Only one felony arrests in Walker County on Saturday. Whitney Celeste Barrett, 36-year-old female was booked on charges of criminal damage to property and simple assault. The full arrest report is online at DiscoverWalker.com. It’s updated daily.
A wave of new laws goes into effect in Georgia this Tuesday, July 1st, marking the start of the new fiscal year. Among them: a state income tax cut, expanded child tax credits, harsher penalties for fentanyl trafficking, and legal protections for domestic violence survivors. Students will see cellphones banned in K–8 classrooms and more education funding, while adoptees gain access to original birth certificates. Digital driver’s licenses are now legal, and even Brunswick stew has been named the official state stew. We’ve got more on this story on our website at DiscoverWalker.com. For a full list, visit the Georgia General Assembly website.
The Georgia Department of Education has released a new Student Bill of Rights—outlining 12 key rights for every K–12 student in public schools. It includes access to a high-quality education, safe classrooms, smaller class sizes, hands-on learning, and healthy Georgia-grown meals. The document aims to refocus public education on student needs. It also lays the groundwork for future policy and funding decisions. You can read the full Student Bill of Rights on the state education website. More school news…Cursive is making a comeback in Georgia classrooms. Starting this fall, students in grades 3 through 5 will once again learn to read and write in cursive as part of the state’s updated English Language Arts standards. The Georgia Department of Education says the change brings back a traditional skill that faded from many schools over the past decade, as digital tools took priority. The move highlights a renewed focus on foundational writing skills in early education…