Latest news with #Bill268
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Georgia lawmakers won't seek student database after deadly high school shooting
Georgia lawmakers are giving up on creating a statewide database to collect information on students who might commit violence, even as they push forward other parts of a school safety bill aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September at Apalachee High School. House and Senate lawmakers unveiled a compromise version of House Bill 268 on Thursday, which then passed the Senate Judiciary committee unanimously. That sets it up for final passage in the closing days of Georgia's 2025 legislative session. The push to share information was driven by the belief among many that the Barrow County school system didn't have a full picture of the warning signs displayed by the 14-year-old accused in the fatal shootings of two students and two teachers. But there was loud opposition from both Democratic and Republican constituencies that the database would create a permanent blacklist with no due process that could treat racial and religious minorities unfairly. 'The reason it wasn't going to fly was pushback from all points of the political spectrum that worried about their child being stigmatized just for an accusation or an uncorroborated complaint,' said Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican representing parts of Barrow County. The compromise version also removed a requirement that all school systems set up formal threat management teams to evaluate whether students may commit violence. That approach is strongly recommended by many national experts, and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency already offers training. House Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Republican from Homer, said he was hopeful schools would voluntarily adopt the model. 'I think there is a knowledge out there of the importance of planning and preparing already in schools,' Erwin said. 'So having a full model structure for the state isn't as important as maybe we once thought it was.' The measure would still require police agencies to report to schools when officers learn that a child has threatened death or injury to someone at a school. But those reports aren't mandated to become part of a student's educational record and wouldn't travel with a student if they transfer to another district. That raises questions about whether the bill addresses one of the key criticisms that followed the Apalachee shooting. School officials never became aware that a sheriff's deputy in Jackson County had interviewed Colt Gray in May 2023 after the FBI passed along a tip that Gray might have posted a shooting threat online. That report would have been forwarded to middle school officials in Jackson County under the bill, but wouldn't have followed Gray when he enrolled as a freshman in nearby Barrow County after skipping eighth grade entirely. The bill also mandates quicker transfers of records when a student enters a new school, creates at least one new position to help coordinate mental health treatment for students in each of Georgia's 180 school districts and sets up an anonymous reporting system statewide. Lawmakers on Thursday added in features of separate Senate bills that had passed. They would mandate that all Georgia public schools provide wearable panic buttons to employees. Public schools would also be required to submit electronic maps of their campuses to local, state and federal agencies once a year. The amended bill would also make adult prosecution the default when children aged 13 to 16 are charged with terroristic acts at school, any aggravated assault with a gun, or attempted murder. The Senate had originally proposed a broader range of crimes when adult prosecution would be the default. House leaders had said they didn't want to submit any more juveniles to adult prosecution.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Relief for missed school days in doubt after picking up surprise addition in KY Senate
Sen. Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville, speaks in favor of reversing the state school board's decision to cap enrollment at a controversial virtual school, March 6, 2025. (LRC Public Information) FRANKFORT — A bill that began as relief for Kentucky schools from weather-related closings was transformed by the Senate Thursday into relief for a controversial virtual school. After the Senate overhauled House Bill 241, its sponsor, Rep. Timmy Truett, an elementary school principal, said he would recommend that the House now kill it. The Kentucky Board of Education recently limited enrollment at the Kentucky Virtual School based out of the Cloverport Independent Schools in response to concerns about poor student performance and failure to meet staffing requirements. The bill that emerged from the Republican-controlled Senate Thursday on a 23-14 vote would block the Department of Education from enforcing the enrollment cap on the privately-operated virtual school which has students statewide. Some Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill. Supporters of the virtual school attached their provision to a bill described by Senate President Pro Tem David Givens as 'vitally important' for school districts affected by recent flooding. State law requires districts to provide 170 student attendance days. The original bill would allow districts to have five of the required days waived and to lengthen the school day. It also granted them additional days in which students could be taught at home via virtual learning. Some schools in Eastern Kentucky have yet to reopen following floods in mid-February. In a Thursday morning committee meeting, language from Senate Bill 268 was added to the House bill. Truett, R-McKee, told senators it was the first time he had seen the new version of his legislation. 'This bill started off as a really good bill for all the districts in the state of Kentucky, especially the districts in Eastern Kentucky where I live,' Truett said. 'But you can take a good bill and make it bad. And I'm afraid that with the amendment that may be on this bill that I would have to encourage my colleagues to be against this bill.' The move could mean the bill doesn't pass at all this session, Truett warned. Concerns about the Kentucky Virtual School have been reported by the Louisville Courier Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader, which highlighted numerous accusations and lawsuits raised against Stride, a for-profit company that has a contract to run the virtual academy. While it serves students across the state through online instruction, the academy is attached to Cloverport Independent Schools in Breckinridge County. According to the media reports, the school has rapidly increased its enrollment over the past two years but state education officials say it has failed to meet staff and testing requirements. The Kentucky Board of Education recently took action to limit enrollment through a new statewide policy. Senators debated not only the contents of the bill, but the legislative process behind it, for more than an hour Thursday afternoon. Democrats futilely attempted to argue the bill was out of order under Senate rules because it had emerged from the committee just hours earlier with significant changes. Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, cited the newspapers' reports on the floor and emphasized the legislation is a 'matter of public interest.' 'The public, I feel, does have a right to know about what we're about to do,' Thomas said. Sen. Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville, who was the original sponsor of the bill revoking the enrollment cap on the virtual school, cited 'emotional testimony' from parents of students enrolled at the academy. 'What I heard from parents made one thing very clear — this decision (to cap enrollment) was made without fully considering the impact on students and families who had built their education around this model. 'To me, that's not right.' Truett heard some of the Senate debate, watching from the side of the chamber. While he was present, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, said that she wasn't happy with Truett's original bill, but was supportive of Reed's bill, and added that her family used Stride's curriculum for homeschooling in the past. 'I'm going to encourage the House sponsor to support this bill, because House Bill 241 didn't change the way that I want to see it change,' she said before voting in favor of the bill. Tichenor had filed four floor amendments to the original version of the bill. Truett quickly left after the vote. Givens said he was a supporter of the new language and also supports the original provisions for making up school days missed because of weather. 'This door provides relief for those districts,' he said. 'This is vitally important that we do this.' The House must concur with the Senate's version of HB 241. It's not the first time in recent sessions a bill has been drastically changed in one chamber. Last year, the House overhauled Senate Bill 6, which became a bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. The measure died at the end of the session because the Senate and House couldn't agree. The Cloverport district's superintendent, Keith Haynes, said in an email to the Kentucky Lantern that while he couldn't speak to the merits of the legislative process, he was supportive of the contents of SB 268 'as it affords us the opportunity to continue operating and improving the Kentucky Virtual Academy, which has provided so many students and families with the kind of school environment that best suits them.' 'Our experience with Stride has been great,' Haynes added. 'They have been highly professional and laser focused on ensuring that KYVA is the kind of school that all involved can be proud of.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Relief for missed school days in doubt after picking up surprise addition in KY Senate
Sen. Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville, speaks in favor of reversing the state school board's decision to cap enrollment at a controversial virtual school, March 6, 2025. (LRC Public Information) FRANKFORT — A bill that began as relief for Kentucky schools from weather-related closings was transformed by the Senate Thursday into relief for a controversial virtual school. After the Senate overhauled House Bill 241, its sponsor, Rep. Timmy Truett, an elementary school principal, said he would recommend that the House now kill it. The Kentucky Board of Education recently limited enrollment at the Kentucky Virtual School based out of the Cloverport Independent Schools in response to concerns about poor student performance and failure to meet staffing requirements. The bill that emerged from the Republican-controlled Senate Thursday on a 23-14 vote would block the Department of Education from enforcing the enrollment cap on the privately-operated virtual school which has students statewide. Some Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill. Supporters of the virtual school attached their provision to a bill described by Senate President Pro Tem David Givens as 'vitally important' for school districts affected by recent flooding. State law requires districts to provide 170 student attendance days. The original bill would allow districts to have five of the required days waived and to lengthen the school day. It also granted them additional days in which students could be taught at home via virtual learning. Some schools in Eastern Kentucky have yet to reopen following floods in mid-February. In a Thursday morning committee meeting, language from Senate Bill 268 was added to the House bill. Truett, R-McKee, told senators it was the first time he had seen the new version of his legislation. 'This bill started off as a really good bill for all the districts in the state of Kentucky, especially the districts in Eastern Kentucky where I live,' Truett said. 'But you can take a good bill and make it bad. And I'm afraid that with the amendment that may be on this bill that I would have to encourage my colleagues to be against this bill.' The move could mean the bill doesn't pass at all this session, Truett warned. Concerns about the Kentucky Virtual School have been reported by the Louisville Courier Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader, which highlighted numerous accusations and lawsuits raised against Stride, a for-profit company that has a contract to run the virtual academy. While it serves students across the state through online instruction, the academy is attached to Cloverport Independent Schools in Breckinridge County. According to the media reports, the school has rapidly increased its enrollment over the past two years but state education officials say it has failed to meet staff and testing requirements. The Kentucky Board of Education recently took action to limit enrollment through a new statewide policy. Senators debated not only the contents of the bill, but the legislative process behind it, for more than an hour Thursday afternoon. Democrats futilely attempted to argue the bill was out of order under Senate rules because it had emerged from the committee just hours earlier with significant changes. Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Reggie Thomas, of Lexington, cited the newspapers' reports on the floor and emphasized the legislation is a 'matter of public interest.' 'The public, I feel, does have a right to know about what we're about to do,' Thomas said. Sen. Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville, who was the original sponsor of the bill revoking the enrollment cap on the virtual school, cited 'emotional testimony' from parents of students enrolled at the academy. 'What I heard from parents made one thing very clear — this decision (to cap enrollment) was made without fully considering the impact on students and families who had built their education around this model. 'To me, that's not right.' Truett heard some of the Senate debate, watching from the side of the chamber. While he was present, Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, said that she wasn't happy with Truett's original bill, but was supportive of Reed's bill, and added that her family used Stride's curriculum for homeschooling in the past. 'I'm going to encourage the House sponsor to support this bill, because House Bill 241 didn't change the way that I want to see it change,' she said before voting in favor of the bill. Tichenor had filed four floor amendments to the original version of the bill. Truett quickly left after the vote. Givens said he was a supporter of the new language and also supports the original provisions for making up school days missed because of weather. 'This door provides relief for those districts,' he said. 'This is vitally important that we do this.' The House must concur with the Senate's version of HB 241. It's not the first time in recent sessions a bill has been drastically changed in one chamber. Last year, the House overhauled Senate Bill 6, which became a bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. The measure died at the end of the session because the Senate and House couldn't agree. The Cloverport district's superintendent, Keith Haynes, said in an email to the Kentucky Lantern that while he couldn't speak to the merits of the legislative process, he was supportive of the contents of SB 268 'as it affords us the opportunity to continue operating and improving the Kentucky Virtual Academy, which has provided so many students and families with the kind of school environment that best suits them.' 'Our experience with Stride has been great,' Haynes added. 'They have been highly professional and laser focused on ensuring that KYVA is the kind of school that all involved can be proud of.'
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kentucky legislator wants to kill bill protecting controversial virtual school
A bill intended to address lost instructional time from school closures has been amended to keep a virtual school from closing — prompting the bill's sponsor to say he'd "try my best to kill it." House Bill 241, sponsored by Republican Rep. Timmy Truett, would let the state's education commissioner grant up to five "disaster relief" days during which schools could provide alternative instruction when a district closes "for health or safety reasons." It would also let districts extend student attendance days to meet the legally required minimum instruction hours. At a Senate Education Committee meeting Thursday, Truett, an elementary school principal, said his bill "started off as a really good bill" and attaching the virtual school legislation would "harm public education. It's going to harm my students." HB 241 passed out of the House last month with a 82-7 vote. It was assigned to the Senate Education Committee, which initially voted in favor of the bill. However, the bill was returned to the committee on Wednesday, where it was combined with a Senate measure aimed at protecting the Kentucky Virtual Academy. Senate Bill 268 proposed prohibiting a cap on enrollment for all virtual programs for the next three years. It was filed in response to the Kentucky Department of Education's efforts to limit enrollment at the Kentucky Virtual Academy, which has repeatedly failed to meet staff and testing requirements. The school, which opened in 2023 through a partnership with Cloverport Independent Schools and Stride, Inc., has experienced rapid growth in its enrollment, drawing thousands of students from across the state. The Senate Education Committee met a day after The Courier Journal published an article on the school, stating the company running the program has been accused of mismanaging funds and failing students in various ways over the past 15 years. SB 268 had passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee but had yet to be considered for a full floor vote. Republican Sen. Steve West, chairman of the committee, told The Courier Journal there were concerns the bill wouldn't get "as nice of a reception in the House once it went over," and Truett's bill as written didn't have enough support to succeed on its own. He added it's common for bills to blend together so they can pass both chambers before a veto period begins. "The reason for that is it's a negotiation process," West said. "It's a compromise process between the House and the Senate. They want what they want. We want what we want, and ... negotiating is what makes it across the finish line." Truett took issue with the decision to combine the bills, saying he would speak against his own legislation. HB 241, on its own, "helps just about every district in the state of Kentucky, especially those districts in Eastern Kentucky that are struggling with the extreme weather and the flooding and all of that," Truett told The Courier Journal. "So it's a great bill. But the way politics works, sometimes you get surprised, and there was a amendment thrown on the bill that goes against some of the things that I believe in and that I disagree with." Truett clarified that while he isn't against the Kentucky Virtual Academy, he is concerned the Senate measure wouldn't allow "any restrictions" to be put in place on the school until 2028. "The thing about it is I'm afraid that growing at the rate that they're growing and struggling like they are, (along) with the extra students enrolling, I'm afraid (the bill) be more harmful than helpful," Truett said. "So if we could put some guard rails up, I would support that." Truett added while he respects West and the education committee, no one reached out to him to ask whether it was OK to attach the Senate measure to his bill. West, meanwhile, said he did not "personally talk to Truett," but Truett knew that "this was happening." He also pointed out that the virtual academy has only been operating for about one year, and a group of lawmakers want to give it more time instead of shutting it down. "We understand there are issues there, and we understand those issues will need to be addressed and should be addressed, but our policy consideration was that they needed a little bit more time," West said during the committee meeting. "This is an innovative thing. With any experiment or innovative thing, you're going to make mistakes, and sometimes you don't get it right the first time, so it does take a little time." HB 241, with the committee substitute, passed out of the committee on an 8-2-1 vote. Republican Sen. Lindsey Tichenor said she voted no because the bill covers "two very different things." Democratic Sen. Reggie Thomas, who represented the other "no" vote, called the added Senate measure "a poison pill" and cited statistics on the company's performance from The Courier Journal article. "We should wipe off this amendment. This school should never be allowed to operate here in Kentucky," Thomas said. If the Senate passes the bill as amended, it will get sent back to the House for concurrence. The House can either vote to accept the Senate's changes and send the bill to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's desk, or it could vote not to concur and send the bill to a conference committee made up of members of both chambers. Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at hpinski@ or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Legislator wants to kill bill protecting Kentucky Virtual Academy
Associated Press
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Georgia House passes school safety bill after Apalachee High School shooting
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia House members voted 159-13 on Tuesday for a school safety bill that supporters say is aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September that killed two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School. But some lawmakers remain uneasy about its proposed creation of a statewide student database of disciplinary, mental health and law enforcement information to evaluate students who might commit violence. And although the House also passed a bill Tuesday to give a tax incentive to people who pay for gun storage devices or training, Democrats say the Republican-majority General Assembly isn't doing enough to control guns. Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington gave House Bill 268 a strong push, making the unusual move of stepping down from the dais to give a speech supporting the measure. 'I believe this legislation will usher a new culture in our school systems, where we run towards our children facing struggles with mental health,' Burns said, saying the bill aims to reach troubled children before they turn to violence. The measure now heads to the Senate, which has thus far taken a less comprehensive approach than the House's 64-page bill. One Senate measure that has advanced out of committee calls for more limited information sharing but would also make adult prosecution the default for more crimes where children aged 13 to 16 are charged. Besides the database, the House bill also mandates quicker transfers of records when a student enters a new school, creates at least one new position to help coordinate mental health treatment for students in each of Georgia's 180 school districts, requires police agencies to report any time a student has threatened harm to someone at school and sets up an anonymous reporting system statewide. The push to share information is driven by the belief among many that the Barrow County school system didn't have a full sense of the warning signs displayed by the 14-year-old accused in the shooting. Officials have said creating the database will require more legal work to make sure federal privacy laws regarding health data and educational records are obeyed. But opponents say they fear the data will create a blacklist that may treat racial or religious minorities unfairly. 'There isn't nearly enough on mental health and there's too much on surveillance and overcriminalization and the invasion of privacy of our students and their families,' said Rep. Gabriel Sanchez, a Smyrna Democrat. The bill calls for each school system to set up a behavioral threat management team that's meant to intervene when school officials learn that students have threatened violence. The state would develop guidelines for how school districts should assess threats, with the team focusing on credible threats. Those teams could turn to the database for more information about a student under scrutiny. Students who threatened violence would be removed from in-person classes while school officials decide on a response. House Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Homer Republican, said the bill would prevent violence. 'Save a life today, vote for this bill,' Erwin urged House members. The measure also includes suicide and violence prevention classes for older students, calls for an assessment once a student is absent for a certain number of days House Democrats supported House Bill 79, which would provide tax incentives for people who buy gun safes or gun locks or get gun training. But Democrats said Tuesday that's not enough even as the bill passed 165-8, moving on to the Senate. They want a law that would require adults to lock up their guns when children are present. Officials say Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High's accused shooter Colt Gray, bought his son an assault-style rifle and gave him easy access, even though Colin Gray knew or should have known that his son was a danger to others. 'Nothing should haunt us more in this chamber than a missed opportunity and nothing should shame us more than failing to learn from our mistakes,' said Rep. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat.
