In the legislative update for the week ending on May 22nd, our liaison Scott Maxwell includes information about COVID-19 and children, unemployment, school year planning and more.
As of this past week nine children in Georgia have been confirmed to been stricken with a mysterious new inflammatory condition that public health officials believe is linked to COVID-19. All of Georgia’s patients have survived and returned home, but three children in New York have died from the condition.
Governor Brian Kemp has selected a 72-member group of government, educational and civic leaders to provide advice on how to re-start K-12 schools later this summer. The 180 school districts in the state will make their own decisions about whether and how to reopen school buildings (unless a new executive order is issued), but the advisors will be divided into work groups to think through various challenges. The six areas of emphasis are: school meals, distance learning and teacher training, mental health and wellness, supplemental learning, facilities and busing, and access to the internet and computing devices.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s unemployment level broke an all-time record with an 11.9% rate in April. About 580,000 Georgians were officially listed as jobless.