I have always been a strong advocate for ending this practice. It is not in the best interest of a child to promote them to the next grade simply because they are a year older. To truly end social promotion in Georgia, a student should not be held back on the results of a single test alone. Unfortunately, the law that passed this session does just that. The legislature also failed to pass a proposal I supported to increase safety on school buses by allowing the expulsion of chronically disruptive students from buses.
Personal responsibility is the price of riding a public school bus.
It remains a privilege, not a right. Legislators did try to save our children from the dangers imposed upon them by getting behind the wheel of a car. However, serious proposals deteriorated into heavy-handed attempts to empower government to dictate to parents how many children could ride in a car and whether double dating would be permitted. The common sense solution should be state funded driver s education courses, offered through the public school system. Students could take the courses after school, receive elective credit for their efforts, and core instructional time would not be sacrificed during the day.