The Georgia Senate has approved two pieces of legislation having to do with online education.

Lawmakers voted 36-15 along largely partisan lines in favor of a bill that would require all high school students to take at least one online course before they graduate. If the bill becomes law, Georgia would join just a handful of other states — Alabama, Florida and Michigan —that require online classes. Democrats criticized the proposal as a mandate.

Senators also approved 49-1 a resolution encouraging the state to use guidelines from the Digital Learning Council when it writes legislation about online education. The council was started by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise in 2010.

Tags: online learning, Georgia high schools, 2012 General Assembly