BRADENTON, Fla. - A state lawmaker has filed a bill aimed at allowing Georgia to take over public schools failing to achieve passing grades.
Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, filed a resolution Feb. 11 that proposes an amendment to the state constitution establishing the Opportunity School District program proposed by Gov. Nathan Deal.
If lawmakers agree to put the amendment on next year's ballot, and it is passed by voters, the program would allow the state to take over schools that score below 60 for three consecutive years on the College and Career Performance Index used by the Georgia Department of Education to measure school performance.
The district would also take over the finances of those schools, controlling expenditures of state, federal, and local funds.
No more than 20 schools per year, up to 100 at any given time, would be admitted to the Opportunity School District. Schools would stay in the program for five years but no longer than 10 years.
"Failing schools keep the cycle of poverty spinning from one generation to the next," Deal said when he announced the legislation. "Education provides the only chance for breaking that cycle.
"We can't guarantee that every child will achieve, but we must do everything in our power to make sure they at least get the chance," he said.
No other details were provided about how the program would operate though Deal has said that similar, successful programs are being used in Tennessee and Louisiana.
Education and transportation funding reform took center stage in Deal's State of the State address last month.
He said that 23% of Georgia's public schools have received a D or F for the past three years.
In addition to the statewide program for failing schools, he announced that an Education Reform Commission would be empaneled to study issues such as increasing access to early learning programs, recruiting and retaining teachers, and expanding school options for students.
Deal said he also wants the commission to examine modernizing the state's 30-year-old school funding formula, and expects changes in that formula to be implemented for the 2016-2017 school year.
The commission's recommendations are due by Aug. 1.
In his annual speech's second major topic, Deal said he backs changes in state funding for transportation because fuel taxes as currently levied have not kept pace with needs.
House Bill 170 was filed late last month. It would restructure the way the state derives revenues for road and bridge needs to provide an additional $1 billion in annual transportation funding. The bill also includes bond financing.
