PTA Advocates: The 2007 Georgia PTA Legislative Priorities Brochure is available on the Georgia PTA web site!
Visit www.georgiapta.org under "Issues & Action" tab, select "Legislative Priorities" and click on download button on left.
You are welcome to copy and distribute the brochure at your next general meeting or other school functions.
Spread the Word:
Advocacy is our most important job as PTA members, and we are our children's best advocates!
Any questions?
E-mail Julie Haley, GAPTA State Legislative Chair at jhaley@mindspring.com
2007 Georgia PTA Legislative Priorities
Support public K-12 schools with adequate state funding, reflective of the actual costs of providing the state defined services. Support equitable distribution of state funding to K-12 schools, currently calculated on property tax wealth in each school system.
Support using public funds for public schools only. Oppose any effort to use public funding for private or sectarian schools.
Support efforts to increase the completion (graduation) rate in Georgia through early identification of potential dropouts, improved instructional programs for at-risk students, expanded counseling and guidance services, job placement and work experience programs, immediate follow-up of why individual students drop out, and mandatory attendance until graduation or age 18.
Support using multiple criteria to determine promotion and retention, and not rely upon the results of a single test score.
Support policies that increase meaningful parental involvement in decisions regarding school policies, curriculum, and academic growth for children, and increase opportunities for the development of parenting skills and school support.
Support the right of local boards of education to manage and control local public schools as they seek to improve the quality of education for all students and are sensitive to differences in educational needs in their respective communities.
Support a minimum increase in state funding from 10% to 20% for students who need additional instruction outside the school day (as measured by state testing) to more nearly ensure that every child who needs additional instruction to master grade level requirements will receive it.