On Thursday, Feb. 22, Georgia’s House Education Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1122. HB 1122 is now awaiting a vote before the House Rules Committee. The pro-charter school bill is championed by GCSA and sponsored by Rep. Scott Hilton, District 48. In In its current version, HB 1122 has three main provisions.
Provision #1
Equitable Administrator Funding for Charter Schools
Background:
- PRINCIPALS. Currently, state funding for school principals is allocated by “school code” NOT by grade band. (So, a K-12 school only “earns” 1 principal while a pipeline of elementary, middle, and high schools earn 3 principals. These schools serve the same grades and students, but the K-12 school is garnering substantially less state funding support.) Over half of GA’s charter schools served multiple grade bands under a single “school code” in 2022-2023. (34 state charters and 22 local charters).
- SUPERINTENDENTS. State funding for superintendents is provided to school district LEAS and NOT provided to charter school LEAs (which have the same state reporting requirements and legal obligations).
HB 1122 calls for the allocation of additional funding to cover:
- one (1) superintendent for each state charter school.
- one (1) principal for each charter school (state and local) serving grades 9-12 (as long as that principal was reported on the Oct. CPI report).
- (1) principal per 300 students (max of 2 principals) for each charter school (state and local) serving any of the grade levels K-8 (assuming those principals were reported on the October CPI report).
Provision #2
Charter School Autonomy Protections (Enrollment)
Background:
- Current law allows for a charter school enrollment priority for children of school employees and/or governing board members. The specific allowance reads: “A student whose parent or guardian is a member of the governing board of the charter school or a full-time teacher, paraprofessional, or other employee at the charter school.”
HB 1122 clarifies that:
- “full-time” applies only to teachers and “part-time” should be added for paraprofessionals and other employees. The bill was amended to define “part-time” as an employee who works at least 20 hours per week.
- This will allow schools to attract retirees (49%) and other highly qualified persons to work as para-pros, after school help, etc. (which gives schools a much more experienced, qualified, and affordable staff) and will create a larger pool of teachers to cover “specials” (art, music, band, etc.) a few times a week.
- This request stems, in part, from the reduced number of people entering the teaching profession and the increased number of teachers retiring and leaving after only a few years teaching.
Provision #3
Conflict of Interest Clarification (Governing Board Membership)
Background:
- Current law prohibits all district employees from serving on a state charter school governing board. (This is restrictive.)
HB 1122 allows for:
- ‘non-executive level’ employees (teachers) to serve on state charter governing boards.
*This provision was requested by the SCSC in response to school requests.
