Ga. lawmakers begin talks on charter schools

ATLANTA (AP) State lawmakers are expected to hold the first hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to address a Georgia Supreme Court ruling that disbanded the state's charter school commission last year.

The legislation is scheduled to be heard by the joint House and Senate Education Committee at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The measure would allow the state to create charter schools and move money from public school districts into charter schools.

The state's highest court ruled in May that the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, created by the legislature in 2008, was unconstitutional because it approved and gave local tax dollars to charter schools over the objection of local school boards. The measure must be passed by two-thirds majority in the House and Senate before it goes to voters.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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