Milton's Jan Jones Receives Charter Schools Award

The Georgia Charter Schools Association recognized her for supporting public charter schools, including sponsoring the House bills that put the state charter amendment on the November ballot.

House Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones, R-Milton, was honored with the 2012 Charter Schools Impact Award by the Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA). The award recognizes Rep. Jones’ leadership in the Georgia General Assembly and her ongoing support of Georgia’s children by supporting public charter schools. In presenting the award, Tony Roberts, president and CEO of GCSA said, “Always a leading advocate for public education in the General Assembly, Representative Jones has sponsored numerous bills designed to give more public schooloptions to the children of Georgia.” Most recently she sponsored HR 1162 and HB 797, two initiatives that re-establishthe state’s role K-12 education in Georgia and helped place the charter school constitutional…

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Philip Beck

8:27 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012

....Conclusion by NEA: "As indicated at the outset of this Policy Statement, charter schools have the potential to impact positively, or negatively, on public education-and this in turn will depend on how such schools are designed and operated. In the final analysis, whether any particular charter school law-and the charter schools that are established pursuant to that law-passes muster must be …   more ›

Will You Vote To Approve State Charter Schools?

Georgia voters will decide the issue at the voting booth in the November general election.

  The Georgia Senate approved a charter school resolution with a 40-18 vote, putting the Constitutional amendment on the November ballot for a vote by Georgia residents. The Senate leadership said HR 1162 reasserts the state’s role in public education that was stripped by the Georgia Supreme Court in May 2011. This invalidated the General Assembly’s creation of an alternative authorizer for charter schools. HR 1162 defines a state charter school in the Georgia Constitution: “This resolution is about doing what is right for students, families, and communities throughout Georgia,” said Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock. “Years from now, we will look back at the hurdles we have overcome in order to advance education reform in …

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Letter to the Editor

HR1162: Let the Voters Decide in November

The president of the Georgia Charter Schools Association responds to a Democratic Senator's opinion article about the House resolution.

By Tony Roberts, President of Georgia Charter Schools Association and resident of Alpharetta Senator Vincent Fort, State Representative for Atlanta and East Point, has written an op-ed opposing HR1162 entitled: “Democratic Senator Opposes Charter Schools Measure.”  Sen. Fort says HR1162, which calls for a constitutional amendment, is not about charter schools and is not needed.  He is half-right:  it is not just about charter schools, but it is actually needed for the well being of ALL our public schools.  He also creates the fear that if HR1162 passes, our public schools will suffer, taxes will increase—no good will come of it. This reminds me of an early childhood experience when my grandfather made me afraid to leave the bed at night by…

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Democratic Senator Opposes Charter Schools Measure

Fort says initiative takes away local control of funds.

Much has been made these past weeks about charter schools. This week, the Georgia House of Representatives took up HR 1162, a measure billed as a pro-charter schools initiative. Proponents of this state constitutional amendment claim it is a decision of whether or not to support charter schools. It is not. They also claim a constitutional amendment is needed because the Georgia Supreme Court has deemed it necessary to establish the legitimacy of charter schools. This is not only a misunderstanding of the court’s ruling in Gwinnett County Schools v. Cox, it is an intentional misreading and completely invalid. Many state legislators – in the House and in the Senate – support charter schools. The charter school concept is one of building …

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UPDATED: House Approves State Charter School Resolution

If the Senate passes HR 1162 by a super majority, Georgia voters will decide if the state Department of Education gets to create charter schools.

UPDATE, 4:30 P.M.: The House passed HR 1162, a resolution that would send the issue of state charter schools to Georgia voters, overwhelmingly today, 123-48. Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, said the resolution has to pass with a two-thirds majority in the state Senate also. Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers said the resolution will be sent to the Senate Education Committee first. He was asked if he thought the resolution had the necessary support in the Senate. "We certainly hope so. This is a referendum and the voters should have the opportunity to voice their opinion on this very important matter," Rogers said. Albers said Gov. Nathan Deal supports sending the question to state voters, "but it does not require his signature because two-…

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From the Desk of Rep. Jan Jones

Rep. Jan Jones Backs State Charter School Amendment Vote

The Milton lawmaker said the resolution in the General Assembly will allow voters to put local control in parents' hands.

  Most people agree local school boards play a critical role in Georgia public education. Most people also agree, however, that local school boards should not have exclusive control over public education.  Businesses considering relocating to Georgia place a top priority on an overall educated workforce. Clearly, we have a state education brand to foster and protect in attracting jobs. Our ability to do so was jeopardized in a controversial 4-3 Georgia Supreme Court decision last May striking down a 2008 state law. The problem with the state supreme court’s decision is that it explicitly stated that school boards have exclusive control over general K-12 public education. The decision calls into question whether state government has any …

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