House Education Committee, March 5, 2026

Transcript

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

1. 0:13:09

   Check one, two. Check one, two.

2. 0:23:34

   Okay. Let me call this, uh, meeting to order. I think we got a quorum of members in here. Thank you on this committee day. I hope members, that is going very well for you. Let me, uh, welcome all of the visitors here. I'm looking around the room. Uh, I see some students out there. If you're a student, hold your hand up for a minute. There you go, students. Let me recognize you. You are what this committee is about, so, uh, thank you for coming and visiting with us today.

3. 0:24:07

   I also know that, uh, having spoke, I see some GAE members here from our teachers group. Uh, hold your hand up members, uh, for GAE. Thank you, teachers and educators, hold your hand up. Anybody that's been an educator or an educator, raise your hand. Let, let me tell you what I state and try to, and I, I, I believe this, that, uh, our teachers are daily heroes. They are running to the children and helping them, uh, every single day.

4. 0:24:40

   So, uh, teachers, thank you for being my hero and, and I believe the talk of this whole committee here is that we believe in teachers and, uh, what you do, and hopefully we can continue to support your efforts at developing our future. Um, let me keep looking around the room, make sure that, uh, we got everybody we need. Here comes another member, so that's good. Let's, uh, begin our meeting with a, uh, word of prayer.

5. 0:25:11

   Representative Howard, can you tell me your number, and I'll ask you to do that for us? Number three. You're-- Mike's yours.

6. 0:25:19

   Let's pray together. God, we're grateful now for another day, and we thank you for your blessings, and we thank you for being our God. And now God, we pray for wisdom, and we pray for Understanding as we care for the students, uh, and teachers and administrators throughout this state. Give us what we need now to make right decisions, uh, that will affect the least of them as well as the rest of them. Bless us now is our prayer. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

7. 0:25:49

   Great. Thank you, Representative. Uh, members, um, we, as you probably are aware, we can, we can easily count the hours to the end of crossover. Um, so I know we have been really pushing hard and working well, and I'm very proud of the, uh, work that you have provided here and, uh, the efforts you are giving towards these bills. At last check for me, we have, uh, uh, crossed over, um, just under 20 bills out of this committee, and then we have moved crossover completely through the, the floor 18 bills.

8. 0:26:34

   So a lot of good effort and work out of you. Thank you for that and your conversations. Um, I can't tell you for sure this is our last meeting before crossover is over, but yeah, I can say for sure this is one of our last. And so, uh, let's try to do some good work today and finish off strong i- if possible. So, uh, I know Representative Townsend, uh, you have another bill to, uh, present in another committee, so we're gonna allow you to go first on HB 1056.

9. 0:27:18

   HB 10... Or yes, 56. And Representative, as always, if you would read your LC number, and then I'll turn the microphone over to you.

10. 0:27:28

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. After that one incident, I always get a little nervous when I do that. LC492534.

11. 0:27:35

    That's it. Perfect. Microphone's yours.

12. 0:27:37

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, this is, uh, really a cleanup bill. There's new technology came out regarding, uh, uh, an- anaphylaxis shock. Uh, right now you know every, uh, that you're allowed to use an EpiPen for that. In the school setting, uh, there was a law passed earlier where you're allowed to carry the EpiPen around with certain permissions just in case something... Like, my daughter has a tree nut allergy. She ate tree nuts in school, and she had to do the EpiPen, and then go to the emergency room after that. And so there's a new inhaler out there, new technology.

13. 0:28:09

    Uh, for some kids and adults, the inhaler will work just as well as the EpiPen. But according to state law, they can't carry that inhaler around. You can carry a regular inhaler around for asthma if you got permission, but you can't do that for anaphylaxis sh- uh, shock. So all this does, I'll read the, uh, CliffsNotes version of the bill. Uh, BOE will adopt, adopt a policy. Uh, part of that policy is doctor's note, parent consent, must be done at least once a year, allowed to carry at all events because you could...

14. 0:28:41

    If you have some kind of allergic reaction, it could happen at a football game, it could happen anywhere in school. So there, that person's allowed to carry it. Discipline if used inappropriately. That's where the big hang-up was originally with the EpiPen because it's got a sharp needle with it. But then they said, "Well, okay, if there's discipline, if they use it, uh, inappropriately, then that's fair game." So that's why, that was a big thing to get it across last time. So no problem there. Once staff is trained, the staff could administer this, uh, inhaler at, with no liability.

15. 0:29:15

    So they'd be exempt from... They'd be helping like a, treat it as an ambulance official, paramedic, something like that. But once the staff member is trained, if they so choose to, they are allowed to help administer these, this, uh, uh, inhaler. They already can do that with an EpiPen. They can do that already. And the BOE, if they want to, they, they can buy some and have it in stock. I know when I was a principal, I had EpiPens in my school, the nurse's office, and some of the teachers had it in theirs if we knew a kid, uh, was allergic to something.

16. 0:29:49

    A lot of times the teacher kept it in the drawer too, just in case, 'cause it depends how bad the shock was. And, uh, Mr. Chair, in essence, that's the bill. So really it's, it, it's really just allowing the inhaler to be used as well as an EpiPen, depending on what their doctor provides them with or recommends.

17. 0:30:09

    Okay. Thank you, Representative, and continue your efforts at, uh, uh, along this, uh, EpiPen, uh, ability to help our kids. Let me work around the room if I could here for questions for you. Number 29.

18. 0:30:27

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, Mr. Chairman, as you know, and Representative Townsend, I have a, a child with severe food allergies, life or death. One of the hard parts for us in our life has been when that expiration date comes on those EpiPens every 12 months, is you watch $1,200 per pen fall in the trash can. Fortunately, we've never had to use one of those, but we've recently switched to these inhalers because as the doctors have told us, they both have a longer shelf life, uh, members of the committee, but they also have a much higher increased rate of effectiveness.

19. 0:31:03

    You're saying, "Why should we care about that?" Well, I had an 18-month-old in the emergency room, stuck him with Epi. Problem at daycare. Wasn't our... Not bad mom and dad here, please. And I watched the ER doctor begin looking at her watch. I wasn't gonna interrupt her, and she said 90 seconds later, "Give him another round of Epi." Nobody had ever told us that we needed to carry two EpiPens-

20. 0:31:31

    Oh, man

21. 0:31:31

    ... because one might not be enough.

22. 0:31:33

    That's right.

23. 0:31:34

    Mr. Chairman, the, the, the effectiveness rate on this inhaler versus that EpiPen is also much higher and has reduced our family's cost and risk by being able to carry just one of those inhalers. So, uh, from someone who knows this and lives this every day, I'm never without reach of an EpiPen, in this case, an epi inhaler-

24. 0:31:54

    Mm-hmm

25. 0:31:55

    ... uh, as we say. So Mr. Chairman, great bill, and at the appropriate time.

26. 0:32:00

    Thank you.

27. 0:32:02

    Thank you. We have number 17. Is that Representative Carter? Nope. Parrish?

28. 0:32:09

    Yes, sir.

29. 0:32:10

    You're up.

30. 0:32:12

    Thank you, Chairman. Chairman Townsend, thank you for bringing this bill. I was listening to Chairman Dubnik's, uh, testimony or his remarks. I'm a grandmother of three or four children that, grandchildren that have severe allergies like that. So the importance of this is just, uh, we can't express it in words. It's a life or death matter, and so thank you for bringing this bill and being thoughtful enough to, to think about maybe something that's outside of your realm.

31. 0:32:43

    Thank you.

32. 0:32:44

    Thank you.

33. 0:32:46

    Number one.

34. 0:32:50

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, I would also like to echo, uh, it's a good bill. Uh, I also am a parent of a child that has had to, to, to deal with that for several years. This is actually an educational process for me, uh, but really appreciate the bill. Uh, I'd like to second it at the appropriate time.

35. 0:33:08

    Okay.

36. 0:33:08

    Thank you.

37. 0:33:09

    Number 10.

38. 0:33:13

    Thank you, Chairman. And Chairman, thank you for bringing the bill. Um, I had the pleasure of, um, signing on and co-signing. I'm honored that this, um, hopefully will get a, a, a full vote today, and get to the floor, and get into our public schools. Thank you so much for bringing the bill.

39. 0:33:31

    Thank you.

40. 0:33:32

    Number 27.

41. 0:33:35

    Thank you so much for the bill. Can you, um, show us where inhaler... 'Cause right now I'm seeing auto-

42. 0:33:42

    It's correct

43. 0:33:42

    ... injection. Where's inhaler mentioned, to make sure that we're not leaving that out? 'Cause on line 15 it's auto-injectable. If anybody else sees it, that would-

44. 0:33:57

    Yeah, it says term auto-injectable with ep- epinephrine, uh, to consult state provisions.

45. 0:34:02

    I just wanna make sure we're, after Chairman Dubnik, make sure we're good. Is leg counsel able to help us with this?

46. 0:34:10

    Yes. What line are you on?

47. 0:34:11

    Well, just trying to... I'm, I'm on line 15 where it says auto-injectable.

48. 0:34:16

    That's definitely the correct term. It's currently an auto-injectable, but we can't change the stat line until the substance passes through

49. 0:34:29

    So 139? All right. Hold on. Let's see.

50. 0:34:35

    Okay. Line... Yeah, I think we need to look at line 92, epinephrine. It doesn't say auto, so yeah, injectable. So it's to any method.

51. 0:34:49

    Correct. That, it's correct. It could be an inhaler.

52. 0:34:52

    So it, it is-

53. 0:34:52

    What we did was-

54. 0:34:53

    ... written correctly the way it's-

55. 0:34:55

    It is in the-

56. 0:34:55

    ... stated-

57. 0:34:55

    Yeah

58. 0:34:56

    ... on that line if you read it.

59. 0:34:58

    Yeah. It allows for future technology as well, that's why it says it that way.

60. 0:35:02

    Yeah, I think 139 also.

61. 0:35:05

    We have it currently.

62. 0:35:05

    You said 139 also confirms.

63. 0:35:06

    Line 92.

64. 0:35:06

    Okay. I just wanted to make sure of that.

65. 0:35:08

    Good question.

66. 0:35:08

    And, and if you noticed on line 123, we're cutting out the, uh, auto-injectable.

67. 0:35:15

    Okay. Great. Thank you.

68. 0:35:17

    All right. I'd like to say that I figured all that out myself, but I did not. Thank you, Ms. Courtney right next to me- ... as she helped tutor me through that. So, um, all right. Number 29 and number one, get ready at this point in time. Number 29.

69. 0:35:35

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that House Bill 1056 LC492534 do pass.

70. 0:35:40

    Number one.

71. 0:35:41

    Second.

72. 0:35:42

    We've got a motion do pass and a second, and I'm gonna read it myself here one time, make sure I get it right. LC492534. All in favor say aye.

73. 0:35:57

    Aye.

74. 0:35:57

    All opposed, like sign. Great. Thank you. Good, good bill. Uh-

75. 0:36:03

    Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee

76. 0:36:03

    ... get it signed, and let's see if we can get it moving. Remember, the hours are short. Okay. Uh, I think, uh, Chairman Meeks, you had also had a scheduling conflict, so let's put you up at the podium at, for HB 669. If you would, um, read your LC number, and then we'll turn the microphone over to you.

77. 0:36:30

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. LC number is 492311.

78. 0:36:35

    That's perfect. Microphone's yours.

79. 0:36:37

    All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. Uh, just to echo, as the father of a sixth grader, uh, thank you for the great work that, uh, all of you have done this session in, uh, moving our education system along. Uh, Mr. Chairman, I bring to you House Bill 699. Uh, simply put, this, um, this bill would, would explicitly allow school systems to access, uh, roofing improvements on existing, uh, buildings using a supplier that is identified through the Cooperative Purchasing Agency and that has been designated by the Georgia Department of Administrative Services as an authorized source, uh, to supply.

80. 0:37:14

    Um, this is, uh, procurement method for roofing improvements would also allow school projects eligible for capital outlay reimbursement funds, or in l- the case of low-wealth schools, uh, low-wealth capital outlay grants. Uh, it's really just some clarifying language for the Department of Education. They do support, uh, what we're doing here, and they just ask for the code to be updated to allow, uh, low-wealth schools to, uh, to access these capital out- outlay grants specifically for roof improvements.

81. 0:37:46

    Okay, great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me go through some questions here. Number 10.

82. 0:37:55

    Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, uh, Chairman Meeks. Would you give us, um, if there is a scenario behind this bill that you were trying to help, um, if there is one that you would kind of share a little bit with the, with us, I'd be happy to hear it.

83. 0:38:14

    So the one that I'm most familiar with is in, uh, Ware County down in Waycross, uh, where they needed to, uh, which is, uh, which would have, in a low wealth school system, would've been able to use access to capital outlay grants, uh, for a low wealth school system in order to make improvements to the school roof. Uh, that was the one situation that I'm aware of that was brought to us in order for us to try to address it. The Department of Education, uh, felt like they could do it, but would rather have had some clarifying language in order to make sure everybody was on the same page.

84. 0:38:47

    May I ask a follow-up question?

85. 0:38:50

    Yes.

86. 0:38:51

    Um, do you know if there was a certain amount of money that was saved or a certain amount of time that was saved, um, using this type of, um, targeted and focused ven- vendor?

87. 0:39:03

    I know that there would've been time saved. I don't know specifically how much. Uh, in this case, the school system had to move on to something else 'cause they were not able to utilize the grant because of the, because of the way the language read. But, uh, but I know that time would have been saved in order to go through, uh, the Cooperative Purchasing Agency to get the repairs done.

88. 0:39:21

    So that meant that disruption in the schools, um, would have been less-

89. 0:39:27

    That's correct

90. 0:39:27

    ... had we got to get the roof-

91. 0:39:29

    Yeah

92. 0:39:29

    ... a little quicker.

93. 0:39:30

    Yes, ma'am.

94. 0:39:30

    Thank you so much.

95. 0:39:30

    Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

96. 0:39:34

    Thank you. Number three.

97. 0:39:37

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, uh, uh, for the, for the bill as well. I, I had my, my questions along the same line as, uh, Rep- uh, Rep Glaize. H- Is this circumventing the bid process or the competitive bi- bid process at all? I know it's meant to expedite, uh, getting roofs done in a, in a timely manner, but how, how is that helping the competitive bidding system?

98. 0:40:05

    No, sir, it's not circumventing the competitive bidding process at all. And we have, uh, Representative Day here from the, uh, school, the, the State Board of School Superintendents that, uh, can speak to it at more, uh, more in depth. But the, um, the, the, the bid process is still put out through the cooperating, through the cooperative agency. So you have... They, they'll put the bid out, and then you have subcontractors obviously that are a part of that. So you're still bidding out the process. Um, I don't know if you wanna add any, anything to that.

99. 0:40:38

    Mr. Chairman, if I might.

100. 0:40:40

     Yes, you can. Just share, share your microphone there. Introduce yourself to the members, and we love to get the State School Superintendents Association on, on record here. So come on up and have a seat.

101. 0:40:53

     Uh, good afternoon. Rob Brown with the Georgia School Superintendents Association. Uh, the, the bid process occurs annually through a cooperative purchasing agency, so this l- this is not intended to circumvent that at all. It's actually allowable already for the school system to utilize this method to, to make any repairs. The challenge here came when the DOE, um, was uncomfortable with the current law and the way it's written in allowing cooperatives, uh, to be used with low wealth grants and with the capital outlay funding.

102. 0:41:27

     Okay. Uh, excuse me if I'm not quite understanding the other piece. Help me with the cooperative purchasing organization.

103. 0:41:33

     Mm-hmm.

104. 0:41:33

     Are there more than one?

105. 0:41:35

     Yes, sir. There, there are, there are several. There are numerous across the country that, that bid projects for all sorts of different, um, items, any kind of work that you may need. Uh, tracks, uh, turf fields, that sort of thing are bid annually, such that if a school system or any other entity wanted to come and, and purchase from them, it's already met the bid process, uh, requirements.

106. 0:42:03

     Okay.

107. 0:42:04

     Okay. Uh, seeing no more questions, members, um, number 29.

108. 0:42:12

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I move that House Bill 669 HC492311 do pass.

109. 0:42:17

     Second.

110. 0:42:18

     We have a motion of do pass and a second. Members, let me look. It's, uh, HB669 LC492311. All in favor, say aye.

111. 0:42:33

     Aye.

112. 0:42:34

     All opposed, like sign. The bill passes. Get your form signed, and the hour is short, so-

113. 0:42:42

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

114. 0:42:43

     Yes, sir. Let's get it moving there. All right, let me cut that one off. We will move down the agenda. Members, let's go to Vice Chair Rice with 1257. HB 1257. And Vice Chair, if you would, read your LC number to us so we're working off the same paper, and then I'll turn the microphone over to you.

115. 0:43:15

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

116. 0:43:18

     And I have, um, Dono- Donovan Head with the charter schools with me too.

117. 0:43:23

     Boy, we like to put them up in front of us too.

118. 0:43:26

     Yes.

119. 0:43:26

     Donovan, get ready.

120. 0:43:27

     So any, any other questions that I may not cover in this, he's, he's gonna be happy to assist too. Um-

121. 0:43:35

     Read that LC number, please.

122. 0:43:38

     Yeah. So that LC number is 492710S.

123. 0:43:42

     Great. We turn the microphone over to you.

124. 0:43:46

     So thank you, committee. House Bill 1257 is primarily a technical cleanup bill drafted from the State Charter School Commission that builds on the work of Georgia Senate Bill 82, which the legislature passed last year with strong bipartisan support. That legislation was designed to balance incentives and accountability between state and local charters authorizers. I'm pleased to report that is working. After several years with a single locally authorized ch-s- charter school among Georgia's 181 districts, five local charters have been approved since July 1, when SB 82 took effect.

125. 0:44:24

     For context, during those seven years, the Georgia Charter-- State Charter Schools Commission authorized 29 schools and essentially carried all charter school growth statewide. In 2025, we saw something we've not seen in years, an even split with three state authorizations and three local authorizations. That balance matters fiscally. When the state authorizes a charter school, it costs the state roughly 1.5 million to 4 million in the first year, increasing with enrollment.

126. 0:44:56

     Local authorizations are essentially budget neutral to the state. State schools require the state charter school supplement because they do not receive local property tax or ESPOS funding, and that supplement already exceeds 140 million. The commission was never intended to carry 100% of charter growth in Georgia. So what House Bill 1257 does, it makes several targeted adjustments to help this progress continues. One, it clarifies rulemaking authority by placing formal rulemaking with the Georgia State Board of Education in collaboration with the commission, since the commission does not have the authority over the districts.

127. 0:45:37

     Number two, it adjusts the timing of the local authori- authorizer incentive grant. Districts can receive 250,000 annually for three years, but the payment will now begin when a charter school actually opens rather than when it's approved. Uh, that payment day will go from August to September. This change, requested by the Office of Planning and Budget, improves fiscal planning and prevents paying grants for schools that ultimately do not open. Number three, it is the gov-- uh, the bill places a 2.25 million annual cap on new incentive grants.

128. 0:46:11

     This still supports about three new local authorizations per year while protecting existing commitments. Four, the bill clarifies that locally authorized charter schools may transfer to state authorization only if their district formally non-renews them. This prevents authorizer shopping and protects accountability. And finally, the bill makes two technical improvements. It aligns record retention timelines after school closure with current practice while protecting school records, and it allows, um, a network to operate multiple schools under a single nonprofit board to reduce unnecessary administrative duplication.

129. 0:46:50

     In short, House Bill 1257 makes targeted adjustments to ensure SB 82 continues to strengthen responsible charter growth while encouraging more local participation across Georgia. I respectfully ask for the committee's fa-favorable consideration. Again, this is another example of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Um, they-- the charter school system is working very well, and we-- these are just requests that have been made by the Office of Financial Planning to better serve the schools and make sure that they are running at, at their potential.

130. 0:47:22

     And with that, I'll take any questions.

131. 0:47:25

     Okay. Thank you, Vice Chair. Um, go by the order. We got quite a few blinking here. Number 18.

132. 0:47:33

     Thank you, Chairman. Um, Madam Representative, I have a couple questions. One, can you help me understand the difference between the State Board of Education and State Board?

133. 0:47:44

     State, State Board of Education.

134. 0:47:46

     Line 14, and it's in here a few times.

135. 0:47:53

     Point out this way.

136. 0:47:55

     Madam Representative, could you explain to me what-

137. 0:47:57

     This is just, this is just a cleanup part of the bill.

138. 0:48:01

     Just to help me understand what the difference is.

139. 0:48:05

     It's just, that's just the way it's referenced in the code. That's the, the-

140. 0:48:08

     Okay. So it's not the State Board of Education in the code, the State Board. Is that what you're saying?

141. 0:48:12

     That's right.

142. 0:48:13

     Okay. So I'll get to my other question. I, I saw this a few times, and I didn't know what was going on with that.

143. 0:48:18

     Okay.

144. 0:48:20

     And you and I, we talked, and I still don't really understand, uh, the motivation behind offering the 250,000. I now remember last year when this bill came up, it was supposed to be, I guess, an incentive if there was a high quality charter, and no one ever defined what that was. Um, but if, if a local school district, I guess, was going to approve a charter, how would you know? And now that we're gonna offer them 250,000, and I understand now you guys are saying, "We don't wanna just offer it 'cause they approved it.

145. 0:48:51

     We wanna offer it because once they, they open." And then I see there as if it's not appropriated, that they may not get the money. But help me really understand what's the motivation behind the 250,000. I think the other stuff here is pretty... I think I understand it.

146. 0:49:09

     I am gonna turn that over.

147. 0:49:11

     Um, thank you, Representative. Um, so yes, in, in Senate Bill 82, which passed last year, uh, you know, um, very bipartisan in both chambers, uh, we placed a $250,000 incentive grant for the first three years. Um, at that time, we were just guessing how many we were gonna have. We thought we would have two. There was enough, uh, in the, in the state budget allocated for two. We ended up having three. And so this was a request from OPB to delay that so we can plan for state budget purposes. Also, it prevents, uh, giving the grant to a s- a school district that approves a school but that doesn't ultimately open.

148. 0:49:45

     And our good friends in Richmond County did that. They, they approved a school. Um, they had some issues that came along, and the, the school district made the, the rightful determination to rescind that, um, approval. But this would've prevented us, uh, granting that money and then getting in a situation where we're giving state dollars to a district that didn't approve. As far as the, um, intent behind it, uh, we went seven years without a single local authorization from 181 districts. Uh, since it's gone in, we've had five, um, approved So, uh, three last year, two this year so far.

149. 0:50:18

     Um, and this, uh, it's, it's unrestricted, but it allows the districts, hopefully they would use it to help, um, staff their, their district office, hire someone to be the authorizer, that way they're not putting the responsibilities on someone with, uh, multiple responsibilities already. And then lastly, I would say you asked how we would catch if there's a local approval. They have to send both-- The, the, the petitioners have to send both a petition to the state Charter Schools Commission and to the local district. And we have the Office of Charter Schools Compliance, which, uh, thoroughly tracks the, where these are at.

150. 0:50:50

     So we know right away if they're approved.

151. 0:50:53

     Okay. Thank you. I just-- away money, um, that, that if a local district was going to approve it anyway, and now we're kinda incentivizing them and giving money for something that they may already were gonna do, and we wanna make sure they're good charter schools. And you do have checks and balances in place for that.

152. 0:51:10

     Um, do you want me?

153. 0:51:12

     Yeah, go.

154. 0:51:12

     Yeah. So with the Office of Charter Schools Compliance within our office, we are getting more and more questions from local districts. We have a rubric that's standard that was approved by the state board that we use, that the local districts will use. So the districts know what good quality looks like. We know what good quality looks like. There's a lot of, uh, uniformity that's been built and a lot of relationships built over the past couple years, and we're really proud of that.

155. 0:51:33

     Thank you.

156. 0:51:36

     Thank you. Number twenty-nine.

157. 0:51:38

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, representative, is, is it not true that as part of the bill that you referenced last year that we, uh, sought to form a, a stronger partnership between our, our LEAs and also those within that same target community who might wanna start a charter school by offering this grant? Is that not true?

158. 0:51:57

     Yes, that's correct.

159. 0:51:58

     Is it not further true that we found that this would be financially beneficial to the state as a whole from a budgetary standpoint if that charter school was approved locally rather than by the commission? Is that not also true?

160. 0:52:11

     Absolutely. I appreciate that.

161. 0:52:13

     Thank you. And if I could, and this may be for, uh, Mr. Head, could you go with me to lines thirty-three and thirty-four?

162. 0:52:26

     Could you explain the, the, in conjunction from a budgetary standpoint in putting a restriction here on lines thirty-- uh, thirty-three and thirty-four, where we came to the two point two five million and, and how that was chosen and why it's there?

163. 0:52:40

     Sure. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, this was a request. We, we had, um, we've been working before session with, uh, Governor Kemp's office, and, um, they do have-- we do have their, their blessing on the, the cleanup bill. Uh, this was a request that they had, uh, that they had made straight from the governor that would just put a little bit of a, I guess, a cap on, um, on that. So the two point two five million, the exact amount, that means that we could have three charter schools approved per year for... And then in the next, um, in the next, uh, two years, they would not lose any amount of that money.

164. 0:53:15

     So originally, I think when we were talking about this, there was gonna be a one million dollar cap, and that was our concern is, well, if we, if we have this trend of three per year, you may, you may shortchange some of these districts. So, um, that- it was just, like I said, a request from the governor's office.

165. 0:53:31

     Okay. Let's keep making our audience play ping pong. Number two.

166. 0:53:38

     Thank you, Chairman. Representative, uh, thank you for the bill. Uh, it, it actually is refreshing to see the open-handed approach and the incentive provided to facilitate partnership between our local school districts and, and charter schools. I've seen one too many heavy-handed mandates to legislate, uh, partnership and relationship building between the two, and so I think this is the, the, the right approach. Uh, I wanted to direct your attention to lines one twenty-three through one thirty.

167. 0:54:12

     And I wanna make sure I understand why we're reducing the record keeping window from a year to one eighty. Is it simply to expedite the transfer of that information to the commission? I just wanna make sure anytime we're saying, uh, you have less time to hold on to confidential sensitive information that we don't run into any issues down the road.

168. 0:54:40

     Right. And, and I'll-- Well, I can submit that to, um, to Mr. Head here. But yes, it is for the purpose of when, once, sometimes they can't-- they will close abruptly, and it's, it's to ensure that we have the, the records that transfer completely and in a timely manner, but I'll let him elaborate on that a little better.

169. 0:55:00

     Sure. Thank you for the question, Representative. Um, so we've, um, unfortunately had to close, uh, one to two schools per year for the past three years. And, uh, most of our schools do really well. Uh, but this is, you know, the, um, the hardest part of this is the record retention. And so current state law requires within twelve months. Usually, when these schools close, they're on limited funds and can only contract with someone for about six months that we can work with on the ground. And so this, uh, this has really been how we've been practicing as an agency, is to go ahead and try to get that within six months.

170. 0:55:33

     Um, a couple years ago, we had a group that was really pushing, be careful here, uh, kind of challenging us on state law and, and we actually had to send a group, uh, a contractor group to go pick up these, these hard copy records from the hallways of this d- of this school. So this would just give us more leverage. In that case, we brought in the Attorney General's office, but this would certainly give us more leg- leverage to point to state law and protect those records.

171. 0:56:01

     No, that, that makes sense. And again, I, I wanna underscore the importance of, um, incentivizing relationship building and open dialogue between our local school districts and our charter schools. So thank you for that.

172. 0:56:16

     Thank you.

173. 0:56:16

     Good. Members to my right, the, the ball's in your court. Number ten.

174. 0:56:23

     Um, I just want to, um, ask if you would zero in on where the language will allow an existing charter school to, um, continue to replicate itself, um, without going through the process for each school.

175. 0:56:42

     Um, uh, thank you, Representative. I'm not sure exactly, um... I don't think that's in the bill at all. So we do have a replication process. If a, if a charter school, uh, um, meets or exceeds all standards and academic, uh, academics, whether that's, uh, um... Well, it needs to be both, uh, progress and mastery on finances and on operations, then they are allowed to replicate. We've had that happen a few times. Um, but that's, that's a very strict process and a high bar to do that.

176. 0:57:14

     Okay.

177. 0:57:15

     Yeah.

178. 0:57:15

     So there was no language, cleanup language in here about replication?

179. 0:57:19

     No.

180. 0:57:19

     Okay. I thought there was some. Okay. Thank you.

181. 0:57:23

     Sure. Thank

182. 0:57:28

     you.

183. 0:57:28

     First to my left, it's coming back into your court, number three.

184. 0:57:33

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you again for the bill, and, uh, and certainly has a good, uh, potential. I know the, uh, the idea is good. Um, first question, what, and this just came up after your last comment. You mentioned Richmond County. Um, I'm getting mixed reports. Can you elaborate on what happened in Richmond County with the school that you said tried or whatever?

185. 0:57:55

     Sure. Um, so the, the school, uh, had applied to both Richmond County and to the State Charter Schools Commission. I believe it was called Georgia Discovery. My understanding is after the, the district approved the school, um, there was some situation where, uh, a couple of the board members resigned, and it caused pause for the district, which, uh, working with the Office of Charter Schools Compliance, uh, rescinded the approval. Um, I think there's some technicality there where they left the door open if, if changes were made. I'm not... You'd have to probably talk to Richmond County there.

186. 0:58:27

     I am.

187. 0:58:28

     And you are.

188. 0:58:28

     I am.

189. 0:58:29

     Um, but yes, if they were to ultimately approve the school, uh, or a school, they may get one this cycle, I'm not sure, then they would be eligible for the $250,000 grant.

190. 0:58:39

     Okay. On, and, and that, that window there of, of being approved as a qualified school, who determines? Does Richmond County determines that, or, or the sc- local school system determine that, or do you, you guys determine whether that charter school is a qualified school?

191. 0:58:54

     Sure. Um, so the process, if, uh, we're gonna use Richmond County, if, once they approve a local charter school, that recommendat- or that, that approval goes before the Office of Charter Schools Compliance working with the Charter Advisory Committee, and on that committee are appointees from the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house. Uh, they will make a, a non-binding recommendation to the State Board of Education. So in this particular situation, they had not... I don't believe they got past the, the Charter Advisory Committee before the, the district rescinded it.

192. 0:59:25

     Um, but, uh, to be clear, I think, uh, Richmond County followed all the, all the right processes. So there was, this is no, uh, no criticism on how they conducted it.

193. 0:59:34

     Okay. Thank you.

194. 0:59:37

     Thank you. We're gonna stay on the left here, number one.

195. 0:59:43

     Wait a minute. Let me get you cut off. You stay on.

196. 0:59:45

     All right. Got me. Okay. Thank you. Just turn my-

197. 0:59:49

     We're pushing your buttons, member.

198. 0:59:52

     All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

199. 0:59:53

     Yes, sir.

200. 0:59:55

     Um, so I know looking at line 23, um, you changed the date from August 1st to September 1st. Just to clarify, will this cause any cash flow challenges for the district?

201. 1:00:09

     It, it will. This will actually, um, it should not cause any, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, um, for the district at all. It is just we're doing this for assurance on the, on the state side that the school opens and is functioning and, and is moving forward. Um, and that was just, that was a request from the Office of Financial and Budget.

202. 1:00:33

     Okay. But you're still admin... So you're mo- you're still administering the, the grant, it's just at a later date.

203. 1:00:39

     That's right.

204. 1:00:39

     Yes.

205. 1:00:39

     Um.

206. 1:00:39

     Correct.

207. 1:00:40

     Um, I would, I would just add that that was, uh, a, a, a piece from our, uh, chief financial officer in working with, uh, the Georgia Department of Education. Sometimes that allocation doesn't come out exactly by Aug- August 1st. They will most likely get it well before September 1st, but this just, you know, was a simple change to give us that, that grace period to get the funds to the school district.

208. 1:01:01

     Okay. All right. Thank you.

209. 1:01:03

     Okay. Number 18.

210. 1:01:07

     Thank you. Uh-oh, stay in the same section. Um, you have the, um, cap of 2.25 million, but in s- that section where that we were just referring to, uh, section B lines 21 through 29, it states that if there are more than, at this point, nine, uh, charter schools approved under this agreement, and there isn't sufficient funds appropriated, that that will be reduced.

211. 1:01:37

     At what point will the school districts who have approved these local charters know, uh, that they won't be receiving the funds and that costs that is, that they're incurring, uh, will be, uh, passed on to, uh, I guess their general fund? But how, how will you all addre- how will you address that?

212. 1:01:58

     Thank you, Representative. That's a good question, and that's a procedural question, and, and I'll let him answer that.

213. 1:02:04

     Um, yes. Thank you, Representative. Um, we've obviously not gotten to that position yet. Uh, this, if we had it more than nine, I would say in the cohort, then they would still receive funding. It would just be a proportional amount of that, that 200, two, sorry, $2.25 million. So, um, it, again, this was just a request from the governor's office. Um- And we were, we were trying to give enough room for, to protect for trends, but I, I, I mean, I could, I could presume if we get in a situation, and I'd had this conversation with our team, a local district may ma-make the choice.

214. 1:02:37

     Well, we, we might approve this school next year because we want the full amount. I'm not sure. We, like I said, we haven't gotten into that, but that, that would be, it would be a proportional at that point.

215. 1:02:49

     Number 22.

216. 1:02:50

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, looking, it looks like it may be the appropriate time, so I'd like to mo- uh, make a motion do pass.

217. 1:02:57

     We've got a couple of, uh, speakers that have signed up to speak to this bill, so let me cover that. Just one moment, representative. Uh, we have two, um, folks that have signed up to speak to this bill. Um, let, our first is Buzz Brockway. I see him sitting back there. Buzz, if you'll come up to the podium, we'll turn it over to you. Now, I'm gonna limit you, Buzz, just for these members' purposes. They need to go.

218. 1:03:28

     So let's do it in a minute, if you think you can.

219. 1:03:31

     Oh, uh, Mr. Chairman, if, if I'm on the commission, if, if your committee has any questions and I can answer them, I'm happy to.

220. 1:03:37

     Come up to the microphone, uh, Buzz, so the members, anybody watching online will hear what you have to say too.

221. 1:03:43

     Uh, yeah. I am one of the, uh, members of the Charter School Commission. I am happy to answer any questions if needed. If not, I'm happy to waive, Mr. Chairman, so.

222. 1:03:51

     Members, any, any questions here? Thank you, Buzz.

223. 1:03:55

     Thanks, sir.

224. 1:03:56

     Uh, Ron Mayo, if you would come to the microphone. Introduce yourself, please, uh, I believe with Charter School Association, so.

225. 1:04:06

     Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. We just, uh, with the Georgia Charter Schools Association would, uh, express our support for the bill, and thank you for your time.

226. 1:04:18

     Thank you. And I believe both of you two have served on this committee. Is that correct?

227. 1:04:23

     Yes, sir.

228. 1:04:24

     Great. Thank you for your service, and thank you for being visiting with us today. Um,

229. 1:04:33

     we got, we, we have another question to you, Vice Chair. Number 18.

230. 1:04:38

     Were, were our speakers finished?

231. 1:04:41

     Uh, yes. Those were our two speakers, and they are done.

232. 1:04:45

     Well, I, I would, um, like to offer a friendly amendment, if possible.

233. 1:04:52

     Let, let, let's wait on an amendment-

234. 1:04:55

     Okay

235. 1:04:55

     ... till we got a motion. We haven't gotten a second yet, Representative. Um, we, we have a motion, and we have a second. Um, with that, now let's talk about any amendments you got, Representative.

236. 1:05:10

     Okay. So my concern is the language, uh, that addresses if there isn't sufficient funds that, um, it will be allocated proportionally. And I understand that, but there isn't any language that addresses how we will come back and replenish that. So I would like some language that would address any event that, uh, there are more than nine schools, uh, adopted in a fiscal year and the funds are reduced, that we will come back that next year and provide the difference to those schools or that district 'cause the expenses won't be reduced.

237. 1:05:59

     If we can, uh, yeah, I'll entertain a comment from our chairman of appropriations. Number 29.

238. 1:06:06

     Uh, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, to the lady's question. So i- if you think about it, really and truly anything that we do is, quote, "subject to appropriations." And so from, from that standpoint, we're always ahead in the cycle of knowing when those applications are going to occur. And so we could look a- and understand what's coming down, uh, from a funding standpoint and would have time from both an appropriations and a legislation standpoint if we were to need to adjust, uh, accordingly.

239. 1:06:37

     I, I respect the governor's opinion in this case, Mr. Chairman, of, of wanting to, uh, just keep some guardrails around how many of these could be approved and funded a- at a given time. But we would, we would be in a posture and a positive situation, uh, to be able to, to look forward. It's, it's not, if you will, we're never looking backwards. Uh, so we would be ahead of these from both a funding and a legislation standpoint if we were to need to address.

240. 1:07:04

     Put that in mind, then why do we need the language to reduce the funds proportionally based on if we s- exceeded the nine? Based on what you're saying, I, I respect the governor, uh, as well with this 2.25.

241. 1:07:19

     Right. And, and so to, to Mr. Head's point, who made the comment that we're in a, we're in a new situation where we've not seen, uh, we've not been in this situation before. We've not seen the, the supply and the, and the demand come about. And so in, in this case, very much as well to, to respect your point, I think the best, uh, comment I can make there is I respect the governor's wishes as, and, and OPB's wishes on, on, that are illustrated here on line 34, and in my role currently today, uh, would, would look to appropriate accordingly based on demand that, that would be occurring, uh, today and into the future.

242. 1:07:58

     Okay. But my concern is not the 2.25 million. I agree with you. We should put some guardrails. There should be some, a limit. My concern is line 26.

243. 1:08:11

     Because if we're forward-looking, then we know in advance that we have more than nine, right? And if we're gonna fund more than nine, then I don't think we need language that's gonna reduce the funding.

244. 1:08:21

     I, I understand, Representative, but line 26 is more or less ubiquitous language that is applicable across all law and all appropriations. Anything and everything that we do is, is subject to appropriations. Unfortunately, I would tell you that it is state law to have a certain number of social workers to students, comma, subject to appropriations. That's been in law since 2012.

245. 1:08:48

     But you're not gonna cut their salaries if you hire more.

246. 1:08:51

     Speak into the microphone, please.

247. 1:08:53

     With the example that you just used, if you hire more, uh, social workers than what was allocated, you're not gonna cut their salaries.

248. 1:09:00

     But if we were hiring more, we would be appropriating more.

249. 1:09:02

     Right. Then you don't need this language on line 26.

250. 1:09:06

     I, I respectfully disagree.

251. 1:09:07

     Okay.

252. 1:09:08

     Um, again, that's applicable across state law and everything that we do here.

253. 1:09:15

     I, I would point out to both representatives that line 26 is in current law.

254. 1:09:25

     Legislative Council, is that not right?

255. 1:09:27

     Yes. Correct. That's right.

256. 1:09:29

     Okay.

257. 1:09:29

     But you didn't have the chance.

258. 1:09:31

     Okay. Number, I believe it was 16.

259. 1:09:39

     Chairman, thank you. Whoops. I forgot this button again. This button every time. Chairman, I'd like to call the question.

260. 1:09:51

     If I-- I thought we were talking the, uh, motion right there, so hold on, Representative. Um, that, that gets you for leaving the room. Um, you, you, you have a motion. Do you still wanna ride with that motion or do you wanna pull it?

261. 1:10:06

     With the amendment?

262. 1:10:07

     Uh, excuse me, the amendment. Uh, the, the motion for that amendment.

263. 1:10:13

     I would like it, but it's mute.

264. 1:10:17

     Okay. She, she, she takes that m- uh, motion for amendment away. Let-

265. 1:10:24

     I withdraw my amendment.

266. 1:10:26

     She withdraws her amendment. All right. Number two, is this, uh, about that topic?

267. 1:10:33

     It, it was, and thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can you walk us through the timeline? Like, when does that application process open? When does it end? If it were a prorated amount below that 250,000 amount that you're promoting to school districts, when would they know that it's less than that? Can you just walk us through a quick timeline?

268. 1:10:55

     Um, yes. Thank you, Representative. So, uh, for petitions, our timeline is, uh, uh, the December 31st, they can submit a petition. Uh, they have to submit their petition, I believe it, it's by March 13th. Um, and then, uh, as far as local districts go, they were given, through this law last year, the flexibility to, uh, approve a petition with... or approve or deny a petition within, uh, with- by, from January 1st to June 30th, and they, it has to be a 90-day window.

269. 1:11:26

     They, they choose when that is. Um, and so once we have an approval or denial from the district, we would know. Um, I would say once we, in practice, again, we have not hit this yet, but in practice, once we know we have three local authorizations, that's when I would probably go, uh, uh, make a phone call to the governor's office or visit our appropriators accordingly. But, um, but that we would know, we would know definitely by Mar- probably by June 30th if we've hit that.

270. 1:11:55

     Okay.

271. 1:11:56

     Okay. Exhausted questions. I'm gonna go back, I believe, to 22 and then, uh, to my left for a second if we get it.

272. 1:12:06

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

273. 1:12:09

     Oh, I'm y- I'm incorrecting you.

274. 1:12:12

     I'll make a motion. Motion to pass.

275. 1:12:12

     I'm sorry. You have motion, we have second. Exhausting questions, then if I do this right, I'm gonna ask you to vote on this bill. Um, let me read you our, uh, LC 492710S. All in favor say aye.

276. 1:12:30

     Aye.

277. 1:12:30

     All opposed, like sign. Bill carries. Hour is late, so you'll need to get your form signed and, uh, see if we can get this bill moving as well. Vice Chair, I believe you can stay in the seat there, um, as I believe you, we've had members, a bill recommitted to us in HB 1232. I, I think Vice Chair is gonna discuss it for Chairman Cheokas and give us the reason for this and kinda going through it.

278. 1:13:09

     So read your LC number. I know we amended this bill, members, uh, if you remember the other day, and, uh, it is HB 1232. So read that LC number.

279. 1:13:22

     Okay. Thank you, Chairman. The LC is 650087S.

280. 1:13:28

     Mm, perfect. All right. Floor, microphone's yours.

281. 1:13:32

     Thank you, Chairman. So, um, yes, we, we had this in committee, uh, earlier in the week. This is, uh, Chairman Cheokas' bill, and he is, uh, presenting in another committee right now. So I'm on his, and on his behalf. The bill, uh, was named after his granddaughter. It was for the Girl Scouts. Um, as I sat in on this committee, um, it was mentioned to bring in and add to the bill Boy Scouts. That request was not made, um, by that organization.

282. 1:14:03

     Uh, personally, I'll tell you that I support the, um, if, if someone wants to carry a bill and add that, um, into code, I absolutely support that. But this bill in itself, um, was, was named after his granddaughter. It was for the Girl Scouts. It's not, um, in exclusion. It's just its own piece, and so I'm presenting it on his behalf as, as, as if, as, as intended.

283. 1:14:35

     Okay. Thank you, Representative. Um, number 17. We've got quite a few questions here, so number 17.

284. 1:14:45

     Thank you, Chairman. Uh, thank you, Chair Lady, for being here and for courageously bringing this bill forth again. Um, I, uh, m- made the amendment or, or the offer to make the amendment in, in an effort to broaden the scope of what we do. Doing things on a personal level, this is what this seems like to me. Seems very personal and very pinpointed at the principal and the teacher.

285. 1:15:20

     Um, I don't think that that's our business here. I, I, I wonder what is the harm in adding or making it more inclusive. I, I... If somebody can help me understand that, we're good.

286. 1:15:36

     Well, thank you, Representative. And respectfully, I do understand your point of view, and I'm not against us having any code, um, allowing the same measure for the Boy Scouts. But, um, in the name of what the chairman that authored this bill and his intent behind it, um, he... it was specifically for the Girl Scouts. And so, um, and, you know, it's, it's just, you know, he said, he said he didn't want to Christmas tree the bill. He, it wasn't against, um, including other organizations, and so it's just cleaning it up to its original form as it moves forward.

287. 1:16:13

     And, um, that's at the will of the committee, and that's what I'm here to present.

288. 1:16:18

     Okay. Number 18.

289. 1:16:22

     Thank you, Chairman.

290. 1:16:26

     I guess I'm just amused that we are spending time on a bill that we thoroughly discussed. We voted out of committee. It went to rules. I'm not sure how it got back to us, but there's legislation that has been proposed that will help our schools that we don't have hearings on. So I, I, I really want to understand, because you said something about it wasn't requested by the other organization, but the Girl Scouts didn't request this based on what the author of the bill said.

291. 1:16:58

     It was his daughter's school that the principal didn't allow her to come. And we know we have Girl Scouts in this building every year, so I don't know if this was an isolated incident. Was there some particular reason why the principal didn't allow this particular student to attend? But the majority of this committee, a couple days ago, was okay with adding the Boy Scouts. And as a boy mom, I absolutely had no issue with that.

292. 1:17:29

     I thought we still would've been able to honor the author's granddaughter by allowing it to keep the name. So I don't really know why, other than he just didn't want Boy Scouts in it, why it's back in front of the committee when we have so much legislation that we could really be addressing.

293. 1:17:53

     Okay. So on that, I, I, again, I respect your opinion. I'm coming here on behalf of the chairman and, and his wishes for his bill. When, when someone authors a bill, uh, they ultimately get to choose if they, if they... what their intent is. They... I say they choose. They come with their intent. He had an intent and, um, and just he felt, he feels very strongly about it. And, um, and so, you know, it's... everyone can vote according to the will, and I leave that to the will of the committee.

294. 1:18:25

     Number 22.

295. 1:18:26

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm gonna make a motion do pass.

296. 1:18:28

     Second.

297. 1:18:31

     Okay. We've got a motion and a second. Number three.

298. 1:18:36

     Uh, yes. Uh, once again, I, I don't think I, I... none of us have anything against the Girl Scouts. But h- help me with this. I guess somebody can help me. I thought that any student from... Well, in my area, any student from a school, when they came to the capital, uh, to page or whatever, they got credit at school. So is it, is it left up to the school system or, or, or why, how do we get to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Club? How do we just sort all this out?

299. 1:19:07

     Well, this, this was his journey apparently in, um, trying to cl- get some clarity on that because his daughter was, uh, his granddaughter was on the rolls for getting perfect attendance and, and that, that disrupted that. And so, um, th- that, that was his measure to choose to move forward and take care of that.

300. 1:19:25

     Mm-hmm.

301. 1:19:27

     Okay. And, and Representative, I can answer. I do know pages are considered present when they come down here. So specifically in law, there are a few groups, I don't know exactly how many, that are specifically counted present, not even excused absence. They're counted present if they come down here. But there are a few groups in law. Um, number 26.

302. 1:19:58

     Chair, I make the motion to call to question.

303. 1:20:01

     Okay. We already have a motion and a second. Thank you there. Um, y- you know, I, I see one other. I'll entertain one other, and then we're gonna vote. Number 17.

304. 1:20:18

     Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to make a friendly ame- amendment.

305. 1:20:23

     I'm not gonna entertain an, an amendment at this time. We've been through that, so we're just gonna vote.

306. 1:20:30

     Okay.

307. 1:20:31

     Thank you. Um, we've got a motion. We got a second. All in favor of, let me read this LC number on this one. It is LC650087S. All in favor say aye.

308. 1:20:49

     Aye.

309. 1:20:50

     All opposed, like sign.

310. 1:20:53

     No.

311. 1:20:53

     We can do a hand count. All in favor, raise your hand, please.

312. 1:21:03

     All opposed, raise your hand, please.

313. 1:21:09

     Okay, it carries. So get, it... The hour is late again. Thank you. Members, great, great discussion today. Great effort. I told you this might not be our last, so stand by and listen up. We would announce during crossover if we need to come in here for something. But thank you for your work so far. See you tomorrow. We are adjourned.