Legislative Alerts
URGENT ADVOCACY ACTION NEEDED!
Click on "Dream House for Kids" for information on how you can help our partners:
DREAM HOUSE FOR KIDS
http://www.dreamhouseforkids.org/
Fostering Connections Resources
http://www.fosteringconnections.org/ Provides up to date information on all requirements.
www.abanet.com Provides information on legal requirements of the act
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/fostercare.cfm Provides helpful information about health care access, including related requirements of the act.
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Important Update 3-26-12
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Advocating for Every Child
Georgia PTA’s Legislative Update for March 25, 2012
PTA takes positions on bills, in
support or opposition, based on resolutions passed by our membership.
If we have taken a position we note it as we report on the bill but
often we cannot take a position on a bill because we have not passed a
resolution on that issue. Sometimes, we report on a bill to just raise
awareness with our members and hope that if the issue affects them
personally they will contact their representative and register their
personal support or opposition. That is the case with SB 34: the Rachel
Sackett bill. This bill would allow students who have opted to attend a
charter or virtual school to return to the school where they are
districted to participate in extracurricular activities. It was so
named because a young lady, Rachel Sackett, left her public school to
attend a charter school but wanted to continue playing lacrosse at her
former school. PTA has no
position on this bill but individuals who are interested in this issue
may wish to contact their House representatives.
What Happened this Week: Legislation that Passed
HB 181: OPPOSE Allows
students to waive the one year attendance requirement at a public
school before qualifying for special needs voucher if there is a
recognized need to do so (which is NOT specified in the bill but was
said to be if a child was too medically fragile to attend public
school). State Board can require local board to expedite the creation
of an IEP. Passed House Passed Senate
HR 1162: OPPOSE The
Constitutional amendment that will allow the state to authorize state
charter schools and provide additional funding beyond QBE. Passed House Passed Senate . As a constitutional amendment this goes straight to a ballot question and does not have to be signed by the Governor.
HB 797: OPPOSE This
bill establishes the State Charter Schools Commission as a state-level
authorizing entity working in collaboration with the Department of
Education under the supervision of the State Board of Education. The
Commission would have the power to approve or deny petitions for state
charter schools, and renew, non-renew, or terminate petitions in
accordance with State Board of Education rules and regulations. The
State Board of Education would be able to overrule the approval or
renewal within 60 days of the decision upon a majority vote of the
members of the state board. The Commission would also have the power to
conduct facility and curriculum reviews of state charter schools (but
will only meet
bimonthly). The bill goes on to outline the requirements for
eligibility to put in a petition, the responsibilities of the state
charter schools in the event that petitions are approved or terminated.
The legislation also provides for appropriations of funds for the state
charter schools by the Georgia General Assembly and shall be treated
consistently with all other public schools in this state, pursuant to
the respective statutory funding formulas and grants. These schools will
each be treated as an LEA and will qualify for administration funding
as well as nutrition, transportation and capital outlay. This Act would
become effective on January 1, 2013, only if a Constitutional amendment
authorizing the General Assembly to create charter schools as special
schools is ratified at the November, 2012, general election. Still no
answer where the funds will actually come from. Passed House Passed Senate
Ed
HB 386: A subset of the Special Committee on Tax Reform’s recommendations were cobbled together in a bill with wide reaching impact:
- Removed the marriage penalty from the income tax.
- Imposed a title fee of 6.5% on any new or used car sale, FY13. No more license renewal taxes.
- Removed sales tax on energy for business but not residences.
- Requires collection of sales tax on Internet sales by the seller if there is any GA affiliation.
- Reinstitutes the sales tax holidays for the next two years and the energy efficient appliance sales.
- Caps senior income tax exclusion at $65,000 each, or $130,000 per couple.
- Combines and simplifies agriculture exemptions.
- Eliminates the sales tax exemption for film productions. Retains the income tax credit.
- Allows any airline at any Georgia airport to pay only 3% sales tax on jet fuel.
Passed House Passed Senate
HB 766: Displays
by the Foundation of American Law depicting the history of law may be
erected in any public building, including schools. Currently, such
displays are restricted to courthouses and judicial facilities. The
display includes the Ten Commandments, Declaration of Independence,
Magna Carta, among others. Passed House Passed Senate Gov Oversight
HB 845: Early care and education programs must provide information on the influenza vaccine each fall. Passed House Passed Senate
HB 879:
Requires two additional persons besides the school nurse in each school
including charter schools serving any grades K-12 to be trained to deal
with students with diabetes, their glucose testing, insulin
medications, and possible complications during the school day. Those
trained to deal with diabetics must be full time if there is a diabetic
student enrolled unable or too young to monitor their own glucose
levels. A doctor will provide a medical plan per student as to the range
of readings and appropriate actions that the school persons can
take. Field trips taken by a diabetic student may be accompanied by the
parent or parent designee; but not required to be accompanied by school
personnel.
Passed House Passed Senate
SB 101:
Each local board of education and election superintendent may develop
and implement a Student Teen Election Participant, STEP, program to
permit full time high school students to volunteer to work as poll
workers. The student shall be a U.S. citizen, have a GA driver’s license
or state-issued ID card, have demonstrated age-appropriate academic
ability in the previous school year, and have a history of responsible
school and community behavior. Parent permission required. May work at
least four hours but not more than six and shall receive
training. Student shall be considered ‘present’ for the school
day. Student limited to two school days for
participation. Mutual rules and regulations shall be adopted. Currently,
any teen age 16 may work in a poll at the option of the election
superintendent. The law does not currently allow the student’s absence
from school to be considered ‘present’. (This is similar to how Pages
are treated.) Passed House Passed Senate
SB 227: Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children Lite Georgia joins the Military Interstate Compact adopting
all the provisions for assisting students transferring to GA
schools without the language of letting the Compact board overrule state
law and rule. Military students transferring into GA will receive
favorable consideration in such areas as placement, grade, IEPs,
extracurricular participation, graduation requirements, discipline,
etc. Passed House as this new version,
Passed Senate as former version as stated above but a similar version
of this bill SB 219 already passed the Senate so it is expected to pass
the Senate.
SB 34: Rachel
Sackett bill: allows charter and virtual school students to return to
their zoned residential school to participate in extracurricular
activities if those activities are not provided at the charter school. The
final approval for such participation shall reside in the discretion of
the principal of the school in accordance with local board policy
(after the State Board establishes guidelines). Could be contentious is
public school students are displaced off competitive teams by charter or
virtual school students. Passed Senate Passed House Ed
SB 493: OPPOSE Lowers
from 21 to 18 the age that someone canny get a license to carry a
concealed gun. Amended to apply to only those with military training. PTA opposes youth access to guns. Passed Senate Passed House Judiciary Non-Civil
School Maps:
Members are encouraged to monitor their school board maps
Scheduled for Mar. 26-30
The legislature will be in session Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (Sine Die!).
On the House calendar for Monday:
SB 289: Bill
changed significantly. Virtual instruction no longer required but by
2012 every student must be informed of the opportunity to take full or
part time virtual instruction. EOCTS may be taken online but not
required. Timeline lengthened for implementation. State to provide
guidelines and procedures to maximize online learning Passed House Ed
On the Senate calendar for Monday:
HB 797: Enabling legislation for HR 1162 - see above
HB 692: Teachers
who falsify standardized test scores or who knew of or caused the
falsification shall get an automatic decrease in salary; take back any
bonus money they have earned because of the falsified scores. Passed Senate Ed.
Karen Hallacy
GA PTA
Legislative ChairYour Legislators:
State Senate -
Valencia Seay (D-34)
State House -
Yasmin Neal (D-075)
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HUD Notice of Funding for Family Unification Vouchers
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is making $14.6 million in grants available to help local housing authorities across the country reunite thousands of children with their parents. The children are either in foster care or there is a threat of being placed in the foster care system. Local housing authorities must apply for the money by December 3, 2009. To read the full text of the funding notice announced September 30, click here. For more information about how housing and child welfare agencies must collaborate on the FUP application, please log on to the website of the National Center on Housing and Child Welfare, www.nchcw.org.
White House Conference on Children and Youth
NFPA is pleased to inform its members that over 800 organizations have signed on in support of a call for a White House Conference on Children and Youth. It has been 40 years since the last White House Conference, and it is time for an update to the national standards for serving children and youth affected by abuse and neglect. There are important steps you can take to advocate in this effort:
1. Learn about the call for a White House Conference on Children and Youth by clicking on this link: http://ga1.org/cwla/alert-description.html?alert_id=25623681 or paste the link into your internet browser.
2. Contact your member of Congress and request their support of H.R. 618 and S. 938. To learn how to contact your member of Congress click on this link: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
3. Send a letter to President Barrack Obama. For a sample letter click on this link: http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/WHCthreesteps.htm
Support CAPTA
The National Child Abuse Coalition is seeking support of increased funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) for federal fiscal year 2011. A letter has been sent to Director Orszag, U.S. Office of Management and Budget regarding the need for this increased funding. View the letter at http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/FY2011budget.pdf. Read more.
Free Toolkits for Working with Immigrant Families in Child Welfare
Recently released by the Migration and Child Welfare National Network (MCWNN), A Social Worker's Tool Kit for Working With Immigrant Families -- A Child Welfare Flowchart (August 2009) and A Social Worker's Tool Kit for Working with Immigrant Families -- Immigration Status and Relief Options (June 2009) provide public child welfare workers with a basic understanding and overview of the U.S. immigration system and how and when immigration issues may arise during the chronology of a child welfare case. Download the free tool kits here.
The Importance of Family Engagement in Child Welfare Services
This recent Northern California Training Academy publication discusses the importance of family engagement in child welfare services. Engagement in child welfare services has been associated with positive outcomes for child welfare services, drug treatment programs and mental health services. However, effective engagement between the worker and biological parent is often elusive for a variety of reasons, including severe parent problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, parent mental health problems and worker and agency characteristics that serve as barriers to effective engagement. The publication identifies best practice approaches as well as characteristics of children and families associated with effective engagement. Additionally, it presents an extensive review of the literature and outlines the critical features of engagement, such as early and intensive client involvement. The research includes both client and worker views of effective engagement practices as well as barriers to effective engagement. Overall, a strengths-based, collaborative approach to service is supported. (2009) Read more.
Family Group Decision Making: The Importance of Independent Coordination
A recent American Humane issue brief discusses the importance of independent coordination in Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) model. In 2008, after broad consultation with the family group decision making community in the United States and abroad, American Humane issued a statement on the purpose, values and processes of FGDM that advocates for FGDM processes to be carefully crafted to ensure fidelity to FGDM values and to ensure those values drive practice. Five items were identified as critical to supporting exemplary practice in FGDM, first of which was that independent (i.e., non-case carrying) coordinators be responsible for convening family group meetings with agency personnel. This brief expands upon the importance of independent coordination of the FGDM process. Read more.
