With additional reporting by Anna Simonton and Matthew Charles Cardinale. Photograph by Steve Eberhardt. (APN) ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly wrapped up the 2015 legislative session on Thursday, April 02, 2015. There were a few progressive highlights in the majority-Republican Legislature, including a solar power lease agreement bill; a limited medical cannabis bill; and more flexibility for MARTA […]
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With additional reporting Allie McCullen, Special to Atlanta Progressive News (APN) ATLANTA — In 2016, Georgia voters will be asked whether to amend the state constitution “to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance.” That’s the ballot language codified by SR 287, one of two pieces of legislation that […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — The House Education Committee will soon decide whether to advance Gov. Nathan Deal’s controversial proposal to allow the state to take over and privatize struggling schools. At a hearing on Wednesday March 18, 2015, State Representatives and members of the public expressed both deep concern and some enthusiasm over the proposal, which, as Atlanta Progressive News […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — This week, on March 11, 2015, in a 38-17 party line vote, the Georgia State Senate passed SR 80, a resolution to force Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) out of Georgia schools. Advanced Placement (AP) classes enable high school students to take college level courses and receive college credit. They are administered by the College Board, […]
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With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale (APN) ATLANTA — On Thursday, March 05, 2015, the full State Senate voted to engross SB 129, the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Bill, in a vote of 38 yeas to 17 nays. The bill passed the Senate in a vote of 37 to 15. Engrossment means that the bill cannot be changed; […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — Carver High School students recently launched 10 Mil 4 Real, a campaign to challenge the role of police in Atlanta Public Schools (APS). APN previously reported in 2008 about activism by the American Civil Liberties Union to close an alternative education school that had been run by for-profit Community Education Partners for APS for so-called troubled […]
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(APN) ATLANTA — One week after Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, unveiled a proposal to enable state takeovers and privatization of struggling schools, State Senate Democrats have put forth an alternative plan they say addresses the root causes of failure in the education system. At a press conference on February 17, 2014, the Senate Democratic Caucus introduced the […]
Read more(APN) ATLANTA — The fifth Georgia Moral Monday Movement Day at the Georgia State Capitol exposed what they described as the robbing of public education in Georgia. Over 7.6 billion dollars has been cut from the education budget over the last ten years. The cuts in Quality Basic Education (QBE) started in 2003 and have continued for thirteen years. […]
Read moreIssues for 2013 1. Education Georgia public schools have a high school graduation rate of 67.5%, the third worst in the nation. Yet the cost per public school student, $10,587, is nearly $1,000 more than the national average. Charter schools can offer parents and children an alternative to a poorly performing traditional public school. Last summer, Georgians voted to […]
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