A state House committee approves a constitutional amendment and its enabling legislation that would allow the state to intervene in chronically failing schools.

The vote happened the same day as hundreds of parents, students, and educators from some of the affected schools rallied against it at the state Capitol.

The bill and constitutional amendment proposed by Gov. Nathan Deal would allow the state to bring in outside entities to take over schools that score below 60 for three years in a row on the 100-point College and Career Ready Performance Index.

The state estimates close to 139 schools would be affected with almost half in metro Atlanta.

Sheila Nelloms, principal of Knollwood Elementary in DeKalb County, says the hard work of schools and ties to the community should be considered first.

"It is insulting to the educators who work tirelessly every day with students of a lower socioeconomic status that a different group or organization, with no relationships in the community or a vested interest in seeing that our students are successful, can do a better job," she says.

Nelloms blames the fact that children enter school at an early age unprepared for learning and that many move from school to school as reasons their test scores are lower.

She says strides are being made at her school to address those deficiencies.

"It is our intention to continue to work hard to show progress and we are closing the achievement gap; it may be slow, but it is happening," says Nelloms.

The bill was amended in the House Education Committee to allow flexibility to those schools where strides are being made.

Committee chair, Rep. Brooks Coleman, is hopeful the affected schools will now use that as an incentive before the state has to act.

"If they can do it, I say go to it and I'll encourage them and fight for them to have all they need to do it; but if they don't, I think the state needs to have the ability to go in there and straighten them out," he tells WSB's Sandra Parrish.

The constitutional amendment and enabling bill already passed the state Senate with most Democrats voting against it.  If it passes the House by two-thirds majority, voters would have say in 2016.