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Committee approves computer science graduation requirement and expands reporting for online schools
Summary
The House Education Committee approved Senate Bill 179 (as amended) to require a computer science course (or CTAE-with-CS) for high school graduation starting in the early 2030s and approved an amendment to require private online schools to report enrollment to counties. The bill passed as amended.
The House Education Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 179 (LC492409S) as amended, a bill that would make computer science coursework a graduation requirement and update reimbursement for Georgia Virtual School. Representative Ballard, the House sponsor, said the requirement would start for graduates in the 2036–2037 cohort (curriculum rollout beginning earlier) and that the measure allows the required credit to be earned as early as eighth grade and through CTAE (Career, Technical and Agricultural Education) courses that embed computer science.
Ballard told the committee the intent is to increase digital and computer science literacy statewide, with particular attention to rural districts that have fewer certified computer science teachers. The bill includes a virtual instruction option with a proctor on site to support districts that cannot hire certified teachers locally.
An amendment (AM490270) added a reporting requirement for private, nonpublic online high schools. The amendment requires those online providers to report enrolled students within 30 days of the school year start to the county where each student resides; it exempts such providers from the 180-day equivalency attendance rule because online providers use different pacing. Lauren Frayloot, representing nonpublic online providers, told the committee that more than 5,000 students attend nonpublic online high schools and that current state collections do not capture those enrollments.
The committee approved the amendment on a voice vote and then approved the bill, as amended. The committee sponsor and the Department of Education staff said they had worked with the author and the Senate on the computer science component over multiple sessions to reduce scheduling burdens on districts and to allow a multi-year ramp-up for teacher recruitment and program implementation. DOE staff told the committee the state board rule will designate computer science as a middle-school connections pathway to allow earlier credit accumulation.
Members asked about the rollout timeline and whether earlier funding could accelerate implementation; sponsors said districts may start offering courses immediately and that the timeline was chosen to allow rural districts and teacher recruitment and credentialing time to catch up. Supporters cited experiences in other states, including a reported increase in both graduation rate and female participation in computer science after some states made a similar requirement.
The committee approved the amendment (AM490270) and then gave SB 179 a do-pass recommendation as amended. The transcript records the amendment vote as a "do pass" and then the bill as passed as amended. No roll-call tally was recorded in the committee transcript; votes were recorded by voice vote.
