schools that qualified the prior school year and then the schools that are qualifying for '26, '27. I was very proud because one of the schools that was on the list in prior year was a school called Stillson Elementary School. It is now off the list. Statesboro High School is now off the list. Now we, I think, Size Zero is now off the list. But we did have, uh, one or two schools that became part of the list.

183. 0:58:21

     Um, so I'm encouraging those that are off the list and I'm congratulating them on a great job they've done to come, come off the list. Um, so can you get, get us that or through our, uh, through, um, Hannah, get us a list of that? 'Cause I think it'd be good for everybody to know in your county, in your district, what schools are on this list and not on, not, not on the list. Okay.

184. 0:58:41

     Y- yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the question. Committee members, I provided to the chairman, uh, the Office of Student Achievement's 2025, uh, low performing school list and the 2026 low performing school list. Um, absolutely the, the policy consideration you shared with me, Chairman, is that, uh, the desire is for schools to come off the list. But as long as we have the percentile in code, they're all-

185. 0:59:03

     That went from it

186. 0:59:04

     ... yes, sir. And so, um, uh, yes, be glad to make that available certainly to the whole committee.

187. 0:59:09

     And the next question, and then, and I'll, I'll, I'll quit. Um, if a, if a child, student qualifies, like if Stillson Elementary School qualified last year and that school was not on the list, does that mean the student does not continue getting the $6,500, or does it continue if they, if they qualify one time, then they give, go forward?

188. 0:59:28

     Yes, sir. Thank you for the clarification. Once you're in, you're in. And so, uh, that's certainly a relief to families that make a choice for whatever reason if their school comes off the GOA list. But as you can imagine, for other parents that are trying to make plans for the future, having that flexibility certainly we, can be frustrating for a parent.

189. 0:59:46

     Thank you. Senator Steels.

190. 0:59:48

     Thank you, Chairman. Um,

191. 0:59:52

     boy, for anybody out there who, uh, needed coffee this morning, I think this really woke us up. This is a lot of information at once. Um, can you... We go back to page four, um, you went really quick when you were talking about the, um, federal poverty level.

192. 1:00:08

     Yes, sir.

193. 1:00:08

     Um, lines 82 through 86. Can you walk us through your You'd mentioned striking or changing that percentage, but that was half an hour ago, so-

194. 1:00:19

     I'm sorry. Yes, sir. Thank you for the opportunity to clarify. What we've heard loud and clear is that the, the policy design here was that Promise, uh, will be prioritized for students coming from families below 400% of the federal poverty level, and so we're not changing that. But one kinda unusual thing that was in the code here is this line about 93 says that the family had to have timely submitted an application prior to July 1. And so essentially, with the four application periods, the first two we're accepting applications from everyone, but the second two we're only accepting people from below 400%.

195. 1:00:59

     And if the, the overriding policy is that we will always prioritize below 400%, I think the question here was, do we need to turn families away in the second two application periods, or could we accept an application from everyone and then apply the prioritization that you all have, have laid out? That, that was the goal there, um, and so a- apologies if I rushed through it.

196. 1:01:22

     No, thank you. I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing anybody in that, so thank you.

197. 1:01:26

     Thank you, sir. Uh, Senator Kemp.

198. 1:01:28

     Uh, thank you, uh, Chris, for, uh, this explanation of all of this, uh, information. Uh, you know, probably the most concerning part to me is the part where you said it's, uh, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement. Uh, do we have anybody from here that can speak to this from GOSA? Uh, because my question, uh... Is she able to come up? Okay.

199. 1:01:57

     Oh, yeah. Okay. There she is.

200. 1:02:00

     I'll just sit back over here, sure.

201. 1:02:01

     That's fine. Just don't, just don't step outside.

202. 1:02:08

     Um, I- I'm curious as to why we're adding state charter schools and local charter schools and, uh, like, the other schools that have statewide attendance zones. If I am a student that's going to a failing school, whether it's one of these types of schools or some of the schools that, uh, Chairman Hickman was speaking of, why should I not be eligible for a Promise scholarship?

203. 1:02:33

     P- put a microphone to you.

204. 1:02:36

     I can answer the question on that, Chief. Follow my...

205. 1:02:42

     Mm-hmm. Go ahead.

206. 1:02:44

     E- essentially,

207. 1:02:48

     this, this section of code is actually capturing what the agency is already doing, and she can outline that. But essentially, in the procurement process of the list, they use their, their regulatory authority to basically state that no schools of choice, so think charter schools, that no schools of choice would be on the list. The, the, the thinking there is that essentially you are actively choosing to enroll in a charter school if you are doing that. There's, there's obviously not compulsory attendance there. So, uh, but we do have charter schools and other schools of choice, and you guys can speak to the other schools of choice that fall into the category that would otherwise be on the list, that w- were really the, the, um, Promise Scholarship, um...

208. 1:03:31

     Y- you're not typically trying to, uh, quote, quote, "leave" a school that you're choosing to be in, and that y'all can clarify if I did that accurately. But I just, I wanted to clarify that you guys are actually doing this already, and this is capturing in the statute, uh, what you guys essentially adopted as a policy.

209. 1:03:48

     Good morning. That's an excellent question.

210. 1:03:50

     Good morning.

211. 1:03:50

     I'm just gonna introduce myself briefly. My name is, um, Dr. MJ Kim. Um, I'm the Director of Policy, Research and Evaluation at GOSA. As Senator Dolezal said, um, the schools that are being excluded is exactly what we have been doing from the very first year. Um, the intent for doing so is that the schools that are of choice are being excluded here, and then the rest of the school choice, school types are in a similar nature as well. Um, so yeah, we, that's exactly what we've doing from day one.

212. 1:04:22

     So if I may, if I am a parent and I choose a charter school, let's say because they have a really good theater program or something, I may not know that academically the school is poor. And so why should that school, even though I chose it for whatever reason, and all of the schools across the state that are in the bottom 25% are making it to this list, why should a charter school not be included in that list just because I chose it for whatever reason?

213. 1:04:52

     As-

214. 1:04:52

     I'll answer the policy question on that, 'cause that's more our domain than theirs. You have a attendance zone school you are otherwise zoned for. So let's just say that I sent my kids to a, to a, to the whatever charter school it is that you wanna reference. But my kids are currently in an attendance zone, either of a school that is on the list or is not on the list. And so I can either return my kids to the school in which they are zoned for, which is not a bottom 25% school, that is still a public school. And if I have the option to send them back to the public school, and it is a 25% school, then we don't wanna send them back to a, another, quote, unquote-

215. 1:05:29

     Mm

216. 1:05:30

     ... bottom 25% school. So that's the reason. The thinking there is that you either have an option to go back to a school that would not be on the list by leaving the charter. Um, and what you don't want to do, I don't think, is essentially create a backdoor into the Promise scholarship by, "Well, I l- I live in, in, you know, a, a school, in a, in a top 10% district. I send my kids to a failing charter school with a statewide attendance zone for one year, and now they're eligible for Promise, even though they otherwise never would've been if they were zoned for the school back home that was a top, actually a top school."

217. 1:06:03

     Thank you.

218. 1:06:04

     Thank you for the clarification. Um, Senator James.

219. 1:06:08

     Um, I didn't have my light on.

220. 1:06:11

     Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

221. 1:06:12

     So-

222. 1:06:12

     Oh, Senator Setzler then. Okay. And Senator... Okay. Okay.

223. 1:06:15

     Both of them.

224. 1:06:16

     Okay. We'll go... Senator Sims is always this way, and now she's over to the left side.

225. 1:06:22

     Yep.

226. 1:06:22

     She's to the good-

227. 1:06:23

     Don't wanna be predictable.

228. 1:06:25

     Okay. You're never difficult.

229. 1:06:28

     I, I want to ask about accountability and how dollars are being spent when you define physically located. Um, you said that they would have an office but not a school in the state. Explain that to me, and then I have a second question, but go ahead and do that one first.

230. 1:06:51

     Yes, ma'am. Thank you. So, uh, all of these transactions are taking place in a secure, uh, closed marketplace. And so of the 7,700 students, uh, that we have participating in the first year, I'm gonna estimate over 70% of those expenditures are going towards a private school right now. Uh, vast majority of these are I would describe as a traditional private school. My comment was meant to say that, um, the situation we are trying to prevent was, um, if a private school physically located in Georgia were to enter into some kind of contractual arrangement with an out-of-state provider, essentially providing online instruction, uh, just trying to make sure for everyone interested in Promise that we clarify that, uh, it was intended to serve, uh, eligible private schools.

231. 1:07:44

     I, I, I would suspect the vast majority of them are a, uh, brick-and-mortar school. Um, but, uh, my colleague is here and would be happy to clarify if any of them, uh, are, are currently, you know, in a different model than that.

232. 1:07:58

     So we do have verification that they are. You said, "I would suspect." All right. The next question w- is, prior to entry into one of these schools, there's a two-year... We've extended it to a two-year clock on credit, accreditation, uh, seeking. So we are allowing children to sit in schools that may or may not be accredited, and even when the two years is completed or we're done with that, they still may not be accredited.

233. 1:08:40

     So how do we solve that issue? I think that's a lot of leeway that you are providing, uh, an institution that deals with the education of students. It's just a long time.

234. 1:08:55

     Yes, ma'am. Senator Sims, thank you for the question. When, although I was not here, when this legislation was passed in 2024, this language about, uh, in the process of being accredited, um, and so that's, that's kind of where we started from. After researching from these accreditors and, you know, SACSCOC, the one all of us are probably most familiar with, depending on where the school is in their application, could take anywhere from one to three years. And so the goal here was just to make sure that one of these schools that is already allowed to be in process, that we don't allow this to become an indefinite thing.

235. 1:09:28

     And so certainly happy to, uh, reconsider. We just felt like two years might be, uh, an appropriate metric to, to start.

236. 1:09:35

     So why not have them, um, apply to an accredited school prior to, uh, receiving the $6,500?

237. 1:09:46

     Yes, ma'am. I will defer to the original conversation that took place before my time. I'm sorry I was not present.

238. 1:09:51

     Thank you.

239. 1:09:55

     This will, this will be our last question. Senator Setzler.

240. 1:09:58

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, this is just a administrative cleanup thing. I'm on, uh, page eight, line 199. Um, and, and you may not, this may not be helpful. It's just a, um, not really a policy question, just a cleanup. Understand what you're saying here is that, you know, to, to, to, to Senator Sims' question, right now if they're in the process of becoming accredited, it's open-ended. You're actually tightening this down. It, it s- seems, seems like you're serving an interest that she, she might have raised. Hey, let's, we need to lock this down a little tighter. You're doing it, that would set a two-year timeline.

241. 1:10:29

     Um, the language as it reads, it says, um, um, "School exceeds two years beyond the date in which such private school began enrolling pr- such private school should not be eligible to enroll participating students," stop. Is your intention that they can't enroll students until they achieve accreditation? I, I, I, I re- I, I read that sentence, it stops there. I, I don't think there's, I don't think it's your intention to say they could never receive students. I mean, uh, to me, uh, the clarif- the clarifying language, until such private school achieves accreditation, um, is probably what you're trying to accomplish.

242. 1:11:01

     I don't know if that's clarifying or not. I, I, I don't expect you to, to, to enforce it otherwise. I just, is it helpful to add a clause at the end of that that says, "Until such private school achieves accreditation"? Is that what you're trying to achieve?

243. 1:11:13

     Yes, sir. Thank you for helping us clarify.

244. 1:11:16

     Would that be helpful language, or is that not needed?

245. 1:11:20

     Uh, if I may, my colleague here who serves as vice president of Promise, also the agency's deputy general counsel, I'll just look to her to see would that be helpful, and I can have him restate it as well.

246. 1:11:31

     Yes, that would be great. Thank you.

247. 1:11:33

     Chairman, I'm sorry. Would you please re- uh, restate your-

248. 1:11:35

     It would just, and I think it's just accomplishing and clarifying your intention, um- Line and page ... line 198, page eight. Um, participating students, um, again, if, if, if, if, if, if the two years runs out, they're, they're trying to get accredited, or the two years runs and they're still not accredited, then such private school shall not be eligible to enroll participating students. And I would insert, "Until such private school achieves accreditation," period. Meaning they're not locked out forever. I don't know that someone would enforce that, but I think there's clarity that you achieve accreditation, you can start enrolling students again.

249. 1:12:12

     It seems friendly to schools that are wanting to get back in a year. M- maybe it takes them three years. After three or four years, okay, you can come back into the program. You're not cut out. It's just a clarifying point, and it may not be necessary. And I would, I would defer to the author's thoughts on that.

250. 1:12:29

     Senator Dolezal, you, you want to speak to that?

251. 1:12:32

     Uh, I'm not opposed to that. I, I, I think that it could clarify the intent, yes.

252. 1:12:37

     So Senator Setzler, you want to offer that as a-

253. 1:12:40

     W- proper time, Mr. Chairman.

254. 1:12:41

     Yeah.

255. 1:12:42

     We're ready for amendments.

256. 1:12:43

     Hmm. Yeah, we got to vote on it. That's right, we got... Thank you, sir. Okay, um, Senator Setzler. Oh, excuse me, Senator Ginn. S-

257. 1:12:52

     Yeah.

258. 1:12:53

     One of the S's. Yeah, that's right. Thank you, sir.

259. 1:12:56

     I'd like to make motion to pass the substitute Senate Bill 445 LC 49269NS.

260. 1:13:03

     Okay, now. Thank you, Senator Ginn. Now we can offer an amendment. Yes, sir.

261. 1:13:11

     Mr. Chairman, um, I would just offer as stated on, uh, at the end of line 199, at the word students insert, and I could provide this to counsel, until such private school achieves accreditation.

262. 1:13:26

     That'd be the-

263. 1:13:27

     Do we have-

264. 1:13:27

     That'd be, I'd offer that as an amendment.

265. 1:13:30

     Do you, do we have a- I'll second. Second. Second here. Any discussion on the amendment? None, see all in favor raise your, r- right hand.

266. 1:13:44

     Senator Dolezal. Okay. Amendment passes. Now, let's vote on the underlying bill.

267. 1:13:55

     Already have a motion and had a second on the underlying bill. Okay, all in favor of the bill, raise your right hand.

268. 1:14:03

     Okay. Bill passes. Thank you.

269. 1:14:06

     Thank you, committee. Thank you, Chairman.

270. 1:14:08

     Yes, sir. That's a big lift. Big lift. Um, and I'm, I'm sorry about short on time, but we're trying to, um, Senator Sims, I'll, I'll make that up to you somehow.

271. 1:14:24

     You're fine.

272. 1:14:24

     Um, we got our own vice chairman committee, Senator Payne. You got a bill you want to present? I think so, sir. Okay, so we're ready. Down there. Get ready.

273. 1:14:42

     Senator McNeel. Senator McNeel, are you learning anything?

274. 1:14:49

     Getting educated.

275. 1:14:51

     Oh, no.

276. 1:15:01

     No.

277. 1:15:02

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

278. 1:15:02

     Yes, sir.

279. 1:15:03

     Um, I'm bringing a Senate Bill 557, and as you know, with my 30 years of working with kids, you know, I've always said that, you know, self-discipline is a discipline we must teach. And I've always had that strength of being able to teach self-discipline to kids for many years in my 30 years as a probation officer. Um, and this bill is literally, um, this bill, the 5- Senate Bill 557, it protects teachers and school staff. It allows educators who are victims of physical violence to transfer to another school within the district without retaliation.

280. 1:15:39

     It strengthens, strengthens discipline policies statewide, ensures student discipline and compliant policies cannot be waived, even if the charter or flexibility sys- or flexibility systems. Uh, prioritizes school safety, reinforces that laws related to health, safety, and unlawful conduct remain fully enforced with no exceptions. Improves fairness in school accountability, removes student discipline data from school climate star ratings, preventing schools from being penalized for enforcing discipline.

281. 1:16:11

     It supports consistent statewide standards, applies uniform expectations across traditional charter and waiver systems. An impleta- an implementation timeline which takes effect July 1, 2026, for the 2026-27 school year. Um, as what, basically the, the thrust of the bill, and I know this, uh, we'll get into the bill, but it's, uh, this is a good bill because right now, if you have self-dis- a kid with behavioral problems a- and you, if you're taking on those school, those kids, you know, that are having, a lot of times it's not...

282. 1:16:52

     Behavioral problems are learned, and so a lot of times these are the kids that come from broken homes, broken families, and so you're holding it against the schools that are taking these kids in and taking these school, these kids on by using the discipline records as far as the school ratings. And so this is just to, uh, take that off the chart so that, um, it, when somebody's looking for a school to send their kids to, that's not one of the things that they're judging the school by because they're taking on these difficult kids.

283. 1:17:24

     Now, uh, and I have Wendy, uh, Diana Harris here with me today, and she can speak to the bill as well.

284. 1:17:29

     Please do.

285. 1:17:30

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee. Um, we want to keep it brief because we were here for a very long time. Um, but as he said, of course, it is for that implementation. Most of this bill is already in code. Um, just a few things that we are adding, which would include the, uh, school teachers or to be allowed to transfer, um, to another school in the district, um, within the same position if they choose, um, if they've been assaulted, um, by a t- student, parent, or guardian.

286. 1:18:02

     Um, so for the most part, that's one of the primary changes that we're making to that code section, and just also making it so that, uh, the schools can't waive their discipline code policy, and where it also, like he said, doesn't affect their student climate rating if they do enforce discipline to these, uh, students that are a- acting out.

287. 1:18:23

     A- and if you look, Mr. Chairman, on, on the, um,

288. 1:18:28

     let's see As far as the school climate rating, right now on lines 184, you have the classification of school rankings, um, on, uh, the climates. I mean, you got a five-star school ranked excellent according to the na- the state, determined financial efficiency or school climate index as appropriate. S- uh, next line is four-star school's ranked above average according to the state-determined financial efficiency and school climate index. S- three stars are ranked a- average.

289. 1:19:01

     Four, five, two stars are ranked below satisfactory, and so this just takes the, um, the behavior of the kids from that, so you're not holding those kids or those schools are taking those tough cases and those tough kids. It doesn't hol- hold them accountable for their b- climates rating.

290. 1:19:23

     So help me out. Um, I thought the climate at school was not the, obviously not the thermostat on the wall, but it was the atmosphere in the school across the whole school. So tell me why a disruptive kid should not affect the at- the climate rating.

291. 1:19:45

     Well, it wouldn't necessarily be the disruptive kid that affects the climate rating. It would be the discipline of that disruptive kid. Um, again, as we know, some children are, may have d- difficult situations, and they act out when they're outside of their home, and so those are things that we just can't control, and, you know, we necessarily shouldn't have to have the entire school suffer based on maybe one or two children. Now, if it's a- an issue where the entire school, you know, that's a different issue, but usually it's only one or two children who are making these issues for the teachers.

292. 1:20:23

     Um, and most of the time they're able to get it under control, um, but especially sometimes it's not reported that they're getting it under control based on that issue. But for the most part, um, it's being under-reported, right? So the ad- administration, which include principals and APs, are not necessarily turning in this information to say that I've disciplined this child because they've done these things, and these are extreme cases too. We're not saying just, you know, yelling out in class or just misbehaving.

293. 1:20:54

     We're talking about assault on teachers. You know what I mean? Like physical assault, um, where things get really serious, um, and, and those are really the extreme issues.

294. 1:21:04

     And, and in a lot of ways it, it handcuffs administrations because they don't wanna affect their climate rating.

295. 1:21:09

     Mm-hmm.

296. 1:21:09

     So therefore they're not gonna take the discipline procedures they need to take to discipline that child because they're afraid they're gonna hurt their own school's climate rating. And so this is to take that off the table so they can discipline that child without affecting the school's climate rating.

297. 1:21:25

     At the core, this bill supports safe classrooms and transparency, which is most important for our teachers right now.

298. 1:21:32

     Senator Parent.

299. 1:21:35

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you so much, Senator Payne and DeAnna. Um, question about the, the, um, segment that the chairman was di- uh, drilling down on, lines 180 and 181. So I definitely have, um, you know, sympathy for the notion that it's difficult to operate... You know, discipline has to be a part of, of, of what does happen in school, and, um, I'm sympathetic to the notion that that could cause problems with the climate rating.

300. 1:22:06

     But I, my understanding from the long time now that I've served on this committee is that some of, um, these ideas of including disciplinary practices in the star rating originated from the realization that, um, discipline was not always the best way to make progress with a, a child, and that it needed to be combined with, I can't remember if it was po- PBIS, which would be Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports or other things.

301. 1:22:40

     And so it was like the recognition that this doesn't work. What works is this other thing, and that's why it kind of originated. And so I guess my question is, are we... W- what's your understanding of why it's not in the star rating to begin with, and what's your view on practices that are more in the PBIS, um, strain that have research behind them as being more efficacious, especially for kids that really are from, like you said, I mean, w- I think we can be in agreement that a lot of the kids that, that really struggle with some of the behavioral issues are essentially from a home environment where they're not supported, right?

302. 1:23:20

     And so that's kinda why they need these supports and probably more like wraparound and other things, but let's stick with PBIS for right now, not going to wraparound services. Can you just explain, like, what's your understanding of why that, the, the law is what it is, and how do you think it affects that research, and, um, how it would advance those, the, our understanding of how best to reach a child that is having disciplinary issues?

303. 1:23:48

     I think that this is a first step to evolving into s- solving those solutions. Um, right now just removing the discipline data doesn't necessarily reflect the reality, but it just reflects the under-reporting, um, 'cause that's really the issue that we're trying to tackle right now. I think we can do some more research and speak with our partners, including other advocacy groups and boards of educations and superintendents, um, so to kind of pull that all together because that's gonna be a much bigger issue to really resolve, and that's what we've been working on, and this is just our first step here.

304. 1:24:24

     Thank you.

305. 1:24:28

     Senator Bearden.

306. 1:24:30

     Thank you, Chairman. Before I ask this question, Chairman Payne, uh, I do have one of my superintendents here from my district. Uh, Dr. Albers is here from the city of Carrollton, back there hiding in the corner. So, uh, thank you for being here. He's a great superintendent, does an amazing job with the city of Carrollton. Uh, Chairman Payne, I do wanna ask a question, though. Um- 'Cause it sound like you made me the comment we're, we're limiting dis- discipline to protect a rating instead of possibly removing a child full time.

307. 1:25:00

     Say that again.

308. 1:25:01

     Instead of possibly removing a child that's committing violence against a teacher permanently from a classroom. Is that what you're-

309. 1:25:07

     Yeah.

310. 1:25:09

     Does anyone else find that a little bit concerning? I mean, I support the bill, but instead you think we would be removing the violent student from the classroom instead of allowing the teacher to move to a different school.

311. 1:25:20

     No, this, this bill is, that's two sep- separate issues. If a teacher decides they wanna move, this bill allows them-

312. 1:25:27

     Yeah

313. 1:25:27

     ... to move without any fallout.

314. 1:25:28

     I support that. My, my thing is the discipline piece on, on the, uh, violent child to make sure-

315. 1:25:33

     There's still gonna be action taken against the violent child.

316. 1:25:35

     Yeah.

317. 1:25:35

     This is just making sure that the school's not held responsible for having ... and trying to educate that child that has difficult situations-

318. 1:25:42

     And maybe I under-

319. 1:25:43

     ... and federal health issues

320. 1:25:43

     ... misunderstood your comment about possibly limiting discipline to protect a rating.

321. 1:25:48

     No, no, no, no, no, no. No, this is not limiting discipline. This allows discipline to happen that's up ... now being underreported because schools are afraid that they're gonna hurt their customers.

322. 1:25:58

     Exactly what ... That's the piece I was trying to get to. Thank you.

323. 1:26:03

     Senator Halpern.

324. 1:26:05

     Same lines, 180 and 181. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, am concerned about this, um, elimination of using data regarding school discipline in the school climate determinations. I'm wondering if you know, uh, that schools, some schools use their waivers that they have access to in order to apply it to use kind of more trauma-based informed practice around discipline and improving student behavior.

325. 1:26:38

     A- and I know that can feel sometimes like more work for the schools, but there are practices in place that schools can also utilize, um, rather than simply saying, "We give up the ghost. Some kids are just gonna be bad, and we, we can't do anything to improve that," but we don't want ... But, but our unwillingness to do something around it, we also don't wanna then be penalized on the school climate rating. It's kind of like a responsibility to actually try to do something that you know will positively get you the rating you want and positively impact the children at the same time, and the teachers, because the underlying part of this bill, I think we all agree with.

326. 1:27:25

     Uh-huh.

327. 1:27:25

     We don't wanna see our faculty, our administration, um, bullied, threatened, physically attacked by anybody at the school.

328. 1:27:34

     Well, right. Well, and just like I said, you know, as discipline is a discipline that ha- that kids have to learn, you know, self-discipline. And I think a lot of the w- in my years as working with the schools as a probation officer, to think that the behavior of those kids that the school has no control over is literally who they're serving is just ... it would be held against the school when they're taking action to educate these kids of self-discipline. You know, and, and to me, that's ... And I, I look back to the days of when we had, you know, alternative-

329. 1:28:07

     Yeah

330. 1:28:07

     ... schools pro- you know, we called them Crossroad Academies. You know, those k- those kids, back in those days, I mean, a lot of those kids were just being ... Don't wanna impugn anyone, but a lot of the kids were just being punted over into the Crossroad Academy to get them out of the high school so you, you, you change ... So the, this high school would look like it's doing well, when really all they moved is, they just moved the bad apples over to that school and to save their-

331. 1:28:34

     Right, which we all get that

332. 1:28:35

     ... to save face for, for the school.

333. 1:28:36

     Right.

334. 1:28:37

     And so this is just to alleviate some of that, just to make sure that they can report honestly of what they're doing. So therefore, the s- discipline component does not weigh on the school if it's a good school or it's a bad school.

335. 1:28:52

     Senator Setzler.

336. 1:28:53

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for this. Mr. Chairman, I've had experienced principals and teachers both bring this issue to me. And to our colleagues on the committee, what's happening is, and I think this is why you bring this bill, is you've got teachers and school leaders, um, t- teachers have reported to me that school leaders have said, "Hey, listen, we need to keep disciplinary referrals down. Deal with the kid in the classroom. You refer, you, you refer them to the office as a disciplinary referral, it's gonna make our school look bad." So and principals have said this.

337. 1:29:23

     They say, "I hate to tell my teachers this. We're in this really, we're in this conundrum. The more disciplinary referrals you have out of class, if there's a disruptive kid in class, the teacher thinks, I gotta get this kid out of class. I can't educate the other 24 kids in my classroom because I've got this disciplinary problem, but I'm getting pushed to not ref- to, to, to keep disciplinary referrals to a minimum because our school looks bad." So what's happening is kids are staying in classrooms that need to be out of the classroom. Not, not, not that they need to be kicked out of the school. They need to be out of the classroom because they're being very disruptive on the other 24 kids, and there's real pressure on principals and teachers to keep disciplinary referrals down.

338. 1:30:01

     It's hurting the school as a whole. It's ... Mr. Chairman, to me, it's like, it's like the, the graduation thing. We say, we gotta, we gotta get graduation rates up. Well, graduation rates went up, but student achievement didn't go up. Graduation rates went up. This, so what we're seeing is we're seeing this, this push to keep disciplinary referrals down. It's hurting kids in the classroom who are doing the right thing, that are trying to learn, because the school gets their hand slapped if they have too many disciplinary referrals. Teachers are getting their hand slapped if there's too many disciplinary referrals because the numbers matter.

339. 1:30:32

     It affects the, the, the perception of the school. This allows the school to do its work without getting slapped by doing what's best for all the kids. I, I, I appreciate this. This is, this is ... I've had principals and teachers bring this to me before.

340. 1:30:46

     I, I'd be interested in Senator Sims' comments, former retired principal

341. 1:30:57

     Oh, what are you, number two?

342. 1:30:59

     That's all right.

343. 1:31:00

     What number are you?

344. 1:31:01

     She's-

345. 1:31:04

     I think-

346. 1:31:04

     No comment?

347. 1:31:04

     No, I'll make it. I'm good. Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman. School climate is extremely important, um, in the,

348. 1:31:17

     the way we r- rate and rank schools, and it's not something that's, that can be, uh, that's predictable. You're dealing with children every day. You're dealing with human beings. You're dealing with people in the classrooms that are working. You're dealing with children. So,

349. 1:31:37

     yes, we need to have a way to define those schools, our public schools, and their value because you have people, uh, looking for ways or looking for places to, to put their children every day, and that, and those, um, comparisons are important. The climate comes from the leader in that building, the principal. It comes from, uh, the teachers in the classroom.

350. 1:32:09

     So yes, I feel that it's extremely important that we have a way to determine the worth of our schools, the worth of our schools. 'Cause, 'cause climate in a school is not only the behavior. It has to do with the academics, how those academics are being, um,

351. 1:32:37

     taught in that school, all of that, how you connect with the community. So it's not just a one-piece item. It is more than that, so much more.

352. 1:32:53

     Thank you, Senator, and we do agree. Um, there are several factors that are into the climate rating, um, but it appears that they've been relying heavily on discipline, and so we need to maybe bring those factors more into the, the light of, of what really matters.

353. 1:33:11

     Let me say-

354. 1:33:12

     Senator Kemp, did you want to say-

355. 1:33:13

     One question. When you say they are relying, who are we referring to?

356. 1:33:18

     Our school districts and how they're rating the climates of the schools.

357. 1:33:25

     Okay. Thank you.

358. 1:33:30

     Senator Kemp?

359. 1:33:32

     Yeah, I, I wanna just continue on this line 180 to 181, 'cause it seems to me we're throwing the baby out with the bath water, and, you know, we're saying, "Okay, continue to brush the issues under the rug. Now just like, just don't even report it." I think that is very concerning, uh, from an educational perspective because that data can be used to inform the practices that you implement in your school, in your classroom. So instead of us saying, "Hey, let's not report the data at all," we should instead be saying, "What can we do to assist our school districts, our schools, our classrooms to address discipline issues?" If we take this out, then we're just not gonna have this information included in a climate rating.

360. 1:34:18

     This literally is a part, a part of the climate of a school is how you handle discipline issues. So I'm very concerned about, uh, just all of, all of, you know, totally getting rid of discipline as a part of school climate ratings.

361. 1:34:32

     But the, but, but discipline that is a solution is not a problem. But discipline that is not, that doesn't go to being a solution in the life of a child is a problem. And so that's, I think that, that, it, so you're not really changing anything by taking that out because to me, just to have that school climate determination shall not utilize data regarding student discipline, you're not changing anything by leaving that in there because it's b- it's based on what's reported.

362. 1:35:10

     And, and so I think that we're actually doing the exact opposite because the issue is that the data isn't being reported truthfully, right? Um, there's absolutely no transparency. Um, administration will rip up referrals if they think that they have too many. So we technically have inaccurate data right now. So schools who may look really good on paper are actually just looking that way because they're not really implementing the data and the referrals that they have for discipline, and it's making us lose good teachers, honestly.

363. 1:35:42

     You know, teachers don't wanna be involved in a situation where they cannot remove a student from the classroom because of that reason. So this would help us actually get real data and have the information that we need to be able to move further along to resolve that issue.

364. 1:35:59

     Senator Still.

365. 1:36:02

     Thank you, Chairman. Um, Chairman Payne, there are, um, a lot of folks here in the audience that have been texting, um, with some of these same questions and concerns. We do have time on the calendar, uh, i- if we, if we were to hypothetically table this till, till Thursday to give us time to maybe get some, some clarity and, and to give some comfort to some of the members on the committee here, um, as a friendly suggestion, if, if it wouldn't derail-

366. 1:36:34

     We'd still have time for this bill to move?

367. 1:36:36

     We would still have time if we took action on this on Thursday, but I know the, we're getting bogged down with a lot more questions than anticipated on this, and I wanna make sure that-

368. 1:36:45

     If it's appropriate, Mr. Chair- Mr. Chairman, I mean, I'll, I'll, whatever, Mr.- the Chairman thinks is fit.

369. 1:36:50

     I, I think, I think that's a great-

370. 1:36:52

     I don't know you.

371. 1:36:53

     Sir?

372. 1:36:55

     I don't think there's

373. 1:36:56

     ... consideration

374. 1:36:58

     Well, uh, we still need to move this, make a decision on this, but we can, we can table it till Thursday.

375. 1:37:04

     We can just table it, just don't consider it.

376. 1:37:08

     I agree.

377. 1:37:08

     We don't need to lay on the table. Don't take it off the table tonight.

378. 1:37:13

     So what's the... I would say based upon the questions that we need to table it until Thursday. And, um, yes, sir. Okay.

379. 1:37:23

     I would just, uh, parliamentary, Mr. Chairman, that there's... I don't see any reason it, it's gotta be laid. I mean, laying on the table is an action requires coming off the table. I mean, the chair at his discretion doesn't have to take action on this.

380. 1:37:33

     Mm-hmm.

381. 1:37:33

     I'm just-

382. 1:37:33

     Yeah.

383. 1:37:34

     I mean, you can just say we're not taking action on it. I don't know that a tabling-

384. 1:37:38

     Well, I'm a, I'm a little bit concerned we've had so many questions about it, and so, uh, really on both sides.

385. 1:37:45

     Yeah. Okay. I mean, I-

386. 1:37:46

     And, and it really centers around, it all centers around 180 and 181. That's where it's at. Yes, ma'am.

387. 1:37:53

     Chairman Hickman, um, Senator Setzler is just saying for, like, a procedure standpoint, you don't have to take an official action to table it if you don't want to vote on the bill today. That's your discretion to-

388. 1:38:03

     Oh, yeah.

389. 1:38:04

     Yeah.

390. 1:38:05

     Yeah. Well, I, yeah.

391. 1:38:06

     You don't need to take any action on it.

392. 1:38:06

     Yeah, I knew. Oh, that's what you're saying? That's what you're saying? Okay.

393. 1:38:11

     We're all in agreement here.

394. 1:38:12

     Thank you. Okay. Well, we, we will not vote on it today, and we'll come back, and we'll have a, we'll have a meeting on Thursday, and it would be one, one bill Thursday, okay? Thank you. Uh, now, you wanna follow up on your next action?

395. 1:38:25

     Sure.

396. 1:38:26

     Okay.

397. 1:38:29

     And Mr. Chairman, I have, uh, Mindy Binderman from GEARS here with me today to help me talk about, uh, Senate Bill 554. This bill creates the Georgia Childcare Facilities Program to expand and improve access to childcare and preschool programs across the state through infrastructure grants and s- uh, of, of course, subject appropriations. And so, um, I will... If you would like to speak to the bill.

398. 1:38:57

     Sure. Thank you so much, Chairman Payne. How are y'all? Um, I'm Mindy Binderman, the Executive Director of GEARS, the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students. Um, I appreciate y'all, um-

399. 1:39:08

     Thank you

400. 1:39:09

     ... hearing this bill. Section 1 of the bill talks about the legislative intent, really focusing on the fact that it is in the public interest of the state to create this grant program to increase childcare access, and I can talk about that in a moment. Um, lines 21 through 25, um, provide definitions. Lines 26 to 29 specify that the program will begin no later than July 1st, 2027, contingent upon funding. Um, lines 30 to 48, um, outline the eligibility criteria for the program.

401. 1:39:39

     Grants are awarded, would be awarded on a competitive basis, and fun- priority would be given to the following: Either childcare providers that participate in the CAPS scholarship program for low-income, hardworking Georgia families or Georgia's lottery-funded pre-K program, or programs that meet at least two of the following. This allows us to prioritize those that are located in rural counties, live in a school district f- with below average third grade reading proficiency, focused on the state's literacy goals, those that serve children birth to five with disabilities in developmentally appropriate environments, or, and, um, those that participate in federal nutrition programs, um, such as the Child Adult Food Program or Summer Food, um, Ser- um, Food Service Program.

402. 1:40:29

     Lines 48 through 50, 49 through 58 outline the allowable uses of the grant funds. Those include construction of new childcare facilities according to need, um, renovation, retrofitting, or modernization of existing licensed childcare centers or licensed family childcare homes, retrofitting existing buildings that can then be used for new childcare programs-

403. 1:40:52

     Mm

404. 1:40:53

     ... and covering non-recurring, um, costs to expand utilization. That might be beds so that you could serve kids overnight, for example. Um, lines 59 to 62, um, allow, um, provide that, um, our Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning has the authority to determine grant amounts, uh, based on project scope, regional costs, and licensing, health or saf- safety needs. Line 63 or, to 67 require grantees, um, to remain licensed and operational for at least five years, and if not, repayment may be required if this condition is not met.

405. 1:41:28

     Line 68 through 71, um, require DECAL to prepare technical assistance to grantees, um, related to project development, licensing, and operation. Line 72 to f- 74 require grantees to either own or hold a legally enforceable right to occupy the facility for at least five years. Um, line 75 to 81 limit DECAL to using no more than 25% of the op, um, appropriations for technical assistance, um, and program administration, and provides the, uh, agency with the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the program.

406. 1:42:04

     But I wanna emphasize a couple of things. First, we have some providers here who have traveled very far. They've traveled from Waynesville, Eastman, and Thomasville to speak today, and I wanna give them time to speak. Um, so fantastic. Childcare is really the infrastructure, though, that we rarely see until it fails. Our state, um, loses $2.52 billion, with a B, annually in economic activity because families are struggling to find, um, and afford childcare.

407. 1:42:34

     And childcare providers struggle to get the capital they need to expand, renovate, um, and serve kids in high-quality environments throughout our state. Particularly in our rural environments, um, you'll see a huge divide between who is able to access, say, small business loans and other loans, commercial loans, um, and who cannot. And, um, really, the families in our rural, um, environments suffer the most from that. Um, and so this legislation addresses infrastructure needs up front.

408. 1:43:07

     It, um, ensures that the state avoids, um, repeated emergency interventions, protects workforce participation of, um, of parents, and allows children to be in high-quality environments. And with that, um, I appreciate you hearing the need for this bill. We're happy to answer any questions.

409. 1:43:26

     Let's go, then, um, to the people that have signed up. Um, if I... And Ms. Bellamy.

410. 1:43:35

     So yes, ma'am, we'll give you two minutes. Okay?

411. 1:43:38

     Thank you.

412. 1:43:42

     Really?

413. 1:43:43

     Ma'am.

414. 1:43:43

     Oh, Mindy, I'm sorry. Mindy.

415. 1:43:45

     I'm Mindy Bellamy-

416. 1:43:46

     GEARS

417. 1:43:46

     ... the executive director of GEAR, the Georgia Early Education and Learning Alliance.

418. 1:43:50

     Is Ms. Jacobs here? N- no, I don't think Ms. Jacobs is here. Okay, she's not here. No. She's okay. Ms. Bellamy.

419. 1:43:59

     Good morning. Uh, thank you, Chairman. Thank you for, um, allowing us to address, um, the assembly. My name is Idecha Bellamy. I am the CEO of the Georgia Childcare Association. Um, our association is a volunteer... uh, a voluntary association that is made up of about 2,300 childcare owners, leaders, directors, um, and educators, um, that have a, a strong support for this bill. And so we appreciate, uh, GEAR's working on this and the ability to partner with them on, um, developing this model that they put forth.

420. 1:44:34

     Um, our members specifically are across the state. And, um, I'd like to share with you, and I know we're gonna, we're gonna pivot to, um, some of our providers that are here today, and I'm eager to ensure that you have the opportunity to listen to them. But what I did wanna share with you in terms of our members, I will give you a very quick example. Um, I had an owner named Lisa, uh, that I reached out to just about a week ago to talk with her about, um, some volunteer, um, opportunities that she wanted to pursue in training other leaders. And she expressed to me that a small fire under a sink in one of her facilities, um, was prompting her to completely close her school because there was no additional capital for her to address that small incident that happened over a weekend that is leading to disruption for kids all throughout her area.

421. 1:45:23

     That's a three-star program providing Emilio Reggio, uh, regimented care. And it's just an example of the ways that I believe that, um, a bill like this and an opportunity like this could, um, impact facilities and allow them to continue to operate and serve communities when there are situations that come forward related to facilities that might, um, negatively impact their ability to operate. Um, currently, we did a recent survey, and over 69% of our members that responded to the survey indicated that, um, grants to assist them with facilities is one of the top three solutions that they're hoping to see.

422. 1:46:03

     So we're pleased to support this bill, and I will, um, yield the mic to give our, um, our owners and leaders in childcare the opportunity to address the body.

423. 1:46:11

     Thank you, ma'am.

424. 1:46:12

     Mm-hmm.

425. 1:46:12

     Thank you so much.

426. 1:46:12

     Thank you.

427. 1:46:13

     Um, Ms. Janice Dixon.

428. 1:46:18

     K- Kids Country with a Z.

429. 1:46:24

     Please tell who you are and where, where you're located.

430. 1:46:26

     Mm-hmm. Thank you, Chairman Hickman and members of the committee, for allowing me to be here. My name is Janice Dixon. I'm the owner of Kids Country Daycare in Waynesville. It's located in southeast Georgia. I'm here today in support of Senate Bill 554. Almost a decade ago, I left a career in nursing to pursue something I thought was even more important and dear at heart as owner and director of Kids Country Daycare. I attribute Kids Country's success to our excellent educators and staff and to our facility.

431. 1:46:57

     In childcare, these are all fundamental and must-haves. Skilled, dedicated, loving educators, clean, safe, well-functioning classrooms, playgrounds, and bathrooms are all very important. When I first assumed ownership of Kids Country, our infants, one-year-olds, and two-year-olds were all in one classroom. Um, it was a small center with two functioning classrooms. If any of you have had little ones of your own, you know that you can't put a little child that naps twice a day in a room with busy toddlers.

432. 1:47:29

     That's a disaster in the making. With careful investment of tuition dollars, including those from CAPSS subsidies, I remodeled a building that was currently on site and added a second custom-built facility to our program, yet we still have parents on wait list for our smaller classrooms, the infants and the ones and the twos particularly. They tell me constantly, "I cannot get a job until I have care for my child." Meanwhile, the space I do have is stretched thin by our growing number of students and our students with special needs.

433. 1:48:02

     On any given day, you'll find therapists working in the lobby with students because we don't have a dedicated therapy room. Between inflation and recently reduced quality rated bonuses and CAPSS rates, I do not have the capital to fund another expansion. Children who could be attending Kids Country is, is missing out on early learning during their most critical developmental periods. Their parents are out of work and struggling. Our local economy is suffering. All of these things are connected.

434. 1:48:33

     That's why I'm asking you to establish this facilities grant program to help Kids Country be everything that Waynesville needs from us, just as you would with an elementary or high school. We need space to serve our students, serve their families, our workforce, and our community. And with fewer dollars coming in from CAPSS, we need those state re- resources today more than ever.

435. 1:48:54

     Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it.

436. 1:48:56

     Mm-hmm.

437. 1:48:56

     Thank you. Very good.

438. 1:48:57

     Thank you.

439. 1:48:57

     Um, I actually talked to a house member yesterday, uh, on another situation. He was paying his... He and his wife were paying 1,500 a month for childcare. 1,500 a month. $18,000 a year is what it costs. So-

440. 1:49:13

     Yeah

441. 1:49:13

     ... and, and we, and we, and we don't have enough places. Um, Ms. Purvis.

442. 1:49:18

     Yes.

443. 1:49:18

     Will you come forward?

444. 1:49:21

     Thank you.

445. 1:49:22

     I'm so glad you brought Michael with you today.

446. 1:49:28

     Is he just following you or is he leading you?

447. 1:49:30

     No, he's following me.

448. 1:49:31

     He's following.

449. 1:49:31

     I'm the leader.

450. 1:49:33

     Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

451. 1:49:34

     Which is always the case.

452. 1:49:35

     That's right. The woman's always the leader.

453. 1:49:37

     Just some men will admit it.

454. 1:49:38

     Oh, I'm gonna spread that rumor.

455. 1:49:41

     Yes, ma'am.

456. 1:49:42

     Thank you.

457. 1:49:42

     Identify yourself and tell me where you are.

458. 1:49:44

     Okay. So thank you Chairman Hickman and members of the committee. Um, my name is Dr. Melissa Purvis. I hold a doctorate in early childhood education, and I serve as the owner of Pride & Joy Developmental Learning Center in Eastman, Dodge County. Um, I purchased Pride & Joy about eight months ago. So fairly new. Made a, um, transition in a career after spending 28 years in an elementary education classroom. Um, and Senator Hickman, I was in Langston Chapel for quite some time, so I know exactly where, what you're talking about with Bulloch County.

459. 1:50:15

     And I have seen firsthand what happens when children are not prepared to come to formal schooling-

460. 1:50:21

     Oh, dear

461. 1:50:21

     ... whether that be pre-K at my center, um, which I have two pre-K classrooms, or whether they go to kindergarten. Um, the early crit- I mean, the critical early years are critical for long-term assessmen- um, success. I've seen the difference it makes when children arrive at kindergarten when they're ready and when they are not. Um, I intended when I made this transition that I was going to help them get started, a better start with developmental programs in my center. I intended to make sure I had strong teachers and be able to, um, provide rich language and literacy materials, putting books back in their hands, talking with them in language.

462. 1:51:02

     Instead, through going through initial licensing and getting all grants c- flowing back through, I have instead, um, much of my focus and funding has gone with keeping a 30-year-old facility safe and operational. Repairs that tuition dollars alone cannot sustain. Um, we serve about 140 children every day. That is including before and after-school care. Uh, we prepare breakfast, lunch, and snacks in a kitchen that has one original oven that takes two hours to, uh, heat up.

463. 1:51:33

     My cook has to come in extremely early to get breakfast going. Um, our dishwasher probably predates modern sanitizing requirements- ... um, and standards. We have peeling floor tiles that we're having to cover up with rugs, um, and doors that cannot, I can't get them locked. They need updated locks. And, um, we have, um... These are not cosmetic improvements either. These are just basic safety and infrastructure needs that we have.

464. 1:52:03

     In a rural community like Eastman, we are very rural, tuition must remain affordable. I am a CAPS provider. I have CACFP. I have two pre-K classrooms. I am trying my very best to get something with special needs 'cause I have several children that need special needs. I, uh, too have children that are in la- in, um, lobbies trying to get therapy for speech because I don't have room for them, and I don't have enough room or supplies for my after-school or summer kids that I want off of the streets and out of their homes and in somewhere safe. Um, if I raise tuition or replace any of those things, I'm gonna price families out of care, and when families lose childcare, employers lose work, just as workers.

465. 1:52:42

     Since we talked about childcare as a workfor- workforce infrastructure, and a state capital investment of centers like mine is an investment in E- in Eastman, in the safety of our children and working families, in our rural economy, and the future of our children.

466. 1:52:56

     Thank you, ma'am.

467. 1:52:57

     Thank you.

468. 1:52:57

     Appreciate it. Very well said.

469. 1:52:59

     Thank you.

470. 1:52:59

     And thank you for being a teacher for 28 years.

471. 1:53:01

     Yeah.

472. 1:53:02

     Thank you. Um, Ms. Welch.

473. 1:53:11

     Thank you, Michael, for coming.

474. 1:53:17

     Ms. Welch, tell you, tell us where you're from and, um, your name and where you're from.

475. 1:53:22

     S- thank you, um, Chairman Hickman and members of the committee. My name is Gigi Welch, and I'm the executive director in Glad Ti- at Glad Tidings Academy in Thomasville, Georgia. I'm here today in support of, um, SB 554. I'll start with the good news. Thomasville's, um, booming right now. I routinely get calls announcing that families are moving, young families are moving to Thomasville. Do we have childcare? I would love to say yes to every working parent who needs care so that they can support their family, but I almost always have a wait list, and almost always facility limitations are to blame.

476. 1:54:01

     Glad Tidings is based at GracePoint Church, which is eventually planning to move to a new building. But as we wait for that transition, I have, um, I have to hire someone to convert the after-school area to our church sanctuary every Sunday and every Friday. Um, they cord- they, they cordons, um, they cordon off the stage and haul our chairs into a storage room, and then they reverse that process. This is every single weekend.

477. 1:54:33

     I would much rather use those funds to outfit another classroom with skilled educators and a stable learning environment. The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning has even asked that we host a Georgia pre-K classroom because to respond to the needs of our community. But regrettably, I have no, um, have to say no every year to that, um, because of the lack of space. If the same government that is seeking more educational opportunities for young students would provide f- facility building and renovation funds through a capital grant, I would be able to give a better answer.

478. 1:55:11

     I would be able to say yes. The children who, um, could, could access early learning during the critical window of their brain development would win. The families seeking a prosperous s- um, small town life like Thomasville would win. Our local workforce, including my staff Of talented and committed teachers would also win. So I'm asking you, my elected officials, to pass Senate Bill 554 to help me achieve that win for my students, my teachers, and my community.

479. 1:55:43

     Thank you for your time.

480. 1:55:44

     Thank you, ma'am, so very much. Um, we got one more speaker, Tom. Oh, okay. Hey. Oh, there you go. Okay. Come on.

481. 1:55:54

     Chairman, if

482. 1:55:58

     I may.

483. 1:55:58

     Two minutes, please. And that will be our last speaker, and we will adjourn 'cause we got another meeting coming in here.

484. 1:56:04

     Yes, sir. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, my name's Tom Gail, and I'm representing the Low Income Investment Fund. The Low In- Low Income Investment Fund, or LIIF, is a national community development financial institution with a vision that everyone benefits from living in a community of opportunity. And to achieve this vision, LIIF invests in, invest capital in affordable housing and childcare facilities. Uh, as a leader in childhood education, LIIF has deployed over $600 million in childcare facility grants to childcare providers across the country, reaching over 400,000 childcare spaces.

485. 1:56:41

     LIIF's commitment to childcare facilities comes from the belief that investments in both the people and physical infrastructure of childcare are critical to meeting the needs of families. Childcare classrooms have been referred to as the third teacher, and high-quality spaces contribute to the intellectual and physical development of young children, setting them up for improved literacy skills and lifelong success. With offices here in Atlanta, LIIF has been a partner in helping childcare providers provide, uh, renovations and repairs to their facilities to better serve children in a healthy and safe environment.

486. 1:57:18

     Uh, as the state continues to be the number one state to do business, investing in childcare access, particularly in rural communities, supports con- continued growth as families come to the state for economic opportunities. A statewide landscape scan by LIIF found that childcare providers in Georgia wish to expand and chil- and serve children in healthier, safer, safer facilities but lacked the capital to do so. Uh, this reflects findings that, uh, in many areas, childcare providers operate on thin margins, often putting much needed repairs on credit cards, pulling money from savings, and, uh, also foregoing repairs.

487. 1:57:57

     Uh, many of you are aware that the Senate Study Committee on Improving Family Caregiving Services this past year recommended that the state explore a childcare facilities grant program, and I want to thank Senator Payne for, uh, introducing Senate Bill 554 to continue this conversation. Um, in addition, I, I've handed this to Hannah. Um, numerous academic studies show that there's a significant correlation between access to childcare and literacy rates. I know that literacy rates is a passion of, of Chairman Hickman and many of you on this committee.

488. 1:58:30

     Um, and one way to boost those literacy rates is, uh, investments in childcare. And again, uh, to, to close, the Low Income Investment Fund r- uh, supports Senate Bill 554, and we look forward to continuing the conversation.

489. 1:58:44

     Thank you, sir.

490. 1:58:45

     Thank you.

491. 1:58:47

     Senator Payne, thank you so much, and we will work with you in the next, probably tomorrow.

492. 1:58:51

     Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman and the committee. As I said, I just think, you know, the, this, you know, we always talk about no child left behind, but, you know, that's, that's the reality if we, if we keep working toward it.

493. 1:59:00

     Right.

494. 1:59:01

     So that's my goal.

495. 1:59:02

     Yeah. Thank you, sir. We are adjourning, and thank you so much for your patience and all. I know we got a late start, which kind of threw us over a little bit. Um, but thank you, and, um, we will have one bill on Thursday. Thank you.

496. 1:59:14

     Well, I just have-