Busy Week

Now that we have passed the 30th legislative day of the 2011 session, all legislation approved by the House of Representatives or Senate has “crossed over.”

This means that for the last 10 legislative days of this session, we will primarily debate and vote on bills and resolutions which have already passed the Senate.

However, before Senate bills can make it to the House floor they must first go through the House committee process. Just as the beginning weeks of session were spent in committee meetings examining House legislation, this week was spent in committee meetings examining Senate legislation.

Nevertheless, we have been busy debating several House resolutions that reflect our growing and continuous commitment to education.
For instance, House Resolution 248 enacts our commitment to restore funding for National Board Certified Teachers at the earliest possible date that funding permits.

The National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential that is valid for 10 years. The stipend for teachers earning certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards began in the 1990s with the support of former Governor Zell Miller.

As time progressed the program experienced tremendous growth and the cost rose to approximately $13 million of state funds. Due to the recent economic recession, however, we were forced to limit the stipend in 2009 and eliminate the stipend altogether last year.

Although this cut was an unfortunate necessity, education remains a top priority, so I am proud to inform you that HR 248 promises to restore the stipend as soon as the state is financially able.

Georgia has some of the nation’s top educators and we will continue to support our teachers whose sacrifices allow our children to be successful in the classroom.

House Resolution 491 also empowers Georgia’s educators. Specifically, HR 491 encourages the development of performance based coaching programs for principals and school district administrators.

Coaching programs generally involve experts in a specific subject area or set of teaching strategies working closely with small groups of school administrators and educators to improve organizational culture, classroom practice, and student success.

Under HR 491, the performance based coaching programs would act as follow-up training and enhancement to the effective implementation of these new skills. This professional development strategy has become more widely used and has produced highly successful outcomes. Furthermore, Georgia’s educators and administrative leadership will be better equipped to rise to Georgia’s high accountability standards and provide the best education possible for our children.

Lastly, I am happy to let you know that the General Assembly set the schedule for the last remaining days of our current session.
Under House Resolution 641, also known as the adjournment resolution, the state House will work through legislative days 34-38 during the week of March 28.

We will then break during the first full week in April, the traditional spring break period for K-12 schools. This break will allow us time to hear your questions and concerns about pending legislation before the final two legislative days, which will be on Tuesday, April 12, and Thursday, April 14.

As we continue to have committee meetings and review Senate legislation, please let me know of any concerns that you might have regarding our state.

Though the legislative session may be coming to an end, I still would like to know your opinion on the issues that concern you and your family.

You can reach me at my Capitol office at 404-656-0177 or Susan.Holmes@house.ga.gov.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your representative.
-Rep. Susan Holmes