GEORGIA: Governor Nathan Deal signed into law SB 133, creating an Opportunity School District (OSD), which will allow the state to intervene in persistently failing schools through a new system of governance. If approved by voters in 2016, the OSD would have its own superintendent and would be run by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. The OSD will only focus on the state’s poorest performing schools – those that are 60 or below on CCRPI for 3 consecutive years – and will operate by giving individual school leaders more flexibility to achieve better results in exchange for increased accountability. The state plans to intervene in no more than 20 schools per year and in no more than 100 schools at any given time.
“Improving K-12 outcomes in order to build a qualified workforce is a critical component in the recruitment, expansion, and retention of employers in Georgia,” said Georgia Chamber president and CEO Chris Clark. “The Chamber commends the Governor and the General Assembly for their support of this important tool to help our state’s persistently failing schools.”
Georgians will vote on a constitutional amendment to create the OSD in November of 2016.
