Bills on school testing, mandatory recess, funding grants for schools and changing the way school district leaders are selected were among the legislation approved on Georgia’s “Crossover Day” Friday, the last day for a bill to cross from one chamber to another.
Bills that do not pass will die for this year. Those that survive must still get through the other chamber to become law.
Senate Bill 211 by Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, pushes the state education board to use all the freedom the federal government has given to produce tests that are more useful for teachers and that could replace the current state standardized tests.
The House of Representatives passed House Bill 425, which clarifies rights to opt out of state tests without punishment, and House Bill 273, which mandates an average of a half an hour of recess per day in elementary schools. The House also approved House Bill 430 implementing some of the charter school elements in Gov. Nathan Deal's 2015 Education Reform Commission recommendations.
The Senate also approved a constitutional amendment that would change the way local school boards and superintendents are selected. School board members are elected and they appoint superintendents, but Senate Resolution 192 would make superintendents elected and school board members appointed by the local grand jury.
The Senate also approved Senate Bill 30, which establishes an intricate plan for using grant money in at-risk schools; Senate Bill 149 concerning training requirements for school enforcement officers; and Senate Bill 29 regarding drinking water quality and lead testing in child care learning centers and schools.
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