BRIDGE Legislation: Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia's Economy

The picture of educational and career planning in Georgia will change dramatically in the next several years with the passage of new legislation from the Georgia General Assembly in May 2010. Then-Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law House Bill 400, authored by State Representative Fran Millar, now serving in the State Senate (R-District 40), which mandates student advisement in grades 6-12. Educational and career planning was mandated in policy by the Georgia State Board of Education and encouraged through multiple sets of standards, tools and resources. The actual process, however, was rarely implemented to the degree that students and their families received the necessary information to make good, informed decisions about course work and future planning. Unfortunately, Georgia educators often found themselves filling slots in a master schedule rather than meeting the state’s, country’s and, ultimately, world’s economic and workforce needs. Confirmation from local public school educators was always readily received but there was little action taken in public schools to provide a comprehensive and developmental approach to the ultimate planning issue affecting the student’s current course selections and future plans. Planning for the future