ATLANTA (AP) – The Georgia Department of Education would be able to wait a year before having to follow a law requiring that students pick a career path by ninth grade under a bill House lawmakers gave preliminary approval to on Thursday.
Members of the House Education Committee voted unanimously to send the bill forward to the Rules Committee, which will decide whether the legislation gets a vote on the House floor.
Rep. Randy Nix, R-LaGrange, said he filed the bill at the request of the education department, which wanted the requirement pushed back until the 2013-2014 school year. The law, passed last year, originally took effect next fall.
“I think that’s a reasonable thing for them to ask,” Nix, who sponsored the bill, told fellow lawmakers.
While there was little dissent, Rep. Alisha Morgan, D-Austell, said she wanted more details on how the curriculum changes will be implemented. She said state education officials are making multiple policy changes close together.