TV’s ‘American Pickers’ sets sights on Georgia ► PAGE 6
September 22, 2022 | AppenMedia.com | An Appen Media Group Publication | Ser ving Dunwoody since 1976
Crisis call line logs high use in first weeks By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
The DeKalb County Board of Education discuss whether to implement a complaint policy required by the state for a new law on “divisive concepts.” Members ended the night by agreeing to indefinitely postpone a vote on the policy and await legal council.
Dekalb School Board pushes back
Officials defy state law barring ‘divisive concepts’ By STEPHANIE ALLEN newsroom@appenmedia.com
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The Dekalb County Board of Education has unanimously and indefinitely pushed back a vote for a policy on “divisive concepts” required under a new Georgia law. In April, the Georgia Legislature passed a “Protect Students First Act,” aimed at reducing discussion of “divisive concepts” — largely involving race — in the classroom. Divisive topics include teaching students that “The United States of America
is fundamentally racist” or teaching “race scapegoating.” Other examples of “divisive concepts” given by the law are the concept that a race is superior to another, that a person because of his or her race is racist or that a person should feel guilt over their race. As a part of the new law, local school boards are required to have a “complaint resolution policy,” which would be an avenue for potential violations to be reported. DeKalb County School Board member Joyce Morley immediately voiced her opposition to the law, both because it limits a teacher’s ability to instruct as well as limits discussion surrounding race. “We need to teach our history, all the history of all the people, the Holocaust,
everything that took place,” said Morley. “And if we can’t talk about it, if we can’t talk about sexism and all of those things like that — it’s real— then who are we? I can’t go along with this policy.” The board was already supposed to have the policy by now because the law had a deadline of Aug. 1. Instead, the first reading for the policy was held on Aug. 10, and a final vote was scheduled for Sept. 12. During the Sept. 12 meeting, when Board Chairwoman Vickie Turner asked for a motion to vote, she was met with crickets. After a period of silence, board member Marshall Orson voiced his agree-
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ATLANTA — While data collection is still in the early stages, the 9-8-8 Georgia Steering Committee informed the public of trends seen in the first 45 days of the program’s rollout at a Sept. 7 webinar. “Just over 50 days ago we took the first steps down a long road towards transforming Georgia’s crisis system and making it easy for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis to know who to call in an emergency,” said Judy Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) commissioner. In 2020, Congress designated the new 9-8-8 dialing code to be operated through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Beginning July 16 of this year, individuals in crisis could call or text 9-8-8 for 24/7 care. “The similarity to 9-1-1 was a message to everyone, saying the behavioral health crisis needs to be at the forefront here,” Fitzgerald said. “I think that’s certainly how we feel it’s a game
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