Gov. Kemp Introduces New Legislation For Bolstering Teacher Workforce

On Tuesday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced the Teachers First Act, a series of proposals designed to help strengthen, retain and improve Georgia’s teaching workforce. The legislation would help address projected numbers of teachers which have been declining amid growing student population and demand for additional classroom teachers.

The Teachers First Act includes:

• increasing certification options for veterans to enter the teacher workforce
• expanding programs at Georgia’s Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) for teacher recruitment and training
• increasing the amount of mentoring and peer observations that new teachers receive to help improve classroom teaching
• providing differentiated instruction in training at schools of education including improving instruction for early literacy for all teachers-in-training
• opening a non-voting seat on the state school board for Georgia’s Teacher of the Year

This set of initiatives is a welcome step in Georgia’s efforts to support, recruit and retain more teachers. For a full recap of the proposal and responses from education groups, click here or here.