Title 20

This part shall be deemed to provide an additional and alternative method for the doing of the things authorized thereby, shall be regarded as supplemental and additional to powers conferred by other laws, and shall not be regarded as in derogation of any powers now existing. His…

The various counties, cities, municipalities, county boards of education, city boards of education, and governing bodies of independent school districts or systems of this state shall have authority to lease any schoolhouse or other school property that it has determined is no lo…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Student Data Privacy, Accessibility, and Transparency Act.” History. Code 1981, § 20-2-660, enacted by Ga. L. 2015, p. 1031, § 1-1/SB 89.

(a) The General Assembly acknowledges that student data is a vital resource for parents, teachers, and school staff, and it is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure that student data is safeguarded and that students’ and parents’ privacy is honored, respected, and protecte…

As used in this article, the term: (1) “Aggregate student data” means data that is not personally identifiable and that is collected or reported at the group, cohort, or institutional level. (2) “De-identified data” means a student data set that is not student personally identifiabl…

(a) The State School Superintendent shall designate a senior department employee to serve as the chief privacy officer of the department to assume primary responsibility for data privacy and security policy, including: (1) Establishing department-wide policies necessary to assure…

The department shall: (1) Create, publish, and make publicly available a data inventory and dictionary or index of data elements with definitions of student personally identifiable data fields in the state data system to include, but not be limited to: (A) Any student personally ide…

(a) Unless required by state or federal law or in cases of health or safety emergencies, local boards of education shall not report to the department the following student data or student information: (1) Juvenile delinquency records; (2) Criminal records; or (3) Medical and heal…

(a) An operator shall not knowingly engage in any of the following activities with respect to such operator’s site, service, or application without explicit written consent from the student’s parent or guardian, or an eligible student: (1) Use student data to engage in behavioral…

(a) A parent shall have the right to inspect and review his or her child’s education record maintained by the school or local board of education. (b) A parent may request from the school or local board of education student data included in his or her child’s education record, inc…

(a) The State Board of Education may adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this article. (b) As of July 1, 2016, any existing collection of student data by the department shall not be considered provisional student data. History. Code 1981, § 20-2-6…

(a) A transferring student applying for admission to a grade higher than the sixth grade shall as a prerequisite to admission present a certified copy of his or her academic transcript and disciplinary record from the school previously attended. (b) In lieu of complying with the p…

If any school administrator determines from the information obtained pursuant to Code Section 15-11-602 or 20-2-670 or from any other source that a student has committed a class A designated felony act or class B designated felony act, as defined in Code Section 15-11-2, such admi…

(a) This subpart recognizes the existence of public schools, private schools, and home study programs as educational entities. (b) As used in this subpart, the term “private school” means an institution meeting the following criteria or requirements: (1) The primary purpose of th…

(a) Mandatory attendance in a public school, private school, or home school program shall be required for children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays. Such mandatory attendance shall not be required where the child has successfully completed all requirements for a high s…

(a) The chief judge of the superior court of each county shall establish a student attendance and school climate committee for such county. The purpose of the committee shall be to ensure coordination and cooperation among officials, agencies, and programs involved in compulsory …

The minimum session of annual school attendance required under this subpart shall be for the full session or sessions of the school which the child is eligible to attend. Such attendance shall not be required where the child has successfully completed all requirements for a high …

Children who serve as pages of the General Assembly during the school year, either at regular or special sessions, shall be credited as present by the school in which enrolled in the same manner as an educational field trip, and such participation as a page shall not be counted as…

(a) A student whose parent or legal guardian is in military service in the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard, and such parent or legal guardian has been called to duty for or is on leave from overseas deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, sh…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “foster care student” means a student who is in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care system under the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services. (b) A foster care student who attends court proc…

(a) A student who participates in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H shall be credited as present by the school in which enrolled in the same manner as an educational field trip, and such participation in an activity or program sponsored by 4-H shall not be counted as an abse…

(a) Children during the ages of mandatory attendance as required in subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-690.1 who are excused from attendance in public school by county or independent school system boards in accordance with general policies and regulations promulgated by the Stat…

It shall be the duty of each county and independent school system board of education, each local school superintendent within the state, and the Department of Education to administer this subpart and to secure its enforcement in cooperation with the other state and county agencie…

(a) A local board of education may employ an attendance officer or attendance officers in addition to a visiting teacher or visiting teachers. Such an attendance officer must be paid wholly from local funds of the local board unless state funds are specifically appropriated for pu…

In the discharge of the duties of their office, visiting teachers, acting visiting teachers, or attendance officers shall: (1) Cooperate fully with the Department of Human Services, the Department of Labor, and other state agencies; (2) Make monthly and annual reports to their re…

(a) Visiting teachers and attendance officers shall receive the cooperation and assistance of all teachers and principals of public schools in the local school systems within which they are appointed to serve. It shall be the duty of the principals or local school site administra…

Any peace officer may assume temporary custody, during school hours, of any child subject to compulsory school attendance who is found away from home and who is absent from a public or private school or a home study program without a valid written excuse from school officials or …

Any person assuming temporary custody of a child pursuant to Code Section 20-2-698 shall immediately deliver the child either to the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the child or to the school from which the child is absent, or if the child is found t…

Any person taking action pursuant to Code Section 20-2-699 shall report the matter and the disposition made by him of the child to the school authorities of the county, independent or area school system, and to the child’s parent or guardian. History. Ga. L. 1976, p. 768, § 1.

Local school superintendents as applied to private schools, the Department of Education as applied to home study programs, or visiting teachers and attendance officers as applied to public schools, after written notice to the parent or guardian of a child, shall report to the juv…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “Clubs and organizations” means clubs and organizations comprised of students who wish to organize and meet for common goals, objectives, or purposes and which is directly under the sponsorship, direction, and control of the school.…

No local school system, whether county, independent, or area, shall have a policy of denying, or which effectively prevents, the parents of students who are in attendance at or who have been enrolled in any facility within such system the right to inspect and review the education…

All area, county, and independent boards of education shall be authorized to determine and adopt policies and regulations relating to the use of corporal punishment by school principals and teachers employed by such boards. Reporting of child abuse, § 19-7-5. History. Ga. L. 1964…

An area, county, or independent board of education may, upon the adoption of written policies, authorize any principal or teacher employed by the board to administer, in the exercise of his sound discretion, corporal punishment on any pupil or pupils placed under his supervision …

No principal or teacher who shall administer corporal punishment to a pupil or pupils under his care and supervision in conformity with the policies and regulations of the area, county, or independent board of education employing him and in accordance also with this subpart shall…

(a) No later than July 1, 2000, each local board of education shall adopt policies designed to improve the student learning environment by improving student behavior and discipline. These policies shall provide for the development of age-appropriate student codes of conduct conta…

(a) At the beginning of each school year, local boards of education shall provide for the distribution of student codes of conduct developed pursuant to Code Section 20-2-735 to each student upon enrollment. Local boards of education shall provide for the distribution of such stu…

(a) Local board policies adopted pursuant to Code Section 20-2-735 shall require the filing of a report by a teacher who has knowledge that a student has exhibited behavior that repeatedly or substantially interferes with the teacher’s ability to communicate effectively with the s…

(a) A teacher shall have the authority, consistent with local board policy, to manage his or her classroom, discipline students, and refer a student to the principal or the principal’s designee to maintain discipline in the classroom. The principal or the principal’s designee sha…

On and after July 1, 2000, the Department of Education shall provide training programs in conflict management and resolution and in cultural diversity for voluntary implementation by local boards of education for school employees, parents and guardians, and students; provided, how…

(a) Each local board of education shall file an annual report, by August 1 of each year, with the Department of Education regarding disciplinary and placement actions taken during the prior school year. Such report shall classify the types of actions into the following categories:…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “High needs school” means a public school which has received a school climate rating of “1-star” or “2-star” pursuant to Code Section 20-14-33. (2) “Positive behavioral interventions and supports” or “PBIS” means an evidence based d…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) “Multi-tiered system of supports” or “MTSS” means a systemic, continuous-improvement framework in which data based problem solving and decision making is practiced across all levels of the educational system for supporting students …

This subpart shall be known and may be cited as the “Public School Disciplinary Tribunal Act.” History. Ga. L. 1979, p. 663, § 1.

As used in this subpart, the term: (1) “Dangerous weapon” shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 16-11-121. (2) “Expulsion” means expulsion of a student from a public school beyond the current school quarter or semester. (3) “Firearm” shall have the same meaning…

(a) Each local board of education shall establish a policy, pursuant to this subpart, regarding a student’s possession of a firearm, dangerous weapon, or hazardous object at school. With respect to a student who is determined to have possessed a firearm or dangerous weapon at schoo…