07 LC 36
0515
House
Bill 347
By:
Representatives Ashe of the
56th,
Hugley of the
133rd,
Teilhet of the
40th,
Porter of the
143rd,
Smyre of the
132nd,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to grants for educational programs, so as to provide
for grants for pilot projects to encourage the lengthening of the school year
and the conditions and procedures relating thereto; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to grants for educational programs, is amended by adding a
new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-259.1.
(a)
The State Board of Education shall provide three-year grants, beginning in the
2009-2010 school year, for pilot projects to encourage the lengthening of the
school year. Such grants shall be made available to any local school system or
school but shall only be awarded to one local school system and to one school
not a part of such system which agrees to extend its school year to either a 200
or 220 day school year. A local school system shall not be eligible for such
grant unless it has 6,000 or less full-time equivalent students. An individual
school shall not be eligible for such grant unless its local board of education
agrees to the conditions of the grant pursuant to this Code section. The grant
shall be available for three years to a school through its local board of
education or to a local school system, conditioned upon agreement to lengthen
the school year for each of those three years and its submission to any
evaluation required pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section. Any such
grant shall be subject to the appropriation of funds by the General Assembly for
the first fiscal year in which the grant is to begin.
(b)
The grant amount which a local school system or school is entitled to receive
for a fiscal year under this Code section shall be an amount equal to 20 percent
greater for a 200 day school year or 40 percent greater for a 220 day school
year than the amount that local school system or school would otherwise have
received for that school year had it not participated in the pilot program.
From such grant amounts and for each year of the grant, teachers and other
personnel of the local school system or school, other than 12 month employees,
shall receive a 10 percent increase in salary for a 200 day school year and a 20
percent increase in salary for a 220 day school year.
(c)
A local school system or school which applies for a grant under this Code
section shall provide with such application proof that its local board of
education has conducted at least one public hearing, held at a special meeting
of such board of which due notice was provided as specified in Code Section
50-14-1, regarding its intention to apply for a grant for lengthening the school
year. At this meeting, the conditions of such grant shall be explained and
public comments received by the board. The application must also show that a
majority of parents of students attending the school or local school system has
not expressed disapproval of the application.
(d)
The State Board of Education shall give preference to early applicants for the
grants under this Code section and shall evaluate annually the results of
lengthening the school year by grant recipients. Funding for the grants shall
begin in fiscal year 2010 with the lengthened school year of the grant
recipients beginning at the start of the 2009-2010 school
year."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.