Thursday, March 7, was the deadline to move bills from the Senate to the House and vice versa. However, legislation that failed to “cross over” may still pass by riding on other education-related bills before the session ends on April 2. Here is a wrap up of what may affect our families.

• Senate Bill 48, a mandate that elementary schools screen for dyslexia, crossed to the House. The bill has bipartisan support so far, it passed the Senate 55-0. The mandate would be contingent upon state funding. The bill also seeks to train teachers. The House Education Committee will meet at 1 pm in CLOB 606 to learn more about Dyslexia from Dyslexia advocates such as Decoding Dyslexia-Georgia and International Dyslexia Association-Georgia Chapter. We have already spoken with Ed Setzler, the representative for the school’s district, and a committee member, and he supports the legislation! 🙂  Please come early to sign in for public comment and get a DDGA sticker to wear.You will need an  ID to get through security. More information HERE.
  This bill is currently in the House Education Committee.       #SayDyslexia

• Senate Bill 163, the “Tim Tebow Act,” has crossed to the House. Named after the football player, the bill would let “home-schooled” students play on their local school’s athletic teams and participate in other extracurricular activities now restricted to enrolled students. While this would not impact our students as written, there is talk of it “opening the door” for private school students at schools without athletic programs, especially in light of SB173 not passing. Because of this it has been given a low likelihood of passing.
  This bill is currently in the House Education Committee.

• Senate Bill 173, the proposal to create a bill similar to SB10 scholarship for all students, did not cross to the House. It failed its first full Senate chamber vote. The Senate did not take another vote on the bill before the closing gavel on Crossover Day, but the Senate Finance Committee left a notice to reconsider.

• HB 218, a bipartisan proposal to extend the time limit by which students can qualify for the HOPE scholarship, has crossed to the Senate. This bill would extend the time limit from 7 years to 10 years for which a student can use HOPE funds. This is a modification of the unsuccessful HB 928 from 2 years ago, which called to extend the time to 15 years.
  This bill is currently in the Senate Higher Education Committee.

• House Bill 444, which makes changes to the Dual Enrollment program, also known as MOVE ON WHEN READY, passed the full House and has crossed to the Senate with more debate expected in the Senate as lawmakers seek to address the ballooning cost by reducing funding by $4 million. The proposed 2020 budget includes language to restrict Dual Enrollment to 11th and 12th grades and limiting summer Dual Enrollment courses.
  This bill is currently in the Senate Higher Education Committee.

  Let your Representatives and Senators know you support these bills, and also contact committee members.

• Look up HERE for Senate Bill that has has crossed to the House
• Look up HERE for House Bill that has has crossed to the Senate
• Also contact committee members linked under each bill.

 

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