Southwest Atlanta Lawmakers Frustrated with General Assembly Session

State Sen. Vincent Fort was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1996, and the veteran lawmaker calls the most recent legislative session “the worst session in terms of legislation that I’ve experienced.”

 “The dismantling of the HOPE Scholarship will have a drastic impact on my constituents,” said Fort, D-Atlanta. “When you cut HOPE on one hand and have tuition increases on the other, the financial burdens of paying for an education continue to grow and grow.”

The legislative session that ended last week included passage of House Bill 326, which has been signed by Gov. Nathan Deal. The new law changes the eligibility requirements for the HOPE scholarship. Students must have a high school GPA of 3.0 to get HOPE and maintain a 3.0 GPA in college to keep the scholarship . It also adds SAT scores as a qualifier for HOPE.

Fort also was vehemently opposed to Senate Bill 79, which would allow the governor to remove members of Atlanta’s troubled school board if the organization doesn’t show enough progress in its attempts to remain accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The system is currently on probation from the organization.

 “Allowing the governor, of all people, to replace every Atlanta school board member nullifies their election by the people in the first place,” Fort said.

State Rep. Rashad Taylor, D-Atlanta, is another southwest Atlanta lawmaker who opposed SB79.

"This ill-timed legislation provides no guarantee to Atlanta parents and children that our schools won't lose our accreditation," he said. "By all objective accounts, the Atlanta Board of Education was making significant progress and this legislation will only heighten the hysteria around the loss of accreditation with the threat of a state takeover."

Despite Democratic opposition, the bill passed and is on its way to the governor for approval.

Proponents of SB79 called the bill a back-up plan, in case the school board doesn't meet SACS requirements.

The bill is similar to a measure passed in 2010 that targeted the troubled Clayton County School System.

Taylor said that unlike Clayton County, the problems at APS are neither fiscal nor systemic, but the same tactic is being used.

"We’re going to have an appointed board that selects the next superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools," said Taylor. "This bill means our constituents will not have a voice in that important process."