Georgia
News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Georgia
Curriculum
Georgia District Settles Lawsuit
The theory of evolution will appear in biology textbooks in a suburban Atlanta school district—without any stickers, stamps, labels, or warnings attached to it.
College & Workforce Readiness
Graduation Coaches Pursue One Goal
A new Georgia program aims to give every high school a full-time educator dedicated to dropout prevention.
School & District Management
Former Georgia Schools Chief Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Money Laundering
Georgia’s former state schools superintendent—a political maverick who once aspired to be governor—is now slated to serve as many years in prison as she did in the top education post.
Special Education
Wide Variation Seen in Testing of Students With Disabilities
Driven by the accountability movement and the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, states are requiring students in special education, like their peers in general education, to take state-mandated tests.
Education Funding
Ga. Passes ‘65 Percent’ Bill on Classroom Spending
Georgia is poised to become the first state to enact a law requiring districts to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets on classroom expenses.
School & District Management
In Ga. District, Leaders Put Technology at the Center
Over the past decade, Forsyth County, Ga., has evolved from a district with a few desktop PCs in every classroom and a simple Web site to one where the superintendent and senior administrators use Blackberry devices, every teacher has a laptop, custodians wield Palm Pilots to track work orders, and school board members conduct nearly all their public business electronically.
Law & Courts
Parental Permission
Once again, a controversial proposal to require Georgia’s public school students to obtain a parent’s permission before joining an extracurricular club is back in the hands of the state legislature.
Education Funding
State of the States
Education Is Top Priority for Georgia Governor
Gov. Sonny Perdue called education Georgia’s “top priority” in his Jan. 11 State of the State Address.
School & District Management
Fallout From ’Snow Days’
The office of Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is disputing accusations that the reason he asked schools to close for two early “snow days” on Sept. 26 and 27 was to save enough fuel to harvest the state’s crops this fall.
School & District Management
Most Ga. Schools Heed Conservation-Minded Call to Close
Gov. Sonny Perdue spent much of last week explaining to Georgia parents and school officials his unexpected, and perhaps unprecedented, decision to ask school districts not to open Sept. 26 and 27.
Federal
A Washington Roundup
U.S. Faults Georgia on Safety Reporting
The Department of Education’s inspector general’s office has found fault with how Georgia has carried out the unsafe-school choice provision of the No Child Left Behind Act. In a June 7 audit report, the office notes that the three school districts included in the audit failed to report all criminal incidents to the state.
Families & the Community
Keeping in Touch
Parent involvement tends to drop off when students enter middle school. But research shows that doesn't have to be the case.
Curriculum
Ga. Officials Admit Mistakes on ‘Reading First’ Rules
A former state education official who helped design Georgia’s reading initiative nearly a decade ago has filed more than a dozen complaints against the Georgia education department for actions that she claims effectively blocked schools applying for federal Reading First money from using the textbooks she now publishes.
Teaching Profession
Liability-Insurance Bill Irks Georgia Teachers’ Union
The Georgia Association of Educators is not impressed with a state legislative proposal to provide liability insurance to teachers—a plan that some say would take away one of the most attractive benefits of union membership.