Left-Over Bill Passed First Day
& Important New One Introduced

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January 20, 2012
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Left in limbo until this session was S.B. 184 that was introduced March 1st last year and passed both House and Senate, but in different versions. S.B. 184 is very important. It addresses the termination, suspension, non-renewal, demotion or reprimand of teachers and other personnel in public schools K – 12.

S.B. 184 passed the Senate on March 16, 2011, but did not get to the House floor for a vote until April 11th, just three days from the end of last year’s session. Because amendments were made in the House, the Senate had to vote again. That vote was delayed until the first day of this session, when it finally passed January 9th. If the governor chooses to sign it, it immediately becomes law. If he does not sign it and does not veto it, it will become law July 1st this year.

When S.B. 184 takes effect, it will require a local school board to primarily consider a teacher’s effectiveness in advancing student achievements when considering which personnel to lay-off, if the workforce must be reduced. The amount of time a teacher has been employed cannot be the primary or determining factor. The bill also creates the Professional Learning Rules Task Force to review current professional learning rules for educators and suggest ways to improve the rules.

Also introduced in 2011 but held over until this session is H.B. 661 concerning the operation, control and management of charter schools. If H.B. 661 passes as written, professional personnel in charter schools would have to comply with the same certification requirements required of professional personnel in other public schools in Georgia. That means, professionals could not be employed in charter schools unless the Professional Standards Commission has issued them a document certifying that their qualifications and classification meet Georgia regulations.

H.B. 661 is extremely important, considering the number of publicly funded charter schools that have been founded and staffed by personnel from outside the United States. Please call the House Education Committee Chairman at 404 656-9210* and ask him to pass H.B. 661 out of his committee. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.

“SHIP” 2012: Mandatory Health Insurance for College Applicants

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January, 2012
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Students trying to enter Georgia colleges this year will have to prove they’re covered by a health insurance policy. Until now, University System students paid a fee to use health clinics, but the federal government is implementing a mandatory Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP) for applicants not covered by policies that meet university standards.

Last February 9th the federal Department of Health and Human Services proposed the SHIP regulation under authority of Obamacare, which was authorized in two federal laws that passed in 2010 – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. The federal government allowed public comment on the new SHIP regulations until April 12th last year.

A December 14th press release from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the percentage of adults 19 through 25 years of age covered by private health insurance had increased 2.5 million since September 2010, probably due to young adults that were added to their parents’ polcies. That number will increase even more under this new HHS federal mandate at colleges and universities.

During last year’s legislative session, H.B. 476 was introduced to establish the Georgia Health Exchange Authority and it passed a House subcommittee before opposition caused the governor to pull it from the process. But it was held over for action in the 2012 session and, if it passes this year, it will put the state into the health insurance business to comply with Obamacare, which is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. So this is the situation. Nine Supreme Court justices will decide whether citizens of the United States can be forced to buy health insurance.

If H.B. 476 should become law and the Supreme Court should strike down Obamacare, the federal mandate would be gone, but Georgians could be faced with state-mandated medical coverage that would put state bureaucrats between the patient and the doctor. On the other hand, if the Court upholds Obamacare, it wouldn’t take effect until 2014 and states have until 2013 to present a solid plan.

So, H.B. 476 is premature. It could put the state into the health insurance business before it’s necessary. The Obama administration, could interpret passage of H.B. 476 as a sign of political weakness in the state of Georgia. Call Representative Richard Smith’s Insurance Committee at 404 463-1673* and ask him to keep H.B. 476 in his committee. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.

This is Someone’s First Christmas in Heaven

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, December 23, 2011
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. In October this year, thieves broke into and ransacked the Salvation Army’s locked food storage in Port Angeles, Washington. But churchgoers replaced the stolen inventory with over 11 tons of goods – a hundred times more than the thieves took – and that’s nothing new! American generosity always responds for those in need and it multiplies at Christmas time.

An Indianapolis father of three burst into tears when a woman paid his bill at the layaway counter this year. In Concord, N.C. someone paid layaway bills for four people and in Omaha a woman, who remembered how tough it was for her mom at Christmas, paid five layaway bills. In Missoula, Montana layaways for six customers would have been put back in stock, if a kind-hearted man hadn’t paid $1,200 to cover their bills. As Christmas grew nearer, reports surfaced of needy people in Georgia whose layaway bills were paid by strangers.

As you celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, remember this. He gave His blood so we could have eternal life. If you feel the void left by deceased loved ones, let Him be your comfort. Just pretend the loved one wrote this poem just for you. It’s entitled, “My First Christmas in Heaven.”

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below, With tiny lights like Heaven’s stars reflecting on the snow, The sight so spectacular, please wipe away that tear, For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year. I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear, But the sound of music cannot compare With the Christmas choir up here.

I send you each a memory of my undying love. After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold. It is always most important in the stories Jesus told. Please love each other as the Father said to do, For I cannot count the blessings or love He has for you. So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear. Remember, I am spending Christmas With Jesus Christ this year.

That poem was sent to me when my mother died and it was such a blessing! I trust it ministers to those of you who so keenly feel the loss of loved ones this Christmas. It’s a great poem to save for future use! Merry Christmas from our house to your house! For Georgia Insight, I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.

Up for Renewal: Fulton Science Middle School Charter

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, December 9, 2011
By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. On May 15, 2002 the Georgia Secretary of State, officially, fulfilled a request to change the certificate of incorporation for Cosmos Science Academy, Inc. to Fulton Science Academy. In succeeding years, Fulton Science Academy branched into an elementary school, a Middle School and a High School – all tax-funded public charter schools.

But those three schools are uniquely different from other charter schools in Georgia. They are affiliated with the Cosmos Foundation that was formed in Texas a decade ago by a group of professors and businessmen from Turkey. Soon, Cosmos had founded 33 public charter schools in Texas, operating as Harmony Schools and funded by over $100 million a year in taxes.

A 2011 chart of Cosmos Foundation board members revealed an astonishing fact about the operators of those Texas schools. 25 of the board members came from Turkey, one from Kazakhstan, one from Australia, one from Morocco and two with unknown origin. Many of them entered the U.S. on H1B visas. It may surprise you to know that folks from Turkey operate public schools here, but it shouldn’t. When President George H.W. Bush created the movement in 1991, he set no limit on who could start what he called a “radical, break-the-mold” charter school.

Charter schools are public schools that operate independently of local school boards. They may waive education laws, rules, regulations and policies that govern other public schools. Now, in the U.S., more than 120 charter schools founded by Cosmos Foundation and its affiliates operate as part of the Gulen movement, named for Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamic imam now residing in Pennsylvania.

Since Fulton Science Academy Middle School’s charter is up for renewal, the Fulton County School Board has suggested changes. Such as replacing the school’s governing board with a parent majority and parent chairman, to remove the appearance of “heavy in one demographic.”

Since members of the Georgia General Assembly are expected to introduce charter school legislation in 2012, the issue will be a hot topic for months to come. So, stay tuned! For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.