State Representative Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson), Chairman of the House Retirement Committee, announced that the Georgia House of Representatives gave passage to Senate Bill 68 on Friday, March 28. This measure would create an appeals process for year-end teacher evaluations and would increase training requirements for financial management in local school boards.

“I commend the House for passing this important measure for our Georgia teachers and schools,” said Chairman Benton. “This bill would ensure our teachers’ voices are heard, while improving the financial responsibility of our local school systems. This legislation will give experienced teachers the right to file an appeal on year-end evaluations in which they received an unsatisfactory rating. Our school teachers have one of the toughest jobs in the state, and as a former teacher, I encourage my Senate colleagues to give final passage to SB 68.”

Senate Bill 68 includes several provisions that were recently introduced in House Bill 86, which was sponsored by Chairman Benton, with the support of the Educators First organization.  SB 68 would create a new avenue for a teacher to appeal an unsatisfactory year-end evaluation if the teacher has signed their fourth contract, and this legislation would require all local school systems to develop an appeals policy for teachers.

SB 68 would also ensure fiscal responsibility among local school boards by improving training requirements that are based on each local school system’s financial background. This measure would require local school board members to complete financial management training and all previous annual training must be completed before becoming eligible for re-election. Training for newly-elected board members would be tailored to each school system’s most recent audit findings and the risk status of the local school system.

Under SB 68, the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts would designate local school systems that have experienced irregularities or budget deficits into different categories. School systems that have these risk factors for three or more consecutive years would be categorized as “high-risk” school systems, and school systems with one year or two consecutive years of these issues would be categorized as “moderate-risk.” The DAA would require the local school superintendent to submit a corrective action plan within 120 days of receiving a notice of the system’s risk designation and would have to complete financial management training. All schools systems would be required to achieve and maintain financial responsibility when entering into certain contracts with the State Board of Education, and high-risk school systems would include a course of action into their contracts. The Department of Education would monitor the financial stability of high or moderate-risk school systems.

SB 68 would also relocate the Chief Turnaround Office, which oversees turnaround schools, from the State Board of Education to the Department of Education. The bill would establish a state and locally funded stipend for turnaround instructional innovation specialists. The specialists hired from out-of-state would receive a $5,000 stipend, while in-state recruits would receive $2,500. After serving three consecutive years at a turnaround school, the specialist teacher would be eligible to convert the state portion of the stipend into a permanent salary increase on the state’s salary schedule.

Finally, this legislation would require local boards of education to hold public comment periods during every regularly scheduled meeting. Local boards would be prohibited from requiring individuals to give a 24-hour notice before the meeting to participate in the public comment period.

The measure is now awaiting final approval from the Senate.