Members of the Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) have announced their priorities for the 2022 session of the Georgia General Assembly.
The GDOE, among other things, wants Georgia students to focus more on civics and to give parents more power to decide what’s best for their children’s health.
This, according to a press release that GDOE officials emailed this month.
GDOE officials said in the press release that they want to “strengthen civics education and students’ understanding of American government and our nation’s history.” They also want to provide what they call affordable and high-speed internet to all Georgia families and more resources for students with disabilities.
Other listed GDOE priorities for the 2022 legislative session include:
• Promote strategies that encourage informed decision-making to ensure the health and safety of students and educators
• Promote strategies that recognize the authority of families to make health-related decisions for their children and employees to make health-related decisions for themselves
• Foster unity among students, educators, parents, and communities around the common educational challenges facing students by protecting them against divisive teachings or ideologies
• Ensure instructional materials, resources, and programs are age-and developmentally appropriate and are adopted using an established process that promotes transparency and community engagement
• Support efforts to increase facilities funding for local charter schools
• Support fully funding a pay raise for teachers
• Encourage removing the threat of certification loss as a punishment for new teachers identified as “Needs Development” through the teacher evaluation system
• Pursue the establishment of a pilot to design an evaluation system built on professional progression with embedded supports for educators
• Promote changes to allow districts to utilize retired educators full time in high-need teaching positions
• Pursue additional funding for transportation costs for school districts
Members of the Newnan-based Frontline Policy Action this month announced their legislative priorities for the 2022 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Those policies include fighting what they call “radical indoctrination in the classroom.”
Frontline Policy President Cole Muzio said he and members of his group want state legislators to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) from local curriculums.
Frontline Policy officials said they also want legislation that prohibits biological males from competing in female-only sports. They also want legislation that would prohibit sex education in elementary schools and other legislation that protects teachers and coaches of faith.
Frontline Policy members also said they want public schools to provide more transparency so that parents know more about their children’s curriculums.
Members of the Georgia Board of Education voted in June to formally oppose teaching CRT in the state’s K-12 classrooms.
Board members, according to their resolution, described beliefs such as CRT as “concepts that impute fault, blame, a tendency to oppress others, or the need to feel guilt or anguish to persons solely because of their race or sex.”
Governor Brian Kemp at the time called CRT dangerous and anti-American and said it has no place in Georgia classrooms.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Georgia State Capitol” by DXR CC 4.0.
