IDRA’s weekly alert includes legislative updates, opportunities for action to make your voice heard, bills to watch and other information through the session until it ends in early April.
Make sure you keep receiving these notices by subscribing to IDRA’s Georgia Education Policy Alert!
And please tell your friends! Our alerts are available in Spanish too.
Legislative Updates
You can find all the bills we’re tracking this session within IDRA’s Georgia Coalition for Education Justice bill tracker. These include troubling bills targeting trans students, impacting education funding, furthering the school-to-prison pipeline, and attacking immigrant students and families. Here’s your brief recap of the priority bills that were filed or progressed over the past week.
Good Bills to Support!
- The House passed HB 38 yesterday, a bill which would expand eligibility for need-based college completion grants currently offered to college students..
Bad Bills to Oppose!
- HB 267, a sweeping anti-trans bill infringing on the civil rights of trans Georgians that restricts trans children from using the correct restroom at school and replaces “gender” with “sex” throughout Georgia code was passed out of the House Education Policy Subcommittee yesterday.
Bills We are Monitoring
- The House Speaker’s school discipline, HB 268, which would impact how we handle school security for years to come and includes some concerning language related to student privacy. The bill is being heard in House Education today and has has two hearings in the past two weeks.
Take Action!
In the House: Ask Chairman Erwin of the House Education Committee, to hear the following bills.
- HB 42 is a long-needed adjustment to support our public school transportation systems.
- HB 245 adjusts the funding formula to allocate funding for students living in poverty.
- HB 310 would provide grant funding to pay student-teachers who staff our public schools.
In the Senate: Ask Chairman Hickman of the Senate Education & Youth Committee to hear the following bill.
SB 128 adjusts the funding formula to allocate funding for students living in poverty.
Committee Hearings
Past Committee Hearings – Watch Recording
All times Eastern
- Tuesday 2/18 Education Appropriations (House)
- Tuesday 2/18 Education (House)
- HB 268, an omnibus school discipline bill, was heard but has yet to pass out of committee.
- Tuesday 2/18 Higher Education (Senate)
- Tuesday 2/18 Education & Youth (Senate)
- Wednesday 2/19 Higher Education (House)
- Wednesday 2/19 Education Policy Subcommittee
Upcoming Committee Hearings
- Thursday 2/20 at 1:00 pm: Education and Youth Committee (Senate)
- Thursday 2/20 at 1:00 pm: Education Committee (House)
- Bill to be discussed: HB 268
- Thursday 2/20 at 2:00 pm: Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education
Tools & Resources
Learn more about IDRA’s policy recommendations for Georgia
How to Testify before the Georgia General Assembly – Infographic
Learn more about our statewide coalition, the Georgia Coalition for Education Justice
Keep up with bills using the Georgia Coalition for Education Justice bill tracker.
