Gov. Deal Proposes State Takeover Plan For Failing Schools

Schools could be taken over if they perform poorly under state Department of Education standards. Under the legislation, a school would be considered failing if they score below 60 on the Georgia Department of Education’s College and Career Performance Index for three years in a row.

The schools could then be closed and run by the new district or be converted into a state charter school. They could also be jointly run by local boards of education and the state.

According to the proposal, 20 schools or fewer would be placed in the recovery school district per year, and there would be no more than 100 in the program it at a time. Schools facing a state takeover would be underneath the statewide district between five to 10 years.

Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, is carrying the legislation in the Senate.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result,” Sen. Miller says. “We have got to try new and innovative plans to develop better schools, and better schools produce better students.”

But the plan is already drawing concern among Senate Democrats.

Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, serves on the Senate Education Committee.

“It’s a bad idea. It will not solve our education problems,” Sen. Fort says. “My concern is that the issues that are impediments to poor students’ learning are not going to be addressed.”

Before voters could weigh in, two-thirds of state lawmakers in both chambers would have to say yes to the plan.