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Legislative Priorities

Legislative priorities header graphic showing Henry County Board of Education and Gold Dome in Atlanta

The Henry County Board of Education believes that all students can achieve at high levels when they are provided with the supports and resources necessary to pursue their goals.

Through the following 2025 legislative priorities, we collectively advocate for policies that directly improve the school experience for students, enhance the work environment for education professionals, and safeguard and advance the system of public education in Henry County, Georgia

To support SAFETY AND SECURITY, we urge legislators to:

  • Revise the Quality Basic Education (QBE) allotment to fund school safety personnel at each school (i.e. Campus Safety Monitors, School Resource Officers, and School Crossing Guards). 
  • Increase funding that enables districts to invest in and sustain enhanced technologies to monitor and prevent cybersecurity threats.
  • Increase funding that enables districts to invest in and sustain enhanced technologies to increase school safety measures, such as campus alert systems, weapons detection technology, and structural reinforcements.
  • Develop policies and resources that support timely and effective interagency communications between school systems, behavioral health professionals, and law enforcement.

To support MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS, we urge legislators to:

  • Revise the QBE allotment formula to fund a professional in every school for the purpose of student and staff mental health and wellness supports. 
  • Revise the QBE allotment formula to fund critical positions for student supports at every school, to include social workers, counselors, psychologists, and nurses.
  • Expand state initiatives that incentivize collaboration with local health care providers for school-based mental health services.

To support EDUCATOR COMPENSATION AND TEACHER PIPELINE DEVELOPMENT, we urge legislators to:

  • Increase the QBE allotment to advance competitive teacher and support staff compensation. 
  • Increase the state’s contribution within the bus driver funding formula; increase bus driver compensation and ensure a more competitive retirement incentive.
  • Expand return-to-work options for retirees in Georgia House Bill 385 by extending the applicable effective date indefinitely, lowering the 30-year retirement requirement to 25 years without penalty, removing the eligibility requirement of one (1) full year of retirement, and allowing all instructional areas (not just high-need areas such as Math, Science, and Special Education).
  • Incentivize teacher pipeline development initiatives to include paraprofessional-to-teacher programs, create an apprentice certificate for aspiring educators, and provide funding to support certification for non-traditional teachers.
  • Increase funding to provide pay incentives at low-performing schools.

To support FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY, we urge legislators to:

  • Support efforts to fully fund and modernize the QBE Act to more accurately reflect the cost of public education, inflation, and limitations of local funding.
  • Support districts in offsetting the increasing costs of the employer portion of non-certified employee health insurance.
  • Provide funding for high-cost special education program needs.

To support LEARNING AND ACCOUNTABILITY, we urge legislators to:

  • Permit dual enrollment program expansion by increasing the allowable credits from 30 to 60 and adding courses aligned to critical workforce fields (e.g. educator preparation, nursing, and public safety).
  • Promote local control and ensure that school choice proposals include comparable accountability, reporting requirements, enrollment requirements, Code of Conduct processes, and do not remove funding from public schools.
  • Refrain from reducing funding at the local level in efforts to fund school choice initiatives. 

Download the 2025 Legislative Priorities.