This material is provided by GA PTA

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION  EXTENDED  TO THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9th FOR

GEORGIA PTA DAY
AT THE CAPITOL

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2006

Issues that affect our children locally are often decided at the Capitol: classroom sizes, school vouchers, teen driving laws, vision testing requirements, the age and circumstances under which a child can quit school, virtual schools, and funding for teachers, nurses, capital improvements, textbooks and education in general. These issues are just some of the legislation under consideration. Now is your chance to provide some input on how you feel about these issues. Here’s a chance to talk to your legislators!

Join PTA members from across Georgia on Thursday, February 16, 2006, as we observe PTA Day at the Capitol. Advocacy is the reason PTA came into existence over 100 years ago. At PTA Day at the Capitol you will have an opportunity to attend legislative briefings, meet with members of the General Assembly, and network with PTA advocates and legislators about key issues affecting children and education. Strength in numbers sends a clear message to legislators. Join us for lunch when House and Senate Representatives will sit down with us to hear what we have to say. They want your input and PTA Day at the Capitol is the perfect opportunity to meet and talk to your representatives. Don’t miss out! Be an advocate for your child.

DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED....

Tentative schedule:

9:00 - 9:15 am Greetings from Laura Dobbs, Georgia PTA President and Representative Brooks Coleman, Chairman, House Education Committee

9:15 - 9: 45 am Cathy Henson, Keynote speaker

9:45 - 10:15 am Sally FitzGerald, Hot issues

10:15 -10:30 am Julie Haley, How to talk to a legislator and navigate the Capitol

10:30 - 11:30 am Lobby at the Capitol

11:30 - 2:30 pm Photo Opportunities in the Blue Room at the Freight Depot

12:00 - 2:00 pm Lunch in the Freight Room

Register by February 9th  to get the early-bird special discount!

Click here to go to the Georgia PTA website: http://www.georgiapta.org/

 

 

Hot Issue: Senate Bill 413 – Parental Consent Required to Quit School

Voice your Support to Improve Georgia’s Graduation Rate---New Parental Consent Legislation!

An important legislative priority this year is improving Georgia’s graduation rate, and this year the GPTA Legislative team asked the legislature to introduce a law requiring parental consent and counseling before a student can dropout. Senate Education Chair Dan Moody (R-50th) stepped up to the plate and introduced SB 413, and immediately obtained five bipartisan co-sponsors.

Please call or email your legislators and request their support on passing SB 413 during this session. (Talking points are below to help you). Also, we would appreciate if you also email or call the sponsors of this important bill to say thank you and to show your support. More contact information is available on Capitol Watch.

Senator Dan Moody (R-56) dan.moody@senate.ga.gov.us

Senator Regina Thomas (D-2nd) regina.thomas@senate.ga.gov.us

Daniel Weber (R-41st) djweber@bellsouth.net

Horacena Tate (D-38) htate@legis.state.ga.us

John Douglas (R-17th) jfdouglas@aol.com

Vincent Fort (D-39th) vfort@legis.state.ga.us

Parental Involvement Legislation SB 413---Georgia PTA Talking Points

• Georgia PTA supports this important step toward improving its high school completion rate. The parental notification, permission and counseling requirements found in SB 413 increase the likelihood that a student will complete high school. This bill would give parents “legal clout” to use parental authority to keep their kids in school.

• SB 413 also creates a counseling “roadblock” against dropping out: Even if permission is given, it can only be accepted by the high school after counseling the student about the consequences of not having earned a high school diploma. Those consequences include lower lifetime earnings, fewer jobs for which the student will be qualified, and the inability to avail oneself of higher educational opportunities.

• Georgia’s completion rate is among the worst in the nation (Only South Carolina’s is lower). In 2004, Georgia’s completion rate was 65%. (GSU Study: Economic impact of Georgia’s Non-Graduates, August 2005).

• The economic impact of these lost earnings is huge in Georgia: If Georgia’s non-completion rate was the same as the national average----Georgians would have brought home an extra $44.8 million last year. (GSU Study, p. 38)

• The reduced income caused by the low completion rate in Georgia translates into reduced buying power, loss of revenue to local businesses, less tax money collected from non-graduates for the state coffers, increased costs for government support, increased crime (costing about $17,000 a year to incarcerate one prisoner), and the need to import college and tech school graduates to fill job vacancies. (“The Economics of Education,” 2005 Report by the Partnership for Excellence in Education)

 

ANOTHER HOT ISSUE:  Senate Bill 390 – 65% Solution (that isn’t one!)

GEORGIA AND NATIONAL PTA OPPOSE SB 390

This bill quickly passed the Senate and now moves to the House!

The Governor has initiated a proposal that 65% of all education funding must be used in direct classroom instruction. Sounds like a great idea at first blush. Nobody can reasonably advocate that administrative expenses at either the system or school level should be a dollar higher than what is necessary to effectively administer the best educational offering that can be made available to students. Yet the 65-Percent Solution defines as "administrative overhead" expenses for a vast array of essential costs that have nothing to do with administration. These include critical resources like: counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, media specialists, media center materials, school nurses, technology specialists, school resource officers and other safety-related expenses, student transportation, professional learning programs to improve teachers’ skills and effectiveness, school lunch and breakfast programs, costs for heating, air conditioning, and keeping schools clean, and instructional support personnel to enhance the quality of teacher performance.

• The appropriate entity to define what constitutes "direct classroom instruction" is the State Board of Education who are appointed for that very purpose.
• The Governor's IE2 Task Force should be allowed to continue to work on establishing the cost of providing an adequate education. In fact, this issue should be part of their mandate, to determine a recommendation that is appropriate for Georgia, after careful deliberation.
• The creation of an adequate data base upon which to establish the links between expenditure data and student achievement can be provided by the Office of Student Achievement (OSA) for their Report Card. Certainly, they can format the report card to separate the expenditures for administration and classroom instruction once defined by the State Board of Education. Once we have sufficient data, determining what remedies are appropriate should then be defined. Operating without that data would create the potential for unforeseen consequences that could have serious negative impacts on public education.
• Finally, without adequate funding for each student, no fixed percentage requirement will accomplish the goal of preparing our students to be citizens of this state.

Please Email your Representative and ask them not to pass this legislation. At the very least, ask them to consider amendments based upon these reasonable points. Otherwise, our local school districts will feel pressured to cut important programs and professionals.  If you don't know who your legislator is, just visit Capitol Watch!

Capitol Watch

What’s going on at the Capitol? What legislation has been introduced and where does Georgia PTA stand on it? Get up to speed on the current legislative issues by logging onto Capitol Watch and reading the daily updates.  Contact your Legislator!  We have told you about two critical bills but there are many more that need your attention. Check out Capitol Watch today so you will be more prepared for PTA Day at the Capitol.

http://www.ciclt.com/gapta/main.asp?PT=n_main2&Client=gapta