ATLANTA – On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, Governor Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 251 into law. This legislation was authored by Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan (D- Austell) to allow students to transfer from one school to another in the same school district, provided there is room.
“Prior to HB 251 many school districts required students to prove a hardship if they wanted to transfer to another school within their district,” said Rep. Morgan. “What excites me most is empowering parents to make good decisions about how and where their children are educated. I hope this is just the beginning of a more flexible and responsive educational system that will reward our students and parents with the power of choice and the promise of the best available education that Georgia has to offer.”
House Bill 251 received broad, bi-partisan support in both the state House and Senate. The legislation requires the State Board of Education to create a uniform and streamlined process to allow parents and students to choose any school in their public school district. Under this legislation the student may only transfer from their zoned school if there is space available at the receiving school. If the parents and student choose a school other than the one they are zoned for then transportation to and from the school becomes the responsibility of the parents. This law will become effective during the 2009-2010 school year.
“Many school districts already have some form of intra-district transferring, and those that do not may end up saving money because of the parents’ responsibility for transportation of transferred students,” said Rep. Morgan.
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Representative Alisha Thomas Morgan represents the citizens of District 39, which includes portions of Cobb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2002, and currently serves on the Children & Youth, Education, Governmental Affairs, and Health & Human Services committees.