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Board reviews draft 2026 legislative priorities focusing on healthcare caps, TRS preservation, school safety and literacy funding
Summary
District staff presented draft 2026 legislative priorities grouped under financial sustainability (cap employer healthcare contributions), educational access (protect TRS, expand Georgia's BEST, literacy funding) and safety/security (maintain safety categorical funding, stronger penalties for threats, limit minor access to THC/vape products). Board members asked for clarifications and offered suggestions.
Gretchen Walton presented the Cobb County School District's draft legislative priorities for the 2026 state legislative session at the board's Nov. 13 work session.
Walton said the priorities fall into three broad categories: financial sustainability (including a requested cap on the district's required employer contribution percentage for health care to avoid unplanned mid‑year spikes), educational access (sustaining the Teachers Retirement System as currently structured, co‑funding and scaling the district's Georgia's BEST initiative to aid teacher recruitment and retention, and funding for literacy coaches and intervention), and safety and security (maintain/increase safety categorical grant funding, stronger criminal penalties for threats against schools, and measures to reduce minors' access to THC and vaping products). She also proposed a narrow change to HB 268 to require notification when a student returns to school after hospitalization for serious mental‑health concerns so the district can provide needed supports.
Board members discussed several priorities in depth. Questions included how the district would request replacement funding if federal responsibilities shifted, whether cap language could shift costs to employees (Walton and the superintendent said they would advocate to prevent cost‑shifting), and how strategic waiver/charter issues would be addressed. Several members urged adding or emphasizing support for more school counselors and clarified that federal requirements (IDEA/504) still apply to charter schools even if state intent‑letter templates changed.
Walton said Georgia's BEST has produced measurable gains in district recruitment and retention and asked the board to pursue co‑funding at the state level as a model for broader adoption. On health care she said employer contributions have risen sharply and that a three‑year doubling on classified employee health costs was driving the inclusion of the cap request in 2026 priorities.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the priority language and return the item for consent; Walton said the district will coordinate with GSBA and other districts on shared legislative advocacy and staff will provide additional details on items raised by board members.
