Rep. Karla Drenner Introduces Legislation to Ensure Students are Safe from Potential Health Risks

ATLANTA – State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) today announced plans to introduce legislation that would ensure students are safe from radiation by banning the placement of cell phone towers on the property of public K-12 schools.

“The long term effects of exposure to the type of radiation produced by cell phone towers are not fully known, but initial data indicates cause for concern,” said Rep. Drenner. “Placing cell towers on school property unnecessarily places our children in potential danger and could even be viewed as experimenting with our children’s health. I am strongly committed to stopping these efforts to put cell phone towers on school property.”

Rep. Drenner will introduce two different pieces of legislation. The first bill would prevent cell phone towers from being built on school property anywhere in the state of Georgia. Her second bill would only ban the practice in DeKalb County. Rep. Drenner was led to introduce this legislation after T-Mobile entered an agreement with the DeKalb County School Board to place cell phone towers on the property of nine DeKalb County Schools.

To ensure her legislation receives proper input from Georgians, Rep. Drenner will hold a hearing on cell phone towers and her proposal to prevent their construction on school property. The hearing will be held at 11:30 AM on Tuesday, February 21, in room 415 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, which is located across the street from the Georgia State Capitol.

Representative Karla Drenner represents the citizens of District 86, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2000, and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Environment, and Rules committees. She also serves on the Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation.

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Rep. Karla Drenner Comments on Charter School Amendment

ATLANTA – State Representative Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) issued the following statement today regarding her vote on House Resolution 1162, a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would clarify the constitutional meaning of “special schools” by expressly stating that the term “special schools” includes charter schools and that the term “special schools” only refers to public schools:

“Given the success of the several charter schools located in my district and the feedback I’ve received from concerned parents who support charter schools, I chose to vote in favor of HR 1162.

“I first and foremost I support public schools and public school teachers, which is why I support amending our state constitution so that it is absolutely clear and indisputable that charter schools are in fact public schools.

“The resolution would allow voters in my district to voice their opinion at the ballot box in November as to whether or not the state should be able to authorize and fund high quality charter schools. I believe this to be a positive step toward improving public education in our state.”

Representative Karla Drenner represents the citizens of District 86, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2000, and currently serves on the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Environment, and Rules committees. She also serves on the Special Committee on Small Business Development and Job Creation.

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