Title 20 — Education

(a) The State Board of Education is created. The state board shall be composed of one member from each congressional district in this state, who shall be appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall not be a member of the state bo…

Ga. L. 2015, p. 1031, § 2-1/SB 89, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Digital Classroom Act.’”

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “educator” means any principal, school administrator, teacher, school counselor, paraprofessional, school bus driver, volunteer assisting teachers in the classroom, tribunal members, or certificated professional personnel. (b) An educator…

(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…

(a) The State Board of Education is authorized to prescribe, by regulation, the definition of the term “instructional materials and content” to include but not be limited to systematically designed material in any medium, including digital instructional materials and content and a…

All purchases or contracts for purchases shall be made subject to the condition that the price paid by the state shall not exceed the price which may be offered by the publisher to any other school or school authority for substantially the same instructional materials and content…

Liability insurance for per- Limitation on civil damages for disciplining student; frivolous or nonmeritorious actions; legal counsel for the educator. Limited immunity from criminal liability. Article 19 PART 12 20-2-990. 20-2-991. formance of duties authorized; actions against …

This article shall not apply to students in home study programs or virtual courses. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-2016, enacted by Ga. L. 2015, p. 1031, § 2-2/SB 89.

(a) To educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in the founding of this country and the values, principles, and philosophies on which this country was founded, it is strongly encouraged that the full week in September which includes Constitution Day, September 17, is…

(a) To increase student understanding of, and familiarity with, American historical documents, public schools may display historically important excerpts from, or copies of, those documents in school classrooms and common areas as appropriate. Local boards of education and charte…

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 …

No teacher, principal, school board, or any other person may require or prescribe any particular method or manner in which a child shall participate in any period of silent prayer or meditation, but each child shall be absolutely free to participate therein or not, in such manner…

Whenever the county board of education deems it for the best interest of the schools of the county, it shall also have the right and power to contract with individuals or corporations for the transportation of pupils and school employees to and from school. 838 20-2-1071 ELEMENTA…

Payment of insurance premiums by school board or other bus owner. Insurance coverage for general public; waiver of school board’s immunity. Mutual insurance policies to be nonassessable. School boards to keep insurance policies. PART 3 Article 22 20-2-1070. persons with disabilit…

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…

Co. v. Nelson, 282 Ga. App. 488, 639 S.E.2d 365, 2006 Ga. App. LEXIS 1428 (2006). Waiver of sovereign immunity not included in statute. — Trial court erred in finding that O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1090 waived the school district’s sovereign immunity from the negligence claim brought by a s…

Any policy authorized by this part, when issued by a mutual insurance company, shall be nonassessable as to further premiums, and the policy shall so state. 847 20-2-1110 History. Ga. L. 1949, p. 1155, § 4; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 20.

Policies issued under Code Section 20-2-1090 shall be filed with and retained by the respective school boards for the benefit of the school children patronizing the school buses and for the benefit of the general public. History. Ga. L. 1949, p. 1155, § 5; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 20.

During any school year, a school bus driver may utilize up to a maximum of three days of any accumulated sick leave for the purpose of absenting himself from his duties for any personal reason if prior approval of his absence is given by the local school superintendent or his aut…

No school bus driver utilizing sick leave under this part shall be 849 20-2-1121 required to pay the cost of employing a substitute school bus driver to serve in his absence on such sick leave. History. Ga. L. 1962, p. 670, § 3. 20-2-1113. Determining pay for substitute drivers.

The scale of pay for substitute drivers shall be determined by the board of education of each system in which a school bus driver utilizing sick leave under this part is employed. History. Ga. L. 1962, p. 670, § 2. PART 4 RANDOM DRUG TESTING FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

As used in this part the term “illegal drugs” shall include marijuana as defined in paragraph (16) of Code Section 16-13-21, a controlled substance as defined in paragraph (4) of Code Section 16-13-21, a dangerous drug as defined in Code Section 16-13-71, or any other controlled sub…

(a) A school bus driver found to have used an illegal drug shall be terminated from his or her employment. (b) A school bus driver found to have any measurable alcohol in his or her system during the school day shall be subject to disciplinary action at the discretion of the loca…

Any person who is designated by a local law enforcement agency as set forth in Code Section 35-1-11 shall be authorized to direct and 855 20-2-1160 regulate the flow of traffic at school crossings or within a reduced speed school zone during the time when he or she is on duty. His…

— Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘School Safety and Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994’’. Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, sets forth legislative findi…

(a) Any teacher or other person employed at any public or private elementary or secondary school or any dean or public safety officer employed by a college or university who has reasonable cause to believe that a student at that school has committed any act upon school property o…

(a) Every public school shall prepare a school safety plan to help curb the growing incidence of violence in schools, to respond effectively to such incidents, and to provide a safe learning environment for Georgia’s children, teachers, and other school personnel. Such plan shall…

The State Board of Education shall establish by rules or regulations a system of allotment of state funds to local school systems to provide five days’ sick leave for each fiscal school year for each full-time school food service manager and each full-time school food service emplo…

The rules or regulations of the State Board of Education adopted pursuant to Code Section 20-2-1190 shall be subject to the following requirements: (1) School food service managers and employees who are eligible for membership in the Public School Employees Retirement System shal…

The funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this article shall come from funds appropriated by the General Assembly to the State Board of Education for the purpose of paying the cost of providing sick leave for school food service personnel. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-1192…

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. 196 20-2-130 ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUC. 20-2-131

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…

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 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…

(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) 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) The State Board of Education shall adopt content standards for a minimum course of instruction in financial literacy to be completed by students in eleventh or twelfth grade. (b) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, each local board of education shall require all students, …

(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. 230 20-2-151 ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUC. 20-2…

(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 233 20-2-152 educational needs shall also be eligible for special education services. Children from birth through four years of age, whose disab…

(a) All children and youth who are eligible for a general and career education program under Code Section 20-2-151 and who are also eligible under the criteria specified in this Code section shall be provided, in accordance with policies adopted by the State Board of Education, th…

(a) The Department of Education, through its agricultural education program employees described in Code Section 20-2-154.2, is authorized to administer an agricultural education program that local school systems may offer in elementary schools. If a local board of education elect…

The State Board of Education shall create a program for limitedEnglish-proficient students whose native language is not English, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. The purpose of this program is to assist such students to develop proficiency in the English language, …