Bills to address struggling schools
After 60 percent of Georgia voters said “no” in November to a statewide constitutional amendment creating a process to take over failing schools, legislators are now working on a new plan to deal with struggling schools.
House Bill 338 calls for a system of supports for failing schools, something that is much needed, according to local legislators. The bill passed the state House on March 1 and now goes to the Senate for a vote.
State Rep. Trey Kelley was one of the 37 who voted against the measure, and did so in his belief for the benefit and protection of Georgia educators.
“As the son of two public school teachers, I give close scrutiny to any bill which I feel could interfere with teachers ability to run their classrooms,” he said. “I voted against HB 338 because I felt like this measure grew government and would erode the principle of local control in our education system.”
State Reps. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, and Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee, voted for the proposal.
“Every child should have the best opportunity to learn,” Dempsey said.
Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, said he feels that some sort of intervention is necessary. “In our area, this bill doesn’t affect much,” he said. “We have strong public school systems and we have alternatives in private schools.”
Hufstetler said some counties in Georgia only have one school system and students there have few choices. The bill is trying to get help to those students.
Hufstetler said he plans to wait to decide on his vote until he gets a chance to see what happens with the bill, however.
“There may be some changes made, so I will wait until I see what finally comes before the Senate,” he said.
The bill is “very different” from the Opportunity School District measure voters turned down in November, Dempsey said.
“This bill calls for agreement between the state board of education, the local school board and the local school,” she said. “It allows for intervention, but a plan is put in place using input from all parties. There are many more layers to this than in the OSD.”
An advisory council would be created which would be made up of executive directors from state education organizations, such as the Georgia Association of Educators, the Parent Teacher Association, Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the Georgia School Boards Association and the state superintendents association.
A chief turnaround officer would be appointed by the state board of education and report to them. This person must be a DOE employee, Dempsey said.
“They can’t be someone random,” she said. “They must have a minimum of 10 years experience in K-12 public education and have at least three years of experience as a principal in a public school and have experience in turning around failing schools.”
This turnaround officer would appoint turnaround coaches to visit the failing school. The coaches would observe the school, talk to parents, students and teachers and observe the community and any influences that may be adding to the problems at the school. The coaches would consult and come up with a plan for improvement.
After two years, if the school has not shown improvement, the chief turnaround officer would have the power to make changes, such as restructure the school, Dempsey said.
“There also will be an opportunity for hearings with the local school board if they feel intervention is not required,” she said. “This bill offers more of an effort to allow positive changes to take place.”
While many state education organizations had problems with the OSD, Dempsey said that organizations such as GAE and PAGE have offered input into problems and have declared that they will “remain neutral” on the bill and not fight its passage.
Lumsden said he agrees its approach to the problem is much different than the OSD proposal.
“The problem of failing schools is very real; I don’t think anyone can disagree about that,” he said. “I believe this is a good faith effort and is putting something on the table that calls for accountability and puts benchmarks in place.”
Floyd County Schools Superintendent John Jackson said this bill is an improvement over OSD.
“I am not nearly as concerned as I was in the fall with the OSD,” he said. “This appears to be a more collaborative effort. After all, who can argue with making schools better? I am hearing that everyone is very happy that the legislators reached out to professional education organizations for input.”
The turnarounds can be done and can achieve great things, added Jackson.
“We have been visiting several school systems in the state that are doing some great things now,” he said. “Some of these schools were deemed failing schools at some point, but went through a process to make changes, put best practices in place as well as a solid curriculum.”
Hufstetler said the state school board has been too quiet on the issue of troubled schools.
“They need to address this problem,” he said. “The House is just trying to get help. I haven’t seen anything from the state superintendent or the board on this at this point.”
Standard Journal Editor Kevin Myrick contributed to this report.