I mean, I was gone for 25 years, and I look at it and no time for to save up for no retirement, no pension to build up from, no job.

None of that.

I mean, you come out, you starting from scratch.

And that's difficult.

And it's still difficult to me.

I've been out working on my third year now.

And.

I just I really hope and pray that this bill passes.

I mean, not just for me, but for everybody that's in my shoes, because I know how it feels to be in these shoes, and it's not a good feeling.

A new House bill will try to, quote, do right for those who have been wrongfully convicted by making it easier to get financial reparations for those trying to rebuild their lives.

Good evening.

Welcome to Lawmakers.

It's day 20, the halfway point in the 2025 legislative session.

I'm Donna Lowry in Atlanta.

There's so much taking place in our schools that lawmakers are trying to help through legislation.

Tonight we'll look at mental health bills, including those involving student athletes, young athletes.

No matter what the sport or male or female report, they suffer from stress and that can impact their performance, their overall mental health and chance for injuries.

Also, should high school athletes receive compensation for their name, likeness and image, just like Georgia's college athletes.

The lead sponsor on that bill joins us.

And Georgia ranks among the lowest in the country when it comes to how many counselors and psychologists are available to students.

Two members of the House, from both sides of the aisle will tell us what they think should be done about that.

But before we get to all of that, let's find out what happened at the Capitol.

From correspondent Sarah Kallis.. Hi, Donna.

The morning started with a press conference for a bipartisan bill that seeks to change how Georgians convicted of a crime they did not commit are compensated.

House Bill 533 would allow judges to award $75,000 per year of incarceration to a wrongfully convicted person after they were exonerated and removed the General Assembly from the process.

The current process requires compensation for an individual to be passed through the General Assembly through legislation.

I mean, I was gone for 25 years, and I look at it and no time for to save up for no retirement, no pension to build up from, no job, none of that.

I mean, you come out, you're starting from scratch.

After a contentious battle last year in the legislature to form the city of Mulberry in Gwinnett County, a new skirmish was brought to the floor.

Senator Clint Dixon, who sponsored the creation of Mulberry, says that Gwinnett County has not been a good partner.

Unfortunately, uh, Gwinnett County has not been a good partner in this, uh, formation of the city of Mulberry.

They currently will not negotiate with the city, will not take phone calls from the mayor or council dealing with service delivery, uh, dealing with many other factors with the city, the transition of services over.

They are simply trying to starve the city out.

SB 138 was penned to end a series of lawsuits between the two entities.

By forcing Gwinnett to recognize Mulberry and fulfill the county's obligations.

If a solution is not found, the bill would remove Gwinnett sovereign immunity in the ongoing dispute, but Gwinnett County Resident Senator Nikki Merritt objected to the bill, calling the initial formation of the city flawed and an issue for the county to settle.

There is still questions about if the cityhood is even legal, and that has been why the county has.

That's one of the reasons why they had some reservations about negotiations, because that has not been resolved in the courts.

As to is, was it even constitutional for a city like Mulberry with limited services to really be a city?

The bill was passed 32-22 along party lines.

Senate resolution 23 was written to address a more national issue.

Term limits.

The resolution would call for a constitutional amendment convention to add term limits of U.S.

Congressmen and senators.

Two thirds of the states would need to approve the proposal, which would then need to be ratified by three quarters of the states.

The problem I'm looking to address here is the total dysfunction in the United States Congress that we've experienced, really for over a decade now.

It is a stalemate.

It's infighting.

Very little is being done to promote the will of the people.

Opponents say ultimately, term limits aren't the problem.

Our system is broken.

Not because people are serving too long, but at core, it's because Congress and indeed this also infects state capitals, is not responding to the priorities of the average voter.

Instead, it is captive to the extremes.

The resolution passed 34-18 and goes to the House next.

House Bill 90, which sets the stage for a state constitutional amendment that could double the amount of land that someone can claim as bonafide conservation, use property or property taxed at a lower rate.

We need to look at the needs of family farms, and specifically the property tax burden that they face.

If not for Couva, which is the conservation use.

Valuation assessment, it is an means by which between, uh, farms, between ten acres and 2000 acres can enter into an agreement where property taxes are determined at the use level, not at the market value assessment.

And this is very important to our state because for agricultural forestry, conservation use, that includes, um, farming, livestock, poultry, dairy, timber production, reforestation and conserving wildlife habitats.

Couva can be utilized for land and that allows for the preservation of family farms and important public policy.

I think interests for all of us that we preserve family farms in our state.

It's accompanying resolution also passed.

Voters would have the final say in this change, since it's a constitutional amendment.

The Senate passed similar legislation yesterday, and House Bill 147 would allow the Georgia Technology Authority to collect an annual inventory from state agencies outlining their use of artificial intelligence technology.

As A.I.

Technologies become increasingly integrated into our public services, it's critical that we have a clear understanding of how these technologies are being utilized.

From education to transportation and every government service.

And in between the two, the lack of oversight and basic understanding of A.I.

Could lead to unintended consequences, um, including potential biases, unintended privacy infringements.

Uh, I guess to say it best would be, in the words of my good friend Chairman Pirkle, who would say, we just got to make sure it doesn't get too big for its britches.

Tomorrow, the Senate is expected to vote on a lawsuit reform bill that Governor Kemp says is his top legislative priority.

That's my Capitol report.

Donna, back to you.

Thanks, Sarah.

According to the CDC, more than half or about 57% of high school athletes participate in sports.

It's popular but comes with stress that can lead to mental health risks.

A study by the National Library of Medicine found a whopping 91% experience some sort of stress.

Of that group, 58% experienced moderate to extreme stress.

While some sought medical help from a professional.

18% did not.

Some athletes say stress is positive because it helps fuel their performance.

Most expressed fear of failure and self pressure as reasons behind their feelings.

There's bipartisan legislation in the House to try to address the issue.

I spoke earlier today to Democratic Representative Omari Crawford of Decatur.

He's a former standout high school and college athlete who's passionate about the mental health of student athletes.

Because the way his high school coach handled it.

Napoleon Cobb.

He instilled in you guys.

Talk about that.

He would tell us that you have to have the will to win, but the will to win starts within.

And every time we would have a track and field meet, a really big meet, we would do these exercises, breathing exercises, we would do exercises.

We would sit around in meditation.

We would listen to some of the music that he would select that would put us in a peaceful state, because what he would always talk about is, is that you are only going to be able to perform as well as you are mentally prepared.

So mental preparation was something that was important to him, because when you get out there, you want to make sure that you're clicking on all cylinders, not just physically, but also mentally, spiritually, emotionally.

And he understood that.

He saw a connection between your mental health and your physical performance, didn't he?

Absolutely.

So a huge connection between that and that is something that's important.

If you are not mentally sharp and try to compete, if you're not mentally sharp and you try to come down here and pass laws, if you're not mentally sharp and try to do anything, it may present a lot of challenges and it may present a failure.

And so he was big on understanding that you need to be mentally prepared so you can reduce the chances of injury or reduce the chances of frustration, because you might not be able to perform like you are capable of performing.

So the bill that we drafted last year would look at student athletes and ensure that they understand the importance of mental health and let them know what mental health resources are available to them.

Because what we have seen is that there is a distinction between traditional students and student athletes.

When you are a student athlete, you have more at stake.

You have more responsibilities.

Your schedule is not the same as a traditional student.

And despite what may happen to you during the school day or in your personal life, there is still an expectation for you to perform whenever you get to the field, the court, the swimming pool, wherever your sport is.

And well, I want to thank Representative Crawford for that interview.

Now, joining me is the second signer on that bill, Republican Representative Brent Cox of Dawsonville.

He's on the House Education Committee and also has bills about student athletes that we're going to discuss.

So welcome to Lawmakers is your first time.

Glad you're here.

Let's start with your thoughts on the legislation that Representative Crawford talked about in terms of, I guess it's getting information out there to coaches to help student athletes deal with some of those issues.

Sure.

First, thank you.

Donna.

You've done an incredible job for the city, for the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia.

And we appreciate what you've done over the years.

Um, as it relates to Representative Omari Crawford fine young man and an exceptional athlete, and he came to me and said he had an idea that he was walking on the beach, and he was thinking about some of the some of the students that struggle with mental health and some of the stresses that come with performance and all those things.

And, um, and then myself looking at, um, how these kids and athletes process that information, and then also in different sports, you also can come down with concussions, and there's all kinds of obstacles that you have to overcome.

And I know that as a coach in Georgia high school, that we have moments where, um, we have to do concussion protocol.

And we thought it was a great idea to do something as well for mental health that the coaches, the parents, the teachers, just that makes you aware so that we can address those issues as a as a community to help those kids become great and succeed.

Yeah.

So there's there's the point is to have the information together that's easy for them to access.

With this bill, as I understand it.

Absolutely.

Make sure they can get it.

Okay.

We're going to stick with high school athletes because that's your lane too.

You have HB 383, which would allow high school athletes to get paid for their name, image and likeness.

As last as we now know, happens with Georgia college athletes.

So talk about that a little bit and what that would mean with for high school students.

So Doctor Tim Scott and Doctor Robin Hines, who is with GPS and myself, had discussed, um, basically nil as we'll refer to it here.

Um, the concern is, is how do we put guardrails around name, image and likeness and protect the students and also protect the schools?

Currently, it's already accepted in the state of Georgia, and legally, it's also accepted that anyone can can collect money for their name, image and likeness.

And it's something that you cannot prevent.

You have child actors, you have writers and all of those those pieces.

So we specifically are addressing, for instance, if you have an agent and a contract that the moment at which you no longer are in high school and you're moving on to college, that that contract ends with the agent and they have to renegotiate it to protect the student athlete that some of these contracts don't carry over to nil at the collegiate level.

Oh, so it's it's making sure that there's a an end period for them.

But it does.

It also put any limits on how much they can receive, how they receive it, any of those things.

Um, so I'm a capitalist as much as you could become.

And ultimately I say make as much money as you can.

Um, but we also want to make sure that we protect the schools as well.

So they can't they can't promote their schools and their logos.

So that's an important piece to this.

So what are some of the other states doing?

Are you getting this from any any place else.

So so some of the yes of course we've we've had conversations and also had conversations at the collegiate level and the NFL level to just see where some of the holes have been so that we make sure at least in high school sports, we protect the kids and the schools.

Um, as it relates to ending the contract at the high school level, that's something that hasn't been done.

So it's hopefully something that will will take root and take off across the country, because we really want to make sure we protect these student athletes.

And it kind of makes sense.

What about athletic directors at the high school level?

What are they saying about this?

So, um, they're they're supportive.

This is I mean, it's new, right?

I mean, this is a very difficult time in NCAA history, and we're seeing some of the good and some of the bad that occurs.

Um, but it's it's it's a process that I think there's uneasiness about how this is happening, but we've already seen it happen with, uh, I'm going to say 15, 20 student athletes in, in high school sports this past year.

I think that's roughly the number.

Yeah.

So but it's it's extremely popular at the college level.

So we're likely to see more of that kind of thing.

Correct.

I know you had another bill.

We're not going to have time to get into.

We're going to have to have you back.

Sure.

I'd love to be here.

All right.

Thanks so much for coming on.

Thank you.

Now coming up, more on mental health and students.

We'll look at how Georgia is feeling when it comes to having school counselors and psychologists enough in the schools.

Two members of the Georgia House join us to tell us about legislation to correct that and more.

You're watching Lawmakers on GPB.

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It's good to have everyone back together.

Good news indeed.

Put your feet up a minute.

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It's what I love doing.

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Understanding the past gives a sense of the future.

Heart like a lion.

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Oh.

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So hurry up.

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When you look back, you're like, wow, that was pretty special.

This is something that's actually altering the course of history.

You're charged with keeping these stories alive.

I bet you.

Welcome back to Lawmakers.

I'm Donna Lowry.

The pandemic brought to light mental health issues among students in a way that had not previously gained attention.

Schools nationwide are struggling to provide the resources needed to help students.

One answer is through professionals who work in schools.

But here are some of the statistics in Georgia.

The American School Counselors Association recommends a school counselor to student ratio of one for every 250 students.

In Georgia, the ratio is one counselor for every 450 students.

The National Association of School Psychologists recommends one psychologist for every 500 students.

In Georgia, the ratio is one psychologist for roughly 2,100 students.

And joining me to talk about mental health and other education issues is Democratic Representative Lydia Glaize of Fairburn.

She's on the House Education Committee.

She's also on House appropriations.

Also on the House Committee is for education is Republican Representative Rick Townsend of Brunswick, who is in his second term at the Capitol.

And we're just glad to have you both here today.

And you we're going to talk about your background in education, too.

So, Representative Glaze, let's talk about the counselors.

You have HB 59, which would bring more counselors into schools by lowering the ratio from 450 students to 1-2 50.

Talk about that a little bit.

Well, first of all, big ask.

Yes, it's a big ask.

But thank you so much for having us here.

I'm honored.

But what I know for sure is happening is there is a mental health crisis within Georgia's schools, but certainly within the United States.

And what we have to do to support our students so that they thrive is to meet them where they are.

And those folks who are in school to do that are our counselors.

And so to have a caseload of 450, which is very low.

Um, but usually if they're in urban areas, there are 500 to 750, sometimes 1,000 per counselor.

And what.?

One counselor.

One counselor.

And what we know has to happen is we have to support our students.

So we went back to what the national average should be by the experts.

And so the bill I dropped, House Bill 59, says that we at least need to look at what the national average should be, and I think we should take 3-5 years for Georgia to move away 1-4 or 50 down to 1-2 50.

And yes, it's a big ask, but when we start talking about school safety and students thriving, we must include at the top mental health.

Everything that happens with school safety.

These days, we're hearing something about mental health.

And so you, you you approve of all of this because you're background.

You've done everything from teaching to being a superintendent, the whole bit principal, everything.

I have, it's been enjoyable.

You can't beat it.

I love my career and education is exciting.

It's all about the kids at the end of the day.

And that mental health piece is an important part of it, isn't it?

It is it.

There's a lot that goes into it.

But mental health piece is is an integral part of it.

And we do have to pay attention to it and we have to acknowledge it and we have to respect it and we have to act on it.

Yeah.

I want to talk a little bit about people understanding what school counselors do, because we're going to talk about psychologists too.

So explain exactly what they would do, because we know they're also dealing with academics.

Well, absolutely.

Most folks know that that's what they do.

We start with academics, but they're also trained to make sure that they have mental health support to students and be able to recognize if there is a student who needs more extensive work than what they are able to do.

So what we need to be able to do is they're our first line for our students to actually have some support.

And sometimes it's support services so that they can move them over to a social worker.

And then other times they need to move them to a psychologist.

So they are the first line of support and defense for our students mental health in schools.

And so how's your bill doing at this point?

So we are waiting to see if we can modify it so that we can literally have a 3-5 years of moving this 450 ratio, 1-4 50 ratio down to 1-2 50.

And I hope that we'll get a hearing.

So it won't happen overnight.

It's going to take a while.

And because it's going to have a fiscal note on it.

And that is.

Hiring hiring them.

So let's let's switch to psychologists a little bit.

So I know that you are part of a bill that Representative Bethany.

Um oh I'm sorry.

Her name I'm sorry her, her bill.

And it is actually HB 81.

And it deals with bringing in psychologists over state lines.

So explain what that is all about.

Yeah, it's a. Prosody agreement.

Basically we have a shortage here.

So we need to really fast track some of those, um, people who are coming from other states moving to Georgia.

And so that's one of the things we're trying to do is create, uh, more, more, more psychologists here.

Yeah.

So what, as I understand it, even on like, the boundary lines of Alabama or Tennessee or whatever, you'd have people who could maybe even work in both states.

Correct?

Correct.

We need to we need to remove all the barriers we can for this, this this, this type of situation.

It's critical.

As representative said glaze, and that we just have to move forward and do what we can to bring those people into our state and help with our students.

And we also have to think of alternative plans when we have to do that study committee that we talked about to really study this issue.

But we also need to think of other other aspects such as telehealth medicine, which a lot of schools already have, but we don't have that really in the schools.

Now for those specialist type situations.

And so with the type insurances out there now between government and private, we can look alternatively at dropped a bill today that will actually provide these type of psychologists inside the schools with the parents opting in of course.

Right.

So this would be telehealth.

You're saying.

This would be at no cost to insurance providers if the kid didn't have insurance, would eat the cost.

And so there's already a lot of support in that medical community to fulfill this obligation.

So or this need.

So that's that's a bill I just dropped today.

You'll hear more about it kind of ties in to the school safety bill where we're trying to do with the school safety bill.

And uh, we'll see.

We have to think of ways to get those resources into our state for our to help our students.

One psychologist, 2,100 students is just alarming to really think of it, especially with all the mental health issues that they're dealing with, the everything from bullying to some of the safety issues.

That we think.

About, the crisis that happens.

And yeah, we have to do something about it.

Yeah.

So I'm glad that that is happening.

Anything you wanted to add on on psychologists?

Well, first of all, I want to be able to go back and back in a little bit.

Um, wraparound services are needed before students get to the point where they have to be on meds full time to even be able to cope and learn.

So I think that as we start with counselors and social workers, we can stem the tide.

For a student moving from a moderate or case to a high risk or severe.

So I think we need to worry about and be concerned about is catching a student at the beginning or in the easier areas of just working through their issues so we can get them on a level playing field and we can have students success.

Okay.

And then we look at to help the kids with more severe concerns.

And we put that money and time into those psychologists who can really come back and make sure that these students are well., and flagging.

Some of these students early.

On.

Flag them.

Early, flag them earlier.

I want to switch to something else that you're involved because as I mentioned, you're a member of appropriations.

You've pushed for compensation waivers for children with intellectual disabilities.

And this is a huge win for families who have children, who need therapies, who need medical supplies, care giving and more.

And their federal waivers.

It's called the new options waiver and a comprehensive support waiver.

Talk about that.

And what a game changer that would be.

Well, first of all, I want to say our committee is led by, um, a great chairwoman who understands that we must have more waivers, more non waivers for our students and our children who are at home, who are at risk of not being involved in everyday needs, such as being able to, um, take care of parts of their everyday living.

Well, when we get a cop or a non waiver, we get support for that student right where they live, whether they're at home or whether they're out of school into their own apartment and learning how to live.

One of those important factors is comp and non waivers bring purpose to students, students with disabilities should also be able to integrate in this society and to thrive.

And how did they do that.

Is being supported.

Those non waivers give them support during the day.

And then the comp waivers can give them support as they go off to college.

We have a program where they can actually live on a college campus and begin to do all kinds of support services so that they can thrive.

As a college student, get a certification and go to work.

They put money back into our communities, but they put their passion and their training back into our communities.

And I think our investment in those comp now, waivers are important to the thriving of all of our kids in Georgia.

How does it look with the appropriations at this point?

Well, they've asked for a big, uh, 2,500 this year, which is almost 65 million, and.

That's 2,500 until people with intellectual disabilities will be served.

Will be served.

But what do they give back?

They give back their gift.

They give back.

They're support into our communities, and they work inside of our economies, and they give back through taxes.

So we can't do without them.

And I think the investment pays off.

Yeah.

And I know you agree with this.

As somebody who has been with the school systems and working in education.

We do.

And it's it's it's a it's a big, big issue here.

And it's not going to be tackled overnight of course.

But I think we have to work on it.

And Representative Glaze is on the right track.

And we have to work together to make it happen.

Yeah.

We've got, you know, so many students who have individual, individual education plans and those kinds of things.

And we're there's a lot of focus.

There's so much to talk about and education right now.

And you guys are making it happen any more, any more very quickly.

Legislation you have.

I have a daycare bill for uh, regarding choking devices or choking device.

Uh, we had a little Jamal who passed away last year.

Uh, he choked on a piece of watermelon.

And so we're going to look at requiring that also have an organ donor bill, allow educators to donate an organ, get paid for it.

Okay.

All right.

Well, thank you both for being here.

And that does it for Lawmakers today.

We'll be back on Monday.

Tomorrow, tune in to the end of PBS NewsHour for Sarah Kallis Capitol Report.

Have a good night.

Warner Robins.