Georgia Leads the Nation in Comprehensive School Board Reform

/PRNewswire/ -- - Today Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law landmark legislation that gives Georgia the most comprehensive school board reform legislation in the nation.

"SB 84 gives the state the ability to step in when a local school system's accreditation is threatened. This bill strikes the appropriate balance between local control and state intervention when a system is in crisis," said Gov. Perdue. "I am especially appreciative of the efforts of business leaders from the Metro Atlanta and Georgia chambers of commerce who worked so hard for this legislation."

"While very few states have legislation that outlines the roles and responsibilities of local school boards, as well as ethics requirements of school board members, many states could benefit from such legislation," said Dr. Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, parent organization for the K-12 division of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). "School systems in Georgia will benefit from effective leadership that supports delivery of a quality education. With this legislation, Georgia will lead the nation as a model for local school board governance."

This legislation is being closely watched across the nation by school systems that have faced probation and/or are on the verge of losing their accreditation in states including Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Additionally, throughout the nation, school systems are seeing their budgets, resources, staffing and student achievement negatively affected by poor school board leadership.

"The legislation is the culmination of 18 months of Georgia's business leaders' professional and personal time to address dysfunctional school board members causing the loss of a system's accreditation, and the accompanying economic loss to that community," said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

"Good board governance is essential for the effectiveness of any organization, from Fortune 500 companies to local school districts," said George Israel, president of the Georgia Chamber. "This legislation provides assurance to parents and students in communities across Georgia and offers an example for other states that are dealing with this issue."

The bill is aimed at keeping Georgia school systems from losing accreditation, like Clayton County Public Schools did in 2008, becoming the second school system in the nation after Duval County, Fla., to lose accreditation in the past 41 years. The bill includes sweeping reforms in school board governance; supports accountable, well-trained, ethical school boards; and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of board members and superintendents.

"We couldn't just stand by and watch students, schools and communities suffer," said John Rice, vice chairman of GE, and co-chair of the Commission for School Board Excellence. The commission -- a diverse task force of key business leaders, educators and school board experts -- examined research and best practices in school board governance and provided recommendations for improvements in Georgia. They presented their findings to Georgia's State Board of Education in September 2008.

In counties where school systems fail or are at risk of failing, the devastation is deep and long-lasting -- families relocate, students leave the school system, housing prices plummet and new economic development opportunities are often redirected from the county altogether.

GE's Rice adds, "This action provides a responsible standard for school board governance across Georgia, contributing to improved outcomes for all students and much lower risk of school system failure."

The main components of the bill are:
-- additional qualifications for school board candidates
-- better-defined board and superintendent roles and responsibilities
-- a code of ethics and conflict-of-interest policy for all school boards
-- updated mandatory training to reflect current responsibilities
-- and the Governor's ability to temporarily intervene when a school
system is in trouble.


"Good board governance is essential for school systems to succeed on the state and local levels," said Brenda Welburn, executive director of the National Association of State Boards of Education. "I witness firsthand the strong link between effective state school boards of education and academic improvement across states."

Metro Atlanta Chamber -- The Metro Atlanta Chamber brings the best together to help Atlanta thrive. We mobilize and connect the business community to drive economic development and public policies that promote sustainable growth. Our board draws from Atlanta's top business leaders. We have a professional staff of 90 and serve 4,000 member companies who employ nearly a million workers. In Economic Development, our project managers attract the best companies and the best jobs. In Public Policy, we tackle crisis issues and critical quality-of-life challenges such as transportation, water and education. For our members, we offer 150+ events and activities each year to help them connect and make business contacts. In sports, MAC's Atlanta Sports Council has helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact over the past 10 years by hosting major sporting events. In 2009, the Chamber celebrated 150 years of bringing Atlanta leaders together.

Georgia Chamber of Commerce -- The Georgia Chamber is the grassroots voice of business, vigorously representing its diverse membership in the public policy arena. As it constantly works to protect Georgia's enviable pro-business environment, the Chamber remains mindful of its mission to keep the state economically prosperous, educationally competitive and environmentally responsible.

Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education -- Founded in 1992 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education consists of business, education, community and government leaders who share a vision of improved education. Working to be Georgia's foremost change agent in education, the non-profit, non-partisan, independent organization takes lead roles in efforts to shape policy and reform education. The mission of the Partnership is to inform and influence Georgia leaders through research and non-partisan advocacy to impact education policies and practices for the improvement of student achievement. More information about the organization is available at www.gpee.org.

AdvancED -- The world's largest education community, AdvancED represents 27,000 public and private schools and districts in 50 states and 65 countries and serving over 15 million students. AdvancED is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). AdvancED is dedicated to advancing excellence in education through accreditation, research, and professional services. For more information, please visit http://www.advanc-ed.org/ .

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Legislators Should Make Education Reform a 'New Year's Resolution' for the New Decade, CER Says

/PRNewswire/ -- State legislators looking to make a lasting impact in the new decade should introduce a package of education reform legislation that will improve quality educational options for children, enhance the teaching profession, and promote and protect the US and its citizens by becoming an international leader in student achievement, according to the nonprofit Center for Education Reform.

The Center today encouraged legislators to adopt its list of "10 Steps to Education Reform in 2010" as their individual legislative New Year's Resolutions.

"As 2010 begins, the Center for Education Reform is keeping score again -- this time of state legislatures and whether they work to pass 10 critical reforms," said Jeanne Allen, The Center's president.

At the conclusion of the year, CER will rate each state on their attempts to pass legislation and their success at creating new laws that would:

1. Increase the ability of higher education, mayors and other independent
entities to authorize charter schools so more children have access to
quality public school options.
2. Eliminate arbitrary and unnecessary caps on the number of charter
schools that can operate in a state and on the number of students who
can attend charter schools.
3. Close the gap between the funding for traditional public schools and
public charter schools.
4. Allow charter schools to operate with operational autonomy and teacher
freedom -- freeing these schools to innovate and develop new best
practices that serve our children.
5. Develop a school voucher program or a scholarship tax credit program to
provide private school choice for children with special needs.
6. Begin the process of creating data systems that allow teachers,
principals, district officials and state officials to link student
achievement to teacher performance.
7. Protect teacher's paychecks by prohibiting automatic deductions of
union expenses that aren't related to collective bargaining.
8. Create a teacher merit pay pilot program that allows great teachers --
ones who improve student achievement -- to receive extra pay in
recognition of their hard work.
9. Increase pay for teachers willing to teach high-needs subject areas and
in high-needs schools.
10. Develop meaningful alternative routes to teacher certification for
talented mid-career changers who want to become teachers.


The Center also encouraged candidates for political office to use the "10 Steps to Education Reform" as a model for education campaign platforms.

"These 10 reforms would make a significant difference in the quality of education provided to children, and it is essential that lawmakers act quickly to make real education reform -- not reformist rhetoric -- a priority for the new decade," Allen said.

CER is currently the only independent national organization that scores each state on its charter school laws. CER's Charter Laws Across the States book is now in its eleventh year and, in December, received coverage in more than 100 publications. Based on the feedback of Charter Laws fans, the Center plans additional scoring reports on additional education reform topics for 2010.

The Center for Education Reform drives the creation of better educational opportunities for all children. CER changes laws, minds and cultures to allow good schools to flourish.

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Understanding The New Veterans Educational Assistance Act

(NAPSI)-For individuals who served on active military duty on or after September 11, 2001, a new piece of legislation can help further education goals-or perhaps create new ones.

The Post−9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, also known as the Post−9/11 GI Bill, provides veterans with financial benefits for any approved program offered by a school that is authorized to grant an associate (or higher) degree.

These questions may help shed light on the subject for people who have recently served or are currently serving in the military, as well as their families:

Q. Am I eligible?

A. You may be eligible if you served at least 90 aggregate days on active duty after September 10, 2001.

You may also be eligible if you were honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and you served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001.

Q. When can I receive benefits under the Bill?

A. Post−9/11 GI Bill benefits are payable for training that begins on or after August 1, 2009. No payments can be made under this program for training pursued before that date.

Q. How much will I receive?

A. Based on your length of active-duty service, you may be entitled to a percentage of the following:

4 Cost of tuition and fees, not to exceed the most expensive instate undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher education;

4 Monthly housing allowance equal to the basic allowance for housing payable to a military E-5 with dependents. The amount of the housing allowance is based on the ZIP code of the school and is not payable to individuals training at half-time or less or attending distance learning;

4 Yearly books and supplies stipend of up to $1,000 per year (paid to you); and

4 A one-time payment of $500 paid to certain individuals relocating from highly rural areas.

Q. How many months of assistance can I receive?

A. Generally, you may receive up to 36 months of benefits under the Post−9/11 GI Bill.

Q. How long am I eligible?

A. You will be eligible for benefits for 15 years from your last period of active duty of at least 90 consecutive days.

Q. Can I transfer my entitlement to my dependents?

A. If you are a member of the Armed Forces on August 1, 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) may offer you the opportunity to transfer benefits to your spouse or dependent children. DoD and the military services will issue policy on entitlement to transferability benefit in the coming months.

For up-to-date information on this and other education benefits, visit www.gibill.va.gov.

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