ATLANTA, Ga. â The closing bell of the 2021 General Assembly is set to toll on March 31 â Sine Die â giving state lawmakers only a handful of days to debate and act upon legislation before the 40-day session concludes.
The long list of bills under consideration at the start of the session in January was significantly narrowed after Crossover Day on March 8.
The 30th day of the 40-day session is the deadline for bills to pass out of at least one chamber, House or Senate, to be considered in that session.
In a session dominated by debate over voting rights and gambling, education bills still garnered attention. Consensus formed around Gov. Brian Kempâs budget bill which restored previous cuts to funding, but deep divides remain over vouchers for private schools, transgender rights in high school sports, charter school funding and other issues that appear annually.
Now Habersham
Georgia lawmaker pushes for less reporting on schoolâs severe discipline
Counting disciplinary actions like suspensions and expulsions incentivizes schools to discipline students less, said Sen. Jeff Mullis, who authored a bill to remove the metric from Georgia s school climate formula. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
The number of suspensions and expulsions a school hands out could be removed from the formula to determine a key school ranking if a powerful GOP state lawmaker gets his way.
Counting disciplinary actions as part of the formula gives school officials incentives to mete out fewer punishments, Chickamauga Republican Jeff Mullis said Monday at a Senate Education Committee meeting.