Ga. Senate Passes Gov. Deal’s School Turnaround Plan

House Bill 338, also called the ‘First Priority Act,’ would create turnaround specialists to work with struggling schools. They would evaluate students and provide resources to help them improve.

Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, carried the bill in the Senate. He made it clear that this plan is unlike the governor’s Opportunity School District proposal. That plan would have let the state takeover individual schools that weren’t performing well.

“We all have witnessed through the economic downturn when the FDIC came into banks that were failing, and their first plan of action was to take over the bank instead of working through problems,” Tippens said. “This bill is about working through problems.”

The bill had some bipartisan support, but some lawmakers still opposed it.

Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, said the bill could have steep consequences for teachers in struggling schools.

“Ultimately, a result of this bill will be that teachers will be removed, have to re-apply, and many teachers will have to leave the education career,” Fort said.

Three amendments to the bill were introduced, but none passed.

One would have had the turnaround specialists report to the state schools superintendent instead of the board of education.

Another would have created a savings account for each student in a struggling school being helped by the state.

The third called for parental accountability.

The bill now goes back to the House for approval of Senate changes before heading to the governor.

CORRECTION: The headline of this story has been corrected to show that the Georgia Senate passed the school turnaround plan.