Title 20

Local boards of education shall be authorized to solicit and accept donations, contributions, and gifts of money from any source for the purposes of field trips for their students and for any other educational purposes. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-74, enacted by Ga. L. 2010, p. 894…

(a) A local school system may request increased flexibility from certain state laws, rules, and regulations in exchange for increased accountability and defined consequences through a contract with the State Board of Education. Such contract shall establish a framework of accountab…

(a) Each local school system which elects to request increased flexibility pursuant to this article shall develop a five-year strategic plan which sets out the school system’s vision and mission for improving the performance of its schools and shall clearly delineate in a proposed …

(a) The local board of education and the department shall enter into negotiations on the appropriate terms of the contract, including the accountability, flexibility, and consequences components of the contract in accordance with Code Section 20-2-84, in consultation with the Offi…

(a) Upon approval of a proposed contract of a local school system which has requested flexibility, the state board shall enter into such contract with the local board of education. (b) The terms of the contract shall include, but not be limited to, accountability, flexibility, and …

(a) The accountability component of the contract provided in Code Section 20-2-83 shall include at least one of the student achievement measures in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection, including both total scores and any needed targeted subgroups: (1) High school gradua…

(a) The State Board of Education shall, as provided for in the contract entered into with a local school system pursuant to Code Section 20-2-83, mandate the loss of governance of one or more of its nonperforming schools as a consequence of failure pursuant to paragraph (2) of su…

(a) The Office of Student Achievement shall revise the single statewide accountability system established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-26 for submission to the state board for approval to integrate the requirements of this article, to the grea…

No later than June 30, 2015, each local school system shall either notify the department of its intention to become a strategic waivers school system pursuant to this article or shall comply with subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-80, electing to be a Title 20/No Waivers system.…

The department may offer other funding options for local school systems which choose to enter into a contract pursuant to this article and may also offer other funding options for charter systems. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-84.4, enacted by Ga. L. 2008, p. 82, § 1/HB 1209.

Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 20-2-84.4, this article shall not apply to a local school system which has become a charter system pursuant to Code Section 20-2-2063.2 or which is in the process of applying to become a charter system. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-84.5,…

(a) The General Assembly recognizes the need to improve communication and participation of parents and the community in the management and operation of local schools. The General Assembly believes that parent and community support is critical to the success of students and school…

(a) By October 1, 2001, each local board of education that elects to participate in the Quality Basic Education Program provided for in Article 6 of this chapter shall have a school council operational at a minimum of one high school, one middle school, and one elementary school,…

(a) Superintendents of each school system shall be employed by the local board of education under written contracts for a term of not less than one year and not more than three years. Any provision of any such contract which provides for an extension of the duration of employment…

Before entering upon the discharge of his or her official duties, the local school superintendent shall take and subscribe to the following oath of office: STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF I, perform the , do solemnly swear or affirm that I will truly duties of local school superintend…

Each county and independent system school superintendent must give bond with an approved surety company payable to the county or independent system board of education, the amount to be decided by the board. Such bond must be filed with the judge of the probate court of the county …

Each local school superintendent shall be certified and classified by the Professional Standards Commission as teachers are now classified and certified under Code Section 20-2-200. The superintendents shall receive salaries according to a schedule of minimum salaries fixed by the sta…

(a) The local school superintendent shall constitute the medium of communication between the State School Superintendent and subordinate local school officers. The local school superintendent shall be the executive officer of the local board of education; shall be the agent of th…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Quality Basic Education Act.” History. Code 1981, § 20-2-130, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1657, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1169, § 1.

The General Assembly of Georgia, recognizing the need for: (1) Implementing a highly rigorous curriculum to encompass content standards in public schools state wide which ensures that each student is provided ample opportunity to develop competencies necessary for lifelong learni…

It is the intent of the General Assembly that the primary goals of this article shall be as follows: (1) A substantial reduction in the number of teachers who leave the teaching profession for reasons of job dissatisfaction; (2) A decrease in the percentage and number of students…

(a) Admission to the instructional programs funded under this article shall be free to all eligible children and youth who enroll in such programs within the local school system in which they reside and to children as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section. Therefore, a …

(a) The State Board of Education shall establish uniformly sequenced content standards that each student is expected to master prior to completion of the student’s public school education. The state board shall adopt content standards for students in kindergarten through grade 12…

The State Board of Education shall establish rules and regulations to maximize the number of students, beginning with students entering ninth grade in the 2014-2015 school year, who complete prior to graduation at least one course containing online learning. This shall be met thr…

The State Board of Education shall establish at least once every four years a review of the adopted competencies and uniformly sequenced core curriculum by a task force broadly representative of educational interests and the concerned public. After considering the findings and rec…

(a)(1) All elementary and secondary schools which receive in any manner funds from the state shall provide the following course offerings in the manner and at the grade level prescribed by the State Board of Education: (A) A course of study in the background, history, and develop…

(a) The General Assembly finds that the survival of the Republic requires that the nation’s children, who are the future guardians of its heritage and participants in its governance, have a clear understanding of the founding philosophy and the founding principles of our governmen…

(a) Each local board of education shall prescribe a course of study in sex education and AIDS prevention instruction for such grades and grade levels in the public school system as shall be determined by the State Board of Education. Such course of study shall implement either th…

(a) Each local board of education shall prescribe mandatory instruction concerning alcohol, tobacco, vapor products, and other drug use in every year in every grade from kindergarten through grade 12 as shall be determined by the State Board of Education. Such course of study sha…

(a) The State Board of Education shall develop by the start of the 1997-1998 school year a comprehensive character education program for levels K-12. This comprehensive character education program shall be known as the “character curriculum” and shall focus on the students’ devel…

The State Board of Education shall prescribe a minimum course of study in career education for students in grades six through 12. Such minimum course of study shall be age appropriate and shall include, but not be limited to, career exploration and career oriented learning experi…

(a) All schools with grade ten or above may make available to eligible students a Scholastic Assessment Test preparatory course. Such course of study shall be designed to offer an opportunity for review and practice to students preparing to take the Scholastic Assessment Test. Th…

On a school day immediately preceding or as close to the annual observance of Veterans Day as practicable as determined by a school’s scheduled curriculum, each elementary and secondary school may provide for instructional activity focusing on the contributions of veterans and th…

(a)(1) All public schools with grade nine or above may make available to eligible students in grades nine through 12 an elective course: (A) In the History and Literature of the Old Testament Era; (B) In the History and Literature of the New Testament Era; (C) On the Hebrew Scrip…

(a) The Department of Education shall develop a model program for educating students regarding online safety while using the Internet, taking into consideration educational materials on this topic developed by other states as well as any other materials suggested by education exp…

(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the “Cory Joseph Wilson Act.” (b) As used in this Code section, the term “psychomotor skills” means skills using hands-on practice to support cognitive learning. (c) Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, each local board …

(a) A local board of education may award a high school diploma to a student enrolled in coursework pursuant to Code Section 20-2-161.3 who: (1) Completes rigorous coursework at a postsecondary institution which meets the requirements in paragraph (7) of Code Section 20-3-519; (2)…

(a) The General Assembly finds that: (1) Education in computer science is a critical need for the students of Georgia for the twenty-first century; (2) Less than 0.5 percent of high school graduates have taken a computer science course; (3) There are thousands of unfulfilled compute…

(a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this Code section, all children and youth who have attained the age of five years by September 1 shall be eligible for enrollment in the appropriate general education programs authorized in this part unless they attain the age …

(a) The primary purpose for the general and career education programs is to provide the children and youth of Georgia with a quality opportunity to master uniformly sequenced content standards adopted by the State Board of Education. (b) The following general and career education…

(a) For the purpose of fulfilling the foreign language requirements for a college preparatory curriculum seal of endorsement on a high school diploma, a demonstrated proficiency in American Sign Language shall be accepted as a foreign language for any student by all local boards of…

For the purpose of earning Carnegie unit curriculum credits at the high school level, satisfactory completion, on or after January 1, 1999, of a driver education course in a driver training school and under the instruction of a driver training instructor licensed by the departmen…

(a) All children and youth who are eligible for a general and career education program under Code Section 20-2-151 and who have special educational needs shall also be eligible for special education services. Children from birth through four years of age, whose disabling conditio…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “communication mode or language” means one or more of the following systems or methods of communication applicable to deaf and hard-of-hearing children: (1) American Sign Language; (2) English-based manual or sign systems; or (3) Oral, a…

(a) The General Assembly finds that foster care students are particularly vulnerable to exposure to traumatic events and situations. The General Assembly also finds that a foster care student’s exposure to trauma can be exacerbated by changing schools, particularly when the student…

(a) The State Board of Education shall create and each local board of education shall provide an early intervention program to serve students in kindergarten through grade five. The kindergarten early intervention program shall serve students enrolled in kindergarten. The primary …