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Georgia schools chief, state lawmakers at odds over proposed performance rating system

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Georgia schools chief, state lawmakers at odds over proposed performance rating system


(Georgia Recorder) — It’s not just students who bring home report cards. Since 2012, the College and Career Readiness Performance Index has offered a measure of the performance of schools and districts on a number of factors. Parents can use the scores to decide where to make their homes, and school leaders sift through the data to decide what areas to focus on.

For the past few years, the school report cards have been a little different, and one state lawmaker says it’s time to change back.

In 2020 and 2021, the U.S. Department of Education waived assessment requirements because of pandemic closures. In 2022, the feds approved a temporary modification to change CCRPI, including removing the overall score, because of data gaps caused by the pandemic, and that change was made permanent last year.

The report still lists 0-100 grades for the same five categories – content mastery, progress, closing gaps, readiness, and, for high schools, graduation rate – but since 2022, it has not included an overall 0-100 score.

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In the past, each of the categories was given a different weight, so calculating a composite score that is comparable with previous years is slightly more complicated than just adding up the categories or averaging them.

In December, State Superintendent Richard Woods said the change would be a good one for Georgia students.

“I have long said that the CCRPI’s 100-point single score vastly oversimplified the complicated factors that influence school quality,” he said. “With this change, the CCRPI is more like the ‘report card’ it was always intended to be – encouraging schools, families, and communities to dig into the data and both celebrate achievements and address issues that tended to be obscured by the single score.”

Rep. Scott Hilton (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican, disagrees. His House Bill 1186 aims to require the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement to calculate a single score for districts and schools and the state Department of Education and local school districts to publish them on their websites. The bill passed the House Education subcommittee on Thursday and has until this Thursday’s Crossover Day to pass the full Education committee and the full House to have a smooth path to becoming law.

“Imagine going into a restaurant and not seeing a health score, instead seeing four or five different metrics, then you’ve got to decide, ‘Well, the dishes are dirty, but the food’s good.’ You don’t have time to weigh that,” he said. “You want to know, is it A, B, or C? So House Bill 1186 says you’ve got to go to a single score.”

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Hilton said the bill doesn’t specify how education leaders should weigh each factor to come up with the single score, but he said it should be consistent so parents and administrators can compare different schools and districts as well as track their progress over time.

“I’m going to let the experts and the grownups in the room get together and decide what the best calculation is. My only ask is that that calculation is one number, and that calculation is consistent year over year,” he said.

Scores were previously published by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. In an email, Executive Director Joy Hawkins said GOSA supports single scores. The Department of Education did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Last year’s single scores are available, albeit unofficially. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, calculated and published scores for schools, grade clusters, and districts on its website. President and CEO Kyle Wingfield said the calculations were done with the same formula used in 2018 and 2019, the most recent years with complete data, to make the scores comparable.

“Real transparency means information that’s clear and meaningful, not requiring the public to be experts themselves to know what their government is doing,” Wingfield said.

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The foundation’s report shows overall declining scores for Georgia elementary, middle, and high schools between 2019 and 2023 – down 5%, 8%, and 6.8%, respectively, though Wingfield said looking at individual districts and schools shows that some have demonstrated impressive growth.

“And frankly, I would say that’s one of the things that gets lost when you muddle this sort of message is you’re not celebrating the folks that are achieving really highly either,” he said.

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Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann

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Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann


Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann will be paid equally in 2026 after receiving raises, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.

Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are coming off a second consecutive SEC championship season and College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal appearance.

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Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech

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Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech


Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones on Monday unveiled legislation inspired by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk that he says would expand students’ free speech rights in public schools, making Georgia the first state in the nation to pursue such a measure.

Jones announced the “True Patriotism and Universal Student Access Act,” known as the TPUSA Act, on Monday as a priority for the 2026 legislative session. The proposal, sponsored by State Sen. Ben Watson (R–Savannah), would strengthen First Amendment protections for public school students by safeguarding their right to speak, organize, and express political and religious views on campus.

The bill is explicitly shaped around the work and legacy of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA and its political arm, Turning Point Action. Jones and others have framed the legislation as a way to honor Kirk’s efforts to mobilize young conservatives and defend free speech in schools and on college campuses.

“In the spirit and memory of Charlie’s work, the TPUSA Act in Georgia would ensure that students’ First Amendment rights to organize, gather and speak are protected, regardless of their religious, political, or social viewpoints,” Jones said in a press release. “Georgia is leading the way as the first state in the nation to do it.”

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Founder and President of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Believers Summit at the Palm Beach County Civic Center on July 26, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Miami Herald


Jones, who is running for governor and is endorsed by both former President Donald Trump and Turning Point Action, also emphasized his broader commitment to free speech rights as part of his campaign rhetoric. 

“Georgia is building on the work of Charlie Kirk to ensure students can speak, organize and express their beliefs freely,” Jones posted on social media. 

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The TPUSA Act would require public schools in Georgia to permit political expression before, during and after the school day to the same extent that non-political expression is allowed. It also would let students form political clubs and groups during non-instructional time, bar discrimination against groups based on viewpoint, and guarantee that students could wear politically themed clothing and accessories under the same standards that apply to other permitted attire.

Supporters say the legislation would ensure that school administrators cannot block students from engaging in peaceful political activities and that all viewpoints, partisan and nonpartisan, would have equal access to meeting spaces and facilities.

Sen. Watson said the move reflects the belief that schools should not restrict students’ free speech or prohibit them from organizing around their beliefs. 

“School officials should not have the power to enforce their own ideologies on students,” he said.

Josh Thifault, senior director at Turning Point Action, praised Georgia’s effort, asserting that Kirk “lived and died for the First Amendment.” He added that the legislation will benefit students “for decades to come” by removing barriers to student expression.

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Georgia lawmakers stall car boot ban, leaving frustrated drivers with no relief from predatory parking enforcement

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Georgia lawmakers stall car boot ban, leaving frustrated drivers with no relief from predatory parking enforcement


Daryl Terry II had exited a popular wing restaurant, only to discover a heavy metal boot clamped to his car’s wheel. “I think booting should be banned because it’s predatory. You’re preying on people who are just trying to visit business establishments,” Daryl said, shaking his head while holding a $100 boot removal receipt.

Daryl explained that the parking lot was confusing, with faded signs barely visible even in broad daylight. “At night, you can’t see the sign at all,” he said. “By the time I got to my car, there were already two boots on it. The guy told me I left the property and didn’t pay, so he was entitled to boot my car.”

He’s not alone. Maddie Yoder, who works at a nearby bakery, has experienced the same fate. “I’ve worked here for five years. One morning, I quickly grabbed a spot and came back to a boot. The attendant literally waits for people to make a mistake,” she said, pointing out the tricky signage that designates spots for specific businesses.

Both drivers are among many Georgians who hoped a recent State Senate bill would end what they call predatory booting. Democratic State Senator Josh McLaurin, the bill’s sponsor, says the practice is a form of extortion. “Georgia needs to ban the boot. You’re trapped when it happens.”

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Despite gaining bipartisan support, the bill was abruptly killed in a procedural move. It was sent to a committee that, due to the chairman’s resignation, couldn’t hold hearings or move bills forward. 

“That committee is essentially dead,” McLaurin explained. Efforts to get comment from the Lt. Governor’s office about the bill’s demise went unanswered.

McLaurin isn’t giving up. He plans to reintroduce the legislation later this session, hopeful that relief is still possible for Georgia drivers. He also points out an inconsistency: “Towing companies in Georgia are regulated and can’t just wait in a lot for you to mess up. Booting, on the other hand, is barely regulated at all.”

For now, drivers like Daryl and Maddie keep a closer eye on the signs—and their wallets—hoping that lawmakers will finally put the brakes on predatory booting.

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