Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp spent the opening day of school Friday at the Ball Ground Elementary School STEM Academy in Cherokee County, talking about COVID-19 and his education goals. Kemp said he’s confident the 2022 legislative session will approve another part of what he refers to as a “teacher pipeline.”
“Next year we look forward to working with the general assembly again to pass the next part of that package. That is allowing retired teachers to return to the classroom full-time in high needs areas, which is where a lot of the shortages are with our teachers,” he said.
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Kemp said the first part, Senate Bill 88, which passed in the 2021 session, was important to recruit, prepare, mentor and retain teachers. The bill also created a way for members of the military to become certified teachers through a nontraditional certification program.
The legislation outlines a three-year certificate program available to active duty, reserve and honorably discharged military members who have a bachelor’s degree or higher. They must also pass an education ethics test.
The bill also calls for the military member to receive “high-quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and classroom focused,” during the three-year program.
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Kemp says he will continue to prioritize education and putting students first.
“To me, this means opposing divisive ideologies like critical race theory in our schools, and reducing high stakes testing in the classroom,” he said.
Turning his attention to the ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases due of the spread of the Delta variant, Kemp said, “We’re doing the same thing we did last year. We’re trusting the local school systems, the local boards to work with their parents and their administration to make good decisions for each individual school. Every school’s different. They’re in different neighborhoods, different counties, they’re rural, they’re suburban, they’re urban.”
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He said he believes people are starting to realize the threat presented by the delta variant. He said more people are getting vaccinated.
“Regardless of what you think, of anything you’ve seen on the web, talking with our hospital CEOs all over the state, 85 to 95% of the people in Georgia hospitals with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated,” he added.
Kemp remains opposed to the idea of any mandates, including for mask wearing. He said the focus should be on getting people vaccinated.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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