Georgia lawmakers will return to the state Capitol this summer for a special session to re-draw legislative maps. But there are also other potential agenda items.

Gov. Nathan Deal has said the special session will start on Aug. 15. It’s up to the Governor to officially call the session and set the agenda.

House Majority Leader Larry O’Neal of Bonaire says lawmakers could also address education.

The Georgia Supreme Court recently ruled the state Charter Schools Commission doesn’t have the right to approve charter schools. That leaves 16 schools – and 15,000 students – in limbo.

“There’s a very real possibility to deal with that just from an emergency standpoint," he said in a phone interview. "There might very well have been a special session called for that issue in and of itself. That has to do with Georgia youngsters that now really have very little definiteness to their educational future.”

David Ralston, the Speaker of the House, said it depends on whether the leadership thinks the legislature can successfully deal with the issue during the special session.

Ralston, a Blue Ridge Republican, said they are still trying to figure out how to fix the problem, and he said there's a debate among legislators about the best way to resolve the charters' school issue.

"There are some who think we can do it short of a constitutional amendment," he said in a phone interview. "Others seem to suggest we need one. I'm in that school of thinking, until I'm convinced otherwise."

He said a constitutional amendment is a complex and time-consuming process because voters would have to approve it during a general election.

Both O'Neal and Ralston say the special session probably won’t include tax reform because the legislature won’t be able to obtain fiscal information in time.

Some Republican leaders had hoped to take up tax reform in August after failing to pass a new tax code during the regular legislative session.

It's also possible that redistricting will be the only topic on the agenda in August. O'Neal said redrawing legislative and congressional districts is already a time-consuming issue.

“It would seem to me, going into my first one, with the apprehension that I’m feeling, myself, that it would be a lot to expect to deal with more than this issue in a fairly intensive way,” he said.

Ralston said it's likely that the other agenda items, if there are any, will not be high-profile or controversial. He said that in discussions with Gov. Deal about the special session agenda, no other items have been mentioned specifically.

Tags: charter schools, state legislature, special session, redistricting, bonner