Governor Perdue Signs School Board Governance Legislation

ATLANTA   – Governor Sonny Perdue today signed into law Senate Bill 84, landmark school board governance legislation.

“SB 84 gives the state the ability to step in when a local school system’s accreditation is threatened. This bill strikes the appropriate balance between local control and state intervention when a system is in crisis,” said Governor Perdue. “I want to thank my floor leaders, Rep. Jim Cole and Sen. Bill Heath, as well as our Education Committee Chairs, Rep. Brooks Coleman and Sen. Dan Weber for their hard work and leadership on this issue over the past two sessions.”

The legislation standardizes board ethics policies and board training, clarifies the law delineating the roles and responsibilities of superintendents and board members, creates minimum qualifications for board candidates, and gives the state the ability to find responsible citizens to serve on school boards when existing members fail to serve the interests of their students.

The Commission for School Board Excellence met, held hearings and conducted research to come up with a set of recommendations for best practices in school board governance. The Commission for School Board Excellence Co-Chairs John Rice, Gary Price and Phil Jacobs, along with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and other business leaders, produced strong recommendations making Georgia a model state going forward.

Governor Perdue originally included SB 84 in his legislative package during the 2009 session. After failing to receive final approval last year, a renewed push this year saw the bill pass with overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate.

###