Georgia House OKs School Turnaround Bill

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Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia. / Flickr

Just one legislative day before Crossover Day, a plan to turn around Georgia’s low-performing schools has passed in the Georgia House.

The bill, HB 338, would create a “Chief Turnaround Officer” with the authority to intervene in low-performing schools. 

The turnaround officer would also be required to look at issues outside the classroom.

“Let's look at what’s occurring in the community that’s causing the school not to be successful,” said Rep. Kevin Tanner (R - Dawsonville), the bill’s sponsor. “Poverty, demographics, high illiteracy rates among adults, lack of economic development and job opportunities.”

If schools fail to improve in two years, the turnaround officer would have the ability to replace staff, turn the school into a state charter school, or hand over management to a private nonprofit.

The legislation would also establish a study committee to look at establishing a state school accreditation process.

The 138-37 vote comes just months after Governor Nathan Deal’s Opportunity School District plan failed at the polls. 

Speaking to the House, Tanner tried to set his legislation apart from the OSD, which would have allowed the state to takeover so-called “failing schools.” And he received help from across the aisle.

“[The OSD] was a bill that violates home rule and had an unprecedented concentration of power,” said House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D - Atlanta). “It was a bill that stripped local schools or authority but required that they invest in their own demise.”

But opponents of Tanner’s bill still see a connection between the two efforts.

“This is OSD with a dress, with lipstick, and high heels, but it is still OSD,” said Rep. Dewey McClain (D - Lawrenceville).

There are similarities between HB 338 and the OSD plan: both use the same state standard to determine if a school is underperforming and both propose dramatic consequences for schools that fail to improve.