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Public Hearing - January 9, 2008
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION PUBLIC HEARING
JANUARY 9, 2008, 1:00- 2:00 p.m.
There will be a State Board of Education Public Hearing on January 9, 2008, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. The hearing will be held in the State Board of Education Board Room, 2070 Twin Towers East, Atlanta.
The purpose of this hearing is to solicit comments from the public regarding the following rules that were initiated in accordance with the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act at the December 13, 2007 State Board Meeting.
160-5-1-.15 Acceptance of Transfer Credit and/or Grades (Initiation)
The purpose of this amendment is to bring the rule into congruence with O.C.G.A. §§ 20-3-519 and 20-2-2112. O.C.G.A. § 20-3-519 defines the list of valid out-of-state regional accrediting agencies and includes the Alabama Independent School Association. Paragraph (2)(a) is being amended by adding the clause “or holding provisional status” to ensure clarity with O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2112 which provides the definitions for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act.
160-5-1-.29 Minimum Direct Classroom Expenditures (Reinitiation)
The purpose of this proposed new rule is to provide for the implementation of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-171 which was enacted by the Georgia General Assembly during the 2006 Session. Beginning with FY 08, and for every year thereafter, local school systems are required to either spend a minimum of 65 percent of their total operating expenditures on direct classroom expenditures, or increase their direct classroom expenditures as a percent of total operating expenditures by two or more percentage points over the previous fiscal year. A school system that does not meet the requirements of the law may either qualify for a waiver of the law or will be subject to sanctions as imposed by the State Board of Education. Paragraph (3) describes the two types of waivers – achievement waiver and hardship waiver. Paragraph (4) provides for the range of sanctions which may be imposed by the State Board of Education. Paragraph (3)(a) has been amended from the version that was proposed on October 11, 2007 to state that the application for an achievement waiver must include evidence that the local school system exceeded the state’s average, for the fiscal year, on one or more of three academic criteria. The criteria have been revised to include the percent of the local school system’s schools that made Adequate Yearly Progress, graduation rate, and the most recent average total SAT score. The criteria no longer includes attendance.
Written comments can be sent to the State Board of Education, 2053 Twin Towers East, Atlanta, Georgia 30334. Oral testimony at the Public Hearing will be limited to a maximum of 3 minutes. Sign-in sheets will be posted at the hearing and speakers will be called in order from the sign-in sheets. If, before 2:00 p.m. there are no more speakers, the Public Hearing will be adjourned.
If you have questions, please contact Ms. Lynn Roberts at the Georgia Department of Education, at (404) 657-7410 or email at lroberts@doe.k12.ga.us.
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(404) 657-7410
(404) 657-6978